The Queen of the Cicadas

Written by V. Castro

Narrated by Maggie Schneider

"In the age of phony fiction, V. Castro is the voice of authenticity; una voz que lucha por la igualdad. Dark, atmospheric, sexy, and dangerous, her fiction brings readers her unfiltered Latinx essence and a unique pulpy flavor. Her work matters. Read it." —Gabino Iglesias, author of Coyote Songs



2018 - Belinda Alvarez has returned to Texas for the wedding of her best friend Veronica. The farm is the site of the urban legend, La Reina de Las Chicharras - The Queen of The Cicadas.


In 1950s south Texas a farmworke r- Milagros from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, is murdered. Her death is ignored by the town, but not the Aztec goddess of death, Mictecacíhuatl. The goddess hears the dying cries of Milagros and creates a plan for both to be physically reborn by feeding on vengeance and worship.


Belinda and the new owner of the farmhouse - Hector, find themselves immersed in the legend and realize it is part of their fate as well.


FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Flame Tree Publishing
• Release date: Jan 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781787586055

V. Castro

V. Castro is a Mexican American writer from San Antonio, Texas now residing in the UK. As a full-time mother she dedicates her time to her family and writing Latinx narratives in horror, speculative fiction, and science fiction. Her most recent releases include The Queen of the Cicadas from Flame Tree Press and Goddess of Filth from Creature Publishing. Connect with Violet via Instagram and Twitter @vlatinalondon or www.vcastrostories.com.

Reviews for The Queen of the Cicadas

[Adelia Ward · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best books I’ve read this year, highly recommend.

[Chris Kester · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Queen of the Cicadas is about a an atrocity that was carried out on an innocent woman who became an urban legend. Now she is like a mix of La Llorona and Bloody Mary and can be summoned by saying La Reina De Las Chicharras, Chicharra, Chicharra, Chicharra... Uh oh...

[Jessica Fasano · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I would have liked this story more but the narrator killed it for me. Her pronunciation of common Spanish words was painful to hear. Her tone was monotone & had the same cadence for all the characters so it was hard to tell who was who.

[hailey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The book was good. The narrator however used the same tone for every character making it hard to track who was speaking.

[datrappert · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

First, let me get the bad out of the way. This book really needed a forceful editor. It is a mess, lacking a really cohesive organization that would best serve its rather noble purpose of telling the tale of wrongs avenged. Second, V Castro does not write well. The graphic horror passages are quite effective, but most everything else is pretty awkward. Often a bad word choice calls so much attention to itself that it interrupts the narrative. There are passages here that couldn't earn a passing grade in a high school English class. And the sex scenes are just awful (worse than John D. MacDonald, which is really saying something.) Finally, and this isn't the author's fault, the audiobook is subpar. Given the presence of good folks, evil folks, and avenging Mexican gods, the book requires a narrator who can bring these diverse characters to life--but here they all sound the same.On the good side, the book's monumental conception is certainly a significant work of imagination as it moves from its gruesome tale of the mistreatment and murder of a Mexican migrant worker to world-changing events. But this grand conception is severely hampered by too many coincidences that the reader can see coming from a mile away (such as certain characters becoming lovers.) As I said, the horror scenes are quite good, however, but it really isn't such a horror novel at all when you consider that the people having horrible things done to them pretty much deserve it. I really wish La Reina de las Chicharras (Chicharras, Chicharras, Chicharras) existed. I'd like to see her pay a visit to a certain Governor of Florida, who she must certainly be displeased with.It's a shame thinking about what a really talented author could have done with this material. This is definitely a case where a movie version might be an improvement.

[dedduckie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was approved to receive an e-Galley ARC of The Queen of Cicadas, authored by V. Castro, cover created by Flame Tree Studio, from publisher Flame Tree Press and NetGalley, for review consideration. What follows below is my honest review, freely given. I rated this novel 5 stars. This book slaps. It may be the playlist my husband has playing atm (it totally is), but that sums it up best. It slaps hard. One of my favorite uses for nonlinear storytelling is drawing out the known horror of a terrible event, when it is done right. And it is done to perfection here, the reader’s heart strings a simple instrument in the hands of an artist, Castro leaves no emotional stone unearthed and then shattered. There is the Legend of La Rena de Las Chicharras and we will be privy to how it came to be. But legends are not made from gentle happenings, and I was right there with Belinda; gripped with alternating, sometimes simultaneous feelings of sorrow and rage while learning of Milagros cruel fate. One of my favorite chapters is seven, told from the perspective of Mictecacihautl. From my pitiful reference tool of Le Google, there isn’t as much information on the Queen of the Dead as there is for her husband, Miclantecuhtl. But from what little I was able to find online, I think the author captured the essence of the deity and brought her to life on the page. Part of Hector’s story arc, whether to finally claim his family’s strength and power, had me thinking about how so much of the novel was a celebration to read even while being a horror novel, and a good chunk of it being of painful events. Grief or grieving horror is a relatively new term applied to a subset of the horror genre, even though we can all agree that grief has been strongly threaded through horror from the beginning. Cozy horror is maybe becoming a thing, a term for horror without violence, more atmosphere and location to set the stage, a sub-set of Gothic. This novel and other titles have felt like they were of their own term too, which I think of as reclamation horror. In different parts on the novel, Mictecacihautl speaks on being forgotten and how the Christian god is a jealous one. It made me think on the lack of diversity in publishing, authors having their books picked apart for being too ethnic, or queer. It doesn’t make sense to me, because we are made up of all these different people, so why can’t we read about them? I like to think we are getting better, and reading this book, like a said was such a joy. I loved it. And I hope we get to see more books written by great diverse authors keep getting published.

[angelajmaher · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A dark and twisting tale of horror and power and hope. An intricate story where past meets present births future. Wonderfully macabre, with threads of noir, gothic, and sensuality, all based in a familiar and far from perfect reality. A book of wrongs, merciless revenge and feminine power. I won't forget this one in a hurry!

[veronica.sparrow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story seems simple enough: a murdered woman’s spirit seeks revenge against her killers but it turns out to be so much more. In 1952, a migrant worker named Milagros is murdered on a farm in South Texas, and the only one to hear her cry for help is Mictecacíhuatl, the Queen of the Dead. In 2018, Belinda Alvarez returns to Texas for the wedding of her best friend which is on the site of the murder where the farm is connected to the urban legend, La Reina de Las Chicharras or The Queen of The Cicadas.Castro's writing is so very descriptive. It is very easy to imagine the insects crawling, the horror of witnessing a murder, of being murdered.Castro also explores the very real vulnerability and racism that migrant workers feel and suffer. Yes, it was a horror novel but the story of Milagros life and brutal death opened a window into a part of life many of us are lucky enough never to have to experience ourselves.I like Castro's style of writing. She is so very gifted at story telling and I appreciate how she weaves myth and sheer horror together in such a way that she is not only telling a scary story but also sharing folklore that the reader may not know about.