Midnight Mother
Desiree Horton
Baynam Books Press, 2024
ISBN-10: 1917885725
ISBN-13: 978-1917885720
Ebook, 329 ppg.
Leda remembers the last night living in her home with her mother and siblings very well. She remembers the shock, terror and horror of it all, the terrible news the family received that night, and how that was the very last time her family was an actual family. Since her mother was found with her own fingers chewed off, she was institutionalized, while Leda and her brother, Sam, were separated, with Leda going into the foster care system. So she is not all that broken up or distraught when, years later, she receives the news that her mother – “Midnight Mother” as she had called her – is dead. In this gripping and terrifying novel, Midnight Mother by Desiree Horton, Leda must return to the house of horrors she and her brothers lived in to clean it up and prepare it for sale – but Leda is haunted by horrifying memories from her past, so it’s not a task she is looking forward to!
And add to this the fact that strange, supernatural experiences keep happening to Leda on her way to this town, as well as while at her mother’s service, and it’s a perfect storm of terror and shock!
Unfortunately, Leda is the only person these very strange things are happening to. That is, until she reunites with Sam. Also coincidentally, she’s the only member of the family who one day ended up at the bottom of the family mine in a nest of baby snakes (unscathed!) and with strange dreams linked to that experience ever since.
When Leda returns to her old stomping grounds, she discovers that she has some very real problems to contend with: Being around a brother that hates her and an aunt not only suspicious of her but convinced that Leda might as well be the antichrist. It is only Vincent, Sam’s boyfriend, who is there to constantly break the ice and act as mediator between the siblings. I LOVED the character Vincent! He is so likable and endearing. He withholds judgment of everyone and tries to keep the peace in situations he is in.
As to Leda, I totally understood her nervousness and anxiety at being back at the old homestead. My family was constantly moving around, so there’s really no place I could call “home” from my past, but I too had some dark experiences in my past (mostly from my dad and younger brother!), so I get it. I do. Once that sort of thing is survived, there’s no going back. I mean, yes, those dark memories are recounted in therapy, but going back to where it all happened? No thanks. Hard pass.
What I didn’t understand, though, was the whole mystery surrounding the snake symbolism in the story. Sure, there are hundreds of myths, legends and symbolic interpretations attached to the snake, but I was trying to figure out what role this symbolism played in the story.
So I kept reading, and a bit at a time, some answers were revealed. But that wasn’t what kept me reading this story. What kept me reading was how terrifying this story was. So much weird and scary stuff kept happening. I wanted to find out what happened next, and if the characters in those scenes would survive those terrifying things! The story had me on the edge of my seat as I kept reading chapter after chapter.
I also understood Sam trying to constantly remain the skeptic despite all the crazy things that kept happening. Even the things that actually TERRIFIED him. It’s like, if he didn’t give that stuff a single ounce of belief that it was supernatural, it wasn’t real or that it would go away. But I think this was his defense mechanism, considering the kind of childhood he had when he lived with his mother.
There were indeed some VERY terrifying things taking place in this story! So much so that, when I did reach the end, I couldn’t believe the horrifying and thrilling story I had just read! After I finished reading it, I exclaimed, “This book is awesome!!” It really is.
Midnight Mother is a horrifying story of unresolved family disputes and a haunting legend as old as the earth itself. With constant thrills and chills, this novel will keep readers on the edge of their seats and sleeping with their lights on!
Five stars
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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