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A new mom in need of help opens her door to her long-estranged mother—only to invite something much darker inside—in this "fast-paced and frightening debut" (Rachel Harrison) about the long shadows cast by family secrets.
Flora is a new mom enamored of her baby girl, Iris, who has arrived a few weeks early. But with her husband still deployed, Flora must navigate the newborn stage alone. As the sleepless nights pass in the loneliness of their half-empty home, the edges of her reality begin to blur.
Just as Flora becomes convinced she is losing her mind, a surprising guest shows up to help: Flora's own mother, to whom she hasn't spoken in years. Can they mend their fraught relationship? Or is there more that Flora's mother isn't telling her about the events that led to their estrangement?
As stranger and scarier events unfold, Flora begins to fear that her mother's secrets have allowed something truly evil to enter her home. She must decide: is her hold on reality slipping dangerously away? Or is she, in fact, the only thing standing between a terrifying visitor and her baby?
"A fast-paced and frightening debut that explores the nightmares of new motherhood, with plenty of twists and scares." ―Rachel Harrison, bestselling author of Black Sheep
"A raw and challenging rumination on motherhood and inherited trauma. Compassionate and compelling, Walters is a talent to watch." ―Sarah Langan, author of Good Neighbors and A Better World
"A truly terrifying exploration of maternal instinct, mental health, and the complex bonds between mothers and daughters. Jacquie Walters is a horror writer to watch." ―Robyn Harding, author of The Drowning Woman
This information about Dearest was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jacquie Walters is an Emmy-nominated writer who has sold five pilots in the last three years. She is currently adapting Melissa de la Cruz's bestselling book series Blue Bloods for television and has placed projects at Apple TV+, ABC Network, Paramount Plus, iTV, CJ Entertainment (PARASITE), and others. In all, she has written and produced over 100 episodes of television. Jacquie graduated from the Novel Writing Program at Stanford University and is passionate about layered mysteries, psychological anomalies, and characters with everything to hide. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two children, and beloved Golden Retriever.
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