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D.I. Jack Dylan #4
Snow Kills
PEOPLE GO MISSING EVERY DAY BUT IN SEVERE WEATHER THE NUMBERS INCREASE. When Kayleigh Harwood, a young hairdresser, is reported missing by her mother in the worst blizzards Harrowfield has experienced in years, D.I. Jack Dylan and his team are called in to assist. Kayleigh's car is found abandoned with her mobile phone inside but there is no sign of her. Clothing is found on nearby moorland and a search of the local quarry begins. The investigation turns to a loner living in a dwelling close to where Kayleigh's car was found. As the snow thaws human remains are found and Dylan's boss Chief Superintendent Hugo-Watkins thinking the two incidents are linked calls out the entire Major Incident Team, much to Dylan's disbelief. Meanwhile Dylan's wife, Jen, becomes distracted and distant as unbeknown to Dylan her ex fiancé is in their midst and stalking her. RC Bridgestock are consultants to ITV's award winning drama series 'Scott & Bailey' and the BBC's new police drama 'Happy Valley'.
290 pages, Paperback
First published October 23, 2013
35 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
R.C. Bridgestock
33 books75 followersRC Bridgestock is the name that husband and wife co-authors Robert (Bob) and Carol Bridgestock write under. Between them they have nearly 50 years of police experience, offering an authentic edge to their stories. The writing duo created the character DI Jack Dylan, a down-to- earth detective, written with warmth and humour.
Bob was a highly commended career detective of 30 years, retiring at the rank of Detective Superintendent. As a police civilian supervisor Carol also received a Chief Constable’s commendation for outstanding work.
The couple are the storyline consultants on BAFTA winning BBC One police drama Happy Valley and series 3 of ITV’s Scott & Bailey.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
November 12, 2019
Snow Kills: RC Bridgestock
Always wear a rug when it snows.
As someone who has been stuck in a snowstorm, in a car, miles from anywhere, I wasn’t without a certain feeling of trepidation when I started to read Snow Kills. I was right to feel a little anxious. The story centres around the disappearance of a young hairdresser, Kayleigh Harwood, initially stuck in her car on the outskirts of a village during a blizzard. However, once the snow has settled her car is found abandoned and there’s no sign of Kayleigh until much later when items of clothing are found at a nearby quarry. Are they Kayleigh’s?
The investigation unfolds without any concrete trace of Kayleigh, alive or dead. With many twists and turns suspicion falls on several characters who have come into contact, either in the salon where she works, or in other circumstances, with the missing girl.
All the characters in Snow Kills are well formed. I know they will be as I’m familiar with DI Dylan and his team because I have been following the series. I love that some of the suspects are quite odd but nevertheless very believable and plausible. I liked the way their idiosyncrasies were not over-played yet left you in no doubt that there was something not quite right about them.
I must admit I laughed out loud a few times as I had a mental image of one who liked to adorn themselves strangely, but I shan’t give anything away and spoil your enjoyment when you get to read about this person. Having met someone very similar when I wore another hat in life, I immediately had a vivid image flash before my eyes.
As ever R C Bridgestock hasn’t disappointed with this fascinating insight into an investigation which takes the reader through the stages the detectives go through as they piece together the movements and acquaintances of the victim, and delve into the lives of the various suspects who seem to be mocking the police - who fear the worst for Kayleigh. The suspects seem completely convinced her disappearance will remain unsolved. But then human are bones discovered and DI Jack Dylan and his team’s fears seem to be realised – and yet more bones come to light and everything turns upside down.
A fab read, lots to think about – which I love when reading a crime story because I always try to solve it before the writers reveal all. A great book to lose oneself in. Another 5* delight.
Always wear a rug when it snows.
As someone who has been stuck in a snowstorm, in a car, miles from anywhere, I wasn’t without a certain feeling of trepidation when I started to read Snow Kills. I was right to feel a little anxious. The story centres around the disappearance of a young hairdresser, Kayleigh Harwood, initially stuck in her car on the outskirts of a village during a blizzard. However, once the snow has settled her car is found abandoned and there’s no sign of Kayleigh until much later when items of clothing are found at a nearby quarry. Are they Kayleigh’s?
The investigation unfolds without any concrete trace of Kayleigh, alive or dead. With many twists and turns suspicion falls on several characters who have come into contact, either in the salon where she works, or in other circumstances, with the missing girl.
All the characters in Snow Kills are well formed. I know they will be as I’m familiar with DI Dylan and his team because I have been following the series. I love that some of the suspects are quite odd but nevertheless very believable and plausible. I liked the way their idiosyncrasies were not over-played yet left you in no doubt that there was something not quite right about them.
I must admit I laughed out loud a few times as I had a mental image of one who liked to adorn themselves strangely, but I shan’t give anything away and spoil your enjoyment when you get to read about this person. Having met someone very similar when I wore another hat in life, I immediately had a vivid image flash before my eyes.
As ever R C Bridgestock hasn’t disappointed with this fascinating insight into an investigation which takes the reader through the stages the detectives go through as they piece together the movements and acquaintances of the victim, and delve into the lives of the various suspects who seem to be mocking the police - who fear the worst for Kayleigh. The suspects seem completely convinced her disappearance will remain unsolved. But then human are bones discovered and DI Jack Dylan and his team’s fears seem to be realised – and yet more bones come to light and everything turns upside down.
A fab read, lots to think about – which I love when reading a crime story because I always try to solve it before the writers reveal all. A great book to lose oneself in. Another 5* delight.
June 16, 2016
The fourth in the D I Dylan series and another cracker of a read.
The title is very apt for the story as it is set in winter when there's a heavy snow fall.
I love how the story starts off. The reader is introduced to hairdresser Kayleigh and we get a feel for the young girl, well at 19 technically a woman but as a mother, to me she is very much still a child. Having finished work and getting to her car she realises just how bad the snow is and this is where the story gets a whole lot more chilling, literally!
The tension of knowing that something was obviously going to happen to Kayleigh had me feeling a whole lot of emotions. I was totally gripped to see where the authors would take us, yet in a way I didn't want to know what horrible fate was in store for her.
A missing person is probably never on top of any priority list, especially when it's an adult. Jack and his team though do get stuck in as their first investigations turn up some unsavoury characters to say the least.
I love how even though there is plenty of the story dedicated to the case, part of it still manages to concentrate on Jack and Jens relationship and it was great to see Jen evolving as a stronger character than just a D I's wife.
Yet again the authors bring home to readers what it is like for the family of murder victims as well as what it is like for the officers involved. There is a particular bit in the story where it says that the families that are left behind have a longer life sentence that the actual murders themselves and I can believe that being very true.
Snow Kills is a brilliant crime book with plenty of insight into procedures of how the police narrow down on their suspect. If you haven't read any of this series yet, what are you waiting for?
The title is very apt for the story as it is set in winter when there's a heavy snow fall.
I love how the story starts off. The reader is introduced to hairdresser Kayleigh and we get a feel for the young girl, well at 19 technically a woman but as a mother, to me she is very much still a child. Having finished work and getting to her car she realises just how bad the snow is and this is where the story gets a whole lot more chilling, literally!
The tension of knowing that something was obviously going to happen to Kayleigh had me feeling a whole lot of emotions. I was totally gripped to see where the authors would take us, yet in a way I didn't want to know what horrible fate was in store for her.
A missing person is probably never on top of any priority list, especially when it's an adult. Jack and his team though do get stuck in as their first investigations turn up some unsavoury characters to say the least.
I love how even though there is plenty of the story dedicated to the case, part of it still manages to concentrate on Jack and Jens relationship and it was great to see Jen evolving as a stronger character than just a D I's wife.
Yet again the authors bring home to readers what it is like for the family of murder victims as well as what it is like for the officers involved. There is a particular bit in the story where it says that the families that are left behind have a longer life sentence that the actual murders themselves and I can believe that being very true.
Snow Kills is a brilliant crime book with plenty of insight into procedures of how the police narrow down on their suspect. If you haven't read any of this series yet, what are you waiting for?
November 10, 2013
I don't normally read crime fiction but still loving the forth book! They get better every time! I just don't like reading in be at night on my own as much as it is truly frightening to know this is coming from real police experience. Loved this book, couldn't put it down, now just to wait for the next
December 1, 2013
A winter's night, thick snow, a young woman stranded in her car and a Good Samaritan who is not all he seems.
Mix in an oddball or two, drunken louts and a stalker, and DI Jack Dylan finds himself in the middle of another difficult case.
Kayleigh Harwood, the stranded young woman, went missing from her car during an evening with the worst blizzards for years. But why was it that a week went by before her loving mother, her boyfriend or her employer reported her missing? Was it simply a matter of crossed wires? Or something more sinister?
Dylan had troubles at home to add to his difficulties at work. Jen, his wife, was strangely distant and evasive. Their first baby, Maisie, was teething, and causing sleepless nights. Then an old boyfriend of Jen's appears on the scene. Is he a potential rival for Jen's love?
The investigation continues, the lies of the various suspects are disproven, and, after painstaking searches on the moors, in the water and at several addresses, two sets of human remains are found. Whose are they? Could they possibly be those of two other young women who went missing twenty years earlier? Dylan wonders whether the older cases might be connected with their investigation of Kayleigh Harwood. It seems unlikely, given the timescale.
Then, a girl's abused body is discovered, naked and concealed in a freezer at the home of one of the suspects. The post mortem reveals sexual assault has occurred.
Amidst continuing uncertainty and upset in his private life, Dylan works his way through the quagmire of deceit to find the truth about young Kayleigh's death.
His relief at solving an investigation covering twenty years and at least three murders is matched by his joy when the conflict in his private life is resolved with a message of love from Jen, the wife he thought he had lost forever.
Snow Kills is another terrific book in the Dylan series by R C Bridgestock.
I fairly raced through the story. It gripped me from the start as I witnessed Dylan and Jen's marital tensions and met the young Kayleigh who was, I sensed, destined not to be long for this world. Five stars. Well deserved.
Mix in an oddball or two, drunken louts and a stalker, and DI Jack Dylan finds himself in the middle of another difficult case.
Kayleigh Harwood, the stranded young woman, went missing from her car during an evening with the worst blizzards for years. But why was it that a week went by before her loving mother, her boyfriend or her employer reported her missing? Was it simply a matter of crossed wires? Or something more sinister?
Dylan had troubles at home to add to his difficulties at work. Jen, his wife, was strangely distant and evasive. Their first baby, Maisie, was teething, and causing sleepless nights. Then an old boyfriend of Jen's appears on the scene. Is he a potential rival for Jen's love?
The investigation continues, the lies of the various suspects are disproven, and, after painstaking searches on the moors, in the water and at several addresses, two sets of human remains are found. Whose are they? Could they possibly be those of two other young women who went missing twenty years earlier? Dylan wonders whether the older cases might be connected with their investigation of Kayleigh Harwood. It seems unlikely, given the timescale.
Then, a girl's abused body is discovered, naked and concealed in a freezer at the home of one of the suspects. The post mortem reveals sexual assault has occurred.
Amidst continuing uncertainty and upset in his private life, Dylan works his way through the quagmire of deceit to find the truth about young Kayleigh's death.
His relief at solving an investigation covering twenty years and at least three murders is matched by his joy when the conflict in his private life is resolved with a message of love from Jen, the wife he thought he had lost forever.
Snow Kills is another terrific book in the Dylan series by R C Bridgestock.
I fairly raced through the story. It gripped me from the start as I witnessed Dylan and Jen's marital tensions and met the young Kayleigh who was, I sensed, destined not to be long for this world. Five stars. Well deserved.
November 10, 2013
Snow Kills grabs your attention from the first page. You are given an insight into what happens to a young girl when she is stranded in her car one evening during the worst snow blizzard for twenty years. The book takes you through D.I Dylan and his team investigating if the young girl is still alive or dead. I must say I went through every emotion possible reading this book loving many of the characters and disliking a few. Knowing that this is a novel as true to life as it's going to get keeps the hairs on your arms tingling and your heart pounding especially as D.I. Dylan get closer to solving the mystery. There is so much going on with so many twists and turns that it keeps your attention throughout the book and there is no way you can put it down till you get to the end of the Book!
D.I Dylan has grown on me over the series and I love his relationships at work as well as his private life, he is not a man to be messed with that's for sure but a man with a emotional heart and high standards.
This is a series that you will love if you enjoy Crime/Mystery I can only say read it you will be amazed at the writing ability of this author and his wife. Truly brilliant!!
D.I Dylan has grown on me over the series and I love his relationships at work as well as his private life, he is not a man to be messed with that's for sure but a man with a emotional heart and high standards.
This is a series that you will love if you enjoy Crime/Mystery I can only say read it you will be amazed at the writing ability of this author and his wife. Truly brilliant!!
January 15, 2014
I tried so hard not to read this book too fast as I knew it was the last one, but I honestly couldn't put it down.
From page one I was completely immersed in it and, in a detraction from the three other books, we know who the killer is from early on in the book....or do we? That is the question.
DI Jack Dylan is under pressure to find Kayleigh Harwood, a 19 year old who disappeared on White Wednesday, the day of heavy snowfall. During the course of the investigation Jack has personal problems of his own which are obviously causing him great concern.
It is the usual fast paced brilliant Police investigative work which I have come to know and love and I just couldn't wait to find out the outcome.
If I am being particularly pedantic (sorry!) there are the usual missing words and spelling mistakes, ie visa versa, but I do believe that, in time, the mistakes will completely disappear and will be as equally enjoyable as these four have been.
I do hope there is enough life left in Jack for more books as I just love them and him!
Terrific and absorbing.
From page one I was completely immersed in it and, in a detraction from the three other books, we know who the killer is from early on in the book....or do we? That is the question.
DI Jack Dylan is under pressure to find Kayleigh Harwood, a 19 year old who disappeared on White Wednesday, the day of heavy snowfall. During the course of the investigation Jack has personal problems of his own which are obviously causing him great concern.
It is the usual fast paced brilliant Police investigative work which I have come to know and love and I just couldn't wait to find out the outcome.
If I am being particularly pedantic (sorry!) there are the usual missing words and spelling mistakes, ie visa versa, but I do believe that, in time, the mistakes will completely disappear and will be as equally enjoyable as these four have been.
I do hope there is enough life left in Jack for more books as I just love them and him!
Terrific and absorbing.
November 24, 2013
The 4th in the DI Dylan series is another top British police procedural.
When a young woman goes missing in a snow storm the team are called in to investigate, Dylan has to juggle the day to day running of the investigation along with his home life which is complicated when on flame of Jens walks back into her life.
Written with an eye to detail you get a real sense of the goings on in an investigation brought by this ex police writing couple, coupled with this is a real feel for the characters which has developed throughout the series.
I was gripped from the opening pages, it is difficult to go into details without revealing spoilers, I really enjoyed the read with believable characters well plotted and well written by a couple who know what they are talking about. Look forward to book 5
When a young woman goes missing in a snow storm the team are called in to investigate, Dylan has to juggle the day to day running of the investigation along with his home life which is complicated when on flame of Jens walks back into her life.
Written with an eye to detail you get a real sense of the goings on in an investigation brought by this ex police writing couple, coupled with this is a real feel for the characters which has developed throughout the series.
I was gripped from the opening pages, it is difficult to go into details without revealing spoilers, I really enjoyed the read with believable characters well plotted and well written by a couple who know what they are talking about. Look forward to book 5
April 6, 2014
Snow Kills is another fantastic novel in the DI Dillon series - loved it and look forward to more in the future from this fab writing duo.
October 1, 2015
Another excellent read
July 14, 2017
I have read,three in this series
I enjoy the books and feel as if I know the characters. They are quite easy to read and are set in my local area.
I enjoy the books and feel as if I know the characters. They are quite easy to read and are set in my local area.
November 4, 2013
As usual a 5 star read!!
June 20, 2020
The premise was an interesting one, a young woman is stranded during a snow storm which causes traffic chaos. Offered shelter by an unusual local resident, she disappears off the grid. I really wanted to like this. As it states on the front cover, the procedural aspect of the novel is, I imagine, spot on. For me, as the story unravelled, the plot was written to state the bleedin' obvious, down to explaining what pornography is. The dialogue was clunky and unoriginal and, in the end, it read like crime by numbers.
June 23, 2025
A snowfall so strong the day is called White Wednesday....that's when a young woman goes missing from her snowbound car. Where did she go, where is she. The team will cup up against a very very strange man who may or may not know something....and then old skulls are found by the road..could all of this be connected. Dylan and the crew will have their hands full. Jen, Dylan's wife will also have some decisions to make.
May 14, 2017
A good straight forward police procedural. The good, the bad, the ugly. The results that just come from putting one step forward after another. And woven through with the complexities of just living as well.
July 28, 2017
a superb outing for Dylan and his team, can't wait for the next!!
December 5, 2017
This book was ok but not interesting enough to merit a higher rating.
May 31, 2019
Another very good read in this series.
June 4, 2022
It was realistic police work. Quite entertaining.
August 22, 2022
This crime thriller follows the investigation into a missing young hairdresser named Kayleigh Harwood. She was last heard from a week ago when the snow made it impossible for her to get home.
DI Jack Dylan and his team start to explore the options they have regarding the missing girl, and hope that it is not too late to find her alive.
When they stop at a house nearby to wear her car was stranded, they start to believe they may have a suspect.
With bones discovered that are too old to be Kayleigh and Dylan’s wife getting unwanted phone calls, Dylan must push through to still lead his team to solve the case.
Will they find Kayleigh dead or alive? Who could the murderer be?
I liked the fact that the policing procedures in this book felt very realistic, and although I’m no expert the way they were described and actioned seemed there was a lot of research behind the writing.
I loved DI Jack Dylan’s character, not only as a family man but the way he was with his colleagues.
He would praise and involve people more when they did a good job, but also act fast and make his feelings known if staff acted inappropriately.
The storyline is very engrossing, and although the have a suspect quite quickly the tension and mystery is still there throughout.
Overall, an engrossing crime thriller following a case when a young girl goes missing in the snow.
DI Jack Dylan and his team start to explore the options they have regarding the missing girl, and hope that it is not too late to find her alive.
When they stop at a house nearby to wear her car was stranded, they start to believe they may have a suspect.
With bones discovered that are too old to be Kayleigh and Dylan’s wife getting unwanted phone calls, Dylan must push through to still lead his team to solve the case.
Will they find Kayleigh dead or alive? Who could the murderer be?
I liked the fact that the policing procedures in this book felt very realistic, and although I’m no expert the way they were described and actioned seemed there was a lot of research behind the writing.
I loved DI Jack Dylan’s character, not only as a family man but the way he was with his colleagues.
He would praise and involve people more when they did a good job, but also act fast and make his feelings known if staff acted inappropriately.
The storyline is very engrossing, and although the have a suspect quite quickly the tension and mystery is still there throughout.
Overall, an engrossing crime thriller following a case when a young girl goes missing in the snow.
March 1, 2021
Another winner from the dynamic due 5 ⭐.
February 10, 2017
I found this very slow moving for a mystery. Maybe you will fell differently. Enjoy!
October 15, 2022
I gave the story four stars, which is solely for the police work, investigation procedures, and the very likeable characters—the camaraderie of the Dylan team is exceptional—but the absolutely disgusting pieces of vile filth that killed the girl turns my stomach. I am very happy that one of the murderers was killed and I hope the other one gets what he deserves as well. I hope that I never have to read another book by this writing team that is as revolting as this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2014
Good story and plotting. The book kept me interested and guessing until the end. Detailed police work solves the crime and all that. But enough with the cups of coffee.
July 12, 2014
Have to admit that this one didn't do it for me. I really didn't get into this book until about 200 pages in.
August 29, 2016
Enjoyed this book again.
It flowed well and had a few twists.
The background story flows well too
It flowed well and had a few twists.
The background story flows well too
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews