Thrilling story with a plot that kept me turning the pages, really well written with great characters. Highly recommend to everyone who is a fan of this genre.

Blood Upon The Snow by Hilda Lawrence

This story is about a detective, Mark East, who takes a job as the secretary to an archaeologist, Joseph Stoneman. The story takes place in the 40’s when there are different ways of finding evidence than there re now. No DNA or cell phones. Forensics was just plain nothing ever heard of hardly. One night at Mr. Stonemans large estate, there was a bad snow storm. The visitors starting dying and it was up to East to find the killer. Can he figure it out before it’s too late?
I did not think this was what some might consider to be a mystery to thriller as there was nothing leading up to a suspenseful situation. Most of the story was giving about the characters and their actions. I would say that half of the book was great and just the type of writing you would expect to see in a murder mystery and the other half seemed more like a get to know me session. I would still recommend this novel to others still though.

4 stars ⭐️ out of 5

A great opening scene for this classic 1944 murder/mystery/chiller which, unfortunately, turned out to be the best part of the novel. What follows does not live up to the early promise.

The atmosphere of mystery and unease is constantly diffused by acres of conversation which seem to go nowhere. There are clues as to who was responsible for the three murders, but the reveal is totally melodramatic and the explanation beyond the powers of any intelligent reader-and it is quite difficult to follow.

There are a few plus points.Some of the characters are quite interesting. Miss Beulah and Miss Bessy are in the best tradition of a pair of mystery spinsters, one formidable and the other twittery and mildly alcoholic. Some of the writing is very good. But, alas, nothing is sustained for long, apart from the chatter.

Mark East, the detective posing as a secretary to the frightened archaeologist, Joseph Stoneman, is a little too bland, the handsome host, alternatively charming and edgy, and the rich hostess, a nervous wreck.

I would characterise this as a “might have been”, a set of, perhaps too many, goodish ideas which did not quite gel into a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dover Publications for the digital review copy.

American mystery writer Hilda Lawrence (1906-1976) published her first book, Blood upon the Snow, in 1944. There are no cell phones, no DNA, no forensics, just plain old fashioned detecting and following the clues.

Mark East is a private detective who takes a job as secretary to an archeologist, Joseph Stoneman. But it's his talent at detecting that is really needed. Mr. Stoneman's estate is quite large and there are several people staying there. A snowstorm isolates them from any outside contact ... and the occupants start dying.

How many are going to die before East discovers who the killer is?

This was not highly suspenseful, more a mystery. A lot of time was spent on character development which I felt took a lot away from the crimes. There were moments of brilliance in the writing, but sadly, they were short bursts.

Many thanks to Dover Publications and Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Mark East arrives at an East Coast estate near Crestwood, during a snowstorm. Basically he has been employed as a secretary to an archeologist, Stoneman. East soon determines that not is all as it should be with the inhabitants of the house.
I enjoyed this mystery which was written in 1944. A solid start to this series