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Snowbound
As Samantha Egar researches wolf behavior in Minnesota's north woods, she runs into problems with the local trappers who believe she is pulling their legally set traps. Too, her new home seems to be haunted. Arthur Noone, the man she bought the house from and who is also her neighbor, is stalking her through the woods. Not a man to be taken lightly, she becomes his target because of her uncanny resemblance to someone he once knew. An odd assortment of neighbors become her friends, but none realize they too have an enemy in their midst. She also learns startling facts about her past, along with her best friend who, as a parapsychologist as well as a profiler for the police, comes from Fargo, North Dakota to help her. Through it all she works studying wolf behavior learning that they too are allied with her against their mutual enemy. Things come to a disastrous end for some during the worst snow storm in Minnesota history.
310 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 20, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A. J. Questenberg
Snowbound
Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Supernatural
On the very first page of Snowbound we meet Samantha (Sam) and her best friend Angie, who has phoned because she has been having unsettling dreams about Sam and her newly bought old farmhouse (which may or may not be haunted). This early exchange quickly sets up some of the story and suspense to come.
A wildlife biologist, Sam has come to northern Minnesota to study the local wolves. She soon has run-ins with some of the local men, who seem to dislike her because she’s an outsider and a woman. But she is tough and savvy and physically strong, as they soon find out.
This is a story populated with interesting characters and it is fun to meet and get to know them as Sam does. They are diverse in their backgrounds, skills, and beliefs, and that becomes especially interesting as they are confronted with the supernatural, the paranormal, and evil. There are many interesting discussions, some of my favourites about the existence and place of God.
Some of the specific elements I enjoyed most are the descriptions of natural surroundings and the wolves themselves. They are critical to the story and I found myself caring and rooting for them more than most of the human characters. I loved the connection between them and Sam. Also critical is the storm itself. It is a factor, or even a catalyst, in many of the incidents that occur.
There is lots of mystery that relates to family secrets and searching for identity. There is violence, but, although it is horrible and twisted, most of it is hinted at rather than graphic.
This is a novel which, although the pacing is inconsistent and I sometimes found myself skimming a paragraph or two, does a good job of building suspense and it kept me reading right through the last words. I had to know how it all tied together and turned out!
I recommend it with one caveat: I was too often distracted by print errors. However, another editing and printing is in the works which should resolve these issues. Other than that, I enjoyed Snowbound quite a lot!
A. J. Questenberg
Snowbound
Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Supernatural
On the very first page of Snowbound we meet Samantha (Sam) and her best friend Angie, who has phoned because she has been having unsettling dreams about Sam and her newly bought old farmhouse (which may or may not be haunted). This early exchange quickly sets up some of the story and suspense to come.
A wildlife biologist, Sam has come to northern Minnesota to study the local wolves. She soon has run-ins with some of the local men, who seem to dislike her because she’s an outsider and a woman. But she is tough and savvy and physically strong, as they soon find out.
This is a story populated with interesting characters and it is fun to meet and get to know them as Sam does. They are diverse in their backgrounds, skills, and beliefs, and that becomes especially interesting as they are confronted with the supernatural, the paranormal, and evil. There are many interesting discussions, some of my favourites about the existence and place of God.
Some of the specific elements I enjoyed most are the descriptions of natural surroundings and the wolves themselves. They are critical to the story and I found myself caring and rooting for them more than most of the human characters. I loved the connection between them and Sam. Also critical is the storm itself. It is a factor, or even a catalyst, in many of the incidents that occur.
There is lots of mystery that relates to family secrets and searching for identity. There is violence, but, although it is horrible and twisted, most of it is hinted at rather than graphic.
This is a novel which, although the pacing is inconsistent and I sometimes found myself skimming a paragraph or two, does a good job of building suspense and it kept me reading right through the last words. I had to know how it all tied together and turned out!
I recommend it with one caveat: I was too often distracted by print errors. However, another editing and printing is in the works which should resolve these issues. Other than that, I enjoyed Snowbound quite a lot!
April 20, 2024
Blurb:
Samantha Egar, a wolf researcher, moves to Minnesota. Soon after moving to the area, Sam begins having problems with the local hunters and trappers. The men believe she is responsible for pulling their legally set traps. This isn’t the end of Sam’s problems; her new home seems to be haunted as well. The man she purchased her home from, Arthur Noone, has a target on her back. With the help of a handful of new friends, Sam is determined to find out why.
Review:
What do you get when a scientist, bar owner, psychologist, two prostitutes, a couple of farmers, and a police officer come together to solve a mystery? A great Paranormal Thriller. This is not a genre I would normally reach for on my shelf. However, in this case, I am glad I did. I found myself many times throughout the story wanting to tell the characters to “be careful!” or “watch out!” This story captured me from page one and held me throughout. Overall, this was a great read and I recommend you run to Amazon and grab a copy for yourself.
Samantha Egar, a wolf researcher, moves to Minnesota. Soon after moving to the area, Sam begins having problems with the local hunters and trappers. The men believe she is responsible for pulling their legally set traps. This isn’t the end of Sam’s problems; her new home seems to be haunted as well. The man she purchased her home from, Arthur Noone, has a target on her back. With the help of a handful of new friends, Sam is determined to find out why.
Review:
What do you get when a scientist, bar owner, psychologist, two prostitutes, a couple of farmers, and a police officer come together to solve a mystery? A great Paranormal Thriller. This is not a genre I would normally reach for on my shelf. However, in this case, I am glad I did. I found myself many times throughout the story wanting to tell the characters to “be careful!” or “watch out!” This story captured me from page one and held me throughout. Overall, this was a great read and I recommend you run to Amazon and grab a copy for yourself.
April 19, 2024
This book fully immersed me into a Minnesota winter- Being from the Midwest myself, I felt the author captured the environment perfectly! The imagery of the author’s writing is superb! By the end of the book, I felt like I personally knew the characters and had thoroughly developed opinions of them.
As I read most books, I can usually predict plot changes- this book actually surprised me with some of the twists and kept me on the edge of each page. I did not want to put it down!
Lastly, as an animal lover, I really appreciated the aspects of this book surrounding the wolves.
As I read most books, I can usually predict plot changes- this book actually surprised me with some of the twists and kept me on the edge of each page. I did not want to put it down!
Lastly, as an animal lover, I really appreciated the aspects of this book surrounding the wolves.
June 12, 2024
Snowbound is the slow exposure of a long-buried small town mystery. The arrival of a newcomer causes suspicions to rise, old questions are rehashed, and as truths become visible, the lives and community begin to unravel. The story begins with Sam Egar as she moves into a new home and begins to learn its quirks — and the quirks of her new neighbors, some of whom welcome her and others who… well, are a little shady. Soon Sam discovers the shade is far darker than she imagined.
Readers of slow, gothic-style horror will find Snowbound a deeply immersive tale, one which mimics the slow pace of rural life. The novel includes a large cast of characters, the various members of the community past and present, those who vanished and those left behind to sort through the mysteries of the others’ disappearances. (At times this reader found it hard to recall who was who and their place in this tale.)
The novel, compelling as the story is, was less to my personal taste than I had hoped. There were minor issues, which on their own are easily overlooked, however, collectively these errors made the reading less enjoyable for me. There was the occasional — forgivable — typographical or spelling error (“stock” instead of “stalk”, for example), which was jarring, but did not detract from the overall meaning intended (I think). Some parts of the exposition provided unnecessary details and therefore distracted me from the arc of the moment. The most dissonance (for this reader) was caused by structural gaps in characters’ knowledge, which undermined these characters’ development: these were things characters couldn’t know about one another (because they were, after all new to the community), turns of phrase which implied a foreknowledge that wasn’t explained. This is not a literary analysis; and readers, you may find these issues less invasive in your experience of the novel than I.
All this said, on the whole, the prose was well-crafted, if plodding and redundant in parts. The story itself is deeply intriguing, and well-paced to draw out the tension of the mystery. Snowbound is a fitting and fantastic read for those grey wintry months, when one isn’t quite sure what happens behind the closed doors of one’s neighbors…
Readers of slow, gothic-style horror will find Snowbound a deeply immersive tale, one which mimics the slow pace of rural life. The novel includes a large cast of characters, the various members of the community past and present, those who vanished and those left behind to sort through the mysteries of the others’ disappearances. (At times this reader found it hard to recall who was who and their place in this tale.)
The novel, compelling as the story is, was less to my personal taste than I had hoped. There were minor issues, which on their own are easily overlooked, however, collectively these errors made the reading less enjoyable for me. There was the occasional — forgivable — typographical or spelling error (“stock” instead of “stalk”, for example), which was jarring, but did not detract from the overall meaning intended (I think). Some parts of the exposition provided unnecessary details and therefore distracted me from the arc of the moment. The most dissonance (for this reader) was caused by structural gaps in characters’ knowledge, which undermined these characters’ development: these were things characters couldn’t know about one another (because they were, after all new to the community), turns of phrase which implied a foreknowledge that wasn’t explained. This is not a literary analysis; and readers, you may find these issues less invasive in your experience of the novel than I.
All this said, on the whole, the prose was well-crafted, if plodding and redundant in parts. The story itself is deeply intriguing, and well-paced to draw out the tension of the mystery. Snowbound is a fitting and fantastic read for those grey wintry months, when one isn’t quite sure what happens behind the closed doors of one’s neighbors…
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews