The New York Times bestselling author of Promise Not to Tell returns with a simmering literary thriller about ghostly secrets, dark choices, and the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters . . . sometimes too unbreakable. 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 … Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie. Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara’s farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that suddenly proves perilous when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished without a trace. Searching 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 deeper into the mystery of Sara’s fate, she discovers that she’s not the only person who’s desperately looking for someone that they’ve lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.
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Spellbinding ghost thriller complete with unpredictable phenomenon and visceral imagery. Sucks you in right off the bat. Highly recommend for fans of Joe Hill and Dean Koontz.
From the moment I read “The first time I saw a sleeper, I was nine years old.”, I was captivated. Supernatural suspense, murder mystery, folktales, and family members disappearing in a quiet Vermont town for over a century. I cannot wait to finish this intriguing story with in-depth characters.
Wow. Creepy, spooky, eerie, just….wow. I’d love to be able to say mre but my mind is kind of blown. Awesome story.
My very first of Jennifer McMahon’s books…it would be hard for me now to choose a favorite but I think WINTER PEOPLE remains at the top of the list. Well written with a mixture of beautiful prose and creepy, atmospheric suspense. The characters were well developed and intriguing and the book creepy enough to make me glad I wasn’t reading it alone in the house at night.
Highly recommend this great book with lots of gothic chills and vivid imagery.
The vibe of this novel is deliciously atmospheric and the three intertwined story lines are all equally scary and unexpected. The story starts in the early twentieth century in West Hall, Vermont with Sarah Harrison Shea. After her young daughter goes missing, Sarah slowly loses touch with reality, and the reader journeys with her to figure out who killed young Gertie and why.
The two other story lines happen in present day and alternate with Sarah’s. Nineteen year old Ruthie comes home late one night to find her mother missing. Ruthie knows her loving mother would never leave the alone, so she makes it her mission to find her mother at all costs. Meanwhile, Katherine is grieving the accidental death of her husband Gary. Desperate to figure out what really happened to him, she becomes an amateur sleuth in order to solve the baffling puzzle. Why would he claim to be going to photograph a wedding in Massachusetts and end up dead on winding road in Vermont?
McMahon does an amazing job using the winter landscape to create a chilling atmosphere on every page. Each of the stories is compelling and fascinating and I couldn’t wait to see how they would all tie together at the end.
This book gave me all the chills and kept me up at night. Seriously creepy even after you know what is going on with lots of tense moments. The ending was not the greatest but I still loved this story and will definitely add it to my shelves.
“Winter People” by Jennifer McMahon is a book that stays will you after you finish reading it. Haunting and beautifully written, the characters linger long after you finish this pager-turner haunting book.
Wowza! If you are looking for a good, atmospheric, ghost story, this is your book! This is the second book by this author I have read. The first I read, I enjoyed. This one I loved. It’s has everything it needs to keep you up all night. You will never hear a scrape at the door that doesn’t give you a shiver and a scare after reading this book.
It has multiple viewpoints and multiple times. There is a diary from 1908. This part is told by Sara, Martin and a bit by their daughter, Gertie. Then there is present day and Ruthie, Candace and Katherine. A lot of narrators. Their parts are clearly marked so you know who is telling the story. Still I think it will be difficult to listen to this unless you use multiple narrators or someone who is super talented. My advise? Stick with the print or ebook. I hate that as I think this is one of the creepiest books and creepy books are fun on audio. There is a witch. There is a death of a child. There is a mother’s grief and a bringing back of the dead. There is a missing mom. Another death. A story or two of great love. A mystery or two to be solved. Yes, this has a bit of everything you could want. It will have you leaving the light on long after you close the book.
Favorite quotes: “If snow melts down to water, does it still remember being snow?”
“How can you dream if you don’t have a soul?”
“The people who are stuck between here and there, waiting. It reminds me of winter, how everything is all pale and cold and full of nothing, and all you can do is wait for spring.”
I borrowed a copy of this book from my local public library.
A great book that I would read again. I love her books!
Eerie, Gothic, a mood that builds. This was the first book of hers that I read.
When my book club switched books mid-month to give members more time to read the current selection — replacing it with a shorter book — I was surprised and disappointed. When I read the description of the in-between, replacement book, I was aghast — a thriller/suspense; a genre I don’t enjoy reading. At all.
Grudgingly, I started reading THE WINTER PEOPLE: A NOVEL by Jennifer McMahon, and was immediately (if not sooner) pulled in. The author spins a captivating and believable tale that takes place in two timee framess: the early 1900s and current day.
Will I read Jennifer McMahon again? You bet your bottom dollar! (but I guarantee it’ll be in broad daylight)…
As always her characters are great and it is just a good read. Lots of atmosphere.
A very creepy book. Filled with suspense. Over half of the chapters ended on cliff hangers. Took me about 4 days to read during my breaks at work. Very good read.
McMahon weaves an eerie atmosphere from page one and sustains it all the way through. This dual timeline story moves between 1908 and the present day with a specific house in rural West Hall, Vermont as a constant. This house is filled with secret hiding places and it keeps its secrets well. The most important and dangerous secret draws its current inhabitants into its clutches in the most startling ways and ties them to others who come looking for answers of their own. Nothing is really what it seems. Twists arise throughout the story keeping the reader turning pages until the end.
I love Jennifer’s books & have read them all.
Super creepy story.
The first part is amazing. The last third throws the pacing completely off.
And to be honest, it is… oddly comfortable? I would love to live in that town, dark secrets or no. Wonderful to cuddle up with when you are in the mood to be slightly scared
My beloved aunt, Sara Harrison Shea, was brutally murdered in the winter of 1908.
I was immediately hooked and finished the book in one sitting. The Winter People is a historical fiction murder mystery set in two timelines. In 1908 we follow Sara Harrison Shea and her husband Martin as they navigate the grief of losing their only daughter to a tragic accident. We also get glimpses into Sara’s childhood which she spent with a woman she called “Auntie” who cared for her and her siblings as if they were her own. Auntie also taught Sara about sleepers; people called back from the dead by grief-stricken loved ones. In the present day, we follow Ruthie. Ruthie is 19 and lives with her mom and sister in what used to be Sara Harrison Shea’s farm house. They live off the grid which doesn’t seem hard in their small town until Ruthie’s mom disappears. Ruthie is left with a scared, sick little sister and a million questions about where her mom went. We also meet Katherine along the way. Katherine is similar to Sara in that she lost a child, but she also lost her husband. The only clue left about the events of her husband’s last day was a receipt from a restaurant in West Hall Vermont. The same town that Ruthie lives in (and that Sara once did).
All three women share commonalities, but the one that helps piece everything together is Sara’s diary. It was compiled and published by her niece after her death and Ruthie and Katherine both happen to find a copy with the hopes that it will give them answers to the increasing list of questions they have. It also brings them together.
Jennifer McMahon’s writing is beautiful. The diary entries felt very real and I felt like McMahon herself might have experience with loss and the downward spiral grief can lead us on. The blend of historical fiction and mystery was done very well, and I never felt like I was reading two separate genres or one more than the other. It was the perfect mix of both. In the end, I found myself shocked. I had theories along the way, but none of them panned out and I’m glad for that. It’s rare to read a mystery that leaves me so stunned and wanting to go back and see if there were signs and clues that I missed.
I would highly recommend this book, and I will be picking up more of Jennifer McMahon’s writing in the future.
This was my out of my genre book and the story development kept me on the edge of my seat.
This was my first time reading Jennifer McMahon’s work. While she created a creepy story, I struggled with the ever changing point of views. All the characters read exactly the same. The journal entries were not from a writing stand-point but a novel stand point. Because of these things I thought the book was good, but not great. I would read another novel by this author.
Fantastic, beautifully written story.