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A review by theboundless_bookworm
My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon
3.0
Exploration of the supernatural in horror novels is so overused that it becomes familiar and formulaic. But demonic possession, with roots in religion, cultural context, and morality takes on a more sinister realm. Unlike ghosts, who are more or less portrayed to exist because of unfinished business, demons directly threaten a character’s soul. The moment I learned that this book is about the presence of an evil entity, I had to set aside my other reads to favor this one.
“My Darling Girl” is a psychological thriller that employs elements of folk horror. Alison never had an amicable relationship with her famous mother, Mavis Holland. Their mother's inebriated behavior had been a spectral thorn to her and her brother since their father’s suicide. As they grew up, they decided to move on with their individual lives, forgetting all about their hateful mother until recently, when the latter was diagnosed with cancer. With days to live, Mavis requested to live with Alison until the remainder of her life. Despite Alison’s inhibitions that her mother’s stay might open up old wounds, she decided it was for the best. But then eerie things started happening - strange things that were beginning to affect Alison’s family. Will she be brave enough to confront her past to protect her children, or will she remain the gullible Ali Alligator who allowed her mother to carve out her skin with strange symbols?
The prologue hooked me in, no doubt. With this book's intriguing storyline, I'm excited to see how it approaches demonic possession. The first chapter alone convinced me: all it took was an eerie atmosphere, unsettling imagery, and a mother’s questionable descent into madness. As the plot unfolds, the foreboding grows as I anticipate how the story will proceed. Several horror motifs were also present, including the lament of a dying bird and buzzing flies as metaphors for decay and death. All the elements that make a horror story good have been marked off the list.
However, the promise of a terrifying tale eventually falls flat in execution. There was a surplus of info dumping and lengthy internal monologue at the expense of a riveting plot. The author - wanting to establish the unreliable narrator route - focused too much on cyclic internal dialogue. The result is having too many unresolved and untapped loose ends. I was expecting a more detailed take on the entity's origin and a more gripping ending—instead, the book centered on the narrator’s internal musings.
The author’s ability to capture the readers with a gripping start is evident. Despite the initial dramatic tension and spine-tingling moments, the ending left the readers with many missed opportunities. The lack of character development (insert annoying characters) and the fizzling of important details felt like another kick in the teeth.
“My Darling Girl” is a psychological thriller that employs elements of folk horror. Alison never had an amicable relationship with her famous mother, Mavis Holland. Their mother's inebriated behavior had been a spectral thorn to her and her brother since their father’s suicide. As they grew up, they decided to move on with their individual lives, forgetting all about their hateful mother until recently, when the latter was diagnosed with cancer. With days to live, Mavis requested to live with Alison until the remainder of her life. Despite Alison’s inhibitions that her mother’s stay might open up old wounds, she decided it was for the best. But then eerie things started happening - strange things that were beginning to affect Alison’s family. Will she be brave enough to confront her past to protect her children, or will she remain the gullible Ali Alligator who allowed her mother to carve out her skin with strange symbols?
The prologue hooked me in, no doubt. With this book's intriguing storyline, I'm excited to see how it approaches demonic possession. The first chapter alone convinced me: all it took was an eerie atmosphere, unsettling imagery, and a mother’s questionable descent into madness. As the plot unfolds, the foreboding grows as I anticipate how the story will proceed. Several horror motifs were also present, including the lament of a dying bird and buzzing flies as metaphors for decay and death. All the elements that make a horror story good have been marked off the list.
However, the promise of a terrifying tale eventually falls flat in execution. There was a surplus of info dumping and lengthy internal monologue at the expense of a riveting plot. The author - wanting to establish the unreliable narrator route - focused too much on cyclic internal dialogue. The result is having too many unresolved and untapped loose ends. I was expecting a more detailed take on the entity's origin and a more gripping ending—instead, the book centered on the narrator’s internal musings.
The author’s ability to capture the readers with a gripping start is evident. Despite the initial dramatic tension and spine-tingling moments, the ending left the readers with many missed opportunities. The lack of character development (insert annoying characters) and the fizzling of important details felt like another kick in the teeth.