Review By Kayleigh
This is the perfect book to kick off the spooky season.
Favourite Quote:
I believed in magic then. I believed that everything had a spirit and energy that I could listen to and draw from; that rocks and plants could speak to me, that the geese flying overhead carried messages and were harbingers of things to come. And I believed that there was good and there was evil and they were curled up around each other, intertwined like thick vines. Sometimes it was hard to tell which was which.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Alison has never been a fan of Christmas. But with it right around the corner and her husband busily decorating their cozy Vermont home, she has no choice but to face it. Then she gets the call.
Mavis, Alison’s estranged mother, has been diagnosed with cancer and has only weeks to live. She wants to spend her remaining days with her daughter, son-in-law, and two granddaughters. But Alison grew up with her mother’s alcoholism and violent abuse and is reluctant to unearth these traumatic memories. Still, she eventually agrees to take in Mavis, hoping that she and her mother could finally heal and have the relationship she’s always dreamed of.
But when mysterious and otherworldly things start happening upon Mavis’s arrival, Alison begins to suspect her mother is not quite who she seems. And as the holiday festivities turn into a nightmare, she must confront just how far she is willing to go to protect her family.
My Darling Girl is part family thriller and part creepy horror story. It explores the difficult family dynamics of Alison and her mother Mavis. Alison survived a terrible childhood and has separated herself from her mother. Until her mother, a renowned artist, calls to say she is dying and wants to make amends and spend the last bit of her life with Alison’s family. And then strange things happen.
I don’t want to give away too much because I loved going into this book knowing nothing more than the synopsis. I will say this – watching Alison unravel and doubt her own sanity is exhilarating and terrifying. Jennifer’s writing is powerful and I felt at times claustrophobic and incredibly anxious. The reader sees everything through Alison’s eyes, and as we experience everything unfold we also feel her helplessness.
At the root of this story is a mother desperate to protect her children and family from evil. The story is set during the Christmas season and there is terrific tension between the family trying to celebrate the most joyful time of year and Alison and her mother struggling with each other and some long hidden secrets that won’t stay quiet. The dynamics between fear and joy are expertly drawn here. The pace of this book is fast and the chapters are tight. Even though I found myself holding my breath at times, I couldn’t put the book down.
If you want a touch of horror in your family drama then I highly recommend My Darling Girl.
Thank you, Simon and Schuster for the ARC in return for an honest review.