Two weeks before Christmas, Christine Sinclaire watched as her husband tumbled from the roof while hanging Christmas lights. His visceral death on the front lawn has left Christine with the horrible feeling that it should have been her. To attempt to escape her survivor’s guilt, she packs up her teenage son, Billy, and their family cat to quietly celebrate Christmas in the Pennsylvania Wilds. It was her husband’s last plan to spend Christmas in nature. Quickly, the holiday celebration turns dark when a horned figure in the woods turns out to be far more destructive than a simple moose.
Author Lindy Ryan captures the unreality of life after losing a family member, and the attempts to regain a feeling of “normal” in a time that is decidedly strange. Cold Snap has the uncomfortable background feeling of being unsure what is grief and what is truly danger from the woods outside. My one warning is that Cold Snap features flashbacks to the loss of a spouse as well as a pretty graphic scene with a house pet. For those dealing with recent loss of a family member or sensitive to animal cruelty should approach this novella with caution.
Cold Snap is available from Titan Books on October 15, 2024.
