Almost a year ago I read Craig Nybo's Dead Girl, a quirky, gritty, fantastic story of death and haunting in a small town. Last week I finished another story, different author, different town, but both had believable characters, an engaging story and enough creepiness to entertain without overpowering.
Caryn Larrinaga's Donn's Hill introduces us to Makenzie "Mac" Clair, a woman taking control of her life by moving across the country to a town she used to visit as a child with her mother, Donn's Hill. There's history in Donn's Hill and unbeknownst to Mac, the history involves more than just Mac's childhood memories--it involves deceit, spurned romances, murder, and the paranormal. And Mac's family is deep in the middle of all of it.
Larrinaga creates a character in Mac that's both tough and vulnerable at the same time. She moved and completely uprooted her life because of a cheating boyfriend. Upon returning to the community she remembered with fond childhood memories, she quickly finds there's more to the small town than she could have possibly imagined.
We learn, as Mac does, of the town's secrets. We learn of her family's and the town's history with ghosts and hauntings. What I enjoyed most was the story grew organically. We get to know Mac, understand her anxieties, feel for her as she gets a job and finds friends, which include a curious cat. The story is excellently paced with the creepiness building as the story continues.
From the cover, you might imagine the story containing many of the typical paranormal tropes found in many stories. Yes, there are some, but I know I didn't mind--the character's in Larrinaga's Donn's Hill are real enough that I lived the experience with them and enjoyed the ride the whole time.
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