When a beloved high schooler named Lucinda Hayes is found murdered, no one in her sleepy Colorado suburb is untouched—not the boy who loved her too much; not the girl who wanted her perfect life; not the officer assigned to investigate her murder. In the aftermath of the tragedy, these three indelible characters—Cameron, Jade, and Russ—must each confront their darkest secrets in an effort to find solace, the truth, or both. In crystalline prose, Danya Kukafka offers a brilliant exploration of identity and of the razor-sharp line between love and obsession, between watching and seeing, between truth and memory.
Compulsively readable and powerfully moving, Girl in Snow offers an unforgettable reading experience and introduces a singular new talent in Danya Kukafka.
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Girl in the Snow is a murder mystery about a girl called Lucinda Hayes. She is found murdered and left out in the snow. The story is told from the point of views of three major characters. First is Cameron, the boy who loved Lucinda from afar. He is known to have stalked her and as such some people have their suspicions about him. Then there is the fact that Cameron cannot remember where he was when Lucinda was murdered. Then there is Jade, a girl with a difficult life only made more difficult by her rebellious nature. She hated Lucinda – a girl who seemed to be loved by one and all. With her troubled home life, Jade always felt that Lucinda had the perfect life and she wanted it for herself. Then there is Russ, the officer in charge of the investigation. With a sketchy past and a promise to keep, Russ has a lot of things he must resolve in order to be able to work on this case properly.
Who would murder the most loved girl in the school? Also, why would someone do it? And just how involved are Cameron and Jade with the case?
The author has done an exemplary job of developing the characters in the book. Each personality is very distinct and I loved the character of Russ the most. There was nothing extraordinary about him yet he stands out in a way that makes the very forgettable character unforgettable. Jade too was developed well – as a girl with a troubled life, it was easy to sympathize with her at many levels. Her confusions and convictions make her what she is. Her quirkiness is in some ways quite endearing. Cameron is probably the only character I couldn’t really connect to though by no fault of the character development. He has stalker tendencies and it makes sense to his character, but I just thought it was creepy.
The plot is well paced. The story takes off immediately and as the various aspects of it are slowly revealed, it becomes clear to the reader how the smallest and mundane details are important to the crux of it. The language and narrative worked well for the book. The author’s attention to details, especially for the setting, makes it easier for the readers to transport into the world.
Review Copy received via NetGalley
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