My Darling Girl - Jennifer McMahon

Alison has never been a fan of Christmas. Growing up with her mother Mavis’s alcoholism and violent abuse, Alison survived a traumatic childhood and built an idyllic life in rural Vermont with her husband, Mark, and their two daughters.

Then comes a phone call that threatens to unearth it all: Mavis has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and has only weeks to live. She wants to spend her final days under Alison's roof.

Reluctant yet desperate for the healing and closure she has always dreamed of, Alison agrees to take her mother in. At first, Mavis seems frail, sweet, and charming—especially with the younger grandkids.

Soon, however, unsettling and otherworldly occurrences begin to poison the household. As holiday cheer warps into a waking nightmare, Alison is forced to suspect that the woman in her guest room isn't her mother at all—and she must face how far she will go to protect the family she loves.