Review: The Snow Killer (DI Barton #1) by Ross Greenwood

Print Length: 318 pages

Publisher: Boldwood Books (November 12, 2019)

From Goodreads.com:  ‘Fear the north wind. Because no one will hear you scream…’

A family is gunned down in the snow but one of the children survives. Three years on, that child takes revenge and the Snow Killer is born. But then, nothing - no further crimes are committed, and the case goes cold.

Fifty years later, has the urge to kill been reawakened? As murder follows murder, the detective team tasked with solving the crimes struggle with the lack of leads. It’s a race against time and the weather – each time it snows another person dies.

As an exhausted and grizzled DI Barton and his team scrabble to put the pieces of the puzzle together, the killer is hiding in plain sight. Meanwhile, the murders continue…

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

This book was ..... interesting. I enjoyed seeing things from the killer's perspective (especially the scenes from the past as they recalled their early years). It made you able to sympathize, to a very small degree, with them and understand their actions. 

One thing I feel is worth mentioning is that a lot of people (from what I have seen) have complained about this novel because you "know" who the killer is - but that isn't entirely true. Yes, you know they are called the Snow Killer, and yes you know why they are carrying out these execution style killings, BUT you do not know their identity beyond that of the Snow Killer until the last few chapters. There was a twist with that portion of the story that I did not expect, and thoroughly enjoyed. 

That being said, this story seemed to unfold at a snail's pace even though there were several characters and events happening at once. There were some scenes included where I didn't feel the plot gained anything, but overall, the story was well written enough that I was engaged from the beginning to the end. I am curious to see how the team is going to work together in future stories after the changes that befell them in this one.  

All things considered, I will definitely check out the next in this series. 

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                                                        The Snow Killer is available from Amazon.com
                                                         (for free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited)