Zoraida Córdova’s book has a compelling premise: Orquidea Divina Montoya, a frustratingly mysterious and magical figure to her family, has invited all her children and grandchildren to attend her funeral and collect their inheritance, but when they arrive, she surprises them not by dying, but by transforming into a tree and leaving them with a mysterious warning. Seven years later, her family is doing well until they start dying off unexpectedly, leaving those remaining desperate to uncover Orquidea’s secrets to save themselves.

The execution of this premise is good, but I couldn’t help feeling that it could have been better. I think the large size of the cast may have contributed to this. Orquidea had five husbands, 9 kids, and 6 grandkids, but some of the characters feel like little more than cannon fodder, and it wouldn’t have altered the plot at all if she’d had only 2 or 3 husbands, tops.

Despite her secrets, Orquidea was the best developed character to me, as every other chapter we got a glimpse of her past and what led her to become the woman her family knew. I wouldn’t have minded seeing more chapters on her life, not just as a young woman, but her journey to America from Ecuador and raising her children as well. The family interactions are believable, and our other leading characters, Rey and Marimar, are likable and inject some humor into the story, but even with them it feels as if we’ve only dug just under the surface to get to know them.

Cordova’s writing is strong though, and she’s impressively able to take some rather grotesque events and give them a weird semblance of beauty, and the injection of Orquidea’s chapters help the story keep a pretty balanced pace throughout.

All in all, I give The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina 3.25 stars out of 5. It’s a strange, interesting story about the ways family secrets can haunt us, and if magical realism is your thing, I think you’ll find something to like in this one.