Winter's Malice: A Black Hills Mystery

by Belinda G. Buchanan

Three bodies in the span of twenty-four hours …

In Weeping Rock, South Dakota—a small town crippled by racism, drugs, and violence— Sheriff’s Deputy Liam Matthews has his work cut out for him when he steps in to take over the duties of sheriff from his father, who for far too long has turned a blind eye to certain crimes for what he says is the overall good of the town.

Coming under scrutiny for hiring a Lakota to fill his position as deputy, things quickly go from bad to worse for Liam when the body of retired pro-baseball player Hector Ramirez, who had recently returned home to coach ball at his high school alma mater, is found floating in Crow’s Foot Lake. Hector’s bludgeoned corpse is no sooner on its way to the M.E.’s office in Rapid City, however, when the partially clothed body of a young girl is discovered in a clearing in the snow.

With two seemingly unrelated murders, Liam is judged at every turn of his investigation by the local population, Hector’s reality TV star wife Kiki Grey, and his own father. Upon uncovering a tangled web of desperation, lies, and greed, the mounting pressure inside Liam to do the right thing becomes jaded when the skeletal remains of a third victim is found in a submerged car, bringing to the forefront a long-buried secret of his own—and threatening his already troubled marriage to Olivia—as his past and present collide.

417 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2019

About the author

I am an author of character-driven women's fiction & mystery novels.

My stories are filled with angst, intimacy, despair, and hope. My women are not weak, and yet, my men are not always strong; you will also find that my characters aren't perfect - they are far from it, actually, because even heroes have a chink or two in their armor. It's what makes them human, and I find that fascinating.

I have written six novels to date: "After All Is Said And Done", "The Monster of Silver Creek", "Seasons of Darkness", "Tragedy at Silver Creek" , "Winter's Malice", and the recently released "The House on the Cliff".

Be sure and click on the video trailers to your left to get a sneak peek of what I'm talking about. <----

I love to chat almost as much as I like to write, so come visit me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Belinda.G.Buchanan.a...
Or hop on over to my website to learn about my newest releases and giveaways: https://belindagbuchanan.com

Reviews

[Kerry Reis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liam Matthews, having just taken up the job of sheriff for the small town of Weeping Rock in South Dakota, a job his father held until an accident disabled him, finds himself suddenly dealing with three deaths, the body of a famous ex-professional baseball player found in the waters of an icy lake, a car with another body inside nearby in the same icy lake, and the body of a teenage girl found in nearby small clearing. The investigation of the three cases that may or may not be related involves a lot of time for him and his detectives, time that interferes with his tenuous relationship with his wife and his father, who is living with them while demanding that he be involved in helping with the cases and denigrating his son’s running of the his former position in the town. For impatient avid mystery fans, the story will mainly be somewhat disappointing, as the majority of the tale becomes more based on the tough relationships, marital, family, medical, and official, between multiple characters, putting the police procedural investigation and mystery revelations into a minor backseat. However, readers who are more enticed by a base drama built upon character complexity will be more engrossed in the in-depth writing of the multiple plots within the small rural town.

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can read my full review on my blog: https://lalimpkin.com/review-of-winte...

This is a character-driven story, with little attention paid to the murders and the other issues. If you like novels where you follow the characters around while they deal with their (realistic) life problems, chances are you’ll like this book. But if you’re looking for a story centered on crime-solving (as I am), you may be disappointed. There are enough crimes, but they’re not the focus of the book, and their resolution is not as intriguing as I hoped.

Liam Mathews is a great character, and I rooted for him the entire time. As far as I’m concerned, he’s by far the best “thing” in the book. But don’t imagine he’s some perfect guy (although the physical description is a bit cliche). He has flaws, but he also has qualities that match them.

The ending was satisfying, the book finishing in a way that gave me closure. There was a particular suspense moment at the end that was nicely executed.

[Mary Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific suspense and more

This well written story tears at your heart in many ways. Some blood, not much, not a gore story. It is a truly great book with stories that entwine and when you think you have the perpetrator figured out, think again. I do think is the best story I've read in this genre. Five stars.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I liked the characters and the story, I'm not a big fan of such abrupt changes back and forth people characters and their perspective/story line. It makes the story feel chopped up to me and sometimes I had a hard time figuring out which characters went with which plot line. Overall the story is good, this style just isn't my cup of tea.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Mystery

I very much enjoyed this book. This author is local to me and I’m thrilled to discover her books.

I liked the story flow and the twists and turns that the twists and turns came about.