What I love about the mystery genre is that there exists such a continuum of stories and the distinct subgenres. For example, there are the detective mysteries that are by the law and nitty gritty. You have the civilian murder mysteries where ordinary people investigate. There are the more thriller types where the narrator may in fact be a victim, or is fending off attack. All give me a rush.

Girl in Snow combines elements from several types of crime books, as there are three main narrators to the story. Taking place in a quiet town in Colorado, the state I wish I lived in, the novel opens with the discovery of a teenage girl’s body, coated in a fresh layer of snow. The official investigation is headed by narrator number 1, Russ. Throughout the novel, Russ is put in the tough situation of investigating his ex-partner’s son, Cameron (narrator number 2), who appears to be a top suspect in the murder. You see, Cameron stalked the victim. And then there is narrator number 3, Jade. She despises Lucinda (the victim) and worries that she died because of her ill wishes.

I have to say, I never became super attached to any of the characters, so it was hard to get involved in the novel. Yet, I don’t think this is the kind of novel designed to have you get attached to the characters. They are all three shrouded in loneliness and their own problems. In other words, they are all struggling to get by. And while that fact usually hits home for many, these characters just aren’t the kind you feel sorry for. They are the kind that if they were real people, you would advert your eyes and walk right by. And that kind of feeling hits you straight where it hurts, in the truth of our nature. We are the people that allow this loneliness to continue and worsen.

All of this aside, it was a fast and enjoyable read. In fact, it is one of the only times I have ever been able to solve a murder in a novel (for reading so much mystery, you would think I’d have it figured out by now).

High-school student Lucinda Hayes is found murdered on a playground - an event that shakes a small Colorado town. A novel that initially seems like a thrilling mystery is actually a complex character study of three individuals whose lives are impacted by Lucinda's death in one way or another.

The story is told by these three different perspectives. First there's Jade, who has a deep resentment for Lucinda, even in her passing. Jade lost her babysitting job to Lucinda, and then Lucinda took Jade's love interest.

Then there's Russ Fletcher, the police officer assigned to investigate Lucinda's case. As he tries to put together the missing pieces and determine who is responsible for her murder, he can't help but come face to face with some demons from his own past.

Most important of these characters is Cameron, the odd but harmless boy who loved Lucinda although he hardly knew her. When people find out that he spent a lot of time watching Lucinda through her windows, and drawing pictures of her, he becomes a prime suspect in the case.

The novel is beautifully written, and Kukafka excels in characterization - but she spends just a little too much time developing Russ, Jade, and Cameron. While their stories are interesting, none of these characters are particularly likable. Very little is revealed about Lucinda, which creates a significant disconnect throughout the entire novel. I wasn't entirely compelled to find out who killed her - and once the killer was revealed, there were sparse details to accompany this information. The ending was very dissatisfying to say the least.

Girl in Snow is Kukafka's first novel. I believe she is an extremely talented writer, and I hope she takes the time to read the reviews and use them as constructive feedback. I do much look forward to seeing what she comes out with next.

Multiple POV's always make the reading experience a little different and at times hard, not always work and when it does like in Girl in Snow we end up with an enjoyable and great story.
Lucinda Hayes was a very interesting character to read about so were James, Russ, and Cameron.

The body of 15-year-old Lucinda is found one early morning in a small town in Colorado. She’s been murdered and there are three people who are really affected by her death: Cameron, the introverted boy who used to spy on her; Jade, the goth girl who thinks that Lucinda stole her babysitting job and her best friend; Russ, a police officer who used to work with Cameron’s father and who is going to do everything to protect him. The novel is not much about the murder that seems to be just a backdrop to the story, but it is about the psychology of the three main characters, their darkest secrets, and their search of identity. The character of Lucinda remained a bit of a mystery for me but Cameron, Jade, and Russ are complex and very well-crafted characters and their stories kept me absorbed in the book. The novel is beautifully written and it is told from the three main characters’ point of view, switching from one perspective to the other. Because this is a novel more about psychology than the murder, it is not the typical fast-paced thriller, but it’s still suspenseful, dark, and thought-provoking.

A body. A murder. That's in common with many books, and more reality than we'd like. Now we work with those dealing with the murder of teenager. There are multiple viewpoints. Some are relived. Some are scared. We get to know several people and their take on this loss. It's dark sometimes. It's less about the who-done-it, and more about the how certain people cope. It's kind of slow, though interesting enough, but slow. I had a harder time being drawn in, or connecting with some of the characters.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

What started out as a traveling sister read quickly turned into a solo act...leaving me to finish this one on my own. This was no easy task! On more than one occasion I wanted to step away from it as well!

Lucinda, a local teenager is found murdered in a playground, buried under a light dusting of snow. Told from three POV. Jade - who blames Lucinda for stealing everything good in her life. Cameron - a classmate, and lonely neighbor, he harbored a long-standing and serious crush on Lucinda, bordering on stalking! And Russ - a policeman, who may have more than just a passing interest with the suspects, to be impartial.

This book had more of a YA feel to it than an actual thriller. I found it to be extremely slow moving, and seemed to nearly stall out completely about half way through. I just wanting it to come to a quick end, as I had little interest in the characters or the storyline. The only thing that kept me from a DNF was wanting to know who killed Lucinda. Unfortunately even that fell flat.
This book was just not a good fit for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and Danya Kukafka for an ARC to review in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this novel. I found myself having trouble connecting with the characters and I did not like any of them which hindered my progress even more. I am very disappointed in myself for not completing the book and only making it half-way through, but I had to throw in the towel eventually.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC for my Kindle.
The description of the book sounded good, but it was actually geared to a young crowd. This "YA" book was a little disturbing but not because of the story line, but the detailed descriptions of some of the teenagers' intimate acts. Yes, we know it's going, but no, I don't want to read the details.

I just couldn't get into this one. Maybe I will try again, but it just didn't grab me from the beginning and I ended up reading a different book instead.

When a teen is found murdered, members from a small community must deal with the list of possible suspects that include an obsessed classmate and a jealous ex-friend. As the community reels from the event, the officer on the case will need to move past his own issues if he wants to find out who killed the girl. Author Danya Kukafka tries to examine small-town happenings in a novel with an excruciatingly slow pace in the debut book Girl in Snow.

On a February morning in a small Colorado town, someone discovers the body of Lucinda Hayes. A killer has left her on the playground carousel by an elementary school. As word of her murder spreads, the people in the community react with expected horror and grief.

For Cameron Whitley, though, Lucinda’s death feels like a personal affront. He’s never really fit in at school; people have called him names that run the gamut, all because he’s not quite sure what to say and when to say it. But Lucinda showed him kindness a few times, and he loved her. He still loves her, and losing her becomes akin to losing part of himself.

Jade Dixon-Burns allows herself a sense of relief. Serves Lucinda right, she thinks. Jade needed the babysitting job that she and Lucinda shared and that eventually went exclusively to Lucinda. The dead girl had everything, including a perfect family. People who, instead of getting drunk and hitting their kids, actually cared about her.

What’s worse, Lucinda also stole Jade’s best friend. Jade never told Zap how she felt about him, but she always thought she’d have the chance…until the day she spied on Lucinda and Zap together. Jade and Zap had a moment once that could have potentially turned into something else, until Lucinda came along.

Officer Russ Fletcher had the distinct honor of being Lee Whitley’s partner, long before Lee got into trouble himself. Russ and Lee formed a friendship that went beyond the squad car. When Lee commits a crime and ends up leaving town, he makes sure to stop long enough to ask Russ to take care of Cameron.

Now that Cameron is a prime suspect in Lucinda’s murder, Russ is at odds with himself. Everything in the case points to Cameron, but Russ is a good friend. He’ll have to find a way to resolve what the facts indicate with what his gut tells him. If not for Cameron then definitely for Lee, even if Lee is long gone.

Author Danya Kukafka drags almost the entire book out over a mere three days. The choice to focus so much on the day Lucinda is discovered and the two days following means readers will spend time inside of Cameron, Russ, and Jade’s heads for almost a minute-by-minute examination. In a bid, most likely, to attract readers who prefer literary fiction, every emotion and relevant memory of these three characters gets scrutinized. The resulting heaviness weighs the book down so much it drags to a lull before the killer’s identity is revealed, which will disappoint readers not only for who did it but also how it happened.

Kukafka has a way with words, yes, but readers can only take so much pretty prose before getting impatient with the sluggish plot. With the book’s billing as a thriller, readers will be waiting on tenterhooks for the story to get started. By the time it does, the book ends and so will the patience of readers expecting something else.

I recommend readers Bypass Girl in Snow.

I decided to read this book because I liked the premise and I do like a good murder mystery so I was excited about reading the book. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

This book is character-driven and the pace is really slow because the entire focus is on the narrators. The story is told through three main POVs; Cameron, Jade and Russ, complex characters, all battling their own demons. At the heart of the story, there is a murder case. Through the characters, we finally get to learn how Lucinda Hayes lost her life.

Although this is a murder mystery, I didn’t feel the suspense and tension that usually comes with the genre. I couldn’t connect with Lucinda, maybe because the story begins when she is already dead. In addition, the focus on the characters dragged the story. The writing was beautiful and the setting (small town) interesting but the story wasn’t for me. Fans of character-driven stories who don’t mind a slow paces are more likely to enjoy this one.

This is the story of the mysterious death of Lucinda. She was a popular girl who is found murdered on the playground. This story is told through the eyes of three different people.

Cameron, the quiet boy who loved or still loves her. He would stand outside her house and watch her at night. They had very few interactions but he thinks she loved him. Jade, the loner girl who wished Lucinda away for stealing the best parts of her life and Russ. Russ is a patrol police officer who is looking into the murder case.

As you read you see how they all intertwine into each other's lives. Was Lucinda the golden girl everyone thought she was or did she have secrets of her own? We do not get a lot of information about Lucinda, mainly just flashbacks from everyone's past interactions with her. The book is well written and definitely worth the read.

I had high expectations when I started this novel, but it fell flat. It went on and on... I thought it would never end. Very boring. Longwinded descriptions and uninteresting characters. I found this novel lacking cohesiveness.

An enjoyable novel with a gripping plot. Would not have believed it was a debut novel as the author writes so well. Great!!

On a frozen, snow-covered morning, the body of popular high school student Lucinda Hayes is found in a local park. In the small Colorado neighbourhood, everyone knew Lucinda – and everyone is affected by her death, whether they liked her or not.

Girl in Snow is narrated by three characters with connections to Lucinda. Cameron is an anxious, unpopular boy who was obsessed with Lucinda – he drew detailed portraits of her and watched her through her bedroom window at night. Jade is an edgy girl with an alternative style, whose alcoholic mom and miserable home life make her jealous of Lucinda’s seemingly perfect world – she also admittedly hated Lucinda for stealing her babysitting job. Finally, Russ is the officer in charge of investigating Lucinda’s murder, and he also has a strong connection to the family of his main suspect, Cameron.

Each character works to expose the others’ secrets while confronting their own emotions as they all search for the truth about Lucinda’s death. The novel explores how people can see us and interpret our lives in different ways, while never knowing the truth about who we are – not just Lucinda, but all of the characters are judged by who they appear to be. Cameron expresses himself through his artwork, while Jade’s sections often shift into her dramatic screenplay in which she envisions the scenes that she wishes had taken place, and the conversations that sounded better in her mind.

Lucinda could have been killed by anyone in her small suburb, but as more backstory is revealed through the eyes of different narrators, the identity of the murderer becomes inevitable. This novel is ostensibly a mystery-thriller, but the focus is ultimately on character development. The only exception is Lucinda, who remains fairly flat, but she acts as a device to bring everyone else together. The story is written in clear, concise prose, yet it is saturated with depth and emotion – Kukafka’s words are evocative without being overly descriptive. As the characters become increasingly intertwined, they show the unknown connections between all of us – and how appearances can be deceiving.

I received this book from Simon & Schuster and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is told in three voices and each voice involves you more and more. Super fast paced and sure to be the book everyone talks about for a long time coming. I am curious to see who will option this and how they will make it into a movie.

I was intrigued by the <I>Girl in Snow</I> because it was described as a suspense and mystery novel. The more I read, the more I realized it was not. Just because it was centered around Lucinda, a beautiful young teenager, who was murdered, does not in fact mean that the book will then provide a mystery to be solved while reading.

Instead what the reader gets is more of a character development of the three lead potential (but not official) suspects. They are definitely not the investigators suspects, nor are they all the characters that will tell the story of this girl's life. Yes, they are intertwined in unexpected ways with each other but not necessarily with Lucinda.

I went into this book expecting suspense, but what I got was a depressing character study on three lonely people. It was well written under these terms but has a lot of work to make it part of the murder/mystery/suspense genre.

I loved everything about this book. The story drew me in from the very beginning. A girl named Lucinda Hayes is found murdered and it sends the town in an uproar, because nothing like this ever happens in the sleepy suburb of Colorado. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the three indelible characters—Cameron, Jade, and Russ—must each confront their darkest secrets in an effort to find solace, the truth, or both. Cameron is the kid who is obsessed (to say the least) with Lucinda. Jade is the girl who wanted to be Lucinda. Russ is the police officer who is charged with investigating Lucinda's murder. Essentially, the novel follows the three main characters and you get to see how they make their journey to find (and reveal) their/the truth. It was a great book. I received a copy of Girl in Snow through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Simon & Schuster and to Danya Kukafka for the opportunity.

I found this to be just an ok book. The story was slow in developing and bogged down at times. The ending was rather anticlimatic in my view. The basic thread with Cameron was just too implausible. Hopefully the author's next book will show an improvement.