The first fall of snow can be fatal…A year has passed since DI James Walker cracked his biggest case yet, and he’s hoping for peace and quiet this festive season. But across the fells, a local farmer returns home on Christmas Eve to find footsteps in the fresh snow that lead down to his unused basement – and no footsteps leading away. Days later, his body is found, alongside those of his wife and daughter. Without a neighbour for miles, there are no witnesses and little evidence. And the crime scene has strange echoes of another terrible murder committed at the farmhouse, twenty years earlier…James knows that to catch this killer, he needs to solve a case that has long since gone cold…

Rating 4.5/5

• Quaint murder mystery vibes
• A likable detective
• Small village setting
• Christmas

Following the trauma, a year ago when a serial killer struck Kirby Abbey the village is just recovering. Then two days before Christmas shock rumbles through the village as a family are found brutally murdered at their farm. With the family saddled with debt and secrets aplenty there are no end of suspects. However, things take an eerie turn when the detective James Walker learns of a similar event years before. The previous owners of the farm also met a grizzly end. Is this just a strange coincidence or are they connected?

This is the second instalment in this series and I throughly enjoyed it, possibly a little more than the first. I really liked the fact that this book as with the previous one, was set around Christmas. This along with the village location and the guaranteed snow fall all added to the atmosphere of the book. I think there is something about a cold snowy setting that just builds the perfect atmosphere for a murder mystery.

What I really liked about this book, and I believe I also said this about the first one was how despite the murders being quite grizzly the book still felt very cosy. The deaths certainly weren’t your stereotypical cosy mystery murders. They were in fact quite gruesome and dark. However, despite this the author still managed to make me feel as if I was reading a quaint murder mystery. I think it was the combination of a small-town setting, the cold location and a pleasant detective that helped with this. The fact the book was also set at Christmas, a traditionally warm cosy time for many further added to the quaint feeling. It felt like I was reading an Agatha Christie but with quite dark gritty crimes.

Further adding too this feeling was the main character and in addition his staff. I read quite a lot crime books and most of them involve quite crass characters with brutal superiors and strained relationships. James Walker is essentially a really nice family man. He has a wife and baby on the way whereas I traditionally read books where the main detective characters are a bit of a mess so this was a nice contrast. James has respectful relationships with his staff and superiors which I found really pleasant to read about. I did feel like the supporting characters could do with some more fleshing out because I would struggle to name them or recall anything about them.

I also really enjoyed the pacing of this story, for me it was just right. It felt like you were there the whole way through investigating with the detectives. I also felt the police procedures and interviews were laid out really well. This meant you could follow along and make discoveries at the same time or just before the detective. I certainly wasn’t getting frustrated that I could work out things the police could not.

Overall, I found this a thoroughly enjoyable read. The cosy, cold, Christmas setting and writing of the main characters gave the story a quaint murder mystery feel. It was grittily with a suspenseful crime story at it centre. I also found the addition of the previous murders in the same location added an interesting dynamic to the story. I think this is the perfect book for a cold winters night if you are seeking those cosy mystery vibes.

3.5 stars for this second instalment.

Once again, winter becomes as much a character in the story as the humans. I like DI Walker and his team who are not perfect but do their best to catch the bad guys and bring justice to their small community.

I also liked the fact that even though the murder investigation ii the main focus, the parallel story involving Walker and an old nemesis didn’t muddle the story.

Once again, my peeves with the book are Annie, Walker’s wife who doesn’t seem suitable to be a copper’s wife and thus makes a drama of everything and the fact that alcohol seems to be a bit too important for some characters.

Overall, it’s a good book and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to fans of British mysteries.

I enjoy Alex Pines books, they are the perfect Christmas reads. A small town with a big crime! I'm looking forward to the next one!

I really enjoyed this book, I had been looking forward to reading it after having read Alex Pine’s first book. The characters were well established in the first book and yet it is not necessary to have read both books in order. The police investigation unfolds at a good pace and the plot contains enough twists and turns to hold your interest. I was hooked by the murder mystery storyline early on and it kept me guessing right up until the end. I would highly recommend this book and want to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I hope that Alex Pine plans to write a third book in this series.

Character:
This book is not character-driven so I think it's okay to say that there's no in-depth introduction of each characters (or was it happen in book one which I haven't read yet?)

Setting:
Small-town murder mystery which happened during the winter? I'm totally sold for this.

Plot:
The twist oh my God?!

This was a great little mystery read. Not the most thrilling but an interesting story and a great procedural to read during the Christmas period.

This book was a fast paced book. I was hooked from the first page. Its full of suspense and you wont want to put it down. So many twists and turns.

Great sequel to a great book!

I loved it and I’m so happy that I was able to finally read it. It was really good and I hope people get to it soon.

I loved the plot and thought it moved at a fast pace.

Very few authors can keep me engrossed in a story from the beginning, through the middle until the very end. Alex Pine has done just that with The Killer in the Snow. The cover initially pulled me in, but I stayed for the storyline. A family massacre with mother, father and daughter killed in cold blood. It initially looks like a murder-suicide but as the investigation delves deeper it’s found to have dark connotations to a similar murder/suicide on the same property twenty-four years ago. Are the two connected? Or is this a deathly case of coincidence?

If you’ve been a follower of my blog for any length of time, you’ll know that I don’t hand out 5 stars willy nilly – The Killer in the Snow deserves all the stars. I read it in about 6 hours, I found myself transfixed to the spot. The case kept throwing up curveballs and it took everything for me to dodge them. The prologue left me feeling like a moth to the flame…I knew it could kill me to go too close, but the magnetic pull was too strong to ignore.

The prose in The Killer in the snow is deadly. Pine depicts a picture so resolute in its intensity. The weather hints at a further undertone of danger. It feels isolated, wind sweeping across the fells, it gives the impression that the cold could let in a stranger. A knife hidden behind the back – a sardonic smile, hidden intentions to harm. Three dead family members, an isolated farmhouse in Cumbria, and a concealed room in the cellar that seems to have been used to spy on the family. Financial woes, an unhappy wife, and a daughter with drink and drug issues. Was this enough for the husband to flip and kill his family?

Pine doesn’t beat around the bush with the reveals or twists, he delivers it without ceremony – what you see is what you get, and it feels like a hammer blow. Two days after Christmas DI James Walker is called out to a farmhouse on the outskirts of Kirkby Abbey a village near Cumbria. Things aren’t clear cut, and he still has the threat of Sullivan still on the horizon, he needs to protect himself and his wife but that’s a side plot with serious implications. He has several suspects in custody for the triple murder but not enough evidence to charge any of them. Is it the boyfriend of the murdered daughter who was cheating on her and has previous for small-time crimes? Or could it be the ex-employee who was fired for stealing from the family? Time is running out and still, the team can’t find that one bit of vital evidence that will nail them bang to rights.

The Killer in the Snow grabs you with its stealthy grip from page one with its vivid settings and realistic characters. The pages practically turn themselves.

Another book that’s got me on the edge of my seat!
The 2nd book in the DI James Walker Series and I really think this one was more suspenseful than the first. Following James Walker solving a case of triple murder was right up my street.
It starts when Robert Bateman, his wife and daughter are found dead and expected to have been killed on Xmas eve.
This book was full of suspense and twists in the right places! Another fantastic book by Alex Pine.

A second outing for DI Walker and his family up in Yorkshire. Crime only seems to happen in the winter when snow is thick on the ground. Settling in for Christmas Walker hopes that this year will not be a repeat of the last when a spate of killing ruined his Christmas and also nearly killed him and his wife. He doesn't have to wait long before he is called out but this time it is nearer home than he would like

#The KillerintheSnow #NetGalley This is the second book in the series. I enjoyed the first book in the series - The Christmas killer - and felt that knowing more of the background story of James Walker did enhance the reading experience but it is capable of being read on its own as there are plenty of reminders alluding to what happened in the first book. Easy to read with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. There are two interlinked crimes being investigated, one in current day and one from 24 years previous. I did guess the connection but only slightly before all was revealed. A back story running alongside from Walkers previous life in the Met added suspense but the conclusion did seem a bit rushed at the end. I look forward to reading more in the series but hope that future books may be based at a different time of year!!

The 2nd book in the DI James Walker Series - this was even more intriguing and suspenseful than the 1st book. Following DI James Walker and his team solving a case of triple murder as well as solving what happened twenty years earlier takes the reader into the depths of what a person is capable of when it comes to saving a baby.
Robert Bateman, his wife and daughter are found dead - the police suspects that they died on Christmas eve, and their primary suspect is the daughter's boyfriend. The investigation further turns out more clues and reveals what really happened on that dreadful day as well as what happened twenty years ago on that farm.

Thanks to Avon Books and Netgalley for the ARC, hopefully the next book in this series will be out this year.

I’m so glad I got to read this; it was brilliant. Had me on the edge of my seat again!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

So… the Batemans have been found murdered in their home at Oaktree Farm just after Christmas. Intriguing… Whats more, the Roth Family (who just happened to be mates and employers of the Batemans) were found in similar circumstances in the basement of said house two decades previously!!! What??!

Oh, and their 1 month old daughter went missing and was never found…. No way I hear you gasp! WAY!! Especially when a small secluded room is found in the basement, with a peephole leading to the family livingroom!!! If that’s not giving you thrilling vibes then…

I was approved to read this before I had read the first book, so wanted to read them in order. This can be read as a stand-alone, but I feel you benefit from the character development by reading in order - character development is what ultimately seals a book for me. This was an enjoyable and suspenseful read, with a nice dose of mystery and chilling twists. The setting is really well done, and I really liked DI Walker. I also particularly liked how Pine ends his chapters…

If you like a police procedural, you’ll enjoy this one. Can you solve the cold case…? Why not give it a crack!

I loved the first book in this series, The Christmas Killer, so was very excited to read this. It didn't disappoint and was full of potential suspects and twists and turns to keep you guessing. Although it could be read alone I would recommend reading the books in order as you get to know the characters. There is a back story that runs through the two books, which adds an element of suspense and tension throughout the story. I would drop one star because I felt the climax of this storyline was a bit rushed and not as dramatic as the build up.

DI James Walker´s new cases is the murder of a farm family. This crimes occured in the same place 20 years ago other family was murder, is it a coincidence or are they related? At first nothing is clear, but as the last case is being investigating, the previous one is also being seen. I liked book,. I had my theories of what happened and I wasn`t very wrong. Thank Netgalley for let me read this book.

I enjoyed Alex Pine's first introduction to DI James Walker in The Christmas Killer, but this one felt like a bit of a stretch to link it to Christmas and this festive genre in general. What's good about it? The plot was strong, ditto the crime he is investigating. Also the rural setting. But, for me, what let it down is some of the cliched writing and conversations between characters (and Walker's relationship with his wife was a bit cringe as it is very one dimensional and over uses cliches). Even so I'd give the author's next outing another go.

Excellently paced and riveting read. Two crimes committed decades apart are solved in this one story. Interesting characters and a superb plot keep the reader hooked.

I enjoyed this a lot and found it easy to get into, a solid police procedural that kept me guessing with some unexpected twists - exactly what I wanted. So many people seemed to have a motive, I found it impossible to guess the killer., There are things about the old farmhouse that genuinely gave me the creeps. The Killer in the Snow is the second book in a series...didn't realise this until I started reading, thankfully it didn't matter that I hadn't read the previous book and there's actually a whole section at the end explaining a bit of the back story and some background on the detectives.
Thoroughly enjoyed..thanks so much!