Black Diamond Fall

by Joseph Olshan

From the acclaimed author of CLARA’S HEART and CLOUDLAND comes a rich, literary mystery based and united by two real events that occurred at Middlebury College; the disappearance of a student during winter break; and the vandalism of the Robert Frost Homestead located on one of the outer campuses. Luc Flanders has just finished playing a game of pond hockey with his college roommates when he realizes he has lost something precious and goes back to the ice to find it. He never returns, and the police department in Middlebury, Vermont are divided in their assessment of what may have happened to him. Some feel that Flanders left on his own accord and is deliberately out of touch. Others, including detectives Nick Jenkins and Helen Kennedy, suspect that harm may have come to him. As the search for Luc Flanders widens and intensifies, suspicions about several different people, including his Middlebury College roommates and ex-girlfriend arise. Unfortunately, Sam Solomon an older man with whom Luc has been having a secret relationship, cannot prove his whereabouts during the hours when the younger man may have disappeared and Solomon, too, comes under suspicion. As Luke Flanders disappears, the Robert Frost house near the Middlebury campus is vandalized. And there seems to be a link between the two events that the police are determined to discover. Alternating points of view between Luc Flanders Sam Solomon, Luc’s mother and detective Nick Jenkins, BLACK DIAMOND FALL races to a disturbing and astonishing conclusion in a lush, literary mystery that could only come from the mind of acclaimed author Joseph Olshan.

Genres: Mystery, LGBT, Fiction, Adult

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2018

About the author

Joseph Olshan is an award-winning American novelist. His first novel, Clara's Heart, won the Times/Jonathan Cape Young Writers' Competition and went on to be made into a feature film starring Whoopi Goldberg. He is the author of eight novels, the most recent of which, The Conversion, will be published in 2008.

In addition to his novels, he has written extensively for newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, The Times (London), The Guardian (London),The Independent (London), The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, the New York Observer, Harpers Bazaar, People magazine and Entertainment Weekly. During the 1990's he was a regular contributor of book reviews to the Wall Street Journal. For six years was a professor of Creative Writing at New York University where he taught both graduate and undergraduate courses.

Joseph Olshan's other novels include Nightswimmer and Vanitas, as well as The Waterline, A Warmer Season, The Sound of Heaven and In Clara's Hands, a sequel to his acclaimed first novel, Clara's Heart.

Joseph Olshan is published in the U.S. by Saint Martin's Press and Berkley Books; and in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury publishing and Arcadia Books. His work has been translated into sixteen languages.

Reviews

[Larry H · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars for this one.

"It was real life now, maybe even real love, named hours before in a sort of fever, a shiny token tossed into a deep well that still glimmered from far below."

Joseph Olshan's new novel, Black Diamond Fall is both a mystery and a somewhat elegiacal look at the passions and uncertainties of love, the challenges of coming to terms with your own sexuality, how grief and anger can consume us, and having to come to terms with the end of a relationship that you don't think should end. While I believe the book works better when it concentrates on the latter issues rather than the mystery component, the mystery is core to the characters' emotions.

Luc Flanders is a student at a small Vermont college. He is a guarded, complex young man whose life was changed after he suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was a teenager. One night, after playing hockey on a frozen pond with his roommates, he realizes he lost something important to him, so he goes back to the pond to find it. He encounters someone while at the pond, and never returns.

After ensuring he didn't fall through the ice that night, everyone—Luc's parents, his roommates, his ex-girlfriend, even the police—can't figure out what happened to Luc, although many have their suspicions, especially once they find out Luc had secretly been in a relationship with Sam Solomon, an architect closer in age to Luc's parents than him. While many knew that Luc was hiding something, it is a surprise to find he had been hiding something so significant.

Sam struggles to deal with the police interrogation related to Luc's disappearance and their relationship, and he doesn't appreciate the scrutiny and suspicion from total strangers as well as people he knows well. Sam didn't want the relationship with Luc to end, didn't understand why Luc was so dead set against accepting the truth about his sexuality, why he wanted to give up a chance to truly love and be loved the way he had always longed to.

When the home of famed poet Robert Frost, not far from the college campus, is vandalized, the police investigating the incident discover some interesting links between this crime and Luc's disappearance. Are the two crimes connected? Will finding out who is responsible for the vandalism lead them to Luc's whereabouts?

When the book focuses on Luc and Sam and their relationship, and the way those around them must come to terms with it, it is beautifully written, poignant, thought-provoking, and at times, emotional. You can feel the conflicts that Luc is dealing with, torn between accepting who he is, giving in to love, or trying to live a "normal" life. You can also feel the strength of Sam's grief even though he knew inherently their relationship might not last.

I felt the mystery components were still compelling, but I wanted more Sam and Luc. However, the chapters narrated by Luc's mother and a police detective investigating Luc's disappearance are definitely readable, and you hope that everything will be solved to your liking, that none of the characters you've come to care about are responsible for any of the bad things that happened.

Joseph Olshan is an immensely gifted storyteller. His novel Clara's Heart was made into a late-1980s movie with Whoopi Goldberg and Neil Patrick Harris, and I remember being utterly moved by Nightswimmer when I read it in 1994. I'm glad to see his talent is as strong as ever with Black Diamond Fall . While at times it feels like two books in one, the fact is, you can't stop reading either of them, and at the end, you're moved by the beauty of Olshan's writing.

NetGalley and Polis Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.

[Debra - can't post any comments on site today grrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Men outlive their love, but they don't outlive the consequences of their recklessness." -George Elliott, Middlemarch

Luc Flanders realizes that his necklace has broken, and he has lost a prized possession while playing pond hockey with his friends. When he goes back to the pond to retrieve his lost item, he does not return. Police detectives, Nick Jenkins and Helen Kennedy are called in to investigate Luc's disappearance. Luc has disappeared once before, and his parents hope that this is another one of those times. The detectives, investigating his missing persons case, believe foul play is involved. As the investigation gets underway, it is evident that Luc had secrets as did many of those in his life.

There are many suspects including Luc's college roommates and his ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth. One of the suspects is Sam Solomon, an older man with whom Luc was romantically involved. They had a secret relationship which has now been made public. Sam cannot provide an alibi for the time before his ski trip - the time frame during which Luc disappeared.

I dwell in a lonely house I know
That vanished many a summer ago
And left no trace but the cellar walls
And a cellar in which the daylight falls
-Robert Frost

Around the same time that Luc disappeared the Robert Frost house is vandalized, and the investigators can't help but wonder if Luc's missing person case and the vandalism could be related.
But how and why? As they continue their investigation, secrets, lies and truths will be revealed.

I found this book to be well written, heartfelt, and compelling. This is a crime drama but also explores relationships, desire, sexuality and dealing with conflicted feelings. This may be a crime/mystery but it is also a love story. I enjoyed how the book provided the reader with alternating points of view of many of the characters. Through the POV of Luc, Sam, Nick and Luc's Mother, the reader gets glimpses into all their lives, their thoughts and memories. This is a thought-provoking book lush with vivid descriptions and prose.

Thank you to Polis Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a lively and engaging story of a sensitive and creative young man in his early 20s, Luc, who disappears one February night in rural Vermont after playing hockey with some friends. From the start we learn he went back to the frozen pond to look for a ring that he lost and his perspective of getting knocked out by getting a hit to the head. The book explores the evolving responses and changed lives of his family, lovers and ex-lovers, and friends as they struggle through the hope that he has just run away to reach the conclusion that he must be dead, but whether by accident, suicide, or murder, none can reach a solid conclusion or consensus. With each view point we go back in time and gather in pieces of Luc’s life. A worry to his loving mother Eleanor, who nurtured him through recovery as a teen from brain damage after a hockey accident. A concern for ex-girlfriend Elizabeth, whom Luc had recently broken up with. A devastating blow to an older college professor, Sam, who was an earlier lover and desperately wanted him back. A genial police investigator draws out each of their stories and slowly homes in on the mystery of Luc’s death. Who in Luc’s circle or community might have a violent reaction to his bisexuality, or could there just be a hidden gay-basher in the town? Could it have just been an accident, perhaps compounded by an epileptic or panic attack? A dealer of steroid drugs for athletes like Luc is known by him to be active in the area, so there are even more avenues for the cop to investigate. Unfortunately, the nature of winter in Vermont means Luc, and any evidence about cause of death, could be buried under feet of snow for a long time.

Olshan had an interesting premise for a mystery with a very personal impact for the survivors. I appreciated his unfolding of layers of grief by those who loved Luc. I like some aspects of embedding the tale into the life of a rural community, but the skiing interludes felt somewhat tacked on and the connection of some characters to Robert Frost was stretched thin. Having Luc have a neurological condition rouses a bit of extra empathy for him, but overall that aspect muddied the waters on my focus. I also felt a bit manipulated in the way limited details critical to the mystery of his death were so obviously fed to me form the round-robin of minds we tour in our reading. We spend a lot of time with Sam, who truly adores Luc. But I only can dredge up a "que lastima" over his not being ready to take their relationship out of the closet at the 2013 date for the tale (the 30-year age difference as the true stigma draws another sigh). People in the “Q” phase of the LGBTQ spectrum should be explored more in literature, but the issue seems mostly subjugated to background for an orchestrated mystery. Sometimes I felt the ambition of the tale to be a clever take on the nature of our social fabric, in both its fragile and resilient elements, but ultimately I came away with a diffuse sadness and little in the way of new insights. By comparison, I had a lot more fun and insights about the dangers and thrills for youth in the Q phase from Irving’s novel, “In One Person.”

This book was provided by the publisher for review through the Netgalley program.

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers who enjoyed The Secret History might enjoy Black Diamond Fall, a mystery of sorts based on two real stories from Middlebury College. The story centers around a student's disappearance in the snow, and a relationship he had with an older man (who went skiing in Utah during the same time) comes to light. Similarities with TSH have more to do with setting, crime elements, etc.; not an exact readalike.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

BLACK DIAMOND FALL
By Joseph Olshan

The well acclaimed author Joseph Olshan wrote a beautiful book with lush descriptions. I really enjoyed it. It could have been two different books within one. Robert Frost's home gets vandalized and Luc disappears after going back to the ice to look for something he lost. The Middlebury police have mixed ideas about what could have happened to Luc. Some believe Luc willingly has left the area of his own free will, while other's suspect foul play. Could the two crimes be related? Is it the same person or people that committed both crimes?

This was a mystery I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to Net Galley, Joseph Olshan and Polis Books for providing me with my digital copy for a fair and honest review.

[LenaRibka · Rating 3 out of 5]

31st Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalist





My first Joseph Olshan and I know that it won't be my last one. Even if I wanted to DNF it during the first 10%. But it is the writing that kept me on going on. And now I can say, I am REALLY glad I didn't give up: the author CAN write and I absolutely UNDERSTAND why he is an award-winning American novelist.

My problem was not the writing, but the story. Here I have to say, Joseph Olshan managed to do the best from the scarce resources he HAD to use. With all due respect for the author's idea to create a literary mystery based and united by two real events, the subject matter is not suitable for an exciting story: try to make a psychological thriller out of a telephone book! Well, I have faith in Joseph Olshan after finishing this book. If not him, who else?!

There were good moments in this book, and me, as an inveterate optimist, hoped that a HEA COULD be yet possible...but this book not about a happy ending, but WHAT caused the disappearance of a student during winter break.



Bottom line:

A very slow and somehow boring beginning. The middle part of the book was good, poignant and even became shortly a page turner. I would say, the author did the best from the material he had.



***ARC provided kindly by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Olshan ambitiously weaves together a plot combining the mystery of the disappearance of a student at Middlebury College and the vandalism of poet’s Robert Frost’s home on campus. I actually found the mystery part to be a distraction from the central core of musing on the nature of love. Olshan writes beautifully and I found myself deeply pondering that aspect of the book. I would definitely read more literary fiction by this author.
Thanks to NetGalley, Polis Books, and the author Joseph Olshan for an advanced electronic reading copy.

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. As a Middlebury alum this was interesting, as it was so clearly the town and college -- street names, restaurants, neighboring towns, the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail -- and it's kind of fun to read about a place you know in a novel. But I couldn't help but think about the Garza family and how they must feel about someone using their tragedy as a writing prompt. The writing itself is trying too hard to be literary, but then Olshan resorts to weird, lazy racial stereotypes to describe people. At one point the cop thinks of the missing kid's roommate, "he looks like a highborn Latino, maybe a Spaniard or even a patrician Argentinian". WHAT?! What does that even mean? Also, there is no way that college students are setting up AOL accounts in 2013, even for messaging with their secret lovers.

[Rebelexmachina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars (rounded up to 4)

Weaving together two fictionalised versions of of real world events, Joseph Olshan has created an atmospheric and moody mystery novel set in rural Vermont during winter. College student Luc Flanders has disappeared after a night time game of ice hockey with his friends, and as the investigation into his disappearance gains momentum, Luc’s own secrets and those of his friends, are slowly revealed.

The story is told from multiple POVs including the investigators, Luc’s mother, his erstwhile lover, Sam, and Luc himself. The addition of Luc’s own narrative during his disappearance adds another layer to the already complex mystery, however these insights, for me, are few and far between, with Luc Flanders remaining somewhat of a mystery himself.

Black Diamond Fall is a mystery but also at its centre, a story of acceptance and loss, and I would have liked to experience a greater connection to Sam and especially Luc.

The ending of this novel is haunting and beautiful but would have felt more impactful and resonant to me if I had been able to connect more strongly to the main characters.

Thankyou for Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve been trying to articulate my thoughts about this book. The premise sounded really interesting and it’s written by such an established and esteemed author. But for whatever reason, I could not get into the story.

It did, however, have quite a beautiful ending and this is what brought it up another star. Guess this one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Joseph Olshan, Polis Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Anya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am so sorry to give such a low-ish rating to that book because it was really good, so I will start by explaining what I did like about it. The writing is very good. The emotions of Sam and Luc, the two main characters, are very well portrayed and believable, the mystery is also believable and not far fetched and over-the-top like so many recent books I've read that are trying too hard to be original or shocking and miserably fails. This is life, and it's a pleasure to read.

But then there is what didn't truly convinced me. First of all I felt detached to the story, which is strange because it should have been an emotional read, the writing was so good but still I wasn't moved even during some tragic moments (and there are plenty!). I loved Sam and understood him, but still couldn't really feel his grief. Why? Maybe it was just my problem, because I can't see why I wasn't more involved.

Second..the plot.

BUT IF YOU PLAN TO READ THE BOOK YOU REALLY HAVE TO STOP READING HERE BECAUSE

**********BIG BIG SPOILERS AHED**********

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

As I said I was not truly invested, but around 70% I was really starting to enjoy the mystery, and hoping for some sort of rewarding ending, and then POUFF, nothing special there.
The culprit isn't really a killer and we never get a full insight to her emotions, what really happened or why (it just says why in two or three words, no explanations, as if the scene had been cut off).
There was no active intention to murder, Luc's death is just the consequence of bad luck, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, meeting the wrong people, the police not being able to be fast enough resolving the crime to save his life. What meaning did his death hold? None for me, just "things happens". I have enough of that shit in my everyday life without asking for more when I'm reading a book. I don't mean I always need to have a HEA, I'm ok with those kind of epilogues that leaves your mounth hanging in shock at how bad thigs went, but only if it makes sense, or rather gives sense to the story. That wasn't the case.
Poor Sam ends up even loosing his dog, and why? Was there a meaning to that? Somebody killed him for a reason? No, just bad luck. Again. The more I write the more enraged I feel about all that! It's a shame because the was so much potential.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me ARC of that book in exchange for an honest review.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black Diamond Fall opens with Luc Flanders going out on the frozen pond to retrieve the ring he lost during a hockey game. He doesn’t return and is considered a missing person. In the next chapter, two days later, 49-year-old Sam Solomon has accepted the challenge of his best friend to ski down the Black Diamond Fall in Utah. Unfortunately, his skiing skills are not up to the task and he is injured and evacuated from the Fall by helicopter.

Luc’s disappearance is assigned to Nick Jenkins and Helen Kennedy to investigate, and they have several people who might be suspects in Luc’s disappearance, including Sam Solomon. It is, of course, up to them to decipher the information given to them.

The story is told from several different points of view, all in the first person. While the storyline is interesting, and based on two real events, the reading is more than difficult because of the different points of view. At times, the story line is confusing and difficult to figure out, for instance the opening chapter is in Luc’s voice as he returns to the pond to look for his ring while the second chapter is told from Sam’s point of view two days later. When the police begin looking at Sam, we’re told he’s become a suspect because he can’t verify his whereabouts. Wait! What?

[Yolanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book and the setting but could never connect with the characters.
Thanks to publish for allowing me to review this book.

[Schuyler Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

A snowy and ice-covered Vermont is beautifully recreated as the location of Joseph Olshan’s “Black Diamond Fall,” a mystery that reveals love and misunderstanding in its dark environs. The disappearance of a young college student after an evening of pond hockey unveils relationships that could cause hatred deep enough to incite a murder, or passion intense enough to kill a lover, or an insensitivity that could lead to a rejective walk-off.

Two detectives relentlessly follow leads and conduct interviews that lead to several possibilities as to the fate of the missing young man. As the clues come together, it’s obvious that lies, misunderstandings, entanglements, and parental disapproval will all play a part in the final story. Increasing numbers of characters reveal knowledge and perhaps complicity that has to be sorted, a job that becomes increasingly difficult for the detectives that are convinced that murder is the most likely culprit. But, they could be wrong.

The writing is clean, the characters well conceived, and the atmosphere is abundant with testosterone and athletic power. Olshan, an outdoorsy person himself, brings those feelings to his storytelling, yet there’s a tenderness and emotional undercurrent that is striking and adds interest to the mystery. A gay love affair is tactfully revealed and is also integral to the story. I felt, however, the overall interest to be somewhat lackluster and uneven. A good read, but not riveting.

[Lenora Good · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must state up front that I read an ARC, so my copy may be a smidge different than yours.

My biggest complaint was the lack of chapter numbers. I don't know why this bothered me, but I would have liked to have chapter numbers with the current titles used as epigraphs.

The story is told in many POVs, all in first person. I had no problem with that, but if you aren't used to reading that style, you may have a slight learning curve. Had I started reading earlier in the day, it would have been a one sit read.

Luc Flanders is playing hockey on a frozen pond in modern-day Vermont, when the game is over and he's nearly home, he realizes his necklace has broken and he has lost a ring that means everything to him. He goes back to look for it and is never seen again.

As the police interview everyone who might have information to impart, we meet many people from guys who sell steroids to ex-girlfriends to parents, and of course, Sam Solomon, Luc's (secret) lover.

Although this is a mystery I did not find it an adrenaline gusher; it is also a love story. More than once I cried with Sam, more than once I hurt with Luc's mother.

I understand this is based on a couple of true stories – the disappearance of a student during winter break at Middlebury College; and the vandalism of the Robert Frost Homestead. This book is well written, worth my time to read, and

[Harley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in this novel. I almost stopped reading it after the first two chapters. Set in Vermont, the novel is both a love story and a mystery. I have several concerns with the novel.
1. There is no main character, except for the missing college student who is rarely on stage. The novel jumps from the two detectives to the possible suspects to the parents and back again. As a reader, I did not connect with any of these characters.
2. I felt the novel could have used more editing. Several times I read a sentence that I knew I had read earlier. I was not impressed with the writing style or the language.
3. There was very little momentum moving the story along.
4. For me, the ending was a let down.
After I finished reading the book, I read some of the reviews on Goodreads and was surprised by the number of people who liked the book. They obviously found something in the novel that I did not. I also discovered that the writer had written at least eight novels which also surprised me.
My recommendation is not to read this novel unless you have plenty of time to spare.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an ok book. Luc Flanders is a college student living a double life. He's a total "bro" with his college friends and girlfriend, but he's secretly in love with an older man whom he sneaks off to see as often as possible. After a night of playing hockey with friends, Luc disappears. The police are torn between deciding if Luc ran off on his own and is simply laying low to avoid friends and family, or if he met with foul play. The police suspect several people of having knowledge of Luc's whereabouts and condition, including Luc's college friends and girlfriend, two juice-head twins selling performance enhancers, and his older lover.

The book was ok, although some plot lines, including the redneck twins, don't seem to have much point. The writing is good, but the story just didn't really interest me and I found myself skim reading the last half of the book.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy reading Joseph Olshan's writing and I enjoyed Black Diamond Fall mainly for the parts that dealt with Luc and Sam's relationship. Olshan did a great job of explaining the complexities of a May/December romance between these two men and the challenges they faced. The mystery part of the novel didn't hold my interest as much as the relationship did. The side story about the Robert Frost house being vandalized and the body-building twins on steroids weren't interesting at all to me and could have been cut without diminishing the rest of the novel.

[Myreadbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thank the Netgalley website and the Polis Book editions for this partnership.

I was immediately attracted by the summary.

The story takes place at Middlebury College where two events have occurred: the disappearance of Luc Flanders and the vandalism of Robert Frost Homestead.

The author tells the story on different points of view brilliantly. I loved the captivating story filled with suspense and twists.

[Bertlyn Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was happily surprised that I really liked this book. It is a romantic suspense gay story about two men one older than the other by about 30 years. So I have read stories like this (gay suspense) before by Mark Richard Zubro (Tom and Scott books) and really enjoyed that series so thought why not. I'm glad I did. It is a good read that will have you scratching your head to figure out who done it. I read it in one day because I was really intrigued.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sort of crime novel,love story, reflection on love and it's myriad guises. It resolves beautifully and meditativley as it began with reflections on all the themes. Under the detective story, integral but not the whole there lies the playing out of the truth that an unexamined life is a pale shadow of the real thing. Enjoyable if you like to stop an ponder or challenge assumptions or just wonder how alike we all are.

[Gee Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing is really good, the mystery is compelling and the characters are interesting and likable. The relationship between Luc and Sam is believable, as is Luc's uncertainty about his sexuality (he's only 18). I had never read anything from this author before, but will definitely be checking out his other works.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book to read because of the location. It was like reading a diary of well-traveled roads for me. I could visualize each scene. I couldn't put it down. I had to know where the next turn would lead us. A sad, beautiful story filled with love, family, and friendships. The small things we think about that might have made a difference.

[Della · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was beautifully written and the sensitivity of the love between a young and older man was heartwarming but I felt there was a lack of depth to the characters involved in the mystery of a missing person. That aside, I will read more from this author as there are gems in his descriptive work.

[LittleMooseNYC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page turner. Well constructed. Was not expecting a mystery or was even aware of the story line and plot. Finished this book in two days. Teary eyed at the end. Assuming it hasn’t been made into a movie but wondering why not.

[Gretchen Stokes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A procedural type mystery written with subtlety and grace. And I particular enjoyed the author's familiarity and astute use of the nooks and crannies of the Upper Valley and central VT.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely mystery set in Vermont with complex characters.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written definitely holding interest to the end. Unfortunately, layer upon layer of sadness, like Vermont winter snowfalls, makes the story too depressing.

[Marilyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

A mystery. Yes. Skiing. Yes.,
But no. I found the story stilted.

[David Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich in detail and thoughtful with emotions. A page turning story that also stayed with you. Worth the time to read, and you will read it quickly because the story moves.