Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

This is the second in the series. In this one James has to open up a cold case to solve a recent one.

I thought the concept of having to solve a decades old case to solve a recent one was great. I enjoyed the suspense part of the story.

However, I find it really hard to want to read these books. I am not a fan of the writing of Alex Pine. I wanted to give him a second chance but I still had a hard time. It might be the London influence but there doesn’t seem to be any emotions in the writing. It is very monotone to me.

I am not sure I will pick up book 3 but it might depend on the synopsis and give the series another try.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Dang! Now this was one heck of a story! The writing was on point and the characters were very well developed. I had some reservations because this is the first time I've read anything by Alex Pine, but he did not disappoint! I found myself frustrated, along with James (inspector), whenever he thought he'd solved the crime only to find himself back to "square one." And there were many of those! You want suspense, thrills and chills, then this is your book!

I find myself not being able to say more due to "spoiler alerts" so I'll just stop here! Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me AC of this book!

This was an enjoyable story, within the traditional structure of a detective novel. I had not read the first book about this detective, but I thought the author did a good job with introducing the characters and setting enough that this worked well as a stand-alone. I definitely was engaged with the story and very curious about what the detective would discover in the end; having two crimes separated by time worked really well in the scope of the story and it was written very effectively in that the different details and characters of the two were never confusing. I also liked that there were several simultaneous suspects so that it was not obvious from the beginning that certain suspects were red herrings. However, I was not very engaged by the writing style; it read a bit like a screenplay in that there was way more "telling" than "showing", with the result that the emotional and tense parts weren't that impactful on their own for me. I found myself actively trying to imagine the scenes playing out, rather than the writing evoking that naturally. On the other hand, this style made it a quick and fun read, and I think this story would be well suited for bingeing in a suitable, wintry environment.

I really enjoyed this competently written police procedural, with an intriguing mystery at its heart.

The story begins with a family being found dead at a remote farm. After investigations begin, links are made to more deaths that took place at the same location over 20 years before. Running parallel to this storyline, DI Walker's arch enemy from the previous book is also on the run...

The atmospheric descriptions of the snowy landscape and village were very well captured and I found the characters engaging. It made a nice change that the lead detective had a happy and stable home life!

The complex tangled strands of the plot were intricately weaved and, although I did guess some elements, this didn't spoil my enjoyment in any way.

This is the second book in the series, the first being The Christmas Killer. However, this could be read as a stand alone book. Perfect for Cara Hunter fans, I highly recommend it to those who enjoy a good wintry crime thriller. I look forward to Alex Pine's next book.

Thanks to publishers Avon Books UK and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alex Pine's Killer in the Snow is a fast-moving mystery with a complex and intriguing plot. For any mystery reader, its pace, characters, and setting are just the right ingredients for a first-class thriller. Detective Inspector James Walker is not only faced with a complicated mystery that covers 24 years of an unsolved, grisly enigma, but he and his wife live in constant fear of a nefarious and violent criminal unrelated to the mystery at hand. I'm waiting avidly for Pine's next thriller.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Avon for an advance copy of #TheKillerInTheSnow by #AlexPine
This is the second in the DI James Walker series and once again he finds himself investigating multiple murders at Christmas. When a lawyer goes to call on the clients on Boxing Day she doesn’t expect to find a bloodbath with all three members of the family slain. When it’s discovered that the previous owners were also found murdered 20 years ago James must use all his resolve to solve this baffling murder.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book 2 in the DI James Walker series and a well written and enjoyable read which can easily be read as a stand-alone. Walker is a well written and well adjusted character with a happy family life, unusually so for a fictional detective.

Briefly, when a family of three are found dead at a local farm Walker and his team are on the case. By a strange coincidence the farm had seen a similar occurrence more than 20 years earlier when the then owners were found dead and their baby missing. Are the two events connected? Walker is convinced that both cases need solving. Unrelated to these cases Walker and his wife are living in Cumbria having left London following threats from a psychotic gangster. He has escaped prison and has vowed revenge on Walker.

A good easy read and I would definitely read the next in the series. In the spirit of disclosure I did pretty much guess the plot-line regarding the historical murders but I was way off on the current case. All in all a good police procedural ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Killer in the Snow is a perfect suspenseful mystery. I had a hard time putting it down. The chapters were short (my favourite), the story moved quickly, there were twists and turns and a satisfying end.

When a family is found dead in their remote farmhouse on Boxing Day, DI James Walker has to unwind a tangled web of clues, including ones that connect to a 24 year old cold case. Set in the Lake District of England the descriptions of the setting were just perfect for a fall read.

While this is the second book in a series you really don’t need to have read the first to enjoy this one, I haven’t and am now going to go back to read the first. If you’re looking for a quick, exciting mystery definitely check out The Killer in the Snow.

It is more rerely that I pic crimes series now but this was a nice oportunity. I got this book grom Netgalley and Avon Books Uk.

It is a perfect one for a december read. A family is found that. And it is belived is a suiccide. But DI James Walker is not one that belive to coincidences. 24 years an other family was found dead and it was a succide.

This guy is not discovering just happened now but he also discover what happened in the past. There are a few suspects but at the end all is more connected that is seemed. I loved the final turn.

I missed the first book but I could perfecty manage this one.

This was a page turner set in the most chilling of atmospheres (pun not intended!). It's a riveting book, that has you on the edge of your seat. And though I hadn't read the first one, it didn't impact my enjoyment.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story starts a year on from the previous book "The Christmas Killer". James and Annie have settled down and Annie is now pregnant. James is called out to a remote farmhouse where a family of three have been killed. As this is investigated, parallels are drawn to another killing that occurred there over twenty years before and where the baby daughter of that family is still missing. In-between times James is contacted by the Met Police to tell him that his nemesis from the previous book is one the run and he needs to be careful as the Met have lost track of him.
I enjoyed this as I read it back to back with The Christmas Killer and enjoyed the continuity of reading it this way.
I would say that it can be read as a standalone as there is a synopsis of characters at the beginning of the book to explain who is who.

A gripping story, likeable characters and well paced.

I loved the ending and will definitely aim to read others by this author and the previous book in the series.

This book was right up my street!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Overall 3.75*
The story started off well and although book 2, it reads fine as a standalone. I enjoyed it to a point hence the just below 4* review as I felt that there some areas which may be able to be improved upon. The writing at times seemed a bit juddery which is not a huge fix and then the book would flow more easily. (IMHO). Most avid readers would have an inkling of what had been going on to a point however there are a few red herrings which the author sets. I have ordered book 1 to get the background more so it is not too bad a read overall.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

EXCERPT: There was a set of shoeprints in the otherwise pristine snow, and Robert was sure that they hadn't been there earlier. They were coming from the road and leading over to the steps on the right side of the house, the ones that descended to the cellar door. And yet there were no prints going in the opposite direction.

It puzzled him because the cellar door was always locked and there was only one set of keys, which hung from a hook in the kitchen. What's more, Mary rarely ventured down there because she'd convinced herself many years ago that it was haunted.

He tightened his grip on the bag and went to investigate. What he saw made him frown further.

The shoeprints went down the steps and stopped in front of the door, which suggested that whoever had gone in there hadn't yet come out.

But who could it be?

He was about to go down and check when the sound of raised voices came from inside the house. They were loud enough to cause a blast of alarm to shoot through him.

Instinct told him that whatever was going on in the house had to be more important than what might be happening in the cellar, so he turned sharply on his heels and rushed towards the front door.

Just as he reached it, the shouting was drowned out by a high-pitched scream that sent his pulse racing.

ABOUT 'THE KILLER IN THE SNOW': The first fall of snow can be fatal…

A year has passed since DI James Walker cracked his biggest case yet, and he’s hoping for peace and quiet this festive season.

But across the fells, a local farmer returns home on Christmas Eve to find footsteps in the fresh snow that lead down to his unused basement – and no footsteps leading away. Days later, his body is found, alongside those of his wife and daughter.

Without a neighbour for miles, there are no witnesses and little evidence. And the crime scene has strange echoes of another terrible murder committed at the farmhouse, twenty years earlier…

James knows that to catch this killer, he needs to solve a case that has long since gone cold…

MY THOUGHTS: A good plot, but I found the writing style somewhat dry and lacking suspense. While I didn't struggle to get through my listen/read, neither did I pick it up every chance I got. And that's always a tell.

It was difficult to feel any connection with the characters. They all felt very formal and stiff, as was the dialogue. Other than DC Jess Abbott and James' wife Annie, the women in this story are all portrayed as rather weak characters or mentally unbalanced.

I enjoyed the mystery being linked to what had happened on the farm twenty four years earlier, even though it was pretty apparent what had happened. It was the 'how' that kept me reading.

Initially there are a handful of suspects for the current killings and I did enjoy the resolution. I just wish that it had been a bit less plodding and a lot more suspenseful. I also think that the inclusion of a gangster 'out to get James' was unnecessary and distracted from the main storyline. It just didn't seem to 'fit', and served no useful purpose.

I enjoyed the narration of Sid Sagar, but overall this was only an okay, but totally forgettable read.

⭐⭐.6

#TheKillerintheSnow #NetGalley

I: #alexpineauthor @avonbooksuk @harperaudio

T: #alexpineauthor @BooksAvon @HarperAudio

#audiobook #christmasfiction #contemporaryfiction #crime #domesticdrama #detectivefiction #murdermystery #policeprocedural

THE AUTHOR: Alex Pine was born and raised on a council estate in South London and left school at sixteen. Before long, he embarked on a career in journalism, which took him all over the world – many of the stories he covered were crime-related. Among his favourite hobbies are hiking and water-based activities, so he and his family have spent lots of holidays in the Lake District. He now lives with his wife on a marina close to the New Forest on the South Coast – providing him with the best of both worlds! Alex Pine is the pseudonym of a bestselling author who has also written books under the names Jaime Raven, James Raven and JP Carter.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Avon Books UK for providing the digital ARC, and Harper Collins UK audio for providing the audio ARC of The Killer in the Snow by Alex Pine for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Thank you to Netgalley, Avon Books and Alex Pine for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book follows DI James Walker who has moved to Cumbria with his pregnant wife. This book is the second in the series and directly follows on from the first. There has been a murder at a Farm barn, the same barn where an unsolved murder happened twenty years ago.

I loved this book! It is dark, gritty and thrilling. I haven't read the first in the series but it doesn't overly matter. It is fast-paced and has you hooked from the first few pages. I devoured this book in two sittings. The characters are likeable and plot is enjoyable.

I can't wait to read more by Alex.

Di James Walker once again finds himself racing to find a villain during the holiday season, The murder of a family- parents and an adult daughter- at a farm that was the scene of an unsolved murder 20 years before raises questions about what really happened that time- because a child went missing then. It's a nicely twisty procedural with a good character in Walker, who, unlike so many in this genre, seems to be a steady person. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

This is the second book in the detective James Walker series but this book could be read as a stand alone thriller for those who haven’t read the first book which I found to be just as good as this one. So for anyone who’s looking for a couple of good Christmas murders the DI James Walker books are certainly for you!

What can I say about the killer in the snow except for WOW! This book had me hooked from the first page, I didn’t want to put it down and this was one of the twistiest and most complicated murder cases I’ve ever read about.

After a quiet Christmas DI James Walker is called to a murder at a local farm house it soon becomes clear that the bodies all belong to the family that are currently living there. James has a long list of suspects however none of them quite fit they all have allies and James cannot help but think he is missing a key piece of information in order to solve this case.

Then comes along another twist. The same crime was committed 24 years ago at the very same farm house the only difference is that in this case the daughter Charlotte has been murder; however in the first case the baby Megan her body was never found. Is it coincidence that the same crime has been committed or are they in some way linked. Whatever the answer James is determined to get to the bottom of it.

I loved this book and enjoyed every minute of it. There were so many twists, turns and surprises on just about every page every time I though this book couldn’t get any better or more surprising it did. I also really enjoyed the end, I had many ideas in my mind of how this book my conclude but the ending that happened I hadn’t pictured and I think it was really cleverly done, very well thought out and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an open and honest review. 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ all the way!

This is the second in the DI James Walker series and the first that I’ve read but I found it was completely standalone, although I will be going back to read the first in the series.

This was a solid police procedural thriller that is perfect for fans of Cara Hunter. The entire book was focused purely on the case with an extra side story which involved DI James Walker, however I’m glad that this was just in the background as I was there to solve this crime and only that!

It’s a real page turner and with each chapter another piece of the case is revealed as we get closer to the truth of what happened that fateful night. I especially warmed to DI James Walker who I thought was a great character and someone who I cared about what happened to them.

Overall if you’re a fan of police procedural and crime thrillers then I highly recommend giving this a read – I’m off to read the first in the series.

I read The Christmas Killer last Christmas and am always on the lookout for a thriller set during the festive season, so I was excited to pick up the second book in the series, The Killer in the Snow.

While I enjoyed the first book, I did find it a little slow at the beginning, although I was still excited to see more from the characters. And this second instalment definitely picks up the pace. There’s a lot of action throughout, the pace is quick, and it’s an exciting case to follow.

Pine starts off by summarising the events of the first book without giving any spoilers, so this can easily be read as a standalone. I also love that he provides a set of character profiles at the start for any new readers, making sure that everybody starts off in a knowledgeable place.

The case is a really interesting one to follow and will feel similar to certain true-crime documentaries that have been popular this year, with a desolate farm being the setting for a crime in both the present and past.

Although the case is complex with two stories coming together, it’s easy to follow and constantly intriguing. I did guess the twist early on after making a wild prediction, but I was still excited to see if I was right and how the answers would be revealed.

A definite improvement on the first book, I look forward to seeing what DI James Walker is faced with next and whether he can get through a Christmas without a murder happening on his doorstep.

DI James Walker is hoping for a quiet Christmas in Kirkby Abbey this year after the horrific events of the previous one. After a peaceful couple of days he returns to work to the news that 3 bodies have been found at a remote farmhouse in what looks like a murder, suicide.
However the scene throws up too many questions for the case to be solved so easily and it quickly becomes clear that the 3 people were murdered.
As the investigation progresses James finds that he has more suspects than evidence to link any of them to the crime. He also discovers an eerily similar event took place at the farm 24 years ago. Could the past and present crimes be somehow linked.
I loved this book. How things were exposed layer upon layer and you just didn't know what would be unearthed next. DI Walker is rare in that he has a happy settled home life and he's not constantly in conflict with his bosses and I really like that.