Book Review for Magnolia House by Kathryn Trattner

I received this book for free. This does not impact my review in any shape or form.

Magnolia House, by Kathryn Trattner, is a gothic mystery about confronting horrifically haunting abuse to carve a future, regardless of what that may look like. The book is separated into different days, all of which centered around the death of Vivian Taylor, a beloved community figure who was more demonic than she originally appears. Her daughter, Emma Taylor, is tasked with ensuring that everything is in order, from organizing her mother’s funeral to handling the horrifying legacy that was Magnolia House. Despite her disgust for her mother, Emma Taylor takes it upon herself to oversee her mother’s postmortem affairs. She drives to the small town of Back of Beyond, where sinister secrets come to life. Emma suddenly finds herself drawn into Vivian’s life, as she tries to escape her mother’s shadow cradling Magnolia House.

I’m sure that, by writing this review, Vivian would be excited. Not because her murders were about to be revealed, or that she was a liar and had made a fool of most of everyone in this town, but because she wanted the attention. It might not be good attention, but she still got attention. She reminded me of a child who will do anything as long as the spotlight is trained on them. Emma, her now deceased husband, Andrew, the Pastor, even Jake; as long as someone was paying attention to her she didn’t care how many lives she’d ruined. I wished I knew more about the relationship Vivian had with Jake though; it’d be interesting to see how Vivian nurtured her obsession towards him and to see what her thought process was at the time. She definitely reminds me of the late Mrs. de Winters from Rebecca; her narcissistic tendencies must’ve been something to behold.

I also can’t help but wonder if Emma is following in her mother’s footsteps. I was happy when she found a place to belong, and personally, I was excited that she was able to rely on people during her mother’s late abuse, however few they might be. However, I do see some of Vivian’s tendencies in her, especially in the end when she tries to ask Jake to come with her. Whether it be out of circumstance or because she picked up one or two bad habits when growing up with her mother, I can’t say.

That being said, this entire book reminds me of a scene from American Horror Story: Coven. It was how, when a mother sees her daughter, they see their life and death, and with Vivian, it seemed she saw more of her death in Emma. It was almost like Vivian was sucking away Emma’s soul, even after all the pain she’d gone through. It’s shown time and time again when Emma can’t go against any of the townsfolk, and when she hallucinates (or experiences) her mother’s ghost attacking her. Then again, mothers tearing down daughters isn’t a new concept in history. There’s a reason the patriarchy has lasted as long as it did. 

Again, I wished the history between Jake and Vivian was more fleshed out. I would’ve loved to know more about Vivian’s mental state, as well as the fallout of what happened after Vivian’s secret was found out. I may be giving Vivian more attention than she deserves, but I’m not gonna lie; she makes a very intriguing character. As such, I loved the book and would give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

You can buy the book here!