After her mothers suicide, Maja Cleary turned her back on her family and Duved Cove, Minnesotauntil a desperate phone call reveals that her father has been murdered and her brother Jonas is the prime suspect. She flies home, knowing that she will have to confront shared memories of an abusive father. Even as she works to prove her brothers innocence, she cannot ignore the evidence that he had every reason to kill their father. The frigid, stormy Minnesota landscape sets the mood as she battles against time, the local police and the relentless snow.

Brenda Chapman grew up in Terrace Bay, Ontario, near the border of Minnesota. She has a BA in English from Lakehead University and a B.Ed from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Brenda taught reading and language arts to children and adults for nearly fifteen years before entering the federal government to work as a writer/editor. She is currently working as a senior communications advisor in Ottawa, Ontario. Chapman began her fiction career with children’s fiction. Running Scared (Napoleon, 2004) was her first YA novel featuring Jennifer Bannon. She then went on to pen three more in the series. Hiding in Hawk’s Creek (2006) was shortlisted for the 2007 Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children. Where Trouble Leads, set in the Georgian Bay wilderness, was published in 2007. Trail of Secrets (2009) was the final instalment in the series. In Winter’s Grip is her first mystery for adults.

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"Like all good books, In Winter's Grip has a message: yes, you can go home again, but once you do, you'll remember why you left. This is a novel not only to be read, but savoured."

Mystery Scene Magazine

Great winter read

by vwruleschick