Murder at the Hacienda by Amanda Allen

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Severn House, Netgalley, and the author for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What an engaging, entertaining mystery novel filled with vintage vibes and reminiscent of an Agatha Christie book! I would recommend this book to all mystery and historical fiction readers.

This is the fourth book in the Santa Fe Revival series. It takes place in 1924 at Christmas. Santa Fe, New Mexico is the new home of Maddie after her first husband died in the war and she just couldn’t live with her overbearing family in New York. In Santa Fe, she becomes a painter who solves mysteries from time to time.

An old friend invites Maddie to spend the holiday with her husband and family at their hacienda. Maddie accepts, however she discovers it isn’t as picturesque as she thought it would be when she discovers the body of her friend's father-in-law. As the story continues, Maddie goes on to investigate and solve the murder.

This can be read as a standalone book, but reading the other books in the series would be preferable as it provides more context to Maddie’s background as well as broadens the historical depth of the setting.

Newly engaged Maddie is hoping for a quiet Christmas filled with fun and festivity with her gorgeous husband-to-be Dr David Cole, but the moment she bumps into old friend Katrina Wilton, Maddie's Christmas plans are thoroughly destroyed. Katrina is now married to the dashing, yet troubled veteran Alfonso Luhan, son of the infamous local landowner, Don Victor Luhan, and is celebrating Christmas at the family hacienda, Los Pineros – Katrina insists that Maddie and David simply must join them. However things take a turn very quickly and someone ends up dead. Will Maddie figure out what happened?

This was a fun Christmas murder mystery and thought it was very interesting. There was suspense but also moments of happiness and relief. I thought Maddie was a great character and without her this would not have been a good book. It is one of those books to sit down by the fire and cozy up and read. I throughly enjoyed every bit of it and hope to see others by this author!

Who has killed the Don Victor, the domineering father of the family? Is this the quiet Christmas Maddie had in mind when she accepted the invitation to the Hacienda from her old school friend. She needs to solve the mystery before her friends shell shocked husband is accused of the crime.

A good Christmas mystery with lots of the Christmas tropes we all love and all of the details that are appropriate to the time period and setting.

The Plot

Maddie is invited by an old school friend to spend Christmas at her family home, The Hacienda. What starts of as a lovely Christmas for Maddie and her fiancé David, turns into a nightmare when the patriarch of the family, Don Victor Luhan is murdered.

The Review

This book had the feel of an old Hollywood movie from the Golden Age with vividly drawn characters and creation of the historical setting. It really had me believing I was reading about an actual old fashioned style Christmas. Although it was Christmas in the novel, it didn’t overshadow the main story.

The plot was a slow-burner with quite a build up to the murder event happening, although I found myself getting intrigued by the characters that it didn’t feel like a long time. I also thought Maddie (our protagonist), although a likeable character, investigated in rather a subtle manner and sometimes she stumbled over clues and information rather than seeking things out. The murder victim was obvious, although the story acknowledged this with reference to Agatha Christie’s works. The ending left me with further questions as to what happened to the characters. It wasn’t all neatly tied up enough for me. However, I enjoyed reading about her relationship with David, which I thought was rather true to the time period. This was the first book in the series I read, but it was easy to get caught up and lose yourself in the characters in this book.

Maybe I should not have entered this series at book 4 because I was seriously lost and confused by all the many, many characters.

Basically the story was that Madeline gave up a lovely Christmas at home with her soon to be husband in order to help out a friend who lives with a very strange family. Of course she finds a dead body in the snow and the whole crazy family is trapped in the hacienda by the snowstorm.

I spent much of the book wishing Madeline would go home and let the family sort themselves out. I see from checking reviews that I am the only person who felt this way so do not let my opinions deter you from reading the book.

I'd rate this 3.5 stars!

This book was well written, with some really beautiful descriptions, and with a well crafted plot. Everyone had a motive and I genuinely had a hard time narrowing down my top suspects. Maddie, the main character, was extremely sweet and lovely and smart, as were most of the characters.

However, all of that being true, I had a hard time getting invested in this at first. The reason I can't rate it a bit higher is because it wasn't until halfway through that this book really managed to hold my attention. I devoured the last sixty pages or so, but it took a little time to get there.

art-show, artist, amateur-sleuth, New-Mexico, historical-mystery, historical-fiction, historical-research, history-and-culture, snow-season, widow, shell-shock, PTSD, wealthy, house-party, unpleasant-host, unpleasant-victims, local-history, local-law-enforcement, rural, 1924, neighbors, families, family-drama, family-dynamics, family-expectations*****

I've never come across this author before. This is the fourth in series, but it's fairly easy to follow along without feeling like something is missing. An old friend invites Maddy and her friend Dr. David to the family hacienda for the holiday. There they find the same old problems of the children of rich entitled folks. The paterfamilias is a real toad who hates everyone. What goes on next is what makes this a good historical cozy with a very able amateur sleuth and her writer sidekick.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected proof copy from Severn House via NetGalley. Thank you!
#MurderAtTheHacienda by Amanda Allen #SantaFeRevivalMysteriesBk4 #HistoricalCozy #CozyMystery #NetGalley

This was a throw back whodunnit, reminiscent of a Christie novel. It takes place in 1924 at Christmas. Santa Fe, New Mexico is the home of Maddie, her first husband died in the war, and she just couldn’t stand the thought of living with her family in New York anymore. In New Mexico she lives the life of a painter, who stumbles upon murder from time to time. This was a really good whodunnit, but more than that, it was actually a sweet, romantic story, and the imagery jumped off the pages. I really enjoyed it and I plan to go back and read the first 3 books in the series.

This is the fourth book in the Santa Fe Revival series. Previously, Madeline Vaughn-Alwin had escaped from the smothering control of her high society family (her mother was an Astor) when she married. Now widowed, she started a trip to California with her cousin, who wanted to see film stars. When they got to Santa Fe, Maddie got off and stayed, buying a house, hiring a housekeeper (with her family) and taking up her passion for painting.

Now engaged to a local doctor, with a novelist living next door, Christmas approaches. Maddie's housekeeper and family plan to go to their extended family. An old school friend invites her to spend the holiday with her husband and family at their hacienda. Maddie accepts and is happy to learn that her novelist neighbor is also there.

Then Maddie discovers the body of her friend's father-in-law and proceeds to investigate and solve the murder.

This can be read as a standalone book, but the reader would really benefit from the backstory in the earlier books, which also provide more local color about the setting in post-WWI small town Santa Fe, I do highly recommend the book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Amanda Allen for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Murder at the Hacienda coming out November 5, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I need to go back and read the other books in the series. I loved this book! The manor house was so fun. I loved the murder mystery and the time period. Maddie and David are a fun couple. I would definitely check out more books by this author!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries!

Nice, slowed paced murder story.

Loved the Santa Fe description. Loved the atmosphere, and the description of the hacienda, I closed my eyes and saw it, I could feel the snow and almost hear the noises that surrounded the place.

The murder itself happens on Christmas. Sprinkled with some romance. Add some interesting characters. And then...you are there, with Maddie and co., trying to solve the mystery.

Post WWI, Maddie, an artist, has left her East Coast society life behind. Now she lives in Santa Fe which is just starting to become a mecca for artists but the old Spanish land grant families still rule. Maddie, recently engaged to a doctor, is excited to run into an old school friend, The friend married jnto one of those old families and invites Maddie for the holidays, Maddie accepts. She knows her friend needs her - the patriarch is difficult and the friend's husband is shell shocked. A tense family holiday in a remote ranchero is a likely setting for murder!

Maddie and David are spending Christmas at a country hacienda with an old school friend. She knows her friend's husband has been ill and that things aren't all wine and roses at the hacienda but Maddie is shocked when she arrives and finds an entire family crushed under the thumb of a nasty patriarch. But someone fought back and when the patriarch is found dead, which of the downtrodden relatives or guests was the guilty party?

I have really enjoyed this series, there aren't many historical cozies and cozies set in New Mexico are rare. This series is a fun and interesting read, Maddie is darling, David is the perfect guy for her. In this book I really missed Maddie's house and Juanita and her children. She has such a cozy, tidy life and the life she stepped into in this book was much more dramatic and tumultuous, which made for an exciting read.

This series is a must-read for anyone interested in historical cozies or cozies set in the southwest.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

A sweet, fizzy Christmas cozy crime. I enjoyed the 1920s Santa Fe setting (if anything, I'd have liked more to be made of this) and the dash of romance. I haven't read earlier books in the series, but it didn't matter - it was easy to go with the flow.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.

This latest book in the excellent, Santa Fe-set mystery series is as good as its predecessors, if not better. Maddie and her fiancé join an old school friend of Maddie’s at the family home outside Santa Fe for Christmas, and end snowed in with murder, hidden affairs, and more intrigue. The setting makes it feel like a Southwestern manor house mystery, complete with unpleasant patriarchs, scheming relatives, and rumors of ghosts. The mystery is excellent, and the characters and setting are very well done and really add to the story. Big personal developments are also in store for the main characters. I highly recommend the whole series if you like historical mysteries. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are entirely my own.

In the latest entry in the Santa Fe Murder series, Maddie runs into an old school friend in Santa Fe, who has moved with her husband to her husband's family home on a remote ranch. Maddie's friend asks her to join the family at the ranch for Christmas, accompanied by Maddie's fiance, Dr. David Cole. Of course the family is unhappy, with an overbearing patriarch making everyone's lives miserable. No surprise that Maddie finds him one morning, murdered, and that no one seems to be very sad about it.

Maddie and David and their artist friend Gunther (also at the ranch trying to write a novel in the quiet surroundings) are delightful well-drawn characters, and the members of the family all have their motives and quirks. Hopefully some of them become recurring characters. The setting of Santa Fe in the 1920s is fascinating and a reminder of just how remote it was at that time. The book could probably be read as a standalone, since it's removed from the usual setting of Amanda Allen's series, but the development of Maddie and David's relationship is fun to follow, so recommend reading all of the books. Thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for the ARC.

I love the setting of these books.

Santa Fe IS a magical environment and the author does a great job using her protagonist as the medium for conveying that.
Through Maddie’s artist eyes, and through her experience settling in to a new part of the country, this series gives the reader that same sense of joy and wonder.

I also love the family our protagonist has built in her new town… the books convey a sense of how important environment is to our happiness and well-being, but also the importance of friends and family ( whether “ real” or selected).

Netgalley provided me a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a candid r3view.

Are you on the hunt for the next great murder mystery? Murder at the Hacienda should be next on your to be read pile.