GIRL IN SNOW BY DANYA KUKAFKA

This debut novel seemed like it was written more for the young adult demographic. It is NOTHING like the winner and beautiful prose in "Everything I never told you." To compare the two is literary blasphemy. This is a dark, edgy atmospheric thriller is captivating and riveting enough to keep you turning the pages for wanting to know who did it. The more you read the more you can figure out who did it.

Told in alternating points of view; Cameron, Jade and Russ. Russ is investigating the death of Lucinda Hayes. She is already dead at the beginning of the book. Has a broken neck that was cracked on the edge of a carousel. Russ used to be Cameron's father's partner on the police force. Jade or Jay dislikes Lucinda because she blames her for stealing her boyfriend Zap whose real name is Edouard Arnaud.

.....The Suspects.....
1. Ivan Santos--the janitor who found Lucinda's body
2. Edouard Arnaud--nicknamed Zap, victims ex-boyfriend
3. Joe and Missy Hayes--the parents
4. Howard Morley--the homeless guy squatting behind the library
5. Cameron Whitley--the stalker--really is just watching everybody while he sneaks out his
window and plays statue.

Lucinda Hayes was smacked with something small and hard. If it weren't for the edge of the carousel after the force of the blow, which broke her neck on impact, she might have walked away with a few stitches and a nasty bruise. The snow covered up any footprints, the snow washed away any fingerprints. No sign of the murder weapon, or Lucinda's cell phone. Lucinda was at the top of the social ladder at school.

Detective Williams went to Cameron Whitley's house. Cameron was already asleep and his mother refused to wake him up. She did secretly pull Cameron aside and told him he wasn't in his bedroom the night before, but she lied to the police saying Cameron was home with her. She told Detective Williams to come back when he has probable cause or a warrant. They have neither of that for anyone. Everybody has caught Cameron standing outside of the neighborhoods back yards looking in the windows; watching. Jade has caught him spying on Lucinda, but she won't tell anyone.

Jade has a book on witchcraft which she has done rituals to wish Lucinda to be dead. She is glad she is dead. The Image, the dream, the token. The Image: a visual representation of the deceased. The Dream: just as it sounds, And the Token: something of yours that the deceased has claimed for themselves. You will have to read this to find out who killed Lucinda.

Thank you to Net Galley, Danya Kukafka and Simon & Schuster for providing me with my digital copy for a fair and honest review.

Wow. So intertwined and intricate, a delicately balanced story, with the puppeteer holding many strings and once and pulling each one at the precise moment it should be pulled, and keeping the reader on their toes and using their wit's till the very last page of the this page turner that sucks you in with no remorse. Such an amazing new talent, I feel I have just read a masterpiece. Shakespeare, it is not. Yet written with such precision and skill you know this talented author is going places. The cover was also so intriguing I found myself mesmerized for a few moments. Just overall an amazing book. Beavo, standing ovation. ..

Wow, this debut novel! I was captivated from the first page and my interest never wavered. When ninth-grader, Lucinda is found dead on the playground one snowy morning, the town is shocked as the search for the killer begins. Told in alternating voices by Cameron, the misfit who adored her; Jade, the abused teen who hated her; and Russ, the police investigator, we see the story of her short life revealed through differing perspectives, We also see the secrets that are kept from loved ones, jealousy that erupts when it's least expected, and families that are flawed but lovable. What a fascinating story that is a must-read for fans of thrillers.

I can not give this book enough praise. Even though it rotated between three main characters, I felt that I was able to become friends with each of them. Girl In Snow kept my mind racing and wondering how things would unravel. I found myself reading faster and unable to put the book down as I turned each and every page late into the night. A wonderfully written book that I can not wait to reread and discuss with my book club.