Cushla

On a snowy Christmas morning, Holly Judge awakens with the fragments of a nightmare floating on the edge of her consciousness. Something followed them from Russia. Thirteen years ago, she and her husband Eric adopted baby Tatty, their pretty, black-haired Rapunzel, from the Pokrovka Orphanage #2. Now, at fifteen, Tatiana is more beautiful than ever—and disturbingly erratic.
As a blizzard rages outside, Holly and Tatiana are alone. With each passing hour, Tatiana’s mood darkens, and her behaviour becomes increasingly frightening . . . until Holly finds she no longer recognizes her daughter.


Read this in one session late into the night, unable to stop a growing sense of dread. Something is wrong, very wrong here but you cannot even begin to guess. You can tell the author is a poet by the repeated rhythms and phrases especially "something followed them home from Russia". The rambling, obsessive inner dialogue of Holly the mother is broken up by the increasingly strange behaviour of Tatty the daughter. It may be slow and repetitive but stick with it and you will be rewarded with an ending that will haunt you for a long time to come.

The last page is like a slap in the face.....