Ghosts in the Snow

Ghosts in the Snow (2004) Tamara Siler Jones

Dubric is the head of security at Castle Faldorrah–a matter of self-preservation, since he is haunted by the ghosts of those who are murdered at the castle, until their killers come to justice. In the past there has been only an occasional killing, but now young servant women and girls are being gruesomely murdered, and not only the ghosts are after Dubric to find the killer.

Ghosts in the Snow is a combination fantasy novel and murder mystery–although a bit on the gruesome side. The murders are bloody and described in detail. Gruesome, but it shows the horror of the the murders, and how they affected the castle and the people in the castle.

I found this interesting as both a mystery and a fantasy. The world was similar enough to ours that the story required only minimal world building, but there were enough details dropped to draw your interest.

The mystery element was also good, although there were a few things I didn’t care for. The murders were more gruesome than I personal care for, and I’m not particularly fond of reading the point of view of the hidden murderer. I suppose it’s interesting in a way to see the kind of mind that could perpetrate such horrors, but it’s not particularly my favorite. I’d rather have left that part out all together, and read only Dubric’s point of view.

However, despite that, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story. The dialog was good, there were several sub-threads that I quite enjoyed. I also very much liked the characters. In addition to Dubric, there were plenty of minor characters who were nicely developed.

All in all, a good first book.
Rating: 7/10

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