A girl on the run, hiding from a terrible crime. An old B&B in a snowy city. A hidden figure lurking in the streets, waiting for his next victim. When Bobbie takes a room at the rundown Castle Crown B&B, all she wants is to get some sleep and make a tough decision about her future. Unfortunately, the B&B's other guests won't give her any peace, and Bobbie soon realizes that she's stumbled into a world with its own rules. Who is the mysterious bandaged woman? Why is there a dead man in the bathtub? And is something deadly lurking in the basement? Before she can leave, however, Bobbie learns that the city of Canterbury is being terrorized by a mysterious figure. Every time snow comes, the Snowman claims another victim, leaving their blood sinking into the ice. If Bobbie leaves the B&B and ventures out into the empty streets, she risks becoming his next target. But if she stays, her soul might be claimed by something even more deadly. B&B is a horror story about a girl with a secret, and a building with a past.
Amy Cross writes novels and short stories in a number of genres, mainly horror, paranormal and fantasy. Books include The Farm, Annie's Room, The Island, Eli's Town and Asylum.
The story started strong. Bobbie checks into the Crown and Castle B&B late at night. Obviously she has something to hide. Inside she meets some really strange characters. There is talk about the Snowman, a mysterious killer who only kills when it snows outside. Matilda goes outside. Then the story repeats itself with Bobbie seeing herself from the outside perspective... is she the landlady? Wait a minute. What started as Agatha Christie meets Amy Cross soon turns into a bit far fetched haunted B&B with deranged people acting accordingly. What is the story of the owner family? The author has many intriguing elements here but somehow the ends and story line don't fit together for me. Especially tedious were the repetitive passages and the disoriented setting. Don't get me wrong. The story is uncanny and intriguing but somehow get lost in a haze. The blend as a whole didn't work for me. Nevertheless it was a great buddy read. A rather unusual Amy Cross novel...
I’m sharing this book through a buddy read with a few friends.
The narrator is a young lady and she wants to spend the night in a B&B. But there is a snow storm and whenever it snows the “Snowman Killer” comes out to play.
Over thirty years there’s been four murders. Looks like the Snowman Killer is trying for a record/s.
Our narrator’s name is Bobbie. Short for Roberta. And she is filled with fear and confusion, but it’s hard to feel sympathy for her.
She makes so many decisions that are plain stupid. I find myself holding my breath and closing my eyes multiple times.
I wish I could give more details, but then I don’t want to tell you the plot of the story. So goodbye for now.
Never has there been a book whose popularity curve sank for me so abruptly and absolutely. Until about the halfway mark everything was fine – a young woman on a snowy night looking for a place to stay, a mysterious B&B, even more mysterious, half fun half scary tenants doing spooky stuff... Then came a twist and it all went downhill. Even though the events in this book were consistent in themselves, and that deserves praise, it made a very frustrating reading and as a reader I felt a little cheated by excessive repetitions. The second half of the book is a hodgepodge of unnecessary repetitions, stale characters, story lines bordering on the ridiculous. I even think the concept could have been fun, but it wasn't really executed in an interesting way. Happy to have read this with the Amy Cross fan group over at Horror Aficionados, I hope the next Amy Cross book will be better because this one didn't really cut it.
Amy Cross writes a lot of books. Some are good. Some are ... not.
B&B started out really strong! The lead character was strong and seemed to have an interesting backstory that I wanted to know more about. The setting was intriguing. A snowstorm, a strange bed and breakfast with an even stranger caretaker and fellow guests, and tales of a crazed murderer on the loose who only kills during snowstorms.
Great setup, right? From here the story takes a sideways turn and it completely lost my interest. Such a pity because there was so much potential. The story itself was still good. The storytelling was not. See the opening paragraph of this review. Getting repetitive? Yeah, that's what I said multiple times as I read this book. "Does this need to be so repetitive?"
In closing, this was a decent story that could have been so much better. Maybe my next Amy Cross read will be better! There's always next time because ... see the opening paragraph of this review.
I love Amy Cross, because you never know what you're going to get from her. I appreciated the fact that I was invited to join a group read, but whenever you have multiple people reading the same piece, there are people so enthused that they just want to chime in to share their own bit that spoilers are invariably spilt. It sucks when that happens, but the reality is that although the novel began with a great deal of promise, it was spoilt about halfway through when the handwriting on the wall becomes evident.
B&B is a horror story that reads very much like a haunted house narrative (of which Cross has written a ton), but it is not. The narrative gives us Bobbie, a young lady who has run away from home. While she contemplates her next move, she decides to stay at the Castle Crown Bed and Breakfast because a furious snowstorm makes travel perilous. While at the B&B, she learns about a local killer that only kills when it snows; that unique happenings occur at the Castle Crown, that there are a bunch of weird travelers holed up there, and that there seems to be a nexus that draws these disparate characters and elements to this one place.
Honestly, it sounds much cooler than it actually was. Any horror-fan worth her/his salt could have predicted where this was going and not been far off. I still love Amy Cross. She publishes practically 2 books a month, churning them out like a factory conveyor belt. Some of them are less than stellar. This is one of those "Less than Stellar."
Still, for a few seconds it was fun to be a part of something horror related. Thanks to the Horror Aficionados for allowing me a tagalong, despite not being a great read. How about good enough?
3.5 stars. Amy Cross has a really creative mind. I've read quite a bit of her collection at this point, and there are a great many amazing stories in there. However, others feel rushed and incomplete, which is how this came across to me. I can't say too much here, as it will spoil some of the bigger twists, but there is a lot of repetition, which makes rereading a somewhat slow portion of the story repeatedly, a bit of a chore. I did enjoy the intrigue and all the strange behaviors of the guests. Cross created a very uncomfortable atmosphere that just let the reader understand that there was an impending disaster on the horizon. And you could sort of piece it all together, but it wasn't made obvious. And it turned out to be very unique. As I said earlier, I just wish there was a bit of a different approach to demonstrate the effect of what Bobbie was trapped in. And I really did want a lot more character development on her, too. This would have been a great way to break things up, when the story hit the rerun button, too. So, while not my favorite Amy Cross book, it had some interesting ideas in here, but ultimately came up a bit short on all ends.
This was a paranormal groundhogs day horror special. I have no idea how to sum this one up. Some will love, . some will like, some will be lost and I was all 3.
Amy Cross...thank you for always scrambling my brain.
The plot is interesting enough. Cross makes good use of the potential fear associated with B&Bs as well as serial killers. The twist at the end works. Cross doesn't explain everything fully but she doesn't really have to in terms of the story.
The writing could use a bit more polish, at least in terms of grammar. There are no major errors or such, but sometimes there is too much telling and not enough showing as well too much repetition.
A quick, suspense-filled read of a horror story, complete with a runaway girl who picks the wrong B&B for the night, a crazed killer named the Snowman, and a head-spinning time loop. Good stuff from Amy Cross.
Roberta "Bobbie" Simmons is a young woman on the run. On a snowy evening, she happens upon the Castle Crown Bed and Breakfast. Exhausted and out of options, she reluctantly decides to spend the night. It isn't long before strange things begin happening all around her. To make matters worse, there's talk of a serial killer on the loose--the "Snowman," who kills his victims every time it snows. Bobbie just has to spend a single night at the B&B. But will it be her last?
I'll admit, I experienced some confusion during certain parts of the story, but it wasn't a bad thing--it only added to the suspense. Everything comes together towards the end. I thought it was going to be pretty predicatable, but my assumptions were off the mark. This was a very well-written, unique, immersing story.
I was very intrigued by the plot of this story, and I have been wanting to try an Amy Cross book for a while now. A young woman on a snowy night is looking for a place to stay and comes across this mysterious B&B, and then strange events take place, sign me up! I was enjoying the first half of the story, and there were parts of the story that really creeped me out. Once I reached, the halfway mark was when it all started to go downhill. There were lots of repetition of events that happened at the beginning of the book that I felt were unnecessary, and there was a twist that happened at the halfway mark that I thought didn't make any sense, and I am still trying to understand it. The ending was predictable because I could guess what would happen way ahead of time. Amy Cross writes a variety of different books, so I would love to give another one a shot, and hopefully, I will have a better experience.
I think this is my favorite read by Amy cross. I've read many of her books and this is by far my fav. its different than most books I've read by her and the story when the twist hit was just soo good. a b and b where it loops and youre stick in it. what a great read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Another winner from Amy Cross! I often say that many of her stories would make fantastic movies, and this one is no exception.
Bobbie is looking for a place to stay after running from some crime she committed (which we are not privy to right away). She stumbles upon the Castle Crown B&B and decides to knock. A woman covered in bandages and dressed in a nightgown answers the door, and while Bobbie tries to curtail a room for the night, the woman stares and says nothing. Bobbie is finally able to come in and get a room, but strange things begin happening within the B&B almost immediately. While Bobbie is forced to endure the unbelievable occurrences that mess with her understanding of life itself, she also learns of The Snowman, a killer who strikes when it snows, like this very night.
Things unfold at a satisfying pace, and I love that, if you follow the clues, you can begin to figure some things out yourself. Much of this book is based on observations from Bobbie’s point of view. While in other books, this sort of storytelling might end up getting tedious, Amy Cross has a way of peaking the reader’s curiosity at every turn. Fabulous storytelling and a number of twists that leave the reader quite satisfied.
A clever, and rather unusual, ghost story featuring a bad, mad, crazy psychopath-on-the-loose element, all given the inimitable, and easily identifiable, bloody horror Amy Cross book treatment.
Lots of good, lighthearted fun with plenty of creepy and unforeseen ideas that just keep the action rolling on and on and on.
Not to be taken too seriously, an easy read to simply enjoy and wile away the hours.
'Red and white - yep, truly a murderer's delight!'
Rating: 4.2 absurd stars of sinister insanity - why not check-in?
Cover/Title: The cover doesn't do this book justice. However, I feel that it would be hard to come up with the perfect cover for this book. It is intense. Same goes for the title. Yes, it does center all around the B&B but it is so much more.
Characters: I love the people in the B&B. They are all so strange! LOL
Plot: Bobbie takes a room in a B&B but the house and its occupants are as strange as can be. She finds herself stuck and trying to find a way out.
Overall: There is something so creepy about this book but at the same time I loved it. Anyone who has read my reviews knows that I rarely enjoy a book from this genre so much. However, I was hooked. I couldn't put the book down until it was finished. I must say that I would definitely read another book by this author. That is high praise coming from me about a genre I only read sparingly.
This one is a bit weirder than the others I have read by her. Like all of her books there is that one moment, a twist of a sentence, and you never see what hits you. There is always a catch in the story line. While this is not as scary as some of her books it makes you think. Here is to you Miss Cross as I choose the next one of your books to devour.
Started off so well and I was enjoying it. 60% through the book and I just felt we were going round and round in circles sbd not getting anywhere. Completely lost interest. I don’t really understand what it was about
Excellent spooky novella. A great little tale that plays with time quite a bit. Elements of it reminded me of Iain Rob Wright's Sea Sick and some of John R Little books. Another winner for Amy.
My first time reading Amy Cross, and may or may not read more of her work.
Bobbie is running out of options. She's on the run and needs somewhere to spend the night, but the time is late and snow is falling. All the B&Bs are full. All but one... When she sets foot on the front steps, she's sucked into something she never bargained for.
Some of the characters verge on the absurd and for a while I wasn't sure if there was a plot or this was a running commentary of the creepy wackos in the inn and their efforts to prevent Bobbie from getting the sleep she desperately needs, but I'm glad I stuck with it. The main gimmick becomes clear around a third of the way in and after that you can play connect-the-dots as well as guess what would happen in the rest of the story. I enjoy stories where innocuous background objects play a larger role later on, and there was a good amount of that here. The ridiculousness of the characters even becomes humorous once you find out how they got there, especially the landlady with the bandaged face.
I might not have picked this up if not for the fact this was a novella. If it was a full-length novel it would have been a chore to get through, but as a novella it's short enough that even if you didn't like it you can console yourself it was only half a novel.
Amy Cross has about a thousand works listed on Kindle. Okay that's a slight exaggeration ,but not much. She has a lot, the number you would expect to see from a writer with a decades-long career. Some are short stories and novellas, but most are novels. With a number like this accumulated in what seems to be a relatively short career, the question of quality comes to mind. This is my first time reading Ms Cross, but I have a number of her works in my kindle library because the descriptions are intriguing, as was this one - A solitary traveler seeks refuge from a snowy winter might in an increasingly strange B&N amid rumors of a legendary serial killer who becomes active during snowfalls. I have to admit, Ms Cross writes well. A well-described snowy atmosphere and a bizarre set of circumstances push the story forward along with good interaction between characters. The killer's diatribe toward the end is a bit cliche, but it's a minor irritation. Otherwise this an entertaining and eerie read. I'll be reading more of her work.
This wasn't my favorite read from Amy Cross but I did enjoy the mystery. Bobbie, left out in the cold, literally, and on the run, after her crime, she seeks a warm place to lay her head down, rest and figures out what to do and where to go next. The thing is, the B&B she found by chance, had the last room available in town and some unsavory characters residing inside. Not only that, there's a killer on the loose who hunts during Snowfall. The characters and plot were well thought out but the repetitive scenes make it hard to not skip through some sections. I'm always afraid I'll miss something when skipping, but with this book, I don't feel like I've missed anything big. Amy Cross has a way of twisting your mind with supernatural beings and horrific crimes and this book definitely was not lacking in this department. I would have really enjoyed it had it not been for the constant loop the main character was stuck in.
What I learned from this book: pick your B&B carefully.
I loved this book! It's my first Amy Cross and won't be my last. The imagery and character development were very well done. The story line was gripping and was ever increasingly creepy with a capital CREEP. Over and over again, just when you think you know what is going to happen, the story takes a screeching turn to something even more startling. I couldn't read this fast enough and the sudden turns were shocking and fun at the same time.
I felt there were a few inconsistencies that I would like to revisit to see if they were really inconsistent. But to paraphrase the next to the last sentence in this story "If I start thinking about the details of this book, I think I might just lose my mind"
And yet, this was such a fun, creepy read that I probably will read it again someday.
This would have been 5 stars if it wasn't for the inconsistencies. I don't do spoilers so I can't share them with you.
I don't give out 5* easily, I've read a few ok books recently and not finished some duds, so I was overdue for a decent read. The theme of this book was nothing new, but Amy Cross still manages to weave a compelling and entertaining story and this book was highly enjoyable. I was stuck at home due to bad weather and surprised myself by getting through this book in a day, I don't do that EVER! unless Im really engaged in the story.
I'm just getting into Amy Cross and so far what I have read has been engaging and entertaining. I did have my doubts because it seems every other day I get a notification about a Amy Cross book, so she is a prolific writer and obviously works very hard to put out her work, only time will tell if the quality of her work will suffer due to the output, but in the meantime I will continue to buy her books and be assured that I'm in for a treat.
Yes, a chiller literally both in story and setting. Bobbie is on the lam after committing some type of theft. She arrives in Canterbury on a snowy night with no place to stay. Little does she know the city has a serial killer dubbed The Snowman because the killer only strikes during snow storms. The killer is the first of her troubles as she does find a room at the Castle Crown B & B. A strange place with strange characters that only gets stranger. Amy Cross draws you into a story as the B & B draws in Bobbie. It reminds me of some Twilight Zone type story, both psychological and thrilling.
2020 reading challenge ( haunted house) My brain hurts after reading this. It started kinda slow, but then it started and didn't stop coming. It was Groundhog Day (movie) on haunted steroids. Despite how complicated the storyline was, it made perfect sense. A thief on the run turns to a b&b during a snow storm. The cast of housemates are entertaining. Oh yeah, a killer is on the loose. Then different dimensions collide and the main character is 3, maybe 4 different characters in the house. You have to read it for it to make sense, but it does. I will never look at White sheets the same way ever again
“What are you going to do to him?” I ask. Matilda stops in the doorway, behind the others, and turns to me. “He's damaged,” I explain, trying not to panic. “I know he did awful, awful things, but when he was a kid... I know that's no excuse, but at least you can try to understand. I've been in a similar situation. I know what it's like to be young and alone, and to make a terrible choice.” I wait for an answer, but she simply stares at me as Lloyd's ghost continues to whimper in the room behind her.
This one started off pretty good. Who doesn't like a good scary story?
A woman is fleeing from something, in a snow storm and tries to find a place to room for the night. She stops at a run down, B&B, bangs on the door and finally a strange woman with bandages on her face, opens the door. The story turns into a "ground hog" thing which made me immediately lose interest. It began going round and round, until it became annoying.
It had potential, but I didn't even finish it, but that's just my opinion.