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And We Shall Have Snow
New to the RCMP's Major Crimes Unit, Corporal Roxanne Calloway is keen to make her mark. She's young and ambitious. But when she's called from the big city to tiny Cullen Village to lead the investigation into the death of the talented but devious star of the local music scene—discovered frozen and dismembered at the local dump—she finds much to contend with. The close-knit community does not give up its secrets willingly. Barely has she begun her investigation when another very dead, very frozen body disturbs the rural peace.
In the summer Cullen Village is filled with cottagers and day-trippers who flock to the lakeshore's tranquil beaches. But when the temperatures drop the tourists disappear and the year-round residents settle in for months of bitter cold. The local book club likes to cozy up with good food and good friends—and, of course, good books.
But not this winter.
As the wind bowls and the snow deepens, the book club—and the village—are riven by suspicion and rumour. Can there be a serial killer in their midst? As tensions mount, Corporal Calloway scrambles to make sense of an ever more perplexing set of clues—before someone kills again.
In the summer Cullen Village is filled with cottagers and day-trippers who flock to the lakeshore's tranquil beaches. But when the temperatures drop the tourists disappear and the year-round residents settle in for months of bitter cold. The local book club likes to cozy up with good food and good friends—and, of course, good books.
But not this winter.
As the wind bowls and the snow deepens, the book club—and the village—are riven by suspicion and rumour. Can there be a serial killer in their midst? As tensions mount, Corporal Calloway scrambles to make sense of an ever more perplexing set of clues—before someone kills again.
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 18, 2025
‘And We Shall Have Snow‘, is the first book in a Canadian crime series featuring Corporal Roxanne Calloway, of the RCMP Major Crimes Unit. Her first investigation is into the discovery, in the depths of winter, of a dismembered body in the town dump of a small rural town in the Interlake Region of Manitoba.
I loved that this wasn’t a conventional police procedural. It was as much about the community in which the murder was committed as it was about the RCMP Corporal investigating the crime. The book opens not with Roxanne Calloway but with a group of local residents discovering the dead body at the town dump.
The discovery of the body in a crime novel is often the equivalent of an establishing shot to provide a place for the detective hero to start to work their magic. In this book, what was being established was the character of community theinvestigation would be taking place in. I learned of the very informal way that the dump works. I saw that everyone there knew everyone else. I watched the polite but resolutely unorganised way in which the discovery of the body was managed. I wasn't at all surprised to find that everyone recognised the head that rolled out of the black plastic bag.
I'd expected the next chapter to be about Roxanne Calloway's arrival and would show her imposing order on the chaos and starting to deploy her detecting skills. It wasn't. It was about a Book Club meeting where the women who had gathered together to eat, drink and perhaps talk about a book, spent their time discussing the discovery at the dump and what it meant.
I liked that Roxanne Calloway wasn't the dominant character in the book. She was interesting and credible, and I'd like to read about what she does next, but she wasn’t the focus of the story. The local people, especially the local women, were at the heart of the story.
The plot was relatively uncomplicated, and the pace of the investigation was realistically slow, which left a lot of room for developing the characters and the small town setting, both of which seemed very vivid to me. Most of the important characters were women who knew one another well. The way they interacted felt real to me. It was clear that what they knew about each other and how they felt about each other would provide the key to solving the murder.
That all the women knew one another so well emphasised Roxanne Calloway's status as an outsider who would have to establish her credibility. I enjoyed watching how she did that, including a spectacular scene that made her momentarily famous.
The Manitoban winter is almost a character in the book. It was a beautiful but potentially lethal presence that demanded respect.
The plot moved slowly, but it worked well. I didn't guess who had done the evil deed, but when all was revealed, the identity of the culprit made perfect sense to me.
Despite the murder and dismemberment, this was not a melodramatic book. It had a very distinctive flavour, delicate without being weak, like white tea. I liked the flavour and I'll be reading the next book in the series, 'Then Is Heard No More', soon.
I loved that this wasn’t a conventional police procedural. It was as much about the community in which the murder was committed as it was about the RCMP Corporal investigating the crime. The book opens not with Roxanne Calloway but with a group of local residents discovering the dead body at the town dump.
The discovery of the body in a crime novel is often the equivalent of an establishing shot to provide a place for the detective hero to start to work their magic. In this book, what was being established was the character of community theinvestigation would be taking place in. I learned of the very informal way that the dump works. I saw that everyone there knew everyone else. I watched the polite but resolutely unorganised way in which the discovery of the body was managed. I wasn't at all surprised to find that everyone recognised the head that rolled out of the black plastic bag.
I'd expected the next chapter to be about Roxanne Calloway's arrival and would show her imposing order on the chaos and starting to deploy her detecting skills. It wasn't. It was about a Book Club meeting where the women who had gathered together to eat, drink and perhaps talk about a book, spent their time discussing the discovery at the dump and what it meant.
I liked that Roxanne Calloway wasn't the dominant character in the book. She was interesting and credible, and I'd like to read about what she does next, but she wasn’t the focus of the story. The local people, especially the local women, were at the heart of the story.
The plot was relatively uncomplicated, and the pace of the investigation was realistically slow, which left a lot of room for developing the characters and the small town setting, both of which seemed very vivid to me. Most of the important characters were women who knew one another well. The way they interacted felt real to me. It was clear that what they knew about each other and how they felt about each other would provide the key to solving the murder.
That all the women knew one another so well emphasised Roxanne Calloway's status as an outsider who would have to establish her credibility. I enjoyed watching how she did that, including a spectacular scene that made her momentarily famous.
The Manitoban winter is almost a character in the book. It was a beautiful but potentially lethal presence that demanded respect.
The plot moved slowly, but it worked well. I didn't guess who had done the evil deed, but when all was revealed, the identity of the culprit made perfect sense to me.
Despite the murder and dismemberment, this was not a melodramatic book. It had a very distinctive flavour, delicate without being weak, like white tea. I liked the flavour and I'll be reading the next book in the series, 'Then Is Heard No More', soon.
November 9, 2022
The debut novel by Scottish author Raye Anderson, who now lives in the Mantoba Interlake province in Canada, and where "And We Shall Have Snow" is set.
Police Corporal Roxanne Calloway is sent to solve the murder of a local personality, found at the local tip, frozen, dismembered and bagged. Here is where a host of characters are introduced, including other members of the police force, and members of the local community, including a group of women friends who regularly get together for their book group, chats and dinner, and of course to air their thoughts on who could be guilty of murder.
I actually wasn't sure if I was going to keep reading at first, the first 5 chapters didn't seem to grab me, but then everything started to build and I ended up really enjoying the story. I look forward to reading the second book in the series.
Police Corporal Roxanne Calloway is sent to solve the murder of a local personality, found at the local tip, frozen, dismembered and bagged. Here is where a host of characters are introduced, including other members of the police force, and members of the local community, including a group of women friends who regularly get together for their book group, chats and dinner, and of course to air their thoughts on who could be guilty of murder.
I actually wasn't sure if I was going to keep reading at first, the first 5 chapters didn't seem to grab me, but then everything started to build and I ended up really enjoying the story. I look forward to reading the second book in the series.
November 5, 2022
I loved the setting of the book (Manitoba Interlake area & in winter!). As a Winnipeger I enjoyed the local flavour and the mystery of whodunit was done well. I enjoyed the ladies & their book club as they gossiped and tried to puzzle out the mystery (it gave me small hints of the Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman). Looking forward to the continuing adventures of Roxanne Calloway.
Well done.
4 stars.
Well done.
4 stars.
May 6, 2021
I read this book for the High Plains Book Awards in the Fiction category.
A fantastic first crime book for this author. I was immediately drawn into the characters and story and my interest remained throughout the reading of the book.
Set in Manitoba, Canada snow is a major factor throughout along with the biting cold. A woman's dismembered body is found in the town's landfill by two women who are scavaging. A few days later a man's body is found frozen in the lake. The detective works with the town police force in order to solve the mystery of who is murdering people and how are they related? Along the way town's people gather together for funerals and mutual eating experiences.
What I liked about the book was the small town atmosphere as well as the cold and snow hampering the investigation.
A fantastic first crime book for this author. I was immediately drawn into the characters and story and my interest remained throughout the reading of the book.
Set in Manitoba, Canada snow is a major factor throughout along with the biting cold. A woman's dismembered body is found in the town's landfill by two women who are scavaging. A few days later a man's body is found frozen in the lake. The detective works with the town police force in order to solve the mystery of who is murdering people and how are they related? Along the way town's people gather together for funerals and mutual eating experiences.
What I liked about the book was the small town atmosphere as well as the cold and snow hampering the investigation.
October 24, 2025
So many vivid images of snow! The first chapter chilled me, gripped me and did not let me go! The ending was especially powerful. and unexpected. Symbolically, I loved the last line: "It began to drip, drop by drop by drop." (p. 255) The February sun may have thawed some of the ice, but I still had shivers thinking about all the twists and turns that filled this novel. Bravo, well done!
NOTE TO MYSELF: This is the second mystery novel by Gimli Manitoba author Raye Anderson that I've read but it is the first one in the "Roxanne Calloway Mystery" series. "And We Shall Have Snow" definitely held my attention more than her "Elspeth Laird Mystery" offering. I look forward to reading more of Anderson's work and learning more about her latest and sixth mystery book recently released by Signature Editions based out of Manitoba.
NOTE TO MYSELF: This is the second mystery novel by Gimli Manitoba author Raye Anderson that I've read but it is the first one in the "Roxanne Calloway Mystery" series. "And We Shall Have Snow" definitely held my attention more than her "Elspeth Laird Mystery" offering. I look forward to reading more of Anderson's work and learning more about her latest and sixth mystery book recently released by Signature Editions based out of Manitoba.
September 26, 2022
Raye Anderson is a local author who has written a gripping mystery. The murder setting is a real place, the Interlake area between Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg, with fictionalized names for the small towns. The crimes are so grizzly and the characters so like the members of the Interlake art community that I may need to hire a bodyguard to feel confident on next year's Interlake Art Tour. I'm sorry I had to miss Anderson's talk at our library, but glad to have read this, her first venture into the mystery/ crime genre.
December 2, 2024
Not bad for a first novel, although it felt like there were too many characters to keep it flowing well. That said, Anderson totally captured a Manitoba winter with the excessive snow and freezing temps. I've experienced enough of them to know first hand the sound of the ice and trees cracking at -30C to know she was also traumatized by her first winter in Manitoba. Experience is the best place to create from and she captured it well.
April 14, 2024
3.5 A really interesting murder mystery set in frigid Manitoba in the winter, guess it is never too cold for murder. The cop investigating is a female corporal from the RCMP and there ends up being two dead bodies to investigate. All is not what it seems in this sleepy village and the who dunnit is an eye-opener. Good read , will read the other ones.
August 10, 2023
Loved it! Interesting characters and I loved the MB Interlake setting. Proper crime solving by RCMP Sergeant Roxanne Calloway nicely balanced with humour provided by members of a book club who love to gossip and may be helpful (no spoilers!).
Gobbled it up and already well into book two.
Gobbled it up and already well into book two.
March 12, 2025
Pretty good. I really enjoyed the fact that the setting was Gimli by another name. The descriptions of winter and the lake were excellent. The characters could have used more depth. The resolution was a total surprise.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews