Impending Menace..
A decade has passed since a tragedy that tore a friendship group apart. Now, as those friends gather once again on a freezing and snowbound New Year’s Eve, a storm gathers and the friends are trapped on an island with no access to the outside world. Things are about to get much worse - as when the missing become the dead who can you trust? A slow burn, atmospheric and suspenseful whodunit with twists and turns aplenty and a quiet underlying sense of impending menace.

An immersive and very atmospheric mystery novel set on a remote Irish Island cut off from the outside world during winter. Great character development over the story as the mystery unfolds. The Irish setting and the addition of local island superstitions and language added to the mystery and unease. The relationship dynamics between the old friends was beautifully written and very engrossing. A novel to devour in one sitting on a cosy afternoon. Many thanks to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

Fast-paced and entertaining. THE SNOWSTORM is a recommended purchase for collections where thrillers are popular.

This one just wasn't for me. O felt it was really slow and I struggled to care to be honest. It just didn't get under my skin like these types of domestic noirs usually do. There were a few decent enough twists and turns but it just feels like this secluded cabin/ reunion/ secrets/ murder type vibe has been a bit played out and I've just read better versions unfortunately. There was nothing terrible about the book, it just doesn't compare to some others out there. It is however still a decent enough read for anyone who hasn't already read a similar thing a million times over

I loved the premise of this one! I struggled to get into it and didn’t feel a compelling connection with the characters which is somebody I really enjoy as part of my reading experience. However I was still able to enjoy the story. The twist came out of nowhere for me which was a great surprise! It was well written and set the scene beautifully. It was lacking something for me but overall a decent read.

Cara's friends have returned to their island home (off the coast of Ireland) to observe the 10 year anniversary of her husband and their friend's death on New Year's Eve. One friend is missing, though, and her body turns up in the Serpent's Lair, a depression near the ocean. The only guarda on the island, with all methods of transportation on and off the island shut down due to a blizzard, Cara decides to investigate her friend's murder on her own.

This is a locked room mystery/thriller, since no one can get on or off the island due to the storm, and I looooove locked room mysteries. The book had a bit of a slow start as I figured out exactly who everyone was (some of Cara's friends have remained on the island while others have moved away to London and the US), but once this book gets started, it takes off and doesn't stop until you figure out who killed the missing friend. I really enjoyed this book, and if you liked Daisy Darker, Never Coming Home, or And Then There Were None, you should definitely give this one a try.
There was a weird out of nowhere (to me, maybe I just missed the clues about it since I was trying to figure out which of Cara's friends was the murderer) romance at the very end that almost felt unneccessary, but overall this is a solid book and it looks like I get to add another author to my "read all the things by them" list.

One one hand, I found this to be entertaining - the snowstorm, seclusion, literally an entire island of suspects. There were a few moments where my heart was thumping (I was reading alone, at night, near an open window- iykyk!).

On the other hand, it was meh. The thrills and twists would have packed more punch if I had felt more connected to the characters. I did want to punch Ferdia 99.999999% of the time, but the others were as bland as a boiled chicken.

Cara is the only Garda officer on tiny Inis Mór. She's always been an outsider to the islanders.

Her teenage pals come back to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her husband's death on New Year's Day. But when a blizzard strikes, and Cara is called out to investigate a body, things start not going according to plan.

This labyrinthine "locked-island" murder has so many twists and turns, betrayals and lies. Cara has her work cut out for her, as Garda, widow, and friend.

3.5/5

This book was okay! I enjoyed the storyline and the plot. The characters were well developed! I would recommend this book to a friend.

This book sounded great, but was honestly not something that I could connect with. The Gaelic names and writing was frankly very off-putting as it wasn’t explained or understandable. I sped read through it, but only out of a sense of obligation.

This review was also posted on Goodreads.

Adjectives: Symbolic, Immersive & Twisted.

The Snowstorm by Triona Walsh is exceptionally well written. Drawn to the premise, I was deeply moved by the historical significance of the remote Irish island that not only holds memories but deep dark secrets. An intense storm is brewing that isolates the inhabitants from the rest of the world and shakes six friends who are caught in its eye.

The Yaays: The character development flows and complements the plot. I admired and grew deeply fond of Garda (Policewoman) Cara. Her quest for the truth, guilt, helplessness and determination are flawlessly highlighted. I appreciated how she conducted herself and held her cards close to her chest as an "outsider." The past events were well-placed, resulting in little to no confusion. Every character was easily distinguished, and the pacing was well done, making me quickly turn the pages. I loved the integration language and the subsequent translation.

The Nays: While it was easy to pinpoint the culprits, I could never predict the twists and turns that came through. While this is a significant yaay, I felt that there were too many twists and turns, making the ending a tad far-fetched for me.

If you're looking for a winter read that will keep you on your toes, do not skip this one.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for giving me an ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

A group of friends who have lost touch over the years, gather together on a small Irish island they grew up on. They’re set to celebrate the New Year as well as the 10th anniversary of losing one of their friends. A horrible snowstorm hits the island and one of them is murdered. With no one able to come or go from the island, are they safe? Is one of them the murderer?

Everyone seems to be keeping secrets from one another, and lying about different things. Do these friends still know each other after years apart? The lone Guarda on the island, Cara, must try and figure out the truth before the blizzard is over and everyone can get off the island, and before someone else dies.

The descriptions of the island and the Irish culture are beautiful. I was glad to learn this was set in a real place that I could google and see images. This book was hard to put down!! Gave me Agatha Christie -the killer is one of us vibes…which I love. The characters were complex, and the setting and imagery were great. I highly recommend this book and am glad I had the opportunity to read it!!

This was a beautifully written story. Very poetic and atmospheric. The characters were easy to understand and the background to connect to. The remoteness of the Island gave more gravity to the situation of being stuck with potentially someone who was dangerous and cut off from the rest of the world and back up. Whilst I was able to unravel the villain reasonably quickly in to the story, there were enough viable alternatives for me to question my initial reasoning. I genuinely enjoyed this story.

Thank you to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and give an unbiased review a complimentary digital copy of an ARC.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Bookouture and Triona Walsh for the opportunity to read an advance copy of THE SNOWSTORM, to be published 2 February 2023. This mystery took place on an island West of Ireland, where the lives of the people are very demanding especially due to inclement winter weather. The novel slowly developed into a murder mystery that was not resolved until the end. Good read particularly for someone with an Irish background or knowledge because of the intermittent Irish language throughout. Good read. #NetGalley. #Bookouture. #TheSnowstorm. #TrionaWalsh

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

I will give this book 4 stars, because it was quite entertaining. I found it predictable, though, despite many twists that I didn’t see coming.

It’s a good thriller, and the setting (in Ireland) is really unique.

“May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you’re dead!”

I love stories with a deep sense of place and those that slowly unravel long-held secrets. This mystery novel did both remarkably well, and kept me happily turning pages.

I loved the setting of the wild, Aral islands off the coast of Ireland. These remote islands in the Atlantic ocean can become completely cut off from society when storms rage. And as this story opens, the storm is fully raging.

Garda (Policewoman) Cara just catches the last ferry back to the island before a brutal snowstorm cuts off all contact with the mainland. Cara is eager to return home before the storm, and equally eager to celebrate the New Year with her old childhood friends who have returned for a memorial service – the first time they are all reunited in almost a decade.

But the longed-for reunion quickly unravels when a body is found in the sea, and Cara becomes wrapped up in a murder investigation. With no one able to arrive at or leave the island, Cara begins to unearth long buried secrets and to question all she knows, even about her closest friends.

This was an enjoyable mystery that transports a reader to this stark yet beautiful island. I enjoyed Cara’s precarious relationship with the island, never truly rusted as an “outsider”. I loved the sprinkling of the Irish language throughout, which is the first language on the island - thereby maintaining local culture, while simultaneously excluding outsiders. And I enjoyed getting to know the core cast of characters as they come to grips with how much has changed since their idyllic childhoods. A thoroughly engrossing novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

This was a great winter read! A group of friends reunite on a remote Ireland island to commemorate the tenth anniversary of losing one of their group. But one of them is found murdered and the twists start there.

I loved the setting of this small remote island. The winter storm that hits the island leaves everyone trapped and without phones and electricity. The group of friends, who haven’t all been together in nearly 10 years, have lots of secrets that add to the twists and suspense of the story.

I loved the main character, Cara, and her development over the course of the story. Some of the mystery of the story was predictable from the beginning, but there were enough red herrings that I wasn’t definitely sure how the story would end. However, there were still plenty of good twists and added smaller mysteries that I didn’t see coming.

I really enjoyed the authors writing style and I loved the Irish culture embedded throughout the story. Definitely worth a read!

The Snowstorm
by Tríona Walsh
Pub Date: 02 Feb 2023

Synopsis: It’s an icy New Year’s Eve. Snow blankets a windswept Irish island as the wild Atlantic Ocean rages.
Six friends gather. It has been ten years since the tragedy that tore them apart. A lot can change in a decade…
Childhood bonds are now lifelong secrets.
Dear friendships have twisted into deep jealousies.
A happy reunion is shattered by a dead body.
Nobody knows who to trust. No one is who they seem. Because one of them is a killer, and one will be dead next.

A GREAT winter read. Lots of twists, turns and tension that keeps you guessing throughout the entire book. An amazing and enjoyable read I highly recommend!

Thank you #NetGalley and #Bookouture for providing with an ARC of The Snowstorm. All opinions are my own.

I was able to read and review this thanks to NetGalley.
A remote Aran island. A storm cutting the island off from the outside world. Six friends gather to mark the anniversary of a terrible tragedy that changed them all, and one of them is found dead. The killer was someone on the island, so it’s up to Garda Cara to try to work out what happened.
I like a locked-room story as much as anyone. Unfortunately, our locked room was an island so the tension was somewhat dissipated by the comings and goings, and endless scenes involving a search of yet another potential site of interest.
The group of friends consists of Cara, the outsider whose position is reinforced by her job, and her childhood friends. Each of them has their history and this is exploited as Cara tries to work out who killed her best friend, Maura.
While the story sounded tense, the pacing of the story was not quite what I thought. Events took a while to unfold, the additional characters muddied the water and delayed the truth being discovered, and the resolution felt like something that would have been known on some level a lot earlier. I found the characterisation of all but Cara quite superficial, and I always felt as if something was being held back.
There were some evocative descriptions of the storm, and I found the creation of the environment in which the story took place quite intriguing. The inclusion of two languages is integral to the book, though this in itself started to feel like another detail included simply to serve a point later on.

First of all thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this copy of the snowstorm. This is an honest review.

I will start by confessing I have a guilty pleasure of “cabin the woods” “stuck in a storm on a remote island” genre of books so I have read a lot of them. I wasn’t sure if this would be a story I had read countless times and be too repetitive. However the great writing, amazing locations and character relationships set this book apart.

We follow main character Cara as she tries to uncover the murder of her oldest friend. She is a likeable character and I found myself routing for her throughout the book. I did guess the killer at the start of the book however the twists and turns in the book did have me doubting myself throughout so it was enough to keep me gripped. It was also clear to see the relaxed friendship this group had together despite one of them being a murderer so it did keep me guessing. Secrets and lies was a clear theme in this book.

I think the standout from this book is the great writing, the way the author immerses you in the story makes this a great and entertaining read. I look forward to any future titles from this author.