Many of us have a love-hate relationship with snow. We think freshly fallen snow makes the landscape look so magical and enchanting; at the same time we loathe the effect it will have on our commutes, and grapple with how hard it can be to manage and move snow. Plus major blizzards and snowstorms can have a crippling effect.
Are you one of those who has been lamenting the lack of any measurable snowfall this winter in our area?
If so, you may find solace in some of these titles revolving around or situated around snow, ice, and winter–including mysteries, and nonfiction– that provide elements of the frigid, the frozen, and the chilly for a true taste of winter. (Note: Descriptions are provided by the publishers.)
Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason
In this thriller, the Reykjavik police are called on an icy January day to a garden where a body has been found: a young, dark-skinned boy is frozen to the ground in a pool of his own blood. Erlendur and his team embark on their investigation and soon unearth tensions simmering beneath the surface of Iceland’s outwardly liberal, multicultural society. Meanwhile, the boy’s murder forces Erlendur to confront the tragedy in his own past. Soon, facts are emerging from the snow-filled darkness that are more chilling even than the Arctic night.
Best In Snow by David Rosenfelt
Christmas has come early to the town of Paterson, New Jersey, in the form of a snowstorm that dumps two feet of snow on the ground. Lawyer Andy Carpenter likes snow – white Christmas and all that – but it can cause problems for the walks he takes his dogs on every day. When Andy’s golden retriever, Tara, goes to play in the snow and instead discovers a body, Andy ends up on the phone with the local newspaper editor. The murder victim is Mayor Alex Oliva, who had an infamous relationship with the newspaper. Last year a young reporter published an expose, and Oliva had him fired for libel. Now, the young reporter – and prime suspect – is in need of a lawyer.
The Blizzard Party by Jack Livings
A panoramic novel set in New York City during the catastrophic blizzard of February 1978. On the night of February 6, 1978, a catastrophic nor’easter struck the city of New York. On that night, in a penthouse in the Upper West Side’s stately Apelles, a crowd gathered for a wild party. And on that night, Mr. Albert Haynes Caldwell–a partner emeritus at Swank, Brady & Plescher; Harvard class of ’26; father of three; widower; atheist; and fiscal conservative–hatched a plan to fake a medical emergency and toss himself into the Hudson River, where he would drown. In the eye of this storm: Hazel Saltwater, age six. The strange events of that night irrevocably altered many lives, but none more than hers. This is Hazel’s reconstruction of that night, an exploration of love, language, conspiracy, auditory time travel, and life after death.
Hidden In Snow by Viveca Sten
On the day Stockholm police officer Hanna Ahlander’s personal and professional lives crash, she takes refuge at her sister’s lodge in the Swedish ski resort paradise of Åre. But it’s a brief comfort. The entire village is shaken by the sudden vanishing of a local teenage girl. Hanna can’t help but investigate, and while searching for the missing person, she lands a job with the local police department. There she joins forces with Detective Inspector Daniel Lindskog, who has been tasked with finding the girl. Their only lead: a scarf in the snow. As subzero temperatures drop even further, a treacherous blizzard sweeps toward Åre. Hanna and Daniel’s investigation is getting more desperate by the hour. Lost or abducted, either way time is running out for the missing girl. Each new clue closes in on something far more sinister than either Hanna or Daniel imagined.
The Hunting Party : A Novel by Lucy Foley
A group of thirty-something Oxford friends celebrate New Year’s Eve in the Scottish Highlands as a historic blizzard hits, trapping and isolating them, only to discover one of them is a murderer.
Murder At Icicle Lodge by J. D. Griffo
When her granddaughter lands a reporting gig at the grand opening of the luxurious Icicle Lodge, Alberta and friends tag along for a week of much-needed R&R amid the snowcapped hills of northeastern Pennsylvania. But the idyllic winter getaway becomes a nightmare after the gang discovers blood on the ice, and the dead body of celebrity guest Pamela Gregory, a frosty Olympic gold medal figure skater who won herself more enemies than fans.
North : A Novel by Brad Kessler
As a late spring blizzard brews, Brother Christopher, a cloistered monk at Blue Mountain Monastery in Vermont, rushes to tend to his Ida Red and Northern Spy apple trees in advance of the unseasonal snowstorm. When the storm lands a young Somali refugee, Sahro Abdi Muse, at the monastery, Christopher is pulled back into the world as his life intersects with Sahro’s and that of an Afghan war veteran in surprising and revealing ways.
Northeaster : A Story Of Courage And Survival In The Blizzard Of 1952 by Cathie Pelletier
A vivid and gripping story of an epic Maine snowstorm that tested the very limits of human endurance, Northeaster weaves together a rich cast of characters whose lives were uprooted and endangered by the storm. Housewives and lobstermen, loggers and soldiers were all trapped as snow piled in drifts twenty feet high. The storm smothered hundreds of travelers in their cars, covered entire towns, and broke ships in half. In the midst of the blizzard’s chaos, there were remarkable acts of heroism and courageous generosities.
Of Ice And Men : How We’ve Used Cold to Transform Humanity by Fred Hogge
An exploration of humanity’s relationship with ice since the dawn of civilization, Of Ice and Men reminds us that only by understanding this unique substance can we save the ice on our planet–and perhaps ourselves. It tells how our species has used ice to reshape the world according to our needs and our desires: how we have survived it, harvested it, traded it, bent science to our will to make it–and how in doing so we have created globe-spanning infrastructures that are entirely dependent upon it.
100 Slopes Of A Lifetime : The World’s Ultimate Ski And Snowboard Destinations by Gordy Megroz
This ultimate skier and snowboarder bucket list, from celebrated runs in Alta, Utah, to the challenge of Switzerland’s 4 Vallees races through 100 energizing snowy experiences for all levels. Filled with beautiful National Geographic photography, wisdom from experts, need-to-know travel information, and practical tips, this inspirational guide offers the planet’s best ski and snowboarding experiences on breathtaking slopes around the world.
Outside by Ragnar Jonasson
Stranded by a snowstorm in the Icelandic highlands, four friends seek shelter in an abandoned hunting lodge where they discover they are not alone, and must come to terms with their past to survive to see their future.
Powder Days : Ski Bums, Ski Towns And The Future Of Chasing Snow by Heather Hansman
Veteran ski journalist and former ski bum Heather Hansman takes readers on an exhilarating journey into the hidden history of American skiing, offering a glimpse into an underexplored subculture from the perspective of a true insider.
The Secret Of Snow by Viola Shipman
When Sonny Dunes, a SoCal meteorologist whose job is all sunshine and seventy-two-degree days, is replaced by a virtual meteorologist that will never age, gain weight or renegotiate its contract, the only station willing to give the fifty-year-old another shot is the very place Sonny’s been avoiding since the day she left for college, her northern Michigan hometown…To distract herself from the memories she’s spent her life trying to outrun, Sonny throws herself headfirst into covering every small-town winter event to woo a new audience, made more bearable by a handsome widower with optimism to spare.
The Secrets Of Winter : A Josephine Tey Mystery by Nicola Upson
December 1938, and storm clouds hover once again over Europe. Josephine Tey and Archie Penrose gather with friends for a Cornish Christmas, but two strange and brutal deaths on St. Michael’s Mount–and the unexpected arrival of a world famous film star, in need of sanctuary–interrupt the festivities. Cut off by the sea and a relentless blizzard, the hunt for a murderer begins.
Shiver by Allie Reynolds
When Milla accepts an off-season invitation to Le Rocher, a cozy ski resort in the French Alps, she’s expecting an intimate weekend of catching up with four old friends. Yet no sooner do Milla and the others arrive for the reunion than they realize something is horribly wrong. Stranded in the deserted resort, Milla’s not sure what’s worse: the increasingly sinister things happening around her or the looming snowstorm that’s making escape even more impossible. All she knows is that there’s no one on the mountain she can trust.
Snow by John Banville
Investigating the murder of a County Wexford priest in 1957, Detective Inspector St. John Strafford navigates harsh winter weather and the community’s culture of silence to expose an aristocratic family’s dangerous secrets.
Snow : A History Of The World’s Most Fascinating Flake by Anthony R. Wood
This entertaining look at snow in all its delightful and fearsome manifestations delves into science, history, economics, and popular culture to examine snow’s enduring hold on the imagination. Readers will learn about the making and removing of snow, the psychology of winter, and the history of snow in literature, art, and popular culture. The author also summarizes the current scientific understanding of major winter weather events and what is known about the complex interplay between the jet stream and the Gulf Stream. Finally, the book considers the impact of global warming on snowfall and the potential for causing a water crisis in the West and major losses in the winter recreation industry.
The Snow Collectors : A Novel by Tina May Hall
Haunted by the loss of her parents and twin sister at sea, Henna cloisters herself in a Northeastern village where the snow never stops. When she discovers the body of a young woman at the edge of the forest, she’s plunged into the mystery of a centuries-old letter regarding one of the most famous stories of Arctic exploration–the Franklin expedition, which disappeared into the ice in 1845. At the center of the mystery is Franklin’s wife, the indomitable Lady Jane. Henna’s investigation draws her into a gothic landscape of locked towers, dream-like nights of snow and ice, and a crumbling mansion of hidden passages and carrion birds.
The Thing In The Snow : A Novel by Sean Adams
Three caretakers and a single remaining researcher, who keep the Northern Institute in working order in case research ever resumes, find their work upended by a mysterious object that appears in the snow that soon challenges their every notion of what is normal.
An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena
It’s winter in the Catskills and Mitchell’s Inn, nestled deep in the woods, is the perfect setting for a relaxing maybe even romantic weekend away. It boasts spacious old rooms with huge woodburning fireplaces, a well-stocked wine cellar, and opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or just curling up with a good murder mystery. So when the weather takes a turn for the worse, and a blizzard cuts off the electricity and all contact with the outside world the guests settle in for the long haul. Soon, though, one of the guests turns up dead it looks like an accident. But when a second guest dies, they start to panic. Within the snowed-in paradise, something or someone is picking off the guests one by one. And there’s nothing they can do but hunker down and hope they can survive the storm.
–Archana Chiplunkar, Adult Services & Acquisitions Librarian