I didn't enjoy this as much as I hoped, which was a shame. Pine writes well, and while the plot jumped around a bit it was easy enough to follow however I wasn't keen on the third person diary like entries looking back into the past. There were plot twists, but nothing that really shocked me and I had anticipated what would come at the end. I wanted it to be a faster paced, and not so padded out with red herrings which I had guessed already - because it reads very similarly to Pine's previous installment The Christmas Killer. The background story surrounding DI James Walker seemed a bit unnecessary and I don't think it added much to the story overall - apart from the being the reason he lives in the village. A bit "Midsummer Murders" for me but would appeal to readers of The Thursday Murder Club etc maybe?

A man, his wife, and his daughter are murdered in an isolated farmhouse. The murders are similar to murders that occurred in the same farmhouse twenty years earlier. Too similar to ignore.

This is the second book in this series, and I didn't read the first one.

There are some twists, but an important plot thread seemed obvious from early on. I didn't find the main character Detective James Walker particularly appealing and the references to a couple of previous cases felt more digressive than important.

Alex Pine has written a series of books on true crime, but I believe this is only his second novel.

read in August

NetGalley/Avon

Mystery/Thriller. Oct. 28, 2021. Print length: 400 pages

Another winter mystery for DI James Walker. Does nothing ever happen in the summer‽ An easy read with enough story to last a well stoked fire. Buy it and save it for this Christmas. Thanks to Netgalley.

The Killer in the Snow is an unputdownable, suspenseful and riveting book, chock full of layered mysteries and tension. I did not realize it is part of a series. Though it stands beautifully on its own, it is so arresting that this series has been added to my list to immerse myself in. That cover, though!

DI James Walker and his wife are living in rural England. And they have a secret. But so do killers. When murder enters the scene, locals are sickened in many ways. Not only were there killings in the area twenty years prior but the similarities between them and the current case are uncanny and disturbing. Walker must contend with fear, mysterious shoe prints and a creepy house, not to mention his past.

I read this book in a small cabin in the woods in the dark of night, deliberately setting the scene for maximum enjoyment of this thriller. The introduction to DI Walker and his colleagues is helpful and I really like the plot building. So well done. Walker's relationship with his wife is refreshingly a loving and caring one.

Suspense and thriller readers, do not miss this perfectly dark (yet not a Horror) story. To me it is the perfect balance of past and present happenings, psychological mind plays and importance of unshakeable relationships.

My sincere thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for introducing me to a new-to-me series and the privilege of reading this suspenseful book. Can't wait to read everything I can get my hands on by this author.

This is an excellent police procedural, set in the beautiful Lake District. It is the second in the series, but I haven’t read the first volume so can testify that it works equally well as a stand alone novel. Investigating 2 apparent murder/suicides, 24 years apart, at a remote farmhouse, with a violent criminal looking for revenge to add extra stress, DI James Walker certainly has his work cut out. Numerous suspects add variety to the tale. A thoroughly enjoyable read. I’m looking forward to next next in this series.

What a puzzle! On Christmas Eve, at Oaktree Farm, the owner, his wife and daughter are found murdered. Twenty four years earlier, at Oaktree Farm, the owner and his wife were found murdered. Their infant daughter was never found.

Wondering how these cases could be related, DI James Walker and his team begin to investigate. Robert Bateman, killed on Christmas Eve, had a gambling problem and was about to lose the farm. Threats are found on his phone. His daughter Charlotte is dating a possible drug dealer. And, behind the boarded over cellar door, there’s a peephole where someone has been watching the Batemans. Someone who left bloody shoe prints from the outer cellar door. Prints that don’t match any found near the bodies. As Walker tries to unravel the mystery behind the killings, he faces another threat. Andrew Sullivan, a gang leader, is out of jail and looking for revenge. Walker and his wife are on his list.

Alex Pine seamlessly weaves together two murder cases, decades apart, with a memorable group of suspects and a distracting outside threat in this well written, suspenseful police procedural. The conclusion is a total surprise. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Alex Pine for tis ARC.

A family murder on Oaktree Farm seems to be a simple case of murder suicide but DI James Walker of the Cumbria Constabulary isn't too sure especially when he learns about the sad history of the farm. Will the team be able to find out the truth about the farm and it's secrets? Things can't get any worse for DI Walker as there is a gang boss out there that wants revenge for sending him to prison.
The team is working hard to piece all the clues together and the pool of suspects grows the more they learn about Robert Bateman as he was in a lot of debt and he let some of his friends down but could one of them killed the whole family?
The family has secrets and when the team learn the truth about the family murder all those years ago they are shocked but it answers all the questions about the original murder and the missing baby.
Will Di Walker and his wife be able to enjoy the upcoming birth of their baby without fear?
A good read full of shocking revelations that kept me on the edge of my seat.
I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley & the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.

I received a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books.

This is the 2nd book in the DI James Walker series.

I didn’t realise this was part of a series, it wasn’t clear on NetGalley.

However, I was able to follow it without feeling like i’d missed major details from the first book.

It’s a Christmas crime book - which you could argue it is a bit early for since it’s 3 months away!

I did enjoy this book. It a cosy mystery with plenty of twists to keep you gripped.

Now knowing it’s part of a series, I’m interested enough to want to go back and read the first book.

This is the follow up to The Christmas Killer, with DI James Walker, and his wife Annie, who have moved from London back to her home village in Cumbria, after a crime boss made threats against them. This is a really good follow up to that book; it’s a year on and just as gruesome a crime with - as the author put it - more ups and downs than a Big Dipper. The pace is brisk, as the first hours and days of a murder incident room would be. From no suspects to several, and back again. The victims too aren’t quite as they seem on face value. Added to that a very similar crime took place at the same location over 20 years before. Very well written, especially with the use of flashbacks, and I really like James, Annie and the other characters we met before, they’re developing really nicely. I did guess what the main twist would be but not who actually did it. Although this is definitely a stand alone read, I’m glad I read the The Christmas Killer. I look forward to more in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A solid follow-on from the first DI James Walker book. This was a fabulous blend between a new murder mystery to be solved and his personal life with wife and his enemy from the previous book. Both stories develop very well throughout the book.

I enjoyed the diversity of characters, the explanations and tension building. It kept me guessing without requiring too much brain power. One of the main benefits was small recaps, disguised as police briefings, but gave time as a reader to remind you of the evidence so far and form theories of your own.

This is a comfort series for me. I’ll keep reading as long as they keep being released!

My thanks to Alex and Netgalley for allowing me to read The Killer in the Snow in advance of the publication date.
Last Christmas, DI James Walker and his team had to investigate a serial killer in the quiet Cumbrian village of Kirkby Abbey. This year, James is enjoying a quiet Christmas with his wife, Annie, as they make plans for the birth of their first child.
On his first day back at work, there is a report that 3 bodies have been found at Oaktree Farm outside Kirkby Abbey. They are identified as the owner, Robert Bateman, his wife, Mary and daughter Charlotte.
As the investigation gets underway, DI Walker discovers that there was friction within the family and there are a number of people who were unhappy with Robert Bateman.
24 years earlier, the then owners of Oaktree Farm, Simon and Amanda Roth were found dead and their 6 week old daughter, Megan, was missing. This raises the question of whether there is a link between the 2 events and is Walker investigating 2 crimes.
Walker also receives a report from his former colleagues in the Met that his nemesis, gang land boss Andrew Sullivan, is wanted for murder and has Walker in his sights.
Pine manages to weave a gruesome tale of murder with the beautiful settings of Cumbria, exposing the secrets of the residents.

The Killer in the Snow by Alex Pine

DI James Walker and his pregnant wife are enjoying their second Christmas in Cumbria. They have had a quiet Christmas in comparison to the year before where James was newly in the job and dealing with a highly unusual for the area , a series of murders in a quiet village.
No sooner than being back in the office , and a call comes in from a solicitor who was called to a farm by a farmer who is selling up at the point of bankruptcy. She finds him , his wife and daughter dead.
DI James soon on the scene , finds out the farm was also the spot the previous farmer killed his wife 20 years previously.
What follows is the mystery , suspense and brilliant twists to make this a great read.
Whilst it is the second of a series of Di James Walker and not one I had read previously , it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story and I look forward to the 3rd one.

A page turning delight! I couldnt put this down and when I thought I had it figured out I was wrong. A very enjoyable read

Lots of twists and turns, lots of suspects but not sure they were all needed.
DI Walker is called to 3 suspicious deaths in a nearby farm in Cumbria. Mother and father are found shot and their daughter is found stabbed to death.
DI Walker has moved here with his wife from London the previous year, partially to get away from a London criminal who has threatened to harm him.
Walker is a likeable man who cares deeply for his wife but in this book his boss/team seem to jump from one suspect to the next every time they uncover new evidence.
These murders take place on a farm where a couple were murdered twenty years previously and their baby daughter disappeared.
I liked the main protagonist and his team however I had worked out pretty early on what had happened so lost interest in the story.
3 Stars ⭐️
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for a fair review.

This is the first book I have read by this author & I enjoyed it. Lots of twists & turns to keep me guessing & racing to the end to see how it all finished up.

I had loved the 1st book from this author, so had to read this one. I was certainly not disappointed.

The book was very fast paced and exciting. Twists and turns throughout. Fantastic plot to keep you on the edge of your chair, desperate for more.

Was great to head back to Kirkby Abbey and catch up with those we had heard about in the last book. If you haven’t read either of these books you must. You don’t know what your missing.

The book once again was very well written. Flowed well. Nice cover on the book also.

Can’t wait to find out if there is another book to come

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this tantalizing mystery in return for an honest review. The complicated, but easy-to-follow plot flows well. It will keep readers engaged while they try to untangle the mystery. This is a police procedural that describes how painstaking and detailed their work must be in order to solve the case. There are no graphic sex scenes or vulgar language. Violence was described through flashbacks to the past, or by discovering already murdered victims.

I enjoyed the fact that the lead detective, DI James Walker, seems so well adjusted with a pleasant, comfortable home life, unlike many lead detectives in fiction who have emotional issues in their personal lives that they soothe with alcohol. He also has a cooperative team working together without dissension, and delegates tasks wisely. He is calm, persistent, and patient in his skilled interrogation of suspects. I learned that this is the second book in the DI Walker series, both cases occurring in a quiet village during the Christmas season. This works as a standalone but refers to previous events which raised my interest in reading the first book.

A family of three, an adult daughter and her parents, are found in a bloody scene at an isolated farmhouse. Forensic evidence suggests they were murdered on Christmas eve. DI Walker was hoping to spend the holiday season relaxing at home, but like a year ago this is not to be. To add to the mystery, the team finds a walled-in hidden room containing a peephole, giving an eerie suggestion that the family was being watched. There is shocking proof that an unknown person was secretly observing the murdered family. The farm was deeply in unpaid debt, partly due to the father's gambling addiction. The high-strung mother hated the home, believing it to be haunted. The daughter had anger issues and was rebellious, engaging in drugs with unsavoury friends. The detectives uncover multiple suspects, secrets and intrigue.

More than two decades earlier, the previous owners of the farm were murdered in the basement and their baby daughter vanished. This murder was never solved. The investigators feel there must be a connection between this cold case and the present family murder. With so many possible perpetrators, they must find a motive linking both killings within the same house during the elapsed time period. Can they succeed? In an unrelated thread, there is a gangster that Walker helped imprison while working in London who is bound on revenge.
Recommended for readers those who enjoy a suspenseful, complex, easy-to-follow mystery with engaging and dedicated investigators. I would read Alex Pine's next book in the series.

The first DI Walker book in the series was an amazing debut novel from Alex Pine and I was thrilled to be able to read the second one. However, The Killer in the Snow can easily be read as a standalone.

DI Walker worked for the Met and lived in London with his wife, Annie, but when she inherits the family home in the village of Kirkby Abbey and there’s a dangerous criminal looking for her husband, they move up to the Cumbrian village. They’re only up there for a short time when a killer strikes.

A year later, on Christmas Eve, a family of three are found dead, and the dangerous criminal is still looking for DI Walker.

A brilliant, well-written story with lots of twists and turns that the reader won’t be expecting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

A brilliant book loved it, full of action this book has some nice twists that will keep you guessing. It has a great storyline and the characters really blend together.5*

Another amazing and intense book in this series, you really don't have had to read the other book in the series, but it would help. I got so engrossed in the work, private life as well as the threats to the main characters. What a beautiful setting it was so well described that I thought I was there. I just cant wait for instalment three - cant say anything more as don't want to spoil it.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.