Blood Upon The Snow

by Ramsay Sinclair

DCI Cieran Black is being punished. He just doesn't know why.

So when he is sent to the snow-covered Highlands to solve a girl's murder in a small village where everyone knows everyone, he knows it's because the simple case wasn't worth sending in anyone more worthy.

But when the body is discovered to have been mutilated, the case takes a turn, and now Black and his team of misfits must put their heads together to solve this case against all odds. And out in the middle of nowhere, with a group no one has faith in and very limited resources, they must pull out all the stops.

Before more blood gets spilled.

Genres: Fiction

215 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 3, 2023

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

This is a good read never the less I am getting a wee bit fed up with detectives that have some sort of problem.
Why cant police people be non sexist non racist happy people doing a job?

[Viragored · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh dear, what a disappointment. I had hoped from the blurb that I would be in for a Tartan crime treat. But...
Usually I finish a book that I've started, but I finally gave up on this one a little over half-way through.
The characters just didn't ring true. Some aspects of the early scenes were just impossible to believe.
The first third of the book included a stream of allusions to things in the past that had affected the lead characters. Not a good plotting choice unless there's some explanation.
Worse though was the lack of understanding about how British Police forces work. Unless Police Scotland has been overrun by American TV show script writers, the way the characters address each other (Detective this, Detective that...) was completely unbelievable. The American influence also littered the text with 'gotten' and other clunkers.
So, I've deleted the book off my Kindle and have moved on to something more enjoyable.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good premise but clumsy

The pluses: not quite tartan noir but an interesting premise let down by clichéd characters, key clues revealed too soon, a single red herring quickly dismantled, unprofessional behaviour, unrealistic reactions and cringe-worthy dialogue/conversations.

A good editor could transform this book. It has potential, as the basic elements are there: troubled lead detective chief inspector with a mysterious trauma in his past, team of misfits who come good… but poor writing, stereotypes and premature revelations, all detract from what could have been.

Firstly the characterisation is clumsy: the beefy, physically unfeminine woman with the soft heart; the elderly forensic scientist wedded too closely to a single speciality, unwilling to broaden her knowledge base; the short and weedy beta-type SOCO specialist who cannot command respect despite his skillset; the ethnic-minority constable (whose skin colour is referred too incessantly throughout) - and that’s just the threadbare murder squad. Even the victim is stereotyped as super intelligent but unable to read her psychopathic “best friend”, whose pseudo-cleverness and single focus on botany cannot hide a mean-spirited core.

Only the seed of something good made me relent and give this a second star.

[Glenn Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonable story line marred by lack of knowledge of Scotland and poor writing. Trains don't run on 1st January, and on that date in northern Scotland the sun doesn't rise until about 9 am and sets around 3.30 pm, so it would be pitch black at 6 am and at 5 pm. Makes me wonder if the author has even visited Scotland.
Virtually every time the characters Black and Hunter are named they are called Detective. The word 'Detective' appears 736 times in the book, roughly 3 or 4 times per page. Just use their names please! The narrative would be much smoother and more natural that way.
There is a mix of British and American terms for various things which also detracts from the reality of the setting.

[Mairi Macdonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I very much enjoyed the story and characters, I was increasingly frustrated and annoyed by the repetitive and unnecessary use of Detective as a reference title. This is not the UK custom; officers are referred to initally by their rank (constable, sergeant, inspector &c), and between themselves either by that rank or, in the case of such a small team, by their name. Cieran Black would almost certainly just have been called 'Sir','Boss' or 'Guv'. I can only assume that the book was either written by an American who hadn't properly reasearched UK usage, or edited, badly, for an American readership, which is a great shame as the characters have great potential.

[Barbara Baglee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing!

I am not sure I enjoyed this book it certainly has some intriguing aspects. To begin with I didn't like any of the maim characters but they had developed and grown on me by the end. I will read the following books because there is unfinished business.
I disliked some of the terminology and felt it may have been written with the US market in mind. I don't think I have ever read a book where the method and perpetrator have been so glaringly obvious and the murder was not wrong in calling the detectives idiots.

[Jack R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Police Procedural

This could have been a terrific book, and it actually was enjoyable. The character development was spot on and the protagonist was believable, a steadfast police officer fraught with weaknesses. The story was great, riveting and detailed, moving pleasantly. The one flaw is that this team of professionals, albeit thrown together by necessity, took far too long to put the pieces of the crime together and to solve the case. Still, overall a very entertaining read.

[Alexander Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't impressed. There's a superb whodunit, published in the 1940s and set in a snowy New York State, by the author Hilda Lawrence ( I think ). It's title is, 'Blood Upon the Snow', and in plotting, characterisation, and the use of the English language, it's so superior to this. No offense to anyone, but I'm finding older crime fiction seems to be so much more literate than that of today. Maybe it's my age.

[Sue Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read about one fifth of this book as it was sloppily written, poorly researched and downright stupid. Plus Americanisms ie 'gotten' 'ocean' & calling the cops 'detective Black' etc which isn't done in UK to my knowledge.
Somebody else said it was irritating. Absolutely . Don't bother with this. Waste of time.

[J Horrocks · Rating 2 out of 5]

The blurb for the book read OK. However, the story was nonsensical and bore no relation to reality and made no sense whatsoever. The fact that due to some family disagreement there would not be a full scale investigation was risible. Also, the constant use of titles and names during conversations was grating to say the least. I generally continue with series, but not in this case.

[Sandra Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blood Upon The Snow: A Cieran Black Scottish Crime Thriller

Quite an enjoyable read, and it was good that the reason for a series was brought in. You would have had to read it to see what I mean by that. I thought I had sussed out the killer about halfway through, but I couldn't put it down until I finally knew.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

A difficult and slow read but very well written

I found the story to be very compelling and complicated. A sad and tragic tale of an injured officer dealing with a murder case, sent by his father with little support.
Detective Black overcomes the lack of officers to support the investigation but in a massive snowstorm manages to understand his life and the case.

[carol mcquade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storyline

Like the rest of this author's books I really enjoyed this story. I found it a bit different from previous ones, the main character took me a while to get to like him but I'm sure that the more books I read the better I will get to know and like him. Very enjoyable and I would recommend reading it to everyone.

[thomas grubb · Rating 1 out of 5]

Amateurish

Big mistake right at the start. No trains run on New Year's day in Scotland. Use of titles when characters talking to each other not believable.
Characters all weirdos.?

[Mrs Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor Read

I love crime thrillers, especially Scottish ones, but this one is not very good. Once I start a book I have to keep going, otherwise I would have put this down after about two chapters.

[Patricia Knights · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a bad storyline but got so fed up with the Americanisms. Had to check that the story actually took place in Scotland and not the USA.
Didn't feel much sympathy for the characters. Don't think I shall read this author again.

[Bonnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story

Writing started off well, but it became clear police procedure, rank and hierarchy are not strong points for this author.

[S Richardson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful.

Juvenile, simplistic, and just extremely annoying. No need to read this unless you want to be irritated,you should definitely give this to someone you don't like.

[Bronagh Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing

The best book I’ve read in years absolutely gripping from start to finish I couldn’t put it down and stayed up until 2:00am to finish it absolutely amazing

[janice robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blood upon the Snow

Never heard or read any of this author's books but have already bought number two in the series here's hoping it's as good as the first one

[L Aikman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It had me gripped and I couldn't put it down. A real page turner.

[chris standley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather a slow read plus it took the Dci so long to fathom who had done the deed when it was quite obvious about 3 chapters earlier

[mandi Laver · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing

[Barbara Birchall · Rating 1 out of 5]

No, just no

Could not "get into" this book. I tried, I really tried but I didn't like the writing, the dialog and could not relate to any characters.

[Iain · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent read, differing slightly from others i've read but really good strong characters.

[Gillian Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

Police officers head up to Inverness for a girls murder. Limited resources in the middle of winter the team work out who the murderer is in this sleepy village.