The Winter People
A Novel
-
-
4.0 • 505 Ratings
-
-
- $7.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The New York Times bestselling author of The Invited will shock you with a simmering psychological thriller about ghostly secrets, dark choices, and the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters. • "One of the year's most chilling novels." —The Miami Herald
West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter.
Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara’s farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that has weighty consequences when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished. In her search for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked into the historical mystery, she discovers that she’s not the only person looking for someone that they’ve lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.
Customer Reviews
Page-Turner!
I loved this book & found it difficult to put down from page one. The only reason I withheld a star is due to what I feel was a rushed ending.
Great
I loved this book, it was just as creepy and mysterious as her others but a different kind of story. I wish it had been longer!
3
Having read numerous glowing reviews, I was primed for a roller coaster of suspense and a truly unsettling experience. While the book didn't quite deliver the heart-pounding, twist-laden thriller I anticipated, it certainly didn't disappoint. In fact, it offered a different, equally compelling kind of eerie narrative. Perhaps my expectations were skewed by a high tolerance for the truly macabre. "The Winter People," while undeniably disturbed, leans more towards a slow-burn, gothic haunting than a rapid-fire mystery.
For me, the book served as a welcome respite from the overly fantastical narratives I had recently indulged in. Its grounded approach, focusing on the emotional weight of loss and the unsettling aspects of folklore, provided a refreshing change of pace. The pacing, while not breakneck, was steady and engaging, drawing me deeper into the story's disquiet atmosphere. It's a haunting, not a scream, and sometimes, a haunting is far more effective.
It's getting 3 stars from me. I'll never read it twice; but I'm so glad I read it this once.