Cool Books for Hot Days

Characters who have become snowed in is one way to create a closed-room mystery. As no one can get either out or in, the pool of suspects is narrowed to those who are staying at the property. It’s a popular plot idea, but there seem to be a few variations on the theme, with all manner of secrets and plot twists possible, to say nothing of the atmospheric setting. Click on the title links for catalogue information and to place a hold.

In The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley a group of friends who knew each other at Oxford plan to see the New Year in at an idyllic lodge in the Scottish Highlands. Things go dramatically wrong when a blizzard snows them in and a murder takes place. Two staff members at the lodge – the housekeeper and the gamekeeper both have secrets, but then so do the guests. A compelling read with plenty of plot twists.

One by One by Ruth Ware is set in an alpine ski resort where the shareholders of a music company have come to decide on the company’s future. There’s big money on the table and a schism in the group when an avalanche cuts the chalet off from help. And that’s when the killing begins. With hints of Agatha Christie, this is another entertaining thriller from the ‘queen of just one more chapter’.

We return to Scotland in Alice Feeney’s thriller Rock Paper Scissors where Adam and Amelia Wright have planned a weekend away to help heal their marriage. Adam suffers from face blindness – unable to recognise the faces of those he knows. Alice writes a letter about their marriage every anniversary which she never lets Adam read – until now. They don’t know there’s a snowstorm coming. Nor do they know about the old stories about hauntings in the area; or that someone is watching. I get goosebumps just thinking about this.

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf follows Wylie Lark, a true crime writer who has retreated to an isolated farmhouse to finish her new book. So she doesn’t mind when she’s snowed in, she has the cosy fire and peace and quiet she needs. Although this is the house where decades earlier, two people were murdered and a girl went missing. The house has secrets, while Wylie herself is haunted by secrets of her own. And that’s when she finds a small child outside in the snow.

We're high up in the Swiss Alps for The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse where the sanatorium of the title is now a hotel. It’s here that Elin arrives to celebrate her estranged brother’s engagement. Elin’s a detective, and her detective nose is twitching – her brother making her nervous, to say nothing of the atmosphere in the hotel. Then fiancée Laure vanishes, while a storm cuts off access, and guests begin to panic. An atmospheric read and the first book in the Detective Elin Warner series.

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena is set in another snowed-in hostelry, this time in the Catskill mountains. The inn is the perfect setting for a romantic weekend away with its cosy fireplaces and well-stocked wine cellar. When snow cuts off the electricity, the atmospheric setting creates a Golden Age murder mystery vibe, particularly when the first murder is soon followed by another. Is the killer a guest or a mysterious outsider with murder on their mind?

Posted by JAM

18 January 2024

Back to Blog Archive