Customer Reviews

Ghosts in the Snow (Bantam Spectra Book)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

An awesome debut story featuring Dubric Bryerly. Dubric is head of security at Faldorrah's castle & keep. Unfortunately for Dubric, he is cursed. As a young man, he turned his back on his goddess, and was rewarded with the ability to see the ghosts of murdered people - usually ones only in his vicinity. Unfortunately, the ghosts don't leave unless Dubric finds out how they died, why, and who did it. No one in the castle knows of Dubric's dark secret, until a serial killer strikes at under Dubric's domain. As the bodies pile up, so do the ghosts. And the longer the ghosts are there, the more dangerous they become. To make Dubric's life more difficult, everything points to the king's grandson...who also happes to be in love with one of the servants.

I found this book in the sci fantasy section of the bookstore - drawn by the fabulous cover art, reeled in by the initial description of Dubric and his ghosts. There are some paranormal elements to this story - magic is a known entity in the times where this is set. However, I found this to be more of a murder mystery with paranormal elements than a outright fantasy. This is not a story for those with a weak stomach, by the way. But I can't wait for more from this author.

"Forensic Fantasy" caught my attention immediately. I admit that. I'm an avid fan of forensic TV and Fantasy is a dear love. Combining the two was something I couldn't figure out how to do so I had to read this book.

Dubric Byerly is the Castellan of Faldorrah, which means he's responsible to solving crimes and keeping order. He's cursed by the Goddess to being tormented by the ghosts of the wrongfully dead and he's quickly up to his armpits in them as a serial killer slays serving girls in the castle. The killer leaves little clues to follow and all the clues point to one man: the lord's grandson who is courting a servant girl who is also drawn the attention of the murderer but not killed.

Lovers of forensics won't be disappointed. The serial killer is gruesome and believeable and we get nicely into the blood and guts. If you're squeamish about blood and guts, then you might want to by-pass this book. For those of us who sit and watch forensics and want to see the dead bodies and autopsies on-screen, this was perfect. By page 300, I'd narrowed it down to two suspects and was even right--amazingly enough. The final blow was a grand gotcha! superbly done and then we're slide completely into the climax and catching the killer there was no pausing.

Lovers of Fantasy shouldn't be disappointed either because of the varied ways magic and the world impact everything from the way and why of the murders to the young Prince's romancing of the servant girl to Dubric's personal war with the Goddess. All bases are delightfully covered and adds to the richness of the mystery.

I'm a slow reader and still read this in a single weekend, it was hard to put down for meals. Even then, I found myself thinking about Dubric's situation, how he was going to find something that would help, who I thought the killer was. The pacing is remarkable--just as I was thinking "OK, time for something to happen" it did within a half page.

For a first book published, I'm vastly impressed and greatly looking forward to the second one, especially with the teaser chapter in the back. Why does the publication date for Threads have to be so far away?

Summary: If you like good, honest forensics (complete with gore) with a heavy dose of Fantasy and a good dose of an angsty love story, this is the book for you.

I'd been waiting for this book ever since I'd heard Tamara describe it, and boy, was it more than I expected! Ummm...ewww. He did what to whom? Ewwwww! Can't put the book down!

The emphasis in this book is clearly on the mystery, not the characters, though, as most mysteries are. The puzzle pieces fall together quite nicely, although I did figure out who the killer was at one specific page which I won't give away.

(Ironically, the mystery readers I talked to said they couldn't figure out the killer until the end, where most of the non-mystery readers said they knew approximately the same place I did.)

Ghosts in the Snow is a post-apocolyptic forensic horror story that doesn't hide from the most intimate details and reasonings. Tamara doesn't bother hiding the fact that her killer is a psychopath with nothing redeemable about him, which I applaud. Too many writers take the "noble villain" idea too seriously. She doesn't. She allows her villain to be mentally sick and twisted with a reasoning all his own that isn't based on anything "normal" people would consider sane.

I also loved her use of dialogue. *claps wildly for the awesome dialect writing*

Overall, if you like CSI: anywhere, or Crossing Jordan, or any other forensic show, pick up TSJ's books. You'll love them.

If I had written this review half way through the book, I would have given it 5 stars and just raved. It started out that good.

But as time when on I felt like the story wasn't evolving, it just seemed to drag on because it was obvious that the person being pursued as the killer wasn't guilty. But the investigator in the book, Dubric, never looks beyond the obvious and it gets tedious after a while.

The killer also started to seem more unrealistic as time went on. Initially he was a very Jack the Ripper type, terrifying and somewhat clever. But he also never really evolved, and the number of killings becomes astonishing. The violence as the book goes on seems overkill (no pun intended).

The interactions between the classes never really seemed realistic either. The workers and other commoners regularly confronted the noble classes, yelled at them, accused them of crimes etc. etc. And no one seemed particularly worried about the consequences; nor were there any most of the time.

There are some really good ideas here. The ghosts, who appear to Dubric, don't rest until avenged. They are portrayed very vividly and it's interesting to see the character of a ghost evolve. It's also a great plot point to have a investigator use somewhat modern forensic techniques. Though I have to say the forensics rarely moved the story forward or seemed to offer much to the overall plot-- I assume this will be further developed in future books.

I think there is great potential in this story, but there are enough misses in this book to make it frustrating toward the end.

I find myself conflicted on what to rate this book because the first half was very good. The only reason it gets a low rating from me is because it got so frustrating in the last half. I just felt as if the author was trying to hold our hand and lead us down a path that made very little sense instead of writing a more complex villian and multiple, believable suspects.

On the suggestion of a friend I picked up this book and found myself enthralled from cover to cover. While warned that there were hints strewn though out as to the identity of the killer I was clueless until the very end.

Interesting marriage of fantasy and forensics, well developed characters and I've now got a thirst for the author's upcoming novel as well.

Good work Tamara Siler Jones!

(contains minor spoilers) I read a lot of mysteries and fantasy both. And this book is neither. There is no fantasy element other than vague references to old mage wars and magic no one quite understands.

There is no mystery - lots of taking notes, interviewing witnesses, but nothing interesting.

But the worst? There are no characters, and both of these genres rely heavily on good characters. I got bored with the book so I skipped to the end to see what happened. Now, I admit I'm not into the gore scenes. I prefer mysteries that do NOT give me line by line descriptions of text. I like mysteries for the puzzles and psychological motivations, and I like fantasy for the notion of playing out ideas in alternate universes.

Anyhow, once I found out who the perp was I had no idea who he was, so I went back through the book looking for references to the killer. Yeah he is mentioned, but no character development is there hence he doesn't even stick in my mind. Certainly his name didn't stick. The protagonists are no better. Nella is nauseating. Useless femjep is so outdated. For a woman who comes from a tough country, she is rather pathetically passive. The other servants are stereotypically me-first sluts or hookers-with-hearts-of-gold. Risley is more an idiot than a hero and is incapable of thinking through the most basic concepts - and Dubric is 2-dimensional where he should be the character we all love, seeing as he is supposed to be the recurring detective of this series.

There are both fantasies and mysteries that are much better than this. I urge you to find one of them unless you really like the blood and guts bits and then there will be plenty of scenes to please you, especially if you aren't interested in plot, motivation, or character development.

Jones's debut novel Ghosts in the Snow is easily defined as a good, stunning novel. Its plot is a mix of fantasy and mystery genres, making it a hard book to pin down.

The plot follows aging ghost-cursed Dubric Bryerly and his staff as they investigate a series of graphic and gruesome murders. The fantasy aspects of this book are solid, if a bit veiled towards the beginning. We understand that Dubric sees ghosts, but are never get to see how or why. Other fantasy elements enter the story at various stages, and while first appear as stage dressing, they are "vital" to solving the murder mystery. The mystery elements are good, providing good misdirection and some clues that are missed or misread. The two genres (fantasy and mystery) blend well together, and this novel is a solid read because of Jones's stylish approach to both.

I think the best description of Ghosts in the Snow, by Tamara Siler Jones, that I've heard is "forensic fantasy". It's got ghosts, magical items, foreign religions and gruesome murders. Dubric Bryerly is the Castellan of Castle Faldorrah and it is his duty to keep the peace. Recently, a serial killer has been stalking serving maids and killing them, one after another. The troubling part for everyone is that no one has seen the killer. The real trouble for Dubric is the ghosts of the slain are haunting him.

Unlike many of the fantasy authors that I've read; Ms. Jones doesn't try to beat it into your skull that this is a fantasy novel. Though there are ghosts and magic, these are presented more as facts of life than as extraordinary things that you must pay attention to. I find this method to be both a more realistic & a more enjoyable approach. But it's more than just her approach to describing the fantasy elements that makes me really enjoy Ms. Jones book. It's the wonderful characters.

* Dubric: a combination of kindly old uncle, drill sergant & private eye.
* Dien: Dubric's right-hand man. A bit of a bruiser, but with a big heart
* Nella: An innocent trapped in the middle of the vicious murders
* Lars: The unwanted son of a nobleman who works for Dubric and strives to make his family proud.

It's an amazing piece of work and I give it 5 out of 5 stars. I highly recommend you pick it up and read it; preferably leaving your weekend free, so you can finish it in one sitting.

And I mean that quite literally. Don't attempt to read this book without several hours of uninterrupted time ahead and a comfortable place to sit. I guarantee you will not want to put "Ghosts in the Snow" down.

Part fantasy, mystery, and thriller, Ghosts in the Snow delivers on all fronts. Dubric, the 68-year-old castellan of Falderrah, is in charge of his people's security. Who better, since he knows someone's died before the body's cold?

And, cold is true in this case. Victims are milkmaids, dyers, other young working women of the castle--brutally murdered with their organs savaged.

Of course, the prime suspect is the King's grandson. Of course, you are on your seat wondering if Dubric can solve the crime before another innocent dies or their countries go to war.

The next book in this series is coming out in the Spring and I for one, can't wait!

I was disappointed in this book. The descripton on the jacket holds a lot of promise, but the story falls short of the mark. I also had problems with modern slang being injected into the story. Did someone in medieval times really say "dangit"?? Or get "your head outta your ass!" (was this castle in New Jersey?) Another time one of the women is thinking about something and she tells herself, "don't even go there!" It was difficult to figure out when this book really took place or is that part of the fantasy?I felt like it was on the edge of being really good, but kept missing somehow.