Thursday, January 17, 2013

"Everything a great suspense novel should be—tense, emotional, mysterious and satisfying. Let's hope this is the start of a long career." -- Lee Child

 

Jenny Milchman’s Cover of Snow is a remarkable debut, a gripping tale of suspense in the tradition of Gillian Flynn, Chris Bohjalian, and Nancy Pickard.

Waking up one wintry morning in her old farmhouse nestled in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, Nora Hamilton instantly knows that something is wrong. When her fog of sleep clears, she finds her world is suddenly, irretrievably shattered: Her husband, Brendan, has committed suicide.

The first few hours following Nora’s devastating discovery pass for her in a blur of numbness and disbelief. Then, a disturbing awareness slowly settles in: Brendan left no note and gave no indication that he was contemplating taking his own life. Why would a rock-solid police officer with unwavering affection for his wife, job, and quaint hometown suddenly choose to end it all? Having spent a lifetime avoiding hard truths, Nora must now start facing them.

Unraveling her late husband’s final days, Nora searches for an explanation—but finds a bewildering resistance from Brendan’s best friend and partner, his fellow police officers, and his brittle mother. It quickly becomes clear to Nora that she is asking questions no one wants to answer. For beneath the soft cover of snow lies a powerful conspiracy that will stop at nothing to keep its presence unknown . . . and its darkest secrets hidden.

Jackie says:
"You might have heard this author's name before because she is the mover and the shaker behind Bring Your Child To A Bookstore Day, which is now celebrated in all 50 states and four foreign countries. She's energetic, driven, and boy, can she write a spine-tingling mystery! 

This book begins with a shocking suicide of a small town policeman that leaves his devastated widow trying to understand. It starts with her finding out her husband sedated her the night he hung himself. More and more strange things and old secrets become known to her about her tight-lipped town, to the point of threatening her life as she tries to unravel the secrets her husband had been holding, and might have died for. This book is fast paced and full of twists and turns that give you glimpses of answers which slowly pull together to a truly hideous secret that goes back decades.

This is a book that will keep you up all night, gasping at the reveals. It's truly an outstanding debut novel, and Jenny Milchman is definitely a writer to keep your eye on."

3 comments:

Katy Hedrick said...

This one seems really interesting. I love those small town murder mysteries that have a new twist at every page turn. I just finished Blood Land by R.S. Guthrie, and it was much like that and I really enjoyed it. I would suggest it as well, rsguthrie.com. This one I am adding to my list to be read for sure! Thanks for the review!

Mark Stevens said...

Agree with Jackie ! I was lucky enough to have her stop by my blog earlier this week, if anyone is interested.

-- Mark

Mark Stevens said...

Oops forgot the link:
http://markhstevens.wordpress.com/

Thanks, Mark