Book Review: Snowblind by Christopher Golden

Title: Snowblind
Author: Christopher Golden
Source: Library

Goodreads Summary:

The small New England town of Coventry had weathered a thousand blizzards...but never one like this. Icy figures danced in the wind and gazed through children's windows with soul-chilling eyes. People wandered into the whiteout and were never seen again. Families were torn apart, and the town would never be the same.

Now, as a new storm approaches twelve years later, the folks of Coventry are haunted by the memories of that dreadful blizzard and those who were lost in the snow. Photographer Jake Schapiro mourns his little brother, Isaac, even as---tonight---another little boy is missing. Mechanic and part-time thief Doug Manning's life has been forever scarred by the mysterious death of his wife, Cherie, and now he’s starting over with another woman and more ambitious crimes. Police detective Joe Keenan has never been the same since that night, when he failed to save the life of a young boy . . . and the boy’s father vanished in the storm only feet away. And all the way on the other side of the country, Miri Ristani receives a phone call . . . from a man who died twelve years ago.

As old ghosts trickle back, this new storm will prove to be even more terrifying than the last.


My thoughts:

If ever there were a winter in Michigan to read this book, it is this one. Last week temperatures plunged below negative 20, and this week, the sky opened to dump 6 inches of snow on us, in just a few hours! I drove to work today in a whiteout!

I read this book last week, on a snow day from work. It was so cold, and I was bundled up in a sweater and slippers, reclined on the couch covered by a blanket and an English Setter. Yet as I read, I felt colder and colder, the drafts more and more noticeable.

This book is written from the multiple viewpoints of a few different characters. It begins with a snowstorm, a nasty one that drives everyone indoors and off the streets. Yet not everyone is cowed by the blizzard, and those who do venture out for whatever reason, whether it is sledding, a knock at the door, running for help, or doing the neighborhood patrol, either never return, or are never the same again. Even those standing too close to an open window suffer.

After twelve years of grieving and trying to move on, another storm strikes the town of Coventry.  Everyone remembers the casualties and horror stories from the storm that hit twelve years ago, and again the town pulls up the streets, and townspeople hide indoors. Or at least they try. Those most affected by the previous storm return as the main players, and find out the shocking, terrifying truth behind the nightmare. This book focuses on these people, and every single one of their stories drew me in. Usually in a book like this, with multiple viewpoints, there is usually one that I am bored by and that doesn't interest me. However, in this book, I loved them all.

This book scared the hell out of me. It was like I was 8 years old again, laying in bed at night, with little noises freaking me out!I hardly slept the night I started this book. It definitely put me in mind of a Stephen King book, and it makes total sense that he has a little endorsement blurb on the front.

If you like to be scared, then read this book.

If you want to be terrified, read it during a blizzard!