Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman

Cover of Snow is the first novel published by Jenny Milchman. Nora Hamilton lives with her husband, a policeman, in Wedeskyull, a town in the Adirondack Mountains in New York. She wakes up one morning to find that the house feels empty and discovers the body of her dead husband. Their town is a small town, not particularly welcoming to newcomers but Nora feels the coldness even more now that her husband is dead. She does not understand why he is dead and begins to investigate it and this brings attention, most of it being the wrong sort, to her.

When I was thinking about this book, I decided it was an excellent example of "snow gothic." So, what is a snow gothic? It is not like the traditional meaning of gothic in which supernatural elements mix with disturbances among the characters but it is more like "Southern Gothic" in which there is a strong sense of place and unease brought on by secrets among the characters. The town is dark and silent because of the snow and truly because of the secrets. Snow gothics are characterized by secrets, silences and that overbearing sense of gloom that you can get before the storm really hits.

Snow is very present in this book. It is always either snowing or about to snow and when the book delves into the history of the characters--snow is present then.

Milchman does a great job creating a place, an atmosphere and characters that you will remember. A very good book and a great one to read on a snowy afternoon in New Jersey. I am already looking forward to Milchman's next book