The Winter People

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon is another one of those books that I've seen around a lot but am not exactly sure where or who. I thought it would do quite nicely for the Book Bingo challenge I'm doing, under the category, 'Seasonal'.

 

It's 1908 and Sara Harrison Shea lives with her husband, Martin, and daughter, Gertie, on a farm near the village of West Hall in the mountains of Vermont. It's an isolated region, bleak and cut off in the winter snows but also the place is rife with rumours of strange, supernatural goings on. Especially in the area where Sara and Martin have their farm. The woods and rocky outcrops around are places where people just don't go and that includes Sara.

A hundred years later and 19 year old Ruthie lives on the same farm with her mother, Alice, and 6 year old sister Fawn. She's desperate to go away to college but her mother can't afford it so Ruthie is basically running a bit wild with her flying saucer obsessed boyfriend, Buzz. Getting back very late one night, Ruthie finds all the lights in the house on and her mother gone. Alice has always been a bit odd, insisting that the girls keep out of the woods at all costs, but Ruthie knows she would never willingly leave them like this. 

Katherine has just moved to West Hall. Her husband, Gary, died in a motor accident on the roads around the village when he was not supposed to be up in Vermont: he'd told her he was going somewhere else. Recently he'd become obsessed with some photos he'd picked up in a shop somewhere and was not at all himself. Katherine feels the only way to find out what happened to Gary is to move to the area where he died and investigate.

So, three women whose stories will eventually merge and the story deals with how that comes to pass. I have to admit that I nearly abandoned the book after the first 50 or so pages because Sara's story was so deeply depressing and gloomy. Then along comes Ruthie and although she too is experiencing some trauma the writing becomes more upbeat and the story picks up pace and takes off. A 19 year old girl and her 6 year old sister might seem like an odd pairing to be investigating a disappearance but it works a treat. Luckily, Sara's story then takes the form of diary entries which I found myself more able to cope with, especially as the book is then concentrating more on Ruthie and Fawn's problems and their delvings into the history of the farm.

The setting of Vermont in the depths of winter is beautifully depicted. The endless snow, the storms, the isolation, it all felt very real. I wasn't so sure about the supernatural element. I didn't feel like it was fully explained and the whole thing felt 'unlikely'. OK, I know that 'unlikely' is very much the idea behind a paranormal book but I just felt unconvinced about it all. And a decision made at the end of the book by one of the characters had me thinking, 'What?! No!!!'

So, all in all a decent read. I'm glad I didn't abandon it 50 pages in but the book is not without its frustrations in my opinion (yours may vary). But winter in Vermont? What's not to like?