This was dark and lovely.

 

I think this book turned me from being intrigued by Jennifer McMahon to being moderately obsessed with her storylines.

 

She definitely does "family" horror, if that term makes any sense. There is a sense of belonging that acts beyond the grave in the novels of hers I have read, and this is no different in that regard.

 

I loved the jumping back and forth between time periods so that you, as the reader, could slowly link things together and see the patterns forming. I did make a few valid guesses on what was going on, but not all of them were correct, and I did not quite see the ending coming, which is always fun.

 

On some level, Amy is the central character, but she is certainly not the main character in any real sense. The story starts with her gone, and then fills things in around that event, both before and after. The ramifications of the whole plot, of the effects it has had on Margo and Piper and the whole community, are the other central focus.

 

There was a beautiful moment where everything came together, one of those "lightning bolt" moments that I have always loved so much when reading, where the past and the future connect with the present and you realize there is only one possible way the book can explain things. Those moments are one of the things that continue to drive me to read, and this novel, like the previous McMahon book I read, had that moment hit at just the right time.

 

This is absolutely a creepy story. I'm not sure how terrified you'll be reading it, but it is the sort of story that makes you look over your shoulder and consider what that small noise is while you're reading. Jennifer McMahon realizes that what you hide in the shadows is just as important as what you actively reveal, and also generally much scarier, and it's nice to see a creepy book where the scariest moments don't involve any real gore.

 

I enjoyed this quite a bit, and it's something that will stay with me for quite some time, I think, much as her The Winter People did. I'll be interested in seeing what she does next.