My Two Cents (Book Review): THE BREAKING OF MONA HILL by Christy Aldridge

If you subscribe to my newsletter, you'll know that on October 4, Horrorsmith Publishing sponsored a fun annual promotional event called Terrify Your Tablet, in which hundreds of authors (myself included!) gave away free or 99-cent copies of some of their available titles. I don't know about anyone else, but I took full advantage of the opportunity and loaded my Kindle with a ton of new reads. Since then, in between my own writing, editing, and life in general, I've started to make my way through them.

The first I read was THE BREAKING OF MONA HILL by Christy Aldridge. In full transparency, Christy is the cover artist for my novella "Prairie Madness" from Baynam Books, and it was the cover for "The Breaking of Mona Hill" that compelled me to snag a copy. It's absolutely gorgeous, just like all of Christy's artwork. And just like her art, Christy's writing is dark, twisted, and at times, lovely or brutal.

"The Breaking of Mona Hill" is the story of the eponymous Mona, a timid and sensitive adolescent whose gentle nature stands in stark contrast to her cruel, sadistic, and all-too often sick family. The story explores themes of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse/incest, and how poor Mona, pushed to the absolute brink of despair, attempts to escape. About midway through, the story takes a sharp turn and presents a unique and clever take on the demon-possession top, but Aldridge saves the final grim twist for the very end -- and it packs an emotional wallop.

This isn't a story you walk away liking, not because the writing isn't terrific or the story poorly done, but because it goes to some pretty dark places, reminding readers that sometimes the most horrifying things aren't monsters lurking in the dark, but rather beyond our own front doors.

"The Breaking of Mona Hill" is available here.