The Christmas Bell: A Horror Novel by L.A. Detwiler

 

When Candace Mills, 26, heads home for the holidays to visit her mother and ailing grandmother, she's expecting a peaceful, dull Christmas. She has no idea, though, that a single Christmas ornament is about to send her into a whirling chasm of evil.

It starts with the Christmas bell, scratched and worn in one of Grandma Anne's boxes in the attic. Once they put it on the tree, Grandma Anne starts to say terrifying things and act strangely. Candace and her mother assume it's her dementia talking—until they start to have dangerous encounters with a fiendish being.

As the secrets of Anne's past involving her twin sister rise to the surface, the women face sinister horrors from a dark force looking for revenge.

This was a quick read, more novella length than novel.

Candace has not been home to see her mother in quite some time, and will come to regret this visit. All seems well at first, what could be nicer than catching up with old friends and seeing Grandma Anne for the holidays? Grandma has recently had to move in with her daughter (Candace's mom Marian) since she can no longer care for herself and keep up with her own home. Many of her belongings are banished to Marian's attic since there just isn't room. When Candace discovers the strange looking Christmas bell in one of her boxes she thinks it would be a nice thing to do for Grandma to put it on the tree. Turns out it wasn't nice, for anyone! Grandma has some very disturbing secrets and the bell is the catalyst that uncovers them, putting the whole family and Candace's friends in danger. I found the mother /daughter dynamic to be fascinating. Generations of women, going all the way back to Anne's mother did some pretty disturbing things that they convinced themselves was for the good of the family.

Get a copy

About the author
L.A. Detwiler is a USA TODAY bestselling author and high school English teacher from Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. During her final year at Mount Aloysius College, she started writing her first fiction novel, which was published in 2015. She has also written articles that have appeared in several women’s publications and websites. L.A. Detwiler lives in her hometown with her husband, Chad. They have five cats and a mastiff named Henry.

Her debut thriller with Avon Books/HarperCollins, The Widow Next Door, was a USA TODAY Bestseller. The One Who Got Away releases February 19th with One More Chapter/HarperCollins, and The Diary of a Serial Killer's Daughter releases March 12, 2020