The Dead of Winter

Rina Martin #5

by Jane A. Adams

A Rina Martin Mystery - Against her better judgement, Rina Martin accepts an invitation to Aikensthorpe, a country house hotel with a sinister reputation. Gathered there are a collection of experts in the esoteric; their plan is to re-enact the incident in 1872 that left one man dead and another mad. Rina, unimpressed by the company and their techniques, is relieved when her friend DI MacGregor comes to rescue her. But then a blizzard traps them in the house, and Edwin Holmes, grand old man of psychical research, is found murdered in his bed . . .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, British Literature

208 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2011

About the author

Some of her early books were published under the name of Jane Adams. This should not be confused with this Jane Adams who is a different author.

Reviews

[Anissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has a perfect setup. A county house. A snowstorm sequestering a group. A killer that needs to be found. Alas, this did not come together for me. There's a split timeline and two seances feature heavily (one in each timeline). The killer is outed at the end far too matter-of-factly and there's no explanation as to motive (and given the killer, a case really needed to be made).

I don't usually read books in the middle of a series so perhaps if I'd previously got to know Rina and her regulars, I'd have been better able to forgive this story. As it is, I don't think I'll be reading any others in this series.

Read through Kindle Unlimited.

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the book in a mystery series where the detective goes on vacation, and death follows her.

Rina Martin has agreed to accompany the couple Joy and Tim to a magic consortium taking place in an old mansion. What she doesn't know is that Tim and the other magicians plan on enacting a séance there, in the site of another séance, over 100 years ago, which resulted in a death.

This description makes things sound much more exciting than they really are.

Of course, things happen. Three people are murdered, everyone is trapped in the house together due to a snowstorm - knowing one of them is a killer.

I found the reveal and resolution to be quite disappointing.

I also found Rina's conversations with her dead husband to be creepy rather than sweet and reassuring, which they were intended as.

Probably the best part is where Rina Martin, age 63, picks up a gun again for the first time in over a decade. She's a tough woman, and I like that.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in England with an English writer, I struggled with some of the lingo as well as the flow was different than what I was used to. I like the setting of the story as it is Clue-esq but am just now getting into the flow of her writing approx. starting around page 50. Also there are a lot of characters that you have to keep track of with similar names. Ex: Tim, Toby, Terry.

Last 100 pages flew by! I didn't guess who was involved!!

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy the ongoing characters in the Rina Martin books. For some reason, with this book,
I found myself wanting it to end and not really caring who did the murders.

[Saleh MoonWalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onvan : The Dead Of Winter (Rina Martin, #5) - Nevisande : Jane A. Adams - ISBN : 727880349 - ISBN13 : 9780727880345 - Dar 208 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2011

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not too fond of mysteries with a supernatural element and it took me a long time to get through the first few chapters. Luckily, the book was redeemed by creating the "locked room" situation which I love!

[Margo Brooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a classic Agatha Christie plot. Strangers and friends find themselves snowed in at a remote English countryside house where they are to recreate a seance from 100 years previously that had went badly. One by one they are mysteriously murdered, and even when help arrives, it is unclear if it really is help or not. It should have been great, but it wasn't. First, I could not keep the large cast of characters straight. Not remembering how they were initially related and under what pretenses they were there for, made the unravelling of events even more difficult. The book would have benefitted from a cast of characters in the front. Second, the dialog was good, but i often couldn't tell who was talking, or even who was in the room. This is not serious literature, and so it should have been easier. I eventually just gave up and read to finish. Third, there was no atmosphere. Yes they were snowed in. Yes the power went out. But who cared. The reader wasn't scared. There were no tense moments, except at the end, and that was so confusing and short, it didn't matter. Finally, an editorial problem. The cover said that the book would appeal to folks who like MC Beaton. As a result, I excepted humor at least. There was none. I wouldn't recommend this one, but Maybe another in the series would be better. I did keep reading after all.

[Juli · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in the Rina Martin series but the first that I've read. I liked some of the characters, and thought they were reasonably well-developed and complicated. But when the reveal came around, I felt it explained WHO-dunnit but not WHY. There didn't seem to be any reason for the deaths of at least two of the 3 victims... I won't be reading anything more by this author.

[mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Aaarrgh

[Susan Pientka · Rating 2 out of 5]

No resolution

This book is a cheat. 90% of the book is about two seances, one in 1870 and one currently .
There are four murders. The first one, in 1870, is of a Dr. Pym. Dr. Pym is a friend of Albert Southam, wealthy industrialist and owner of the “country house”. No motive for this murder is ever given.
In the current period, Edwin Holmes, a physic researcher is murdered. Again, there is no motive and no clear murderer.
Simeon Meehan is murdered before we arrive at the Country House. Why was he murdered and by whom?
Toby, the cousin of Melissa, the host, at the country house is murdered
At the very end of the book, Melissa has found some jewels belonging to the wife of Albert Southam and given them to Rav to sell for her. (Up to this point Rav had been a side character, thoughtful and considerate. ). She says Rav killed Toby. (Again why) The police catch Rav with the criminal to whom he is selling the jewels. And that is the end of the book.
Very strange and unsatisfactory.

[Robert Crouch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rina, Tim and Joy arrive at Aikensthorpe, an imposing country manor house that’s now a hotel. They’re part of an experiment to recreate a séance from 1872, which led to a man dying. With the winter snow cutting them off, it’s not long before someone dies. It looks like natural causes but soon turns out to be murder.

Without her friend, detective MacGregor to help her, Rina starts to investigate alone, aware that one of the people in the hotel is a killer.

It’s change of venue and style as Rina and Mac investigate a traditional country house murder mystery. While the narrative and main characters are as engaging as the previous novels in the series, the story seemed to lose something from the change of location. The shifts in narrative from the present to 1872 added more characters to the growing cast list, often making it difficult to remember who was who.

While this is still an accomplished and intriguing story, I hope the next book sees them back on the home territory that made the previous novels so entertaining and compelling.

[Claudia Cheyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim invited Joy and Rina to accompany him to a magician's gathering which will be held in a huge country manorhouse out in the middle of nowhere. From the moment they arrive, Joy and Rina see that things are not what Tim had made it out to be. Disharmony among the group leads to dead bodies. Just to make a bad situation worse, a big snowstorm moves in and traps everyone in this scary situation where any one of them could be a murderer.
I think this might have been the best book in the Rina Martin series so far. Lots of surprises when characters who seemingly had nothing to tie them to this bad-luck house actually did have a history with the family or the neighborhood. Besides, who doesn't like a mystery in which many people are stranded in a location together where the body count increases and everyone is a suspect?

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, Intricate Plot

Loved it. A bit disappointed with the ending. It felt abrupt. Rushed. It was as though the Author was up against a deadline and typed in the first thing that came to mind. Compared to how well this plot was designed the ending was a bit if a whimper. Still an excellent story and I intend to read the next book in the series. As I've mentioned in my reviews of previous books in this series: I recommend you read them in order to appreciate the characters fully. I do highly recommend the entire series, if cozy British mystery is your cup of tea. Rina Martin will not let you down!

[Elizabeth White · Rating 2 out of 5]

Should have been great, but wasn't. Had the classic Agatha Christie type of plot that I usually love, but was disappointed in the way it unraveled. I was confused at times; had a hard time keeping the characters straight and when the murderer was revealed I wanted more explanation. Nevertheless, I will try reading more books in the series (going back to the first) to see if they are any better - because I see something good in Adams' writing.

[Di Worley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic Scene

An old manor house with secrets from the past involving seances. The seance that took place over 100 years ago, it is not a success. Then comes the snow comes and the revelation of a death of 1 of the guests. Snowed in with a murderer! Run a attempts to solve the many inconsistencies and uncover lies and deceptions. I did enjoy the book but felt the final ending a bit of an anti cimax.

[Sandy Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite.

While I have loved most of this series, this one was a bit lacking. It felt like too many loose ends. Why the seance? There is a treasure, not mentioned until the end and what woman would leave it behind? What books were so valuable and why? Was the police officer on the take? What happened to the country house? Several other questions remain, as well as the small parts played by the usually main characters making this story just mediocre.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been enjoying the Rina Martin series with the exception of this book. The ending was wrapped up so swiftly that I am still trying to figure out who the murderer was of all three men. Did Melissa kill somebody? Did the unknown people that were using the place as an illegal drug centre kill the three men? I am in a quandary as to how I could read 230 pages and not know what the heck happened. What did I miss?

[Julie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this country house mystery where a snowstorm keeps a group of people stranded...then there's a death.

Rina takes more centre stage in this instalment and I liked her thought processes. The characters suited the plot and the plot had plenty of twists. There was a great sense of place - brilliant descriptions of the house, the weather and the storyline of the past.

Engaging and entertaining.

Highly recommended.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better

Better than the previous book.You could read this book as a stand alone and it wouldn't matter. If you fancy a cozy mystery about people trapped in a country house then it's a good book . If you expecting the same originallaty of the first couple of books it's more cozy than that.

[Candace Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am enjoying this cozy mystery series. This book was the best one yet! It has an interesting plotline with lots of twists and turns. It kept me engrossed until the end. I agree with others who felt that the end was a bit abrupt without an adequate explanation for the murderer's motivations. Despite this, it is a great read.

[Barb M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike some reviewers, I enjoyed this book more than some of the previous books in this series, I think because of the setting. I was also glad not to have the same group of characters that appear over and over in previous stories, some of whom I always felt were unnecessary. The ending felt rushed, though, with some of the important info thrown in at the end.

[Melodie Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this series

I have now read books 1 through 5, which should be read in order to understand place, time and complex, continuing, character development. These are not your average cozy mysteries. I’m thoroughly enjoying reading this series. I hope you enjoy reading them too.

[Sandra Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast-paced and suspenseful

This is the old plot of a group of people stranded together by weather and a killer among them. The body count has risen to 3. No way to leave the house due to the blizzard. Rina saved the day in the end by shooting the bad guy with a shotgun. Hardly anyone is who they seem to be. Satisfying ending.

[Mrs J S Willman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a few Rina Martin books & have enjoyed getting to know the heroine and her friends. I liked the setting for this story, a group of people stranded in a remote country house during a snowstorm, trying to re-enact a seance. The storyline kept me guessing however, I was disappointed in the last couple of chapters - I felt the reveal and ending was all a bit too rushed!

[Wendy Hearder-moan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite different from the previous books in the series and I didn’t enjoy it as much. The parts of the book dealing with Elizabeth and the original seance didn’t seem too relevant and the business about the “mole” among the guests at the current seance was also confusing….or maybe I just wasn’t paying close enough attention.

[Holly Mcclain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it because I love Rina and Tim and Mac and whomever else tags along. But if I didn't have that fondness for the characters from the previous books, this one would have been a real disappointment. Also there were too many deaths. Honestly, it felt more like an English slo-mo Lifetime Channel horror movie. But yes, I will still read the next one (⁠◠⁠‿⁠◕⁠)

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The setting was pretty contrived - somehow everyone ends up in this middle of nowhere country house in a snowstorm so nobody can leave and dead bodies keep turning up. There was also this long ago murder with implications for the present ones and that was a little weird. None the less I love Rina and her gang - especially now we have Miriam.

[Wanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

What?!! So who was the murderer? I was enjoying this book until the end. It is unacceptable for a who dun it not to make clear who did in fact do it. Horrible book. Do not recommend to anyone. Wish I could give negative stars.

[Marie Shirley Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting mystery

I love this series! It is best that you read the series in order. It will make a whole lot more sense.

The characters are really different, but quite special.

I hope the author continues with this series, it really is a great read!

[Glenda Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not as good

I loved all of Jane Adams first four books with Rina Martin. This one was too complicated and involved. Too many characters, none of whom I cared about. the plot was too involved and when it ended it was a surprise. Nope didn't care for the fifth book in the series.