First published 2023
Alison dreads Christmas, but her husband decorates their Vermont home anyway. Then the call comes. Her estranged mother Mavis has cancer and weeks to live. She wants to spend her final days with Alison's family. Alison remembers her childhood with an alcoholic, abusive mother. The memories make her reluctant to say yes. But she agrees, hoping they can finally build the relationship she always wanted. Mavis arrives and strange things begin happening immediately. The occurrences seem otherworldly and mysterious. Alison starts to believe her mother isn't what she appears to be. The Christmas season transforms into something terrifying. Alison must decide how much she'll sacrifice to keep her husband and two daughters safe.
Genres: fiction, horror, adult, adult-fiction, thriller, psychological-thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotionally-tense, suspenseful, unsettling
Tropes: family-reunion-gone-wrong, protective-parent, unreliable-reality
Setting: Vermont
Period: Christmas
336 pages · Paperback · Gallery/Scout Press
Content warnings: abuse, alcohol-abuse, terminal-illness