This is book 3 in the cabin by the Lake Mystery series and can be read as a stand alone. I didn't realize it was part of a series and I will be looking for the previous two books. Jamie has moved to small town Minnesota from New York and is making friends. She is hosting an old fashioned Thanksgiving dinner for them. While she is driving home from town with her pies and turkey, she sees a young Hispanic woman by the side of the road. the woman delivers a baby in Jamie's back seat. This story deals with illegal women who are being paid to give up their babies. It is quite an eye opener into their world. With the help of her boyfriend trooper and her new local friends they find the bad guys can be quite close to home.

Death of a Snow Ghost is a well written mystery and the third in the Cabin by the Lake series by Linda Norlander. Released 17th May 2022, it's 268 pages and is available in paperback format. 

I wanted to like this book very much. It ticked a lot of my favorite boxes: amateur detective, isolated setting, unexplained disappearances, and more. The premise of the book and the narrative story arc are very good, and the author has a good technical grasp of narrative tension. My main problem came from the lack of cohesive editing which made for occasionally tough going. I was often yanked out of the narrative by odd grammar and punctuation, and lack of clarity in scene and character shifts. There were some outright odd bits of info included (the main character, Jamie, is apparently an expert in the use of the comma, for example). 

I hadn't read the first books in the series and followed the action well enough. The book is readable as a standalone. The language is PG (a few damns, not much worse). The author is undeniably talented and capable. The narrative is very cinematic, with solid scene descriptions and a good tension arc. With a ruthless editor, this could be an outstanding series. 

Three and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Jamie Forrest is finishing her last minute preparations for a Thanksgiving feast at her home for her friends. However her trip to town is sidelined by a young pregnant girl who ends up giving birth in Jamie’s car. From that event Jamie becomes involved in her attempts to keep Carmela and her baby safe from human traffickers who intend to sell the baby.
This story has many ins and outs to it. I was a little confused by the prior storyline since I hadn’t read the first book. Nevertheless this ended up being a good read and an interesting story..

Thank you #NetGalley, #Level Best Books and #Linda Norlander for this book. These thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to receive a copy of this to read. I read about 90 pages of this book and then DNFd it. I was having a hard time connecting to the storyline. Also, being introduced to a lot of characters at once was a lot. I hope others find this one enjoyable; it just wasn't a right fit for me:

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
This is the first book I have read by this author, but there was sufficient information in this book to ensure I knew about what happened in the previous books in the series. The setting is described well with repetition about snow, cold, wrapping up, turn heating on or up. There were lots of references to the missing baby and Lacey's new baby, the smartly-dressed lawyer Rex and the sheriff who doesn't seem to be doing anything about the death in his area. By the time I reached the end of the book I felt that most of the characters were rather stupid, missing lots of clues in the mystery and that the book could probably be reduced by 100 pages if some of the repetition had been removed. It progressed too slowly for me, and I would not read more in the series.

The author manages to infuse a thoroughly evocative atmosphere into a page-turner plot The overall feeling from reading this book was a satisfying conclusion.

I found the characters in this novel to be well described, however in some cases it did detract from the mystery plot a bit. There was a lot of plot and side stories happening, potentially as red herrings, to distract the reader to not guess the ending.

I did find that the characters were a bit misaligned for their age - they read much older than they were supposed to be. I had a hard time reminding myself they were not in their late 50s.

Overall I think the book touches on real and important issues, such as immigration asylum, ICE, etc., however there was so much plot going on otherwise that it detracted from the main mystery.

Death of a Snow Ghost is very well written. Great character dynamics. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a good suspense.

Jamie Forest is ready for Thanksgving after her run into town for some last minute items. on her way home she comes across a young pregnant woman who is about to give birth. Jamie delivers the baby in the back of her car and finds the woman is a Mexican immigrant who crossed the border looking to stay. But something seems off as the young woman keeps asking Jamie to help her in her limited English.

The next day the young mother is missing from her hospital room, and the body of a young woman is found in the lake, Jamie fears it’s too late to help Carmela. But the body isn’t Carmela, but another young mother staying at the same home for the unwed migrants. Can Jamie figure out what’s off and help Carmela and her baby, or is it really all just lost in translation?

A good read, but it was a slow start to get moving. With a solid whodunit, we’ll developed characters and lots of snow, the book makes me want to read more. Looking forward to more in this series.

A great story that touches briefly on unwed soon-to-be mothers seeking asylum in the US and those that prey upon them. There is a little mystery, murder, humor and, of course, romance. The ending, while not totally surprising to this reader, was satisfying.

Thank you NetGalley, Level Best Books and Linda Norlander for this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Vacation for Jamie Forest turns into quite an adventure when a pregnant woman in labor turns up. With well developed characters the story unfolds. I do wish there was more action but overall a good read. Thanks #netgalley and #LevelBestBooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Level Best Books and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Jamie Forest sets on what is to be a peaceful vacation. Trouble finds a way to upset the original plan, A criminal enterprise threatens to blow a lovely holiday to shreds. Will Jamie find a way to resolve it?

'Death of a Snow Ghost' makes for a pleasant read as a novel, but not so much as a whodunit, While the characters are well sketched, the plot takes up a lot of time to build pace and tension. Furthermore, there are quite a few side plots that deter and dilute the attention of the readers. The dialogues between the characters, especially, seem to be vague and do not offer much to heighten a sense of intrigue or curiosity, which are key elements to pull a mystery forward. The ending too, while quite ingenious, does not do much to salvage the narrative that leads up to it. One is mere glad that the novel is over.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy.

I am a sucker for isolated novels set in the snow. Death of a Snow Ghost was a welcome addition that quenched my thirst.
Jamie lives in a cabin in Minnesota. There is a fierce winter storm and she believes that she has seen a ghost. The ghost turns out to be a woman who is in labor. The mother speaks no English.
Jamie delivers the child herself, and takes the new family home. The new mother seems afraid that someone is coming to take her child. The language barrier sets up an interesting layer of the mystery.
Soon a woman's body turns up in the local pond and their is a chance this is the new mother.
The mystery keeps the pages turning and the characters were people I would want to know.

I will say that this is a really good book for the early winter (It is set around the Thanksgiving Holiday.)

In Death of a Snow Ghost, author Linda Norlander delivers another riveting tale. The writing is as sharp as a Minnesota winter and as sympathetic as its amateur-sleuth heroine, Jamie Forest. Norlander reaches for, and achieves, a book that far surpasses the confines of its genre. The villains, as well as the heroes, are fully fleshed characters, and the narrative is tightly woven around the central theme of justice. Past and present collide as Jamie embarks upon her pursuit of a killer who targets the most vulnerable of young women. Romance and humor, thrills and chills, and a most satisfying conclusion make Death of a Snow Ghost a must-read book..