DI James Walker was hoping for a quiet Christmas as last year was stressful hunting down a serial killer. Unfortunately, he’s not that lucky.

Two days after Christmas he is called out to a possible murder/suicide at Oaktree Farm where the owners, the Batemans, have suffered gunshot wounds and their daughter has been stabbed, plus the daughter’s boyfriend has gone missing.

The investigation is just getting underway when DI Walker is made aware of a similar murder/suicide at the farm twenty years ago, one in which the couples baby daughter went missing, presumed dead. Could the cases be linked?

I haven’t read the first book, The Christmas Killer, but as this book worked as a standalone and I was intrigued enough by the plot that I decided to give it a read, though I never felt like I got to know DI James Walker fully or appreciated his character in the way I would have had I read the first book.

The book is set in Cumbria, a place where I’m not sure I want to visit anymore given by how many thriller/detective books are set there!! Joking aside, Cumbria with its vast open spaces, numerous forests and lakes, plus tiny villages make for a great place to set a thriller and I can see why so many authors do.

The plot felt fast and edgy, plus, the investigation had many leads to it, including a few red herrings. Given that I read a lot of thrillers I tend to have a good idea early on what has happened and by 38% of the way through the book I made my prediction which turned out to be near as damn right. This, however, didn’t take away my enjoyment of the book as I then needed to see if I was right or what I had missed.

The Killer in the Snow kept me interested the whole way through. It had plenty of suspense and twists to keep you on your toes. It is dark and foreboding at times and I loved the snippets of info from twenty years ago and the first murder case at the farm and how DI Walker worked on the two cases to close them both.