The Blurb:
‘Fear the north wind. Because no one will hear you scream…’
A family is gunned down in the snow but one of the children survives. Three years on, that child takes revenge and the Snow Killer is born. But then, nothing - no further crimes are committed, and the case goes cold.
Fifty years later, has the urge to kill been reawakened? As murder follows murder, the detective team tasked with solving the crimes struggle with the lack of leads. It’s a race against time and the weather – each time it snows another person dies.
As an exhausted and grizzled DI Barton and his team scrabble to put the pieces of the puzzle together, the killer is hiding in plain sight. Meanwhile, the murders continue…
The first in a new series, Ross Greenwood has written a cracking, crackling crime story with a twist in its tale which will surprise even the most hardened thriller readers. Perfect for fans of Mark Billingham and Stuart MacBride.
The Snow Killer was published by Boldwood Books on 12th November 2019 and is available to purchase here.
My Review:
The book opens fifty years ago with a young family shot dead in rural Lincolnshire on a snowy winter night. But one child miraculously survives and is smuggled out of hospital by an uncle who provides a home for a while. A few years after the family die, more bodies are found in the snow and all have suffered violent deaths. The perpetrator is nicknamed the Snow Killer but never found.
Fast forward 50 years and it's a snowy winter once again. DI Barton and his team are called to investigate the murder of a young man with loose connections to a local drugs operation. Barton struggles to find a motive for the crime and there were no witnesses. But this is just the beginning...
I liked John Barton a lot. He is, or certainly seems to be, refreshingly problem free, He has a happy home life and an understanding wife, no difficult past, no heavy drink problem and no big issues at work. His team is a strong unit with a couple of stand out characters. I loved Zander, who has experienced real heartache but is coming through the other side.
The story is told from the first person point of view of the killer and from Barton's point of view in the third person. It's an effective strategy and keeps things fresh, kept me turning the pages. I made assumptions as I read which led to some twisty, unexpected reveals. Greenwood has created a very unusual antagonist - I certainly can't think of another one similar. And he appears to have undertaken a fair level of research to be able to do so effectively.
The Snow Killer is a story about hatred and revenge, and being aware of those around you. It features an engaging, likeable central character and an unusual antagonist. The ending is shocking, explosive, sad and alters one small community forever. I very much enjoyed it.
The Author:
'I was born in 1973 in Peterborough and lived there until I was 20, attending The King's School in the city. I then began a rather nomadic existence, living and working all over the country and various parts of the world.
'I'd find myself returning to Peterborough many times over the years, usually when things had gone wrong. It was on one of these occasions that I met my partner about 100 metres from my back door whilst walking a dog. Two children swiftly followed. I'm still a little stunned by the pace of it now.
'Fifty Years of Fear book was started a long time ago but parenthood and then after working in sales management all my life, I randomly spent four years as a prison officer. Ironically it was the 4am feed which gave me the opportunity to finish the book as unable to get back to sleep I completed it in the early morning hours.
'I've now written seven further books. My second book, The Boy Inside, was picked up by a publisher, and Lazy Blood is also out. All my books are thought provoking, and told with a sense of humour. Reading the reviews has been great.
'The first three books are stand alone, however, some of the characters cross over, and you can see how at times, their lives overlap.
'Abel's Revenge is something a bit different. It's a modern day love story set against the backdrop of an escalating serial killer. There's a whodunnit element to it, and some smiles along the way.
'Shadows of Regret was inspired by my time on the women's side of the jail in Peterborough, and analyses the close relationship between victim and villain. You won't have read a book like it.
'My best selling detective series started with The Snow Killer in late 2019 and sold 40,000 copies in the first 6 months.
'I hope you enjoy reading them.'
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