Red Snow by Will Dean

Red Snow
By Will Dean
Published by Point Blank (10 January 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher.

Publisher's description

TWO BODIES

One suicide. One cold-blooded murder. Are they connected? And who’s really pulling the strings in the small Swedish town of Gavrik?

TWO COINS

Black Grimberg liquorice coins cover the murdered man's eyes. The hashtag #Ferryman starts to trend as local people stock up on ammunition.

TWO WEEKS

Tuva Moodyson, deaf reporter at the local paper, has a fortnight to investigate the deaths before she starts her new job in the south. A blizzard moves in. Residents, already terrified, feel increasingly cut-off. Tuva must go deep inside the Grimberg factory to stop the killer before she leaves town for good. But who’s to say the Ferryman will let her go?

My verdict
Dark Pines was one of my favourite books of 2018. And yet again, Will Dean has written a compelling and more-than-slightly-bizarre character-led crime novel featuring deaf reporter Tuva Moodyson. Red Snow follows on from Dark Pines, but could probably be read as a standalone.

Tuva is investigating an apparent suicide and murder at the local liquorice factory. The clock is ticking, as she leaves the small Swedish town of Gavrik to start a new job in the larger town of Malmo in just two weeks. The liquorice factory is very much the centre of the local community, as it's one of the main employers, and is also very much the centre of the book. The local ghostwriter is writing about the history of the factory and asks Tuva to help him research the Grimberg family who own it. Tuva sees this as the perfect opportunity to get to know the usually private family better, hoping this will help her to investigate the recent deaths.

Red Snow is written at a slower pace than the previous book but with the same beautiful descriptive writing and array of quirky characters. It's highly atmospheric, highlighting the remoteness and claustrophobic feel of Gavrik during the winter months with a blizzard moving in. I loved reading about how people living there cope with the bitter temperatures and the lack of daylight - the use of UV lamps to cope with seasonal affective disorder, for example. Tuva's deafness doesn't usually affect her daily life, but it can become more of a challenge when she removes her hearing aids to protect them from the damp, icy or snowy weather when she's outdoors.

The book manages to entertain as well as chill. Will Dean's characters remind me of Willy Wonka and some of the other members of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory cast, especially the Grimberg family who are not only eccentric but also slightly menacing at times. The dialogue is spot on, with dark humour and quick witty retorts, providing great character dynamics. Some of the characters were present in Dark Pines, but there are also some new ones, including a police officer to provide Tuva with a love interest.

I look forward to see what's next as Tuva heads to pastures new.

Will Dean is one of the First Monday Crime's February panel members (on 4th February 2019 at City University, London). The other panel members are Christopher Fowler, Gytha Lodge and Lucy Foley, moderated by Barry Foresaw  For more details and to reserve your seat, click here.