A Winter Kill

by Vicki Delany

Nicole Patterson is a young, green and very eager probationary constable with the Ontario Provincial Police. Although she spends much of her time breaking up bar fights, giving out traffic tickets and finding lost kids, she dreams of one day becoming a detective.

Late one bitterly cold winter night, she comes across the body of a young woman lying on the edge of a snow-covered field on the outskirts of town. The girl appears to have been strangled. Nicole recognizes the victim as a local high school student with a somewhat sullied reputation, the daughter of the town drunk. Though both under-qualified and unauthorized, Nicole feels compelled to throw herself into the murder investigation.

Was the murdered girl really as promiscuous as her classmates described or the victim of bullying? What was her relationship with the star of the football team? And what is the significance of the ring with the large blue stone found near her body?

Is Nicole Patterson herself heading for trouble by pretending to be a detective?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Canada, Novella, Adult, Crime, Young Adult

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2012

About the author

“It’s a crime not to read Delany,” so says the London Free Press.

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most varied and prolific crime writers.

She is the author of four cozy mystery series: The Tea by the Sea series from Kensington Books, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series from Crooked Lane and the Year Round Christmas series from Penguin. Under the pen name of Eva Gates she writes the Lighthouse Library Series.
Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com , www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor, and twitter: @vickidelany

Vicki is part of Mystery Lovers Kitchen (http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com) and Killer Characters (http://www.killercharacters.com)

Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com

Reviews

[Lenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a wonderful book to read as I really enjoy reading novels about police crime and what not. Though I really wish it had been a lot longer as it ended WAY to fast which was a huge bummer! I would recommend this to others as well especially if you are into police type stories as well. Very well written and extremely fun to read.

[Emerson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was written very clearly obviously. It was an alright read-only because it was fast and had a decent amount of description. I think that it was painfully obvious that Jason and Maureen were a couple and I hated at the end how they claimed that Jason would not have enjoyed coming home to a crying baby because it felt like the author was being mean about teenage pregnancy which is not right. I feel like the book could have been more investigating than the small amount there actually was.

[Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good straight forward murder mystery. The story and characters were good and the writing clear. It's a short read, so you can finish it quickly. I did figure out the murderer before the end so there were no surprises and the reasoning was clear. An okay book if you want a quick read.

[IAmTheHolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicole is a brand new cop with the Ontario Provincial Police who dreams of becoming a detective.  When she recognizes the body she finds one evening, she knows there is more to the story than face value.  The girl has a bad reputation and not great parents, but Nicole recognizes there is more to the story and starts to investigate.

Another novella like White Sands Blues and Blue Water Hues, but this time a new character and set in Canada.  This was a good ride of a mystery.  I especially liked the detail of why Nicole was so set on figuring out the truth - a good message there.

8.5 of 10 and 4.5 of 5 for readability.  A little more gruesome than the island mysteries but it still probably only took me an hour to read.  If you are looking for a quick read but need something that will hook you, I highly recommend these short novellas but Vicki Delany! 

For more reviews, check out bedroopedbookworms.wordpress.com!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novella. Part of a publisher’s series of “Rapid Reads” books (by various authors, as listed at the back). So it’s MEANT to be short, resolved quickly. As such, for what it is, it was good. The story can’t be too complex & fit this format. What surprises me is that it seemed like a trial run of the Constable Molly Smith series, there were so many similarities. But this book came out in 2012, & the first Constable Molly Smith book came out in 2007. So I guess it’s more like a condensed CMS story. Different names, different location but both seasonal snowy tourist areas; a new female cop being useful to a seasoned detective because she’s local & he’s not; & her mom works/volunteers at a community center.

[Skylar Olson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a fast and easy read which is why I gave it 2 stars instead of 1. I felt as if the book had a lot of fillers simply to make the book longer. It was painfully obvious that Jason and Maureen were in a relationship, and it seemed dragged on. Similarly to what another review said, I didn’t like how at the end of the book, the author said Jason wouldn’t of enjoyed coming home to a 16 year old mother upset that she can’t be like other teenagers and a crying baby. Jason was clearly in love with her, he wanted to be a dad, and he was excited. I think this book was bashing teenage pregnancy.

[Robert Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished 06/25/2014. Young trainee constable Nicole finds the body of a young woman strangled & left beside the road. With her help, it is established that the murderer is the father of a young man that intended to marry the girl, thus in the father's opinion destroying his entire life in the future.

[Mezzie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not good for high school students struggling with writing

I really like the idea of Rapid Reads, but the fragments -- particularly those starting with subordinating words -- go against everything I'm trying to get my students to stop doing in their writing.

[PoligirlReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, smooth read and a nice way to pass the time while you're waiting. There were too many obvious red herrings to shove into so few pages, so the mystery and the clues were not as convincing as they could be. That said, it was a good, quick read with a somber, if likely realistic, ending.

[Marielaurent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book since I first started reading it. It's a really great book. I enjoyed it a lot. I love the characters, plot, dialogue, and description of scenes from the book. It's a good book to read. I give this book 5 stars and recommend it to anyone else to read it.

[Aaliyah Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple,short and interesting story

[M.L.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The terse, clipped fragments and sentences made this a little hard for me to get into at first, but once started, it zipped along nicely.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting mystery and it was as well done as always.

[Roger Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, fun story

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quick and right to the point. I was looking for a winter themed read for book bingo. ✔️

[ariabxo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️ Soo good. Def recommend! Took me about an hour to read.

Likes 👍
- Short read
- Great setting and characters
- Great storyline
-Very easy to read
- Easy to solve

Dislikes 👎
- Not as gripping

[Mary Faye Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just too short of a story for me. My first and last rapid read. I enjoy novels with more story.

[Beth Krupitzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good quick read I love quick reads definitely enjoyed it ⭐️⭐️

[Mckenzie Sampson]

Nichole Patterson a young but very egear probationary constable with the Ontario Provincial Police. Is given the task of doing the simple things such a routine traffic stops, writing traffic citations, breaking up bar fights, and even having to help find the occasional missing child. She does are these things with the hope to one day become a detective. For Nichole that day came quicker than she thought. Through the entire book there is suspense, action, mystery, and juicy details, that keep you reading.

One night as she was doing her rounds he came across a field, and in that field she found the body of a teenage girl. The highschool girl that Nichole recognises for the local high school looks to have been strangled. The girl had quite the reputation. Form being the daughter of the town drunk, to being a very promiscuous girl, according to the other students. Patterson realises that she needs to immediately call for backup. Soon after another squad car and an ambulance arrive at the scene. The cop pronounced the girl dead and they call in the chief detective, and the investigation begins. With Patterson still being a probationary constable she is unqualified and unauthorised the help with the investigation. But, the dream of becoming a detective she is compelled to throw herself into the investigation.

Constable Patterson and myself were able to connect with the fact that, when she wants to achieve something she will do anything to help her get to that end result. One of my favorite parts of the book is when they tried to investigate who the father was of the unborn child that was kill with the murder of the girl in the field. My least favorite part of the book is when the girls dad was at the funeral he did not show his respects and all he wanted to do was get to the bar. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read murder mysteries.

In conclusion the book a Winter Kill was a very enjoyable read. The author did a really great job at keeping the suspense. She also did a great job at throwing in little hints and clues to who killed her. All I wanted to do is keep reading more and more to find out what happened. By the end I could not believe what had happened.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished reading “A Winter Kill” by Vicki Delany, and I was very impressed about the story line. The setting was located in a small town just on the bottom corner of Ontario, Canada. A small town girl named Nicole was a patrol officer that was patrolling the night of the murder. Nicole had only been six months as a police officer has been investigating for the murder of this poor girl. She was bending over backwards finding the murderer in her spare time. The head investigator was very impressed with Nicole’s hard work and dedication to the case.
I think the quality of the book was above average; Vicki used a lot of detail when explaining the murder scenes or the conversations of one another. I think the story would have been better if there was more mystery and more length to the novel. I think the novel was a page turner, every page had more details on the murder and all the suspects. The story was also very descriptive with lots of cliff hangers at the end of each chapter. She also used a lot of foreshadowing making you think something but something completely different actually happened, it was mind twisting.
In the end “A Winter Kill” was a very interesting book and I think a lot of different kind of people, people who enjoy a little bit of a mystery. Also people who are not the strongest readers would enjoy reading this book. The book is an easier read so it makes reading more enjoyable for less experienced readers. All in all “A Winter Kill” was a very interesting book to read and I was very happy when reading it.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Winter Kill by Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany has delivered a murder mystery in Rapid Read format that gives the reader a view of life they will find familiar. A young girl from the "wrong side of the tracks" so to speak, is found dead and no one seems to care very much. A glimpse of our perceptions, often wrong, of people we don't really know who don't fit in or are considered beneath us. In this case, a popular young boy, destined for a football scholarship, has taken the time to know her and is devastated when she is murdered.

Nicole Patterson, a new constable on the small town's force, also has taken an interest in the victim, Maureen. Her death brings back high school memories, as a former student at the same high school Maureen attended, she would as soon forget. Though not qualified yet to be on the case, she can't leave it alone. Since she is familiar with the town and her supervisor is from a big city, Nicole is compelled to ask a few questions on her own.

Vicki Delany has written with a depth of compassion not always found in murder mysteries, causing me to care who killed Maureen. This is no easy feat in Rapid Reads, short but complete stories that can be read in a day. I look forward to more from Vicki in the future.

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rookie Police Constable Nicole Patterson notices a dead body on the side of the road while on patrol in the middle of a snowy winter. The body ends up being Maureen Grey, a local teen from Prince Edward District High School who was viewed as the bottom rung on the social ladder, mainly due to rumors she would sleep with anyone. Maureen had left home several weeks ago as she was tired of living with her passive mother and abusive father. Everyone in this remote, rural area believes Maureen was killed by her own father in a fit of rage, especially after the autopsy reveals Maureen was pregnant.

However, Nicole is not convinced and decides to ask some questions on her own since she’s also a local County girl and her superior officers do not know the locals like she does. Can Nicole use her inside knowledge of the area to piece together the clues and find Maureen’s killer? Or will Nicole’s inexperience with investigating get her in trouble with her boss, or lead her into a dangerous encounter with the real murderer?

This Orca-sibling book will appeal to reluctant readers who enjoy a fast-paced mystery. Since the story occurs in Canada, some diction and phrasings might be awkward for my students, but it won’t slow them down too much. This book’s reading level is 2.8.

[Heather Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Constable Nicole Patterson has only been with the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) for six months, but she know a dead body when she sees one. After finding the teenage girl's body, she can't let the case go. She knows that the detectives will follow up any leads, but she can't stop asking questions.

Just like Nicole, I couldn't let this story go. I read it in one short sitting and was captived. This title is part of the grouping of books called "Rapid Reads" from Raven Books. They are aimed at readers with low skill or confidence, or for those who want a quick read.

Within a few chapters, I felt as though I knew Nicole. I could understand her position within her small community and how she felt most comfortable approaching her lifelong neighbours and asking them about the teen. The story progressed quickly, but did not feel rushed or as though it was missing anything.

Author Vicki Delany also has a number of full length novels available, stand alone and series. I'm looking forward to reading In the Shadow of the Glacier, the first book in the Smith and Winters series.

[Myckyee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a bit torn about this book. I thought it was a pretty good story as far as mysteries go. It had a surprise (if abrupt) ending and I enjoyed that. However the writing style was more for a young person and although there's nothing wrong with that, I found the theme to be a bit mature for the book to be considered YA. Perhaps the writing style is what fits with a 'rapid reads' book, ergo the short, clipped and very simple sentences. True to its promise of being a quick read, I zipped through it in just over an hour.

I liked it but I'm just a little confused about who its audience is supposed to be.

ETA: I heard from the author, Vicki Delany, regarding my confusion about the target audience for this book. She clarifies that the book is intended for adults with reading skills at the grade 2 to 3 level or adults whose mother tongue is not English.

[Marie Claude · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a Winter Kill, Vicky Delany tells the story of rookie constable Nicole Patterson, back in her natal county, and her investigation in the murder of a young high school student. The victim being born on the wrong of the track and having a reputation for sleeping around, the fingers immediately point to the father as the killer. Even though she is not part of the investigation team, Nicole soon asks questions to students and others who knew the victim.

I read the book in one seating; it was a fast and easy read. Which is, for a book part of the "Fast Reads" collection a good thing. Naturally, such a short book does not allow for a lot of character development and twists and turns in the plot, but I thought that Vicky Delany did a good job in keeping the interest in the story and characters. I would recommend this book to occasional readers and those learning English.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicole is a probationary police officer for a small town. She finds the dead body of a high school girl on a bitterly cold winter night. Even though she is not a detective, she is drawn to the case. The girls father was an abusive drunk, she had a reputation for sleeping around, but none of the “easy” answers seem like the right ones to Nicole.

Rapid Reads is a hi-lo book designed for adults who need to complete their GED. I have found that many of the books in this series have themes that are inappropriate for middle or high school aged students. This one, however, works well as a part of the mystery genre. In addition there are several high school aged characters in the book. Language is appropriate and violence is limited and not graphic.

[Lynn Stadel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great quick read which I would have loved to have been a longer book because it was so intriguing. and ended too soon for me.

There's a new rookie in the town of Picton, Ontario by the name of Nicole Patterson who has discovered the dead body of a girl in her teens who appears to have been strangled by her own scarf and calls it in, it's not her case since the victim was murdered but she just can't let it go and does her own investigation with some help from her mom who works at a youth center and knows just about everyone in town.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple, fast-paced, easy read. Books in this series are "intended for a diverse audience, including ESL students, reluctant readers, adults who struggle with literacy and anyone who wants a high-interest quick read" (orcabook.com/rapid-reads.com/about.html). Since the mystery genre is a favorite of mine, I thought that this book would not disappoint. I'm glad to say I was correct.

[Judy Sheluk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading these Rapid Reads recently as a means of getting familiar with the novella. Once again, I really enjoyed the story and Vicki Delany has done a good job of building a likeable character which is sure to become yet another series. If you're looking for a meaty read, Rapid Reads aren't for you. But if you want something quick and light, these make a very satisfying snack.

[Lark37 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Canadian newly minted police officer sticks her nose into a murder investigation because she found the body. This was poorly written as if it was a high school writing project. No character development at all. Predictable! Just because it is a short novella doesn't mean it should read as if written by a 10th grader.