My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon

Genre: Horror
Length: 320 pages
First Published: 2023

Rachael’s Review

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Gallery/Scout Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Alison has always hated Christmas, but her holiday season gets worse when her mother calls and tells her she only has a few weeks to live. Wanting to repair their relationship, Alison agrees to take in Mavis despite Alison’s traumatic memories of her abusive alcoholic mother. Instead of healing the relationship, Alison begins to realize her mother is not who she thought. Suspecting her mother is possessed by a demon, Alison must decide how far she is willing to go to save her family from this nightmare.

Jennifer McMahon has penned an atmospheric slow-burn horror story that will give you chills. At first, Ali discards her worries since everything is just a shade off, desperately wanting to believe she’s imagining it. By the time Ali realizes the truth, everyone now thinks that Ali is the problem, setting up a cat-and-mouse psychological game that keeps you on edge throughout the second half of the novel.

Publisher’s Description

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.