Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.
Showing posts with label Dead of Wynter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dead of Wynter. Show all posts

Monday, May 16, 2011

Dead of Wynter by Spencer Seidel (Book Review and Giveaway!)

Title: Dead of Wynter
Author: Spencer Seidel
Publisher: Publishing Works

"Dolly, it's your mother."

Dolly.  Jackie Ruth Wynter had called Alice that for years.  Alice hated it.  Almost as much as she hated her old life as Alice Wynter when she lived with her torn up family in the small town of Redding, Maine.  Her twin brother Chris had been fading fast, transforming into a mirror image of their drunken, violent father.  Now Jackie Ruth was telling her that Papa was dead and Chris was missing.

Alice resigns herself to return, helping her mother and the local police with the mystery surrounding the crime.  But there are some family secrets her mother would sooner take to the grave than reveal.  As the authorities come closer to solving the mystery of the men in her family, she begins to realize her past life as Alice Wynter is the missing part of the puzzle.  But who is searching out the former Alice?

Wynter family secrets run deep, and they all have something to hide in the bone-chilling cold of Maine lake country. The mystery of her father's murder and brother's disappearance will capture your attention well past when the fire has gone out.

My thoughts: I loved this book.  I read it quicker than I have read any book in quite awhile.  I literally did not want to put it down.  The story jumps back and forth between the present time, when Alice goes back to Redding to be with her family and 1984, which is where the circumstances that drive the present day events started.  You get just little bits of the story at a time, some I was able to guess, some not so much.  Just when you thought you were going to get some juicy morsel the author would turn the story to make you wait a little longer.

The present day story wraps up in just a couple of days, but lots of family secrets are unearthed.  Alice thinks she is the only one with anything to hide, but learns that everyone in her family had a secret - some old, some new. She reconnects with an old boyfriend from highschool while she is back in town and is able to eventually heal some wounds that had happened with him. 

I liked the way the author used the Maine weather to play a role in the story.  As the weather intensified, so did the story.  The more the snow fell and covered the landscape, the more secrets were unburied.  I felt satisfied by the ending and felt like all the loose ends had been wrapped up.  Highly recommend this book for anyone who loves mysteries, thrillers, and are fans of good fiction!

About the author: Spencer Seidel lives and works in suburban New Jersey.  This is his first book.  Follow his musings of music, books and other things at http://www.spencerseidel.com/ or on Twitter @SpencerSeidel.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange from my review from Media Muscle.~


Giveaway! 
 Thanks goes out to Erin from Media Muscle in providing a giveaway for one of my readers!

To enter:  Just leave a comment below with your email address.  This contest will end on June 6th and is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.

 
For additional entries:  Follow my blog - just tell me how you do it (up to two ways, good for two entries)
Twitter - leave me the link
Blog post - leave me the link

A total of five entries are available - please leave each one in a separate comment.  You only need to leave your email address once.

Winners of all giveaways on Books and Needlepoint are chosen using random.org.


Publisher/Publication Date: Publishing Works, May 24, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-935557-69-2
281 pages

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Teaser Tuesday (May 10, 2011)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
  • Then visit MizB and add your link!


Something wasn't right.  Ray was too serious, too dark.  The vibe in the car was poison, and the air felt hot and foul like something bad was oozing out of Ray's skin. (p 74, Dead of Wynter by Spencer Seidel)

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