A spine-tingling psychological thriller about a woman who, after taking in her dying, alcoholic mother, begins to suspect demonic possession is haunting her family.
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.
I’m a sucker for an unreliable narrator and good tension in a story where you have to figure out if the lead is going crazy or if there’s actually a ghost/demon/gaslighting spouse/etc. This does not disappoint.
Alison grew up with an alcoholic, abusive mother who terrorized her and her brother. Her brother has cut all contact. But since Alison’s mom is theoretically sober now, and dying, Alison agrees to let her come stay with her and her family. Let the games begin!
I’m not going to go much further into the plot because the guessing is part of the fun. I will say I was going back and forth quite a bit. I still can’t decide if the ending was a cheap trick or a fun twist. But it kept the book on my mind, which is its own form of success. Jennifer McMahon is a good author and does well writing family dramas surrounded by horror settings. This book is more of that, and a fun read.
If this is your genre of choice, know that the book is well-written, will keep you guessing, and a fast read. It’s nothing mind blowing, but it’s a solid entry into the genre and worth a look.