The Hounds of Winter

by James Magnuson

This psychological thriller by the award-winning novelist James Magnuson combines the moral acuity of Graham Greene with the twists and turns of the best Hitchcock films. David Neisen came seeking reconciliation; what he found was a father's worst nightmare. Arriving on Christmas Eve to spend the holidays with his daughter Maya, he discovers her murdered on the floor of their cabin in the Wisconsin woods. He sees a ski-masked figure lurching through the snowdrifts behind the house and sets out in pursuit―only to transform himself into the prime suspect in his daughter's death. Struggling to elude his pursuers in the fierce Wisconsin winter, Neisen must deal first with the ghosts of his past―a childhood tragedy that binds him to the small-town sheriff, the friends of his youth who must now choose to shelter or betray him, and the unresolved mysteries about the munitions plant where his father worked during the Korean War. And looming above it all is his growing certainty that his daughter was not who he thought she was. The answers lie hidden in “this Midwestern world of farmers and sons and daughters of farmers with their Christian forbearance and Scandinavian silences, their delicate kindnesses, this Cold War world, this white-bread world. It receded like the Ice Age had receded, leaving behind its own rubble, its broken citadels and buried secrets . . .

Genres: Fiction, Literature

283 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

James Magnuson is the author of eight previous novels and the recipient of multiple fellowships and awards for fiction. He currently directs the James A. Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas. He lives in Austin.

Reviews

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this author from my town, Austin, Texas.

David Niesen is literary agent in NYC. His daughter is mysteriously killed by an intruder at a cabin he buys so that he and his daughter could spend some time together. He also has a history with the town which immediately throws suspicion on himself.

I read this book in one day, couldn't put it down! HIghly recommended.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid, well-written thriller. The author did a good job of capturing the atmosphere of the rural Northern Wisconsin setting.

[Lois Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

very fun, suspenseful read. My husband and I read it out loud to another on a long road trip to Wyoming in the summer of 2011.

[Dulcie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out good but the main character was kind of an idiot...

[Harry Annan]

Too contrived......more coincidences than a senate scandal.