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Book Reviews of The Winter People: A Novel

The Winter People: A Novel
The Winter People A Novel
Author: Jennifer McMahon
ISBN-13: 9780385538497
ISBN-10: 0385538499
Publication Date: 2/11/2014
Pages: 336
Rating:
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 39

3.6 stars, based on 39 ratings
Publisher: Doubleday
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

4 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

23dollars avatar reviewed The Winter People: A Novel on + 432 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
THE WINTER PEOPLE was the October 2014 pick in my online book club, The Reading Coveand I'm happy to say I really enjoyed this book!

The story is richly layered and complex, with a spooky and creepy tone that carries you through with the mystery of what the heck's going on in this little Vermont town! It shifts back and forth between the events of the early 1900s and how they echo right into the narrative of the present-day characters.

I could hardly put the book down in the last 100 or so pages, needing to find out exactly what had happened and where things were going. And it was awesome that it was in no way predictable.

If you like ghost stories with a strong foundation in the real world, and a healthy dose of supernatural thriller (and even if it's not generally your cuppa), I think you'll enjoy THE WINTER PEOPLE. It's creepysomething I tend to shy away frombut it was mild enough to enhance the mystery without being excessive.

I give it a B+ and will certainly read more from this author!


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njmom3 avatar reviewed The Winter People: A Novel on + 1388 more book reviews
The Winter People addresses the question, "If you'd lost someone you love, wouldn't you give almost anything to have the chance to see them again?" Parts of the book are scary. Parts are emotional and sad - the loss of a child, the loss of a spouse, the desire to touch someone who is gone just one more time. The whole thing keeps you guessing and is an entertaining read.

Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/03/the-winter-people.html

*** Reviewed for GoodReads First Reads program ***
kimberlyrav avatar reviewed The Winter People: A Novel on + 417 more book reviews
100 star book. Book of the Year! Best book read in years for me. Fantastic! I couldn't say enough about how superb this book is!
You will find you can not lay this book down for even a minute. I couldn't get enough, I had to keep turning the pages.

Bouncing between the 1800's and present day, you are quickly immersed into a place you do not want to come away from. A place where you can bring back the ones you love for up to 7 days at most. There is another way to have one stay forever, but it is rare and only one has done, so far.

I am sure at some point this book may end up a movie. Get this book now! I loved it!
reviewed The Winter People: A Novel on + 175 more book reviews
Have you ever known grief?

Grief so paralyzing, so mind-numbing, and so soul crushing that you can't breathe? The one you cherished and adored has died. And, in the depth of your sorrow did you wish that your beloved could come back to you?

Sara Harrison Shea, living in West Hall, Vermont, in 1908 knows that kind of desperation. Her daughter, 8-year-old Gertie, has been found at the bottom of an abandoned and very deep well on their farm property.

In the present day, Ruthie and Fawn live with their mother, Alice, in the same farmhouse where Sara grieved so long ago. One day, Alice goes missing, and as the girls search for clues, they stumble upon an old diary hidden in the floorboards, along with a strange cache of other mysterious items. Do these things have any relevance to the reason their mother has vanished?

As Ruthie and Fawn try to find their mother, they also connect with two other women who are drawn to their farmhouse and the surrounding woods.

West Hall has long been filled with rumors of the "Winter People" -- the "sleepers" or the ones that died but now are sighted in the woods near a rock formation called the Devil's Hand. Is there any truth to the stories that claim that Sara's old Auntie had the power to bring the dead back to life? And that others knew the secret -- and could have used it??

As Ruthie and Fawn delve deeper into the mystery, they realize that they are connected to Sara and have a legacy rooted in what might be dark magic -- or is it just superstition and old silly folk tales passed on through the generations who might be trying to explain the unexplainable.

Fast-paced, creepy, and chilling -- I raced through the pages as the story is told in alternating points of view and shifts backward and forward in time from 1908 to present day.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys a little supernatural horror ghost story!

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the e-book ARC to review.