The Spanish Daughter is a historical mystery set in 1920s Ecuador by Ecuadorian author Lorena Hughes. The main character is Maria Purificacion deLafont or Puri, who sells her chocolate shop in Seville, Spain to move to Vinces, Ecuador with her husband Cristóbal de Balboa when she learns her father has left her a cacao plantation there. On the voyage she is attacked by a mysterious stranger and her husband is killed in the struggle. Fearing for her life, Puri decides to masquerade as her husband and try to uncover who was responsible for the attempt on her life.

When she arrives at the plantation she discovers her father Don Armand, who had left Spain many years before, has left her with three half siblings. The beautiful Angélica is very resentful of her Spanish sister and her large inheritance. Catalina is still unmarried and the locals revere her as a saint. Alberto, the brother, is becoming a priest. Lastly there is the handsome Marin Sabater who runs the plantation. The story is full of intrigue and buried secrets, and draws you into both the mystery and life on a plantation during the cacao boom in the Guayas Basin of Ecuador. I enjoyed the story and the audio narration by Frankie Corzo and would be happy to read another of Lorena’s books. ( )

Set in 1920s Ecuador, The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes revolves around twenty-eight year old chocolatier Maria Purificacion de Lafont y Toledo (Puri) ,daughter of a French father and Spanish mother, who runs her own chocolate shop in Seville, Spain with her aspiring writer husband, Cristobal.

After the demise of her estranged father who abandoned her and her mother twenty-five years ago she inherits a large share of his cacau plantation in Vinces, Ecuador. En route to Ecuador, an attempt on her life results in the death of her husband whose body goes overboard along with their assailant. Sensing that her attack is linked to her inheritance she impersonates her late husband and informs her half-siblings, whose existence she was unaware of before reaching Ecuador that “Puri” passed away on the journey due to illness, while she tries to unmask the identity of the person who plotted the attempt on her life and murdered her husband. As the story progresses and we get to know more about the siblings-their pasts, their complicated personal relationships and how they truly feel about one another, long buried family secrets and deceptions are exposed . For Puri , keeping her true identity a secret becomes increasingly difficult as she tries to determine who she can actually trust and what she needs to do stay safe.

For the most part, the narrative is carried by Puri with some segments in the voices of her half-sisters Angelica and Catalina. In Puri the author creates an intelligent and brave woman who is
ahead of her time. While impersonating her husband she experiences first-hand how societal norms and expectations set for men and women are tilted largely in favor of men. Her experiences and interpretations of the same make for some very interesting and entertaining reading.

With the vivid backdrop of the cacao boom in the Guayas Basin of Ecuador, The Spanish Daughter is a very engaging work of historical fiction with an element of suspense that keeps you hooked till the very end. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and finished it in a day.

Thanks to Goodreads, the author and Kensington Books for the Advance Reader’s Edition. ( )

A Spanish heiress inherits her father’s chocolate plantation in Ecuador along with step-siblings she didn’t know existed. When someone tries to kill her en route, she dons a disguise and tries to identify which of the siblings (or all of them) want to kill her. How the disguise held up is beyond me, but it was a good mystery with a conclusion that was not foreseeable. ( )

Started seeing implications it was going down hill at 8% and even more at 44%.
At 57% it was throwing in plot points that weren't previously built upon.
Threw in the towel at 84% when it finally went full gay drop.

The Ecuadoran scenery was lovely, however. ( )

An absolutely delightful read! Puri has learned she's received an inheritance from her father, who removed himself from his family (when Puri was just a child) to establish a cacao plantation in Ecuador. Puri convinces her novelist husband, Cristobal, to sell everything they own and travel to Ecuador. What follows is her story which takes place in 1920 amidst the cacao plantations. She finds herself in numerous challenging situations without any counsel and no one to trust. I choose to limit commenting further so as not to spoil the story.

A delicious morsel of a tale which I consumed in one sitting!