A beautiful hacienda, an exotic lover, and a murder mystery come together in this irresistible, romantic novel

There is no expiration date on adventure or romance

Both a murder mystery and a romance, Hacienda is the tale of three Iowa women who find purpose and happiness when they buy a dilapidated estate in Bolivia and attempt to restore it to its original splendor. Along the way, they fall in love and unravel the mystery of a suspected werecat in their midst, while facing petty corruption, a serial murderer, and a crazy tin-baron heir who covets the Hacienda Nusta. Monica has spent two years in therapy to rid herself of the guilt she feels over how she responded to her husband's sudden death. When she receives an offer to buy a troubled Colonial hacienda in Bolivia, her friends decide to join her in renovating the old estancia into a bed and breakfast. The project gives them each an opportunity to move beyond their traumatic pasts and start building a new future. Not knowing what to expect, the women are first shocked at the horrible condition of the hacienda, and then face myriad challenges. They must decrypt local lore and separate myth from reality in determining whether to trust the retired international finance executive living on the premises. A scion of a brutal tin-baron family threatens to assert his right to the hacienda, although his motives are inscrutable. A series of murders inch closer and closer to the hacienda and people involved with it. And when a jaundiced policeman and an enigmatic bureaucracy put the entire project on hold, they face the possibility of running out of money and time before they finish. As they work through the mounting issues, each of the women discovers �" or rediscovers �" her individual strengths. Lisa revives the love for sledgehammers and construction projects that she inherited from her father. Katie's roots in an Amish community armed her with the skills needed to take over the hacienda's garden, orchard and vineyard. Practical and efficient Monica manages the finances and the schedule, learning along the way that leadership isn't a curse if you love the team and the project you're leading. The story unfolds in the remote ceja of south-central Bolivia, rich in an ancient and heterogeneous culture, and stark geography. “Readers will enjoy watching the characters fall in love while they see the hacienda returned to its former glory,” commented the book's editor. While romance forms a narrative thread through this novel, Hacienda is much more: a novel about second chances and the fulfillment that can come at any age when challenges are overcome and true talents are allowed flourish.