Girl in Snow is certainly a thriller. Lucinda Hayes, a pretty and popular 15 y/o girl has been found dead in the elementary school playground, and Kukafka will take us through a non-traditional approach to untangle the mystery. My take on the low ratings is that some people were expecting a "whodunit" with a straight-line directed plot, and that's not what Girl in Snow is.

The story is divided in three days of a cold week in February in the small town of Broomsville, Colorado. Kukafka chose three characters to tell the tale in their unique point of view:

1. Cameron, an awkward teenager obsessed with Lucinda who engages in odd behaviors, including stalking. He's the odd ball in town. Marked in many ways by trauma after his father, a former cop, abandoned him and his mother under dishonorable circumstances. A character has said about him "he's the guy who would bring a gun to school." The town's weirdo, dealing with his own fears. He's the easiest and most obvious person to blame for Lucinda's death.

2. Jade, the tough, fat-girl from school who people don't want around. Her own mother has told her she's got a heart of stone. Jade likes to irritate people and act rough, but we get to see her kind and soft side as she protects her sister from their mother's physical abuse, and by the kindness, she demonstrates when she hangs out with the local homeless. She wants to be a writer and composes scripts in her head. She didn't like Lucinda much. Lucinda was all she couldn't be, and Lucinda took away things from her.

3. Russ, the sort of pathetic local cop whose life does not amount to much and you wonder "why do I have to read about him?" "How is he relevant or connected to this story?" Russ married Inés, a Mexican beauty he met at a park. His entire existence is so sad and lonely. He misses his best friend, Lee Whitley. Cameron's Dad. Even though it's been years that he took off without saying goodbye, Russ can't seem to get over their broken friendship. Russ also made a promise, and he's going to make good for it, even if that means placing the blame on an innocent person.

Kukafka is skilled in revealing the layers and depths of each of the characters presented in the story, including Lucinda. Her prose flows easy and the words are chosen carefully. Lucinda's death is the spine gluing all the pieces together, but there is more to the story than discovering who killed her. The book has an eery and ghostly ambiance. It's this disturbing eeriness what makes me keep going. Her vivid descriptions of Colorado transport you right to the small town of Broomsville on that particular week of February.

I thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest review. I struggled to put this book down, and I will certainly read more books by the author.

An affecting exploration of adolescence, a convincing character study wrapped up in a murder mystery.

I received this book from Netgalley to read and review.
This is about a young teenage girl who is found dead in a town in Colorado. The girl Lucinda was perceived to be a nice girl but had a dark side to her personality. The book is very slow paced and follows the thoughts and lives of three people involved in this mystery. The first is the boy from school, Cameron, who lives next door and stalks her because he is totally obsessed with her. The other character is Jade. Jade grew up with Lucinda but hates her because she took away the boy she loved. The book also follows Russ, the police officer, who has a troubled marriage and a past secret that is eating him up. The story delves into the lives of these three people and how this murder affects each one of them.

I have never read a book by Danya Kukafka before, but the synopsis drew me in. This sounded right up my alley as a murder mystery with three different viewpoints looking at the same situation.

The story follows the police officer investigating the murder, the boy possibly guilty for her murder, and the girl who would have loved to be her. It was incredibly interesting and insightful as to the way different people, from different background, and different vantage points see things. It also showed a great deal of how sometimes people looking in from the outside can take something out of context and misunderstand it. Those misunderstandings can be almost detrimental.

While I found this book insightful, it didn't flow the way I would want. I always talk about how a book flows, and by that I mean is it like floating peacefully down a river or is the current not there so you sit still. Girl in Snow sat still. It flowed, but it didn't flow enough where I didn't fall bored at regular increments. I am sad to say I was unable to even finish. I wanted to know what happened, but the slow pace of the book ruined it.

I will always encourage others to read a book, even if I didn't like it, so they can judge for themselves. This is no exception. Pick up Girl in Snow and read it. Let me know what you think. And one day I will likely pick it back up and finish it so I can be sure.

As I wrote in the opinions above, I will not be writing a review for Girl in the Snow since I do not review books that are rated 2 Star and below. I gave the reasons for my low rating for the book when I wrote my opinions; thank you!

I struggle with this as the writing of this book was beautifully strung together. The story however was very confusing and broken. So many of the stories ended without any resolution and seemed to have been pointless for having ever been brought up in the first place. Russ' story particularly, the cop assigned the case of a girl (Lucinda) who ends up dead at a middle school. Cameron was obsessed with Lucinda, and not so subtly stalked her, and loses time.

Jade is a rebellious teenager who also lost her best friend/love interest to Lucinda. She believes Cameron is innocent and tries to spark a friendship with him.

Russ was partner's with Cameron's father until he ran after being charged with beating a woman almost to death. Russ promised to look after Cameron and keep him safe.

All the stories weave together and the killer is revealed it just didn't keep my interest.

Personally, I found all the major characters in "Girl in Snow" more than a bit creepy. Beautiful high school student Lucinda Hayes is found murdered on a playground. Cameron has been stalking Lucinda, Jade hates her because she stole her boyfriend and her babysitting gig, and Russ is a cop who was friends with Cameron's dad (also a cop that had a fall from grace). It is hard to stay vested in a story where all the characters are not likeable - at all. Also, there is very little plot movement, and more an analysis of the characters involved. Did not finish after reading almost 50 percent of the book.

This is not your everyday thiller but an original and unique one.
It was beautifully written and I was totally shocked to find out that it was written by a first time author.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wanted to try something different.
I can't wait to see what this author writes next.

I got this book from Netgalley as an ARC, but I just read it!

I have Girl in Snow 3 Stars. The synopsis of the book was great. A teenage girl is murdered, and we hear about this crime (and aftermath) from three different characters.

We have Cameron. Cameron is a teenage boy whose father is a disgraced cop. His dad hightailed it years ago. Cameron has stalked Lucinda nightly for years.

Jade hates Lucinda. She stole her job and the boy she cares about.

Russ is Cameron's dad's old partner and Lucinda is the first death he has had to deal with as an officer.

I found the story became more about the three above than Lucinda. We are constantly switching perspectives, clearly marked and well done. But then in those perspectives, we are going between present and past. I felt this book spent more time in the past than present. Even when the mystery is solved, I felt it was extremely anti climatic. I thought the writing was done well. But for a suspense, I needed a little bit more!

Not easy to put down a review for this story. While I like murder stories and seeing how characters develop and figuring out the how and why, this book couldn’t quite live up to my expectations. It was a good debut novel and I definitely will follow this authors future work, because I can see a lot of potential in this book. But I can’t say more than this was an okay read. It felt that the murder took second place to the character studies and this made for a slow reading process. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster!

Searing and acutely written, Girl in Snow forces the reader to examine every detail in glaringly stark prose.
When 15 year old Lucinda Hayes is found murdered on the school playground, the small town of Broomville, Colorado is understandably shaken. But none more so than her not-so-secret stalker Cameron or surprisingly, Lucinda's apparent enemy Jade. Reading alternating points of view between Jade, Cameron and Broomeville police officer Russ, the reader will learn who Lucinda really was and yet will begin to question everything - not just about a dead girl, but indeed the way you see everything around you.

A dark tale about the death of the local 'golden girl'. It is written from the view point of three different characters. I did not guess the plot but I did find the pace of the book a little uneven and at times a bit confusing. I still enjoyed the book and would read more by this author.

This is a very good debut novel from Danya.
She built graphic pictures of the scenario and provided a deep understanding of the reaction of the characters to the girl found in the snow-covered playground. The voyeurs and exhibitionists were plentiful,all with possible motives and reactions. Adults and teenagers. Danya explored each of their minds, their background and their actions leading up the the main event.
Brilliant build-up to the uncovering of the culprit and motive. Well discovered.
Written in a fresh style and will an interesting viewpoint on the motivatio of individuals, young and older.

The credit for putting this gem on my reading list all goes to the pitch. I had never heard of Danya Kukafka when I received an email about her debut, so her name didn't swing me one way or the other. I admit to being a cover nerd and am highly persuaded by them (in both directions). This one is half creepy (eyeball), half awesome (font and non-eyeball design). What easily won me over was this phrase in the description: "misfit characters are richly drawn." Thankfully, that turned out to be absolutely true.

The murder of 15-year-old Colorado high-schooler Lucinda Hayes is at the core of Kukafka's story, but it's not the center of attention. Rather, it's the jumping off point for three varied and exceptionally well-drawn perspectives. Fellow student Cameron is the prime suspect, as it's well known he had a "thing" for Lucinda, some even going so far as to call him a stalker. I won't give much about Cameron away here, but Kukafka's portrayal of a young outcast who spends most of his time in his head, with his sketchbook, or watching Lucinda through her window is one of the best "misfit" character studies I've read in some time.

Cameron has a historical connection to the police department and one of the officers investigating Lucinda's death. Russ, whose perspective is also highlighted, is wrangling with a faltering marriage, his dedication to his former partner, and the potential implication of his brother-in-law in the murder. Rounding out the trifecta of POVs is Jade, another student who knew Lucinda and had a history with her boyfriend. Jade's voice is strong, jaded (no pun intended), and sprinkled with excerpts from her play, "WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY BUT CAN'T WITHOUT BEING A DICK, A Screenplay by Jade Dixon-Burns."

Girl in Snow is a murder mystery wrapped in three splendid character studies that combine to create a compelling and well-paced plot. Although we don't learn much about Lucinda, this really isn't her story, but that of a few of her small town neighbors and how her death impacts their lives. I liked Kukafka's take and was impressed with how she carried it out.

Girl in Snow was a little slow at first. The author just gives you enough information to keep you interested. There are a couple of stories going on in this book. In the end, it was impossible to put down. I had to find out what happened and how everything intertwined together.

This book is told from the point of view of 3 of the main people involved in the story. Each tells a different part of the story and they all connect. I love these kinds of books, and this was no different. It was very good. I thought the characters were well defined, with different parts of their lives and personalities coming out at different times throughout the storyline. The storyline was built well, as well. I enjoyed this book and do recommend it.

Who killed her?

The people in the story form several small constellations: Russ, Inez, Ivan; Lee, Cynthia, and Cameron; Jade, Amy, Ma; Zap; They are all guilty, of something. Kukafka has a nice ability to get deep under the skin of her characters, and reveal not only who they are but who they could be.

I really look forward to more by this author.

Despite the low reviews I have read, I honestly loved this book. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this for an honest review.

It was in three different POVs and it moved slowly, but not in a bad way. It was intersting and mysterious and thrilling.

When Lucinda Hayes is discovered laying dead on a roundabout in the playground of her school, she is covered by a light frosting of snow. It is early morning when she is discovered by the High School Caretaker and it is immediately evident that she has been brutally murdered. Her neck is broken and one side of her face has been smashed in. This is a crime of rage and has a very personal feel about it.
The peaceful Colorado suburb is rocked and buzzing with speculation as to who could have possibly committed the atrocious crime. Everyone knows everyone else and such an unthinkable crime sends shock waves throughout the community. The investigating officers include Russ Fletcher, a local man, who soon comes to the realisation that the crime is pretty much bound to have been committed by someone he knows personally. Door to door interviews are quickly arranged, with the pupils of the school included to help provide inside information; a background to the case. No one is precluded from his investigations, even the school Art Teacher is questioned at one time. Cameron Whitley soon surfaces as a prime suspect. He is a loner, a strange lad, despised and left out of social events. His father has a background of violence and he is known to have an obsessive interest in Lucinda. He watches out for her, unable to stop himself as feelings of love sweep over him. His behaviour is seen as weird and possibly bordering on stalking. Then there’s Jade Dixon-Burns who harboured a grudge against Lucinda and was jealous of her beauty and popularity. Some knew that her mother was physically abusive to Jade, she was unattractive and a bit of an outcast herself. The longer the investigation continued, the more suspects are added to the list as possible or even likely candidates.
Much of this emotion-ridden debut novel concerns itself with the lives and background details of Russ, Cameron and Jade. They are under the spotlight and all have complications and closely guarded secrets in their lives – things they are ashamed of. Even Investigating Officer Russ Fletcher has close personal links to at least two of the main suspects; ones that I have not mentioned. There are also some important issues that are gradually revealed: narcissism, revenge, envy, disloyalty, mental health issues and a hotch potch of other motives and considerations. I liked the character of Cameron best of all. He was a gentle, troubled soul, unable to express his confusion in words but only in his talented artwork. Nurtured and protected somewhat by the art teacher he felt ‘tangled’ and unsure of what he had really seen or actually done. I felt really sorry for him and felt only slightly reassured by the fact that he had a kind, caring and proactive mother.
I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Picador for my copy of ‘Girl in Snow’, sent to me in return for an honest review. I found the novel uneven in pace but really liked the ending and the beautiful storytelling. This author shows promise for the future and I will certainly be on the lookout for her second novel.

This book, at its heart, is a mystery. I wish the author had focused more on writing the mystery and having character interactions and dialogue versus the way it is written. I suppose you would call it alternating 3rd person POV, but it only served to make the book disjointed. It was a slow read for me and maybe if the mystery was as well described as everyone's acne, it could have been better. No, seriously, the obsession with pimples in this book is crazy.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.