Garden of Shadows
Written by V. C. Andrews

1987 *** 376 pages

The last of the original five Dollanganger books, Garden of Shadows may just be the most fascinating of the series, even if it's not the best written. A prequel to the others, Garden of Shadows introduces us to the "wicked" grandmother from Flowers in the Attic as a young woman, meeting and marrying Malcolm Foxworth. Throughout the course of this book, we actually grow to empathize with her, and we learn some shocking secrets about the Foxworth family. It's great at making all the pieces fall into place nicely, giving new depth to a story that is already quite complicated.