The Winter People - Book Review

Less than twenty pages into The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon my skin prickled with goosebumps and I was intrigued by the creepiness of the characters and setting in this story of secrets, ghosts and murder.

1908 : In a little village in Vermont, Sara lives with her husband Martin and her beloved daughter Gertie in her ancestral home. She warns Martin not to spend time in the lower pastures near the woods and a rock formation known to locals as the Devil's Hand and adamantly insists that he rebury the old, bone ring he discovered in the fields. Their lives unravel quickly when Gertie goes missing and then is discovered dead at the bottom of a nearby well.

Present day : Ruthie comes home after curfew expecting to get a lecture from her mother. Instead, it becomes apparent that her mother is missing. Caring for her six year old sister, Ruthie sets out to find her mother, discovering Sara's diary in a secret crevice of the old farm house. Old rumors and legends surrounding Gertie's death and Sara's murder haunt Ruthie as she searches for her mother.

Every now and then I enjoy an especially spooky ghost story. The Winter People expertly delivered this with what I like to call "awesome creepy". It seems an odd way to describe a ghost story but there was a certain amount of truth and enough plausibility to the masterfully orchestrated plot that as I read the novel each night I had to actually remind myself that it wasn't real. Between the Vermont old farm house setting and the touch of madness in the characters, it came alive and added that extra legitimacy to the story.

I loved this novel from the very beginning but the twists and turns and eventual ending did not disappoint. The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon is the perfect novel to give you the shivers this winter.

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon was published by Doubleday in February 2014.


**I received a complimentary copy of The Winter People in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. No additional compensation was received.**