Cover Image: A Winter Grave

A Winter Grave

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Member Reviews

This book is so chillingly realistic that you actually become frightened and I had heart palpitations. It has a haunting feel and I think it is one of my favourite books by this author .

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This great thriller is set in 2051 when Scotland has been devastated by climate change. Addie Sinclair, a meteorologist, finds a dead body in the ice whilst checking her weather station in Kinlochleven and her estranged father is the detective inspector sent to find the killer. With a few sub plots, twists and turns this is another hugely enjoyable, suspenseful murder mystery from Peter May. The characters are believable and it brings the threat of climate change into sharp focus! Thank you to Net Galley for an audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

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Peter May continues to bring new, exciting stories to his audience after nearly 30 novels and several awards on his mantlepiece. May takes readers into a perilous future in his new eco-thriller, A Winter Grave. A young meteorologist discovers the frozen body of a missing journalist in an ice cave while climbing a weather station in the Highlands. The year is 2051 and while the northern climes of an independent Scotland are a frozen wilderness, Glasgow is a flooded city relying on water taxis, and equatorial nations are uninhabitable due to the heat. Already confronting his own mortality, Detective Inspector Cameron Brodie must also confront his own past when he travels to the Highlands to investigate. Readers are treated to ‘flashbacks’ to 2023 alongside vivid evocations of a global future mangled by climate change. Atmospheric and thought-provoking

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Thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. Peter May never disappoints, his writing is always amazing

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A timely chiller thriller set in the Scottish Highlands during a climate crisis in the near-future. Veteran Glasgow detective Cameron Brodie is sent to investigate when the body of a reporter is found entombed in ice on top of a mountain. Generates genuine suspense.

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A Winter Grave is another novel by a prolific thriller writer. It’s set in the near future of 2051 so it crosses into speculative fiction as far as I’m concerned.

A young woman discovers a body in a corrie whilst checking a weather station high above the town of Loch Leven in the Highlands of Scotland. She alerts the authorities and little realises that this will cause a chain of events that will result in more deaths.

Before the Big Change it was possible for Cameron Brodie to drive to the Highlands. Now a helicopter or even a boat might be more suitable transport. He’s sent to investigate the death and finds only mystery and danger.

Just the kind of crime story I like; full of action, politics and technology to influence and play with the reader. Despite the futuristic setting, sadly all too close now; it is basically a gritty thriller with hard men and resourceful women. When the novel starts the urban setting is grim and it is the release of Brodie into the countryside that gives him purpose and meaning. As the background changes we learn more about him and his estranged daughter. Brodie is a policeman who has lost his way but he will find clarity in the clear air of the Highlands and maybe redemption too. He just needs to time to do it because his clock is ticking.

If you want a good job done ask a dying man.

This is a thrill a minute fast ride; one of those you will want to stay up reading long into the night. Peter May never disappoints and this book kept me intrigued all the way through. The reality of how climate change affects the population is writ large and the dire political landscape also features. It feels very much a book for our times. A great read but a reminder we need to get our own act together before this all comes to pass.

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A Winter Grave is a gripping page-turner!
You’ve got the freezing wintry weather the Highlands of Scotland has, that creates a treacherous journey and of course you have a body. This is different though. It is set in 2051. So much is a mess. Murders still happen and still ill prepared for what it has known is coming for decades - Global Warming! I like that this isn’t set in winter because people know about the world warming, especially since everyone is accustomed to the phrase - ‘global warming’. All the warnings of the decades previous have been ignored and continue to be.  shows that it doesn’t all mean sunshine.
In comes Detective Cameron Brodie from Glasgow. He has the skills it takes to go up to Kinlochleven and the know how to navigate, even the roughest of terrains in the Highlands, but this is the most dangerous of times, he’s ever had to face due to the harshest weather conditions, even far up north, Scotland has ever endured.

It is a book that is full of trepidation and is quite twisty too with secrets to unravel as Detective Cameron Brodie’s past comes back to haunt him, creating even more suspense and tension, and also, interestingly meaning you get a bit of back story to this character.

So, cosy up or allow it to make you feel cool, if your weather is hot and be enthralled by this eco-thriller/Scottish Noir that will have you turning each page fast, with its chillingly plausible warning.

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Well that was not as expected.
Thank you for the ARC of this book
It was gripping, unpredictable and a great read.
Highly recommend

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I think I am in the minority for not enjoying this book, to the point that I was unable to finish it. It just wasn't what I was looking to read at this time - I came to the book expecting it to be a mystery/police procedural and yet 20% of the way into the book, the investigating detective hasn't even got to the scene of the crime yet. It probably didn't help that somehow I managed to miss the fact that the story is set in 2051 until I was a good chunk of the way into the story and really confused about the new technology on offer to police officers! I don't mind speculative fiction but the gloomy look-ahead to 2051 where everything is flooding due to global warming wasn't what I expected and nor was it particularly engaging. Too bleak and too slow for me.

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Grippingly unpredictable. Be prepared to put your life on hold! Taut and tense from the first page to the closing paragraphs……loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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A Winter Grave is, in my opinion, the best yet from writer, Peter May. It had everything. It’s set in the near future when global warming is a reality and civilisation is just about surviving. Detective Cameron Brodie travels from Glasgow to Kinlochleven to investigate a mysterious death. There’s another reason he’s keen to go as his estranged daughter lives there. What follows is tense and action packed while, at the same time very much thought provoking.

My thanks to the author, the publishers and Netgalley for an advanced copy to read and review.

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I found this book a compulsive read and is set in 2051. DI Cameron Bodie is sent from Glasgow to a remote Scottish village to investigate the death of a journalist, George Younger whose body had been found frozen in the ice by a local meteorologist who happened to be Brodie’s estranged daughter Addie. George had been missing for three months but as he wasn’t a walker it was a mystery as to why his body had been found on the mountain. Brodie has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness and decides that he may be able to reconcile with his daughter. The narrative switches between 2051 and 2023 as we learn about Brodie’s past. He meets up with pathologist Dr Sita Roy who has unearthed some information about George which puts their lives in danger, I found this book full of suspense, likeable characters, full of tension, excitement and heartbreak. A brilliant read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Set nearly 30 years in the future when the world is suffering from the devastating effects of Global warming, Police Detective Cameron Brodie flies north to the Highlands to investigate the discovery of a body found in an ice cave. Was the mystery man's death a tragic accident or was he victim of something more sinister? Detective Brodie intends to find out but can he cope while coming to terms with some devastating personal news he has just received?

Peter May never disappoints. This is a great read and definitely recommend to others.

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This is the first book I have read by Peter May, but it won’t be the last. I wasn’t sure I was going to like the story for the first 10 minutes, but after that I couldn’t put it down. It was a tremendous story and I felt really engaged with the characters. The story was so well written that at times I felt angry about the situations described, they felt so real
Towards the end I was so caught up in the story that I felt how it must be to live in a country where the government only told you what they wanted you to know - not the truth
The narrator was a real pleasure to listen to

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Brodie is a detective sent to investigate the body of a journalist found frozen in the snow in Scotland . The book is set in 2051 and climate change has flooded many areas and increased snowfall in others. Scotland has its independence and has made itself self sufficient in energy by building a nuclear power plant. This power plant is near where the body was found. There’s more going on here, Brodie is estranged from his daughter who just happens to be married to the local police officer.
This was an interesting read with plenty of action and intrigue (including political). I’m not sure it needed the family backstory (it jumps back in time to tell the story of his wife’s suicide) but it does come together in an exciting climax and satisfying ending.

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Well written, addictive and unpredictable. This is a book I have really enjoyed and devoured. i definitely want to read more from this author. Full Review to follow.

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The possible future portrayed in A Winter Grave is terrifyingly plausible with the world experiencing environmental catastrophe. It can be read as a cautionary tale of what may happen if we don't take action to change things now. This sets the mood for a tense and gripping thriller where the hostile weather is as much part of the threat as the villians of the story. Things go from bad to worse once a major ice storm cuts off the power to the isolated highland town where Detective Cameron Brodie has travelled to investigate a suspicious death. He also has a personal agenda which gives another dimension to the story. The novel twists and turns and has all the elements you would want in a thriller including some very good writing. This is the first Peter May title that I have read and I'm very keen to try others in his backlist.
Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an review.

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Cameron Brodie, a terminally ill detective, volunteers to take a trip to a remote Scottish weather station where the body of a Scottish Herald reporter has been found entombed in the ice. Very quickly things turn darker when the pathologist accompanying him disappears along with all the evidence they have uncovered. Someone is taking great pains to keep the truth about the murder a secret. As the story unfolds, the reader is also given a great back story into Brodie's earlier life and the reason for his estrangement from his daughter who just happened to discover the corpse. Brodie battles to put the past right whilst dealing with an enemy much greater than he could ever imagine. The book is set in 2051 in a bleak environment with some great bits of technology which are not hard to believe could be in place by then. With a very likeable lead character and all the wonderful scenic descriptions we have come to expect from this very talented author, I can thoroughly recommend this story

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This is a great thriller from Peter May, which I really enjoyed. I found it very interesting as it is set in the future, in the 1950's, in Scotland.

The story is about Glasgow Policeman Cameron Brodie and his investigation into a body being found in ice. Brodie works with pathologist Sita Roy, and together, they come to find that this has been a murder.

Later in the book we find out that Brodie's daughter Addie is active in the story, and although they hadn't been speaking recently, due to past family troubles, they have to come together to help solve the murder. Here they discuss their past, and what really happened to her mother.

From there, another murder takes place, and Brodie must work harder to reveal the truth.

I really enjoyed this story, and it was interesting to read about climate change, and what Scotland might look like in the future. I loved the character of Brodie. You will need some tissues ready at the end of the book, as it gets a bit emotional.

The whole book is very well written and beautifully descriptive, which I loved.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves crime thrillers, police procedurals, or books set in Scotland with a futuristic feel.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

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It is the year 2051. Warnings of climate catastrophe have been ignored, and vast areas of the planet are under water, or uninhabitably hot. A quarter of the world's population has been displaced by hunger and flooding, and immigration wars are breaking out around the globe as refugees pour into neighbouring countries.

By contrast, melting ice sheets have brought the Gulf Stream to a halt and northern latitudes, including Scotland, are being hit by snow and ice storms. It is against this backdrop that Addie, a young meteorologist checking a mountain top weather station, discovers the body of a man entombed in ice.

The dead man is investigative reporter, George Younger, missing for three months after vanishing during what he claimed was a hill-walking holiday. But Younger was no hill walker, and his discovery on a mountain-top near the Highland village of Kinlochleven, is inexplicable.

Cameron Brodie, a veteran Glasgow detective, volunteers to be flown north to investigate Younger's death, but he has more than a murder enquiry on his agenda. He has just been given a devastating medical prognosis by his doctor and knows the time has come to face his estranged daughter who has made her home in the remote Highland village.

Arriving during an ice storm, Brodie and pathologist Dr. Sita Roy, find themselves the sole guests at the inappropriately named International Hotel, where Younger's body has been kept refrigerated in a cake cabinet. But evidence uncovered during his autopsy places the lives of both Brodie and Roy in extreme jeopardy.

As another storm closes off communications and the possibility of escape, Brodie must face up not only to the ghosts of his past, but to a killer determined to bury forever the chilling secret that George Younger's investigations had threatened to expose.

Superb writing! Loved the storyline, and the plot was well exectuted. Plenty of mystery and twists and turns! I found it very strange though set so far in the future, but I still really enjoyed it!

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