The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

The Winter People (2014) by Jennifer McMahon is a wonderful book filled with excitement, mystery, troubling pasts, anticipation, and just enough of the supernatural (I won't say what kind -- that would give things away) to keep it interesting.

Flipping back and forth between the past and the present, I liked the connection that created, with the story weaving the two time periods together very effectively. The "New England" feel of both the setting and the story was very appealing and familiar to me as a life-long (and proud) New Englander myself.

Though the book has supernatural elements, the story was really more about loss and the relationships between mothers and daughters, both with good and especially with not-so-good associations, so don't let the idea of the supernatural turn you off if that's not normally your 'thing'. This is an excellent book to read in poor weather in a cozy chair with a hot drink. A perfect winter book (as the title implies)!

“I think people see what they want to see... But think about it: if you'd lost someone you love, wouldn't you give almost anything to have the chance to see them again?” 

Keep reading! Beth

Short "Ghost" Stories

The Grownup (2014) by Gillian Flynn

Very short story (originally written for a story collection) of suspense and twists, which leads you to question everything, and even keeps you guessing as to what genre the book fits into - horror? supernatural? mystery? suspense? All of the above? The ending is slightly unsatisfactory, but I found it more palatable in this short story format -- at least I only committed around an hour to reading it rather than a couple weeks, and the questionable nature of the ending was clearly the whole point of the story. Very clever, with some interesting characters.     


Springtime: A Ghost Story (2014) by Michelle de Kretser

Another short, somewhat confusing story. Unlike The Grownup, there was so little character development that even in the hour it took me to read, I still couldn't remember who some people were because they were presented in such a perfunctory and confusing way. Called itself a ghost story but had barely any ghost stuff in it, just a vague unease on the part of the main character that was not in any way translated to the reader. Reaction at the end: "huh?"

Overall, I think these were both interesting stories that made me think, and even though I didn't love either of them, the incredibly short reading time required by both stories I think made them worth it.

Keep reading! Beth