I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Killer in the Snow (DI James Walker series, Book 2) by Alex Pine
Published by Avon Publishing on October 28, 2021
ISBN: 9780008453398
Genres: Fiction, Crime, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Small Town & Rural, Action & Adventure, Thrillers, Suspense, General
Pages: 400
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
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The first fall of snow can be fatal...
A year has passed since DI James Walker cracked his biggest case yet, and he’s hoping for peace and quiet this festive season.
But across the fells, a local farmer returns home on Christmas Eve to find footsteps in the fresh snow that lead down to his unused basement – and no footsteps leading away. Days later, his body is found, alongside those of his wife and daughter.
Without a neighbour for miles, there are no witnesses and little evidence. And the crime scene has strange echoes of another terrible murder committed at the farmhouse, twenty years earlier...
James knows that to catch this killer, he needs to solve a case that has long since gone cold...
Perfect for fans of smash-hit TV series Whitehouse Farm, Simon McCleave’s The Snowdonia Killings and Catherine Cooper’s The Chalet.
Readers love The Killer in the Snow:
‘I loved this book! It is dark, gritty and thrilling ... It is fast-paced and has you hooked from the first few pages. I devoured this book in two sittings.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Dang! Now this was one heck of a story! If you want suspense, thrills and chills, then this is your book!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A chilling page turner’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘WOW! This book had me hooked from the first page, I didn’t want to put it down and this was one of the twistiest and most complicated murder cases I’ve ever read about.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Another fantastic book from Alex Pine!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I loved this book and enjoyed every minute of it. There were so many twists, turns and surprises on just about every page.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘DI James Walker is fast becoming a favourite of mine along with Alex Pine being one of my top authors.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Very few authors can keep me engrossed in a story from the beginning, through the middle until the very end. Alex Pine has done just that with The Killer in the Snow. The cover initially pulled me in, but I stayed for the storyline. A family massacre with mother, father and daughter killed in cold blood. It initially looks like a murder-suicide but as the investigation delves deeper it’s found to have dark connotations to a similar murder/suicide on the same property twenty-four years ago. Are the two connected? Or is this a deathly case of coincidence?

If you’ve been a follower of my blog for any length of time, you’ll know that I don’t hand out 5 stars willy nilly – The Killer in the Snow deserves all the stars. I read it in about 6 hours, I found myself transfixed to the spot. The case kept throwing up curveballs and it took everything for me to dodge them. The prologue left me feeling like a moth to the flame…I knew it could kill me to go too close, but the magnetic pull was too strong to ignore.

The prose in The Killer in the snow is deadly. Pine depicts a picture so resolute in its intensity. The weather hints at a further undertone of danger. It feels isolated, wind sweeping across the fells, it gives the impression that the cold could let in a stranger. A knife hidden behind the back – a sardonic smile, hidden intentions to harm. Three dead family members, an isolated farmhouse in Cumbria, and a concealed room in the cellar that seems to have been used to spy on the family. Financial woes, an unhappy wife, and a daughter with drink and drug issues. Was this enough for the husband to flip and kill his family?

Pine doesn’t beat around the bush with the reveals or twists, he delivers it without ceremony – what you see is what you get, and it feels like a hammer blow. Two days after Christmas DI James Walker is called out to a farmhouse on the outskirts of Kirkby Abbey a village near Cumbria. Things aren’t clear cut, and he still has the threat of Sullivan still on the horizon, he needs to protect himself and his wife but that’s a side plot with serious implications. He has several suspects in custody for the triple murder but not enough evidence to charge any of them. Is it the boyfriend of the murdered daughter who was cheating on her and has previous for small-time crimes? Or could it be the ex-employee who was fired for stealing from the family? Time is running out and still, the team can’t find that one bit of vital evidence that will nail them bang to rights.

The Killer in the Snow grabs you with its stealthy grip from page one with its vivid settings and realistic characters. The pages practically turn themselves.