The Orchard Series (Saga La huerta)

The real terror is not knowing who to trust.

Architect Roberto Benavídez moves with his family to a country house in rural Mexico called “La Huerta.” There, his wife Lorena, his eldest daughter Patricia, and his youngest son Carlitos resume their lives far from the capital. What they don’t know is that the house once belonged to a notorious drug trafficker, now imprisoned—or that the property appears to be linked to a series of mysterious disappearances.

The family begins to hear footsteps and scratching inside the walls, especially those adjoining Patricia’s bedroom. Frightened, they report the incidents to the police.

This is how Roberto meets Sub-Commander Alicia Romero, who informs him that more than twenty children have disappeared around his property over the past two years. However, Alicia omits three crucial facts: first, that she and the officers under her command have been searching the area around La Huerta for months—not for the missing children, but for the millions of pesos rumored to have been buried there by the drug trafficker who once owned the house; second, that members of this trafficker’s cartel are still operating nearby; and third, that a reporter claims the disappearances are the work of a creature that moves through the trees, feeding on young organs to survive.

In an attempt to uncover the truth, Roberto begins questioning the townspeople and becomes entangled in a web of mysteries that distract him from his family—until the inevitable happens: Patricia disappears after going swimming in the lake. A parade of suspects emerges, and Roberto no longer knows whom to trust, as it seems every inhabitant of the town is hiding terrible secrets. He soon realizes they should never have moved to La Huerta.

Entrails of the Earth, a spin-off of La Huerta, takes us back to the origin of the millions of pesos buried around the house. The story follows Lorena Solís, a former investigative agent who, posing as a journalist, investigates the kidnapping of a high school student and the murder of another agent. This leads her into a network of kidnappings, femicides, and organ trafficking tied to drug cartels and corrupt authorities. After surviving a brutal attack, she forms an alliance with the Dago Cartel to seek revenge. The novel exposes structural violence and institutional decay in rural Mexico.

RELEVANT INFORMATION: Set in rural Mexico, La Huerta draws from Stephen King and Juan Rulfo to deliver a gripping thriller that gradually transforms into pure horror. La Huerta won the “Alas de cuervo” International Horror Novel Award (2022). Meanwhile, Entrails of the Earth, which also sustains the tension of a thriller with horror elements, is a spin-off of La Huerta and part of a future trilogy set in Celaya.

Its author, J. J. Masón, enters the Mexican literary scene with a powerful, bold, and distinctive voice. He has been selected twice for the Jorge Ibargüengoitia State Fund for the Arts of Guanajuato.

What critics say:

“La Huerta is an immersive thriller with elements of noir fiction. Its structure allows no wasted moments, and above all, it portrays the social reality of the Bajío and southeastern Guanajuato. Set across the municipalities of Maravatío (Michoacán), Tarandacuao, and Acámbaro (Guanajuato), the story could be adapted to any part of Latin America—like a Macondo or a Cuévano, but more real and raw. In La Huerta, the fear of human evil and corruption, experienced daily like a nightmare, surpasses even the terror of the supernatural.” — Víctor Hugo Pérez Nieto, El Sol del Bajío.

AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series, Miniseries, Film, TV Film.

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: Spanish.