Review: Her Dark Inheritance by Meg Hafdahl

 Disclaimer: I received e-book versions of this novel and it's follow up Daughters of Darkness from Author Meg Hafdahl in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was recently given the opportunity to review the first two books of the Willoughby Chronicles by Author Meg Hafdahl. This post is in regards to the first book in the series, Her Dark Inheritance.

Daphne Forest, shocked by her mother's deathbed confession of living under an assumed identity and of her family's tragic murders, sets off to Willoughby, Minnesota, to learn the truth of her mother's existence while also dealing with her own dark past.

Willoughby, MN is your normal blue collar town where everyone knows each other, and all their dirty secrets. At night, it becomes a whole different environment where the citizenry knows not to venture out in the dark.

Once in town, Daphne meets townspeople who remember the murders of her mother's family well,  and learns that the town has even built up a tourism trade built around being where the Bergman family were murdered and how the "Minnesota Borden", Daphne's mother, got away with murdering her parents and twin brother and left town never to be seen again.

Afraid of how the town will react, Daphne, goes incognito while seeking to prove her mother's innocence with the help of Edwin, a local man who works at the hotel where Daphne is staying, who also believes that Willoughby has a dark side it is hiding. 

I really enjoyed reading this book. While there is a slow burn learning about Daphne's own secret, the story was fast paced, there is great character development, and development of the town of Willoughby was outstanding. I found it refreshing that the story is told by two main characters, Daphne in the present, and her mother in the past. Neither of the main characters are perfect, they are both flawed individuals who have secrets they want to keep hidden at all costs.  I finished reading the story in two days, moving through it quickly because the story was compelling and the twists kept me from wanting to put the book down. 

I will be starting book two in the Willoughby Chronicles, Daughters of Darkness, as soon as possible  because I want to see what becomes of Daphne and Edwin as well as what secrets the town of Willoughby is still hiding. I can't wait until my next trip to Willoughby.

 

5/5 Stars

Review: Writing in the Dark by Tim Waggoner

 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Writing in the Dark from author Tim Waggoner for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

I am a wannabe writer who has not put pen to paper to craft a story in over a decade. When I first learned that Tim Waggoner was about to release a writing textbook, I knew I needed to get my hands on a copy of it. 

Reading Writing in the Dark feels as if I'm getting a self-paced one-on-one horror writing class from Mr. Waggoner. The lessons are concise, to the point, and entertaining. The exercises at the end of the chapters reinforce what was covered in the chapter in ways that make you take a deeper look at your own writing, as well as reading the writing of other authors you may emulate. I also enjoyed the advice of a who's who of modern age horror writing. 

Mr. Waggoner was kind enough to give me a copy to review, but I will be buying a physical copy to annotate and keep with my other writing reference books. I have the feeling this book will be used more than most on my shelf.

5/5 Stars