Snowblind - Book Review

Snowblind
by Christopher Golden

What is it about:
The small New England town of Coventry had weathered a thousand blizzards...but never one like this. Icy figures danced in the wind and gazed through children's windows with soul-chilling eyes. People wandered into the whiteout and were never seen again. Families were torn apart, and the town would never be the same.

Now, as a new storm approaches twelve years later, the folks of Coventry are haunted by the memories of that dreadful blizzard and those who were lost in the snow. Photographer Jake Schapiro mourns his little brother, Isaac, even as---tonight---another little boy is missing. Mechanic and part-time thief Doug Manning's life has been forever scarred by the mysterious death of his wife, Cherie, and now he’s starting over with another woman and more ambitious crimes. Police detective Joe Keenan has never been the same since that night, when he failed to save the life of a young boy . . . and the boy’s father vanished in the storm only feet away. And all the way on the other side of the country, Miri Ristani receives a phone call . . . from a man who died twelve years ago.

As old ghosts trickle back, this new storm will prove to be even more terrifying than the last.

What did I think of it:
I love Golden's Young Adult zombie book Soulless, so when I heard he had written another horror novel, I had to read it.

And this is a very cool read.

I will confess it wasn't as scary and creepy as I had expected. The book started out with lots of tension and a feeling of doom. Then after the first major event the story jumps to twelve years later and the story calms down. Things slowly start building up again, and you get to know the major players of the story and what happened to them in the twelve years since the first storm.

I liked getting to know the people of Coventry, and to read about their day to day troubles. Everyone who lost someone in the storm twelve years earlier is still feeling the effects of that storm. I think Golden did a great job in showing how much impact an event like that can have on a small community.

Then when the next storm looms, tension begins to build again. Strange things start happening. It never got to the point where it felt scary or creepy though. It's a cool story, but it didn't get under my skin. It reminded me in mood of some of the stories by Koontz: intriguing and filled with interesting characters, but missing the real punch to make it a horror in my opinion.

All in all I very much enjoyed the book, but would label it more of a ghostly thriller than horror. It did earn its place on my keeper shelf no matter the lack of creepiness though.

Why should you read it:
It's a well written Ghostly Thriller.