Snow Drowned out now from Sourcebooks Fire; 304 pages
Content Warning: Death, cult activity, animal death, murder
About the Author: “Jennifer D. Lyle is a novelist and short story writer represented by Amy Giuffrida at Belcastro. Ms. Lyle holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Hartford, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Western New England University. She likes butterflies, but not spiders” (Bio from author’s website).
Find Jennifer D. Lyle on the following platforms:
On Fall Island, the snow is different. It takes people—other islanders that Gracie has known since growing up on the island herself. Almost all the islanders were born there, and if they weren’t, they married into the families of the original settlers. When a blizzard warning causes almost all the islanders to evacuate, Gracie ends up as one of the few to stay behind with her physician father and police officer uncle. Stuck on the island and accompanied by her popular classmate Joseph Wescott—a descendant of Fall Island’s founder—strange things start happening before the storm brews. Forced out of her home by strange, ritualistic threats and the memories of those lost to the snow, Gracie takes shelter in the Wescott mansion along with members of the island’s church. Once the snow begins to fall there is no escaping the mansion or the secrets within, and Gracie will have to fight for her life to survive the storm.
Snow Drowned took me completely by surprise. After reading the summary, I had expected your typical murder mystery story—but the real story was much more unique in plot. Not only did Jennifer D. Lyle take her time explaining the lore of Fall Island and building up the suspense from the snow, but she also made an effort to create uniquely intriguing personalities for every one of her characters. A big turning point in the story was Gracie’s transition from her house to the mansion, but Lyle slowed down the story by including important events before this, which I thought added more depth to the novel. The symbols and origins of not only the island but also the church were some of my favorite aspects of Snow Drowned, and it truly was like nothing I have ever read before. It is easy to recognize the amount of effort the author channeled into the little details such as the layout of the island, which is important since it is easy to get lost in the complexities of the plot in a story like this one. Of all the carefully thought-out characters, my favorite was Sister Francis. Her evolution throughout the novel was extremely well done, as her characterization began with suspenseful rumors and flourished into the qualities of a misunderstood hero. Jennifer D. Lyle’s Snow Drowned may not have been what I expected, but I closed the book feeling satisfied with the uniquely unsettling content within its pages.
Callie Andrews, Pine Reads Review Writer, Social Media, and Web