The Queen of the Valley

Two years ago, I enjoyed reading The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes. This week, that historical mystery gets a sequel in The Queen of the Valley. The new story takes places in Colombia as Puri tracks down a missing man—not only a man she does business with, but the father of her child.

Special thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Summary

It’s been five years since Puri last saw Martin, and although they still do business together from afar, she hasn’t told him that her young son is his, too. Now it seems that Martin has gone missing, so Puri leaves her home in Ecuador to find Martin in Colombia. Posing as a nun, she works to uncover the truth about his disappearance… and possible murder. Friends from his adolescence may hold the clues to unraveling this layered mystery.

Review

In The Spanish Daughter, readers were introduced to Puri, a young woman from southern Spain with a newfound family in Ecuador. During the course of that mystery, we also met Martin Sabater, a man who went on to father a child with Puri (unbeknownst to him). Now, five years later, Martin is living in Colombia with a successful cacao plantation. He and Puri correspond regularly and do business together. But when Martin suddenly stops responding to her letters and sending her product, Puri decides to investigate. Upon arriving in Colombia, she learns that Martin has gone missing… and may have been murdered. But who did it? And why? 

As with the previous book, The Queen of the Valley follows three different point-of-view characters. In addition to Puri, we also get into the heads of Martin’s childhood friend Lucas and his teenage sweetheart Camila. Though they’re all in their 30s now, events from the past may have played a big role in the current mystery surrounding Martin. Who were his friends, truly? Who may have developed a grudge against him, one great enough to harm him? 

Between the three characters, we learn where they’re each at now as well as what went on some fifteen years earlier. Who were Martin, Lucas, Farid, and Camila as teenagers? Who are they now? This is the kind of web that unfolds slowly, and what may seem mundane at first can turn out to be vital clues. At the center of it all is Martin, a charming and confident man who’s hard not to like, but who also made plenty of mistakes and broke a lot of hearts. 

I enjoyed the setting of Colombia in 1925. Readers get a sense of the country and culture as it was 100 years ago, and the frequent inclusion of words in Spanish adds to the immersive quality. I understand Spanish pretty well, but readers who don’t speak the language will likely be able to figure out most of it by context clues. History of the time also converges with the story, both with the massive earthquake in Cali and the cholera outbreak.

Though I don’t want to spoil the ending, I will just say that the way things turn out had an emotional impact on me. There’s tenderness and hope, grief and sorrow… and a glimmer of where our characters may go next. 

Final Thoughts

If you enjoyed The Spanish Daughter, you’ll surely love The Queen of the Valley just as much. However, this book also works as a standalone.  I’m enjoying these historical mysteries set in South America, and I hope we get to see Puri solve more puzzles in future books. 

Get the Book

You can buy The Queen of the Valley here – it’s available as a paperback and ebook.

The Queen of the Valley by Lorena Hughes
Series	The Spanish Daughter (#2)
Audience	Adult
Genre	Historical Mystery
Setting	Colombia
Number of Pages	336
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley)
Original Publication Date	August 22, 2023

Official Summary

Set amid Colombia’s unparalleled beauty and inspired by the real-life 1925 Cali earthquake, this riveting novel by the award-winning author of The Spanish Daughter plunges three strangers into a perilous search for the missing owner of a legendary hacienda—a man at the center of the explosive secrets each of them carries.

Driven and recklessly daring, Martin Sabater follows his lifelong dream of owning a cacao plantation in Valle del Cauca. But on the night of a spectacular gala, he disappears—and is never seen again. Now his hacienda is a budding Catholic hospital saving lives during an emerging epidemic. And novice nun “Sor Puri” is there to uncover the truth behind Martin’s disappearance. But her real identity—and her past with the heartbreakingly charismatic Martin—will put far more than her perilous search at risk.

A professional photographer, Lucas Ferreira is Martin’s best friend since boyhood. He has his own reasons for helping the determined, alluring nun. But what this reserved man won’t reveal about his thwarted dreams and unrequited passion could prove key to the past—or a lethal trap.

Martin was head nurse Sor Camila’s only love—until an unfortunate mistake changed the course of her life forever. Now, Martin’s home is an unexpected chance for her, Lucas, and Puri to set the past right. But with their secrets unearthing explosive memories and wrenching lies, can they survive the truth about Martin—and the consequences that will forever alter their destinies?