Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I enjoyed it very much!

I was lucky enough to be granted an advanced copy of this novel, which is part of the Lily Dale Mystery series. When I requested the book, I wasn’t aware it was a series’ entry. But it stands alone well so that wasn’t a problem. Bella and her young son live in a community inhabited by a large number of psychics, but she’s not one of them. One day Bella hears a weird noise and the next day a corpse in a bag washes up on shore. Then a series of inexplicable happenings plague the neighborhood. A little boy disappears, another body is found, and Bella hears things she can’t explain.

The book reads fast and smooth. Those who prefer series will be drawn in enough to read more of these books. The tension is straight up taut. Bella as a narrator works well.

This was not my favorite book by Wendy Staub. Probably if I had read the other books in the series before I read this one, I would have enjoyed more. I loved Jiffy and Max. And I like Bella. Several of the residents are quite quirky. Actually the entire town may be. LOL. If you like Spirit, give it a try, it may be your favorite book.

This is book 3 of a nice suspense series, A Lily Dale Mystery. It's not a cozy and has some violence set among a community of psychics and spiritualists. A young boy disappears and people are thinking the worst. Bella sees a strange light outside her window and a murderer see's her inside assuming she has witnessed his crime. Everyone thinks the two crimes are related and police are frantic searching for the missing boy who is a friend of Bella's son. Lots of suspense and a reuniting with lots of the Lily Dale characters.

I am new to the Lily Dale series, but I was fascinated by the characters and their interactions with each other and with Spirit. In this story, Bella unknowingly becomes witness to a murderer disposing of his victim's body in the lake. But the murder isn't the only thing happening in the town. Bella's son, Max, spends most of his time with his best friend, Jiffy, a child that Bella feels is largely left unsupervised by his mother, Misty, a professed psychic. And when the unimaginable happens and Jiffy disappears, the police just assume that he has run away. But Misty is sure that he was kidnapped...at least that seems to be the message that Spirit has sent Misty. And Bella is starting to wonder if there is any connection with the murder, especially after another dead body turns up. There is a lot happening in this story, including possible ghostly messages to Bella...the biggest nonbeliever in the town. Disclosure: I am voluntarily reviewing this book received through NetGalley.

Every time I read a book by Wendy Corsi Staub, I completely get lost in the story, This novel was no different. I love the plot of this story, all the twists, turns, and surprises kept me on the edge of my seat until the last page. Once again, we have strong characters, especially the main character whom we love to root for, complex relationships, and spectacular character development when we are introduced to new ones. This entire series makes me want to stroll the street of Lily Dale and just get lost in the charm and mystery.

I read the first Lily Dale series years ago and loved them. I was happy to see that she is continuing the series about this town. These books have described the town in such detail that it makes me want to visit there. I really like the characters and will be watching for the next book in this series

Loved the description of this book along with the beautiful cover. But as soon as I started reading the book, i could see thats where the love finished. I didnt enjoy the book at all. It just wasnt that interesting. Did nothing for me sorry

Winter in Lily Dale is quiet, peaceful. The summer crowds have left and business for the local spiritualists has slowed down. However, the summer like temps have Bella questioning the weather reports of four or more inches of snow. Misty Starr, on the other hand, is having visions of her son, Jiffy, in a bus traveling through a severe snow storm. Extremely frustrated, she is unable to decipher the feelings of dread that envelope her regardless of who she is supposed to be reading. Troubles escalate when Bella finds a body in the lake and her son Max and his buddy Jiffy have found a treasure. The snow begins to fly and as it quickly begins to pile up, so too do the troubles and no one seems to know what is going on, even the spiritualists.

My first encounter with Lily Dale and its quirky, colorful community of spiritualists began with Lily Dale: Awakening. It introduces the reader to Calla and her delightful grandmother, Odelia. The first three books were published as young adult and follow the teenage Calla. The next grouping of Lily Dale stories involves widowed Bella Jordan and her son Max. Bella has reluctantly taken up residence at the Valley View Guesthouse as its innkeeper. She often questions her decision to remain but Max thinks it’s fantastic since he has a new best friend in Jiffy. Sweet, free spirit Jiffy is a handful to his mom, Misty and often is on his own which drives overprotective Bella a little crazy. Previously introduced characters, such as Odelia and Calla, are generously sprinkled throughout these books. The stories begin light but can take a scary and suspenseful turn. Story lines are not gratuitously graphic and do not have overt sexual scenes. Instead, Staub delivers up good storytelling and sprinkles in the colorful and often kooky residents of Lily Dale. These books are a good fit for teens interested in mysteries with a little supernatural twist. They are entertaining and I hope to see more that showcase some of the more colorful characters.

Dead of Winter is another gratifying read by one of my favorite authors. Filled with quirky and likable characters, readers are going to want to be a part of this small town even though there is something shady going on... Like a murder and disappearance! With every step of the way being filled with more tension, readers are going to gobble this one up! It's a taught thriller with a fantastic story line.

I enjoy this authors work but haven't ever read the Lily Dale series. Although the book was fun to read and full of lots of charming characters, it wasn't a stand alone book for me. I was wanting more in depth information about the people of Lily Dale. I guess I will need to go back and start the series from the beginning. Story was very intriguing and definitely hold your interest.

I chose this one because it takes place in Lily Dale, the New York hamlet of spiritualists and mediums. What better place to set a mystery than in a community of spiritualists and mediums? Light reading, but kind of fun.

Return to the weird and wonderful world of Lily Dale, where things are never quite what they seem. Bella Jordan just happens to be looking out her window when she witnesses a killer dumping a body. The killer notices her noticing him and decides to eliminate the threat, but as he approaches her house, a black cat appears and frightens off the superstitious killer, for now. Meanwhile a local boy, Jiffy, is looking for the cat. Jiffy has had visions of being kidnapped during a snowstorm and when the season’s first storm descend, the boy vanishes. Bella believes the boy has just lost track of time and will return home, but her son, Max, knows Jiffy has been taken. Bella starts taking her son seriously when a body is found in the lake and the town rallies to find the missing boy, but will they be too late? Staub writes another creepy tale about the village of Lily Dale that will leave readers shivering under the covers

LIly Dale is a small community, unique in that most of the residents are psychics and mediums who all have such quirky personalities.

Bella Jordan happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time ... she hears a man's dying scream and then she sees his body floating in from the lake when he was dumped. The killer looks up and sees her in the window ... and he immediately thinks to silence her.

But Jiffy happens to be in the way of the killer and begins to have visions of being kidnapped. And during the first snowstorm of the season, Jiffy leaves school one day and disappears.

With all the psychics available, one would think they could "see" what happened to the boy. But that doesn't happen. Everyone seems to be frantic with worry and do everything in their power to find the boy.

As a part of the Lily Dale series, DEAD OF WINTER was somewhat disappointing. The premise was good, most of the characters were solid, but there were areas of repetitive conversation and a little boring. Max and Jiffy were wonderful ... how can you not like 2 very young boys with their energy and inquisitiveness. Add to them a couple of cats, maybe a dog and at least you walk away with a smile.

This is certainly not the best of this series, but I have read some of the author's earlier books and enjoyed them immensely.

Many thanks to the author / Crooked Lane Books / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.