The Winter People

The Winter People alternates between two timelines: 1908 West Hall, Vermont, where Sara Harrison Shea is found dead shortly after the tragic loss of her daughter, and present day, where teenager Ruthie discovers Sara's diary hidden in her farmhouse. The same farmhouse sits on land that has drawn whispers and dark legends for generations. When Ruthie's mother vanishes without a trace, she begins investigating Sara's diary entries and uncovers unsettling parallels between past and present. Her search leads her to other locals who have experienced mysterious losses, suggesting a pattern that spans over a century. The novel blends elements of supernatural horror with historical fiction, building tension through intersecting narratives and buried secrets. As Ruthie races to find answers about her mother's disappearance, she must confront the possibility that an old folk tale about "sleepers" - the dead who can be temporarily brought back to life - holds more truth than fiction. The Winter People explores grief, the lengths people will go to reclaim what they've lost, and the price of disrupting the boundary between life and death. Through multiple perspectives across time, the story examines how trauma and love can echo through generations.

Readers describe The Winter People as a creepy, atmospheric ghost story that alternates between two timelines. The pacing builds slowly before accelerating in the final third. Readers appreciated: - The Vermont setting and sense of place - Seamless transitions between past/present narratives - Growing feeling of dread throughout - The diary entries that reveal the historical storyline Common criticisms: - Too slow-moving for the first half - Some plot threads left unresolved - Character decisions that felt unrealistic - The ending disappointed some readers who wanted more closure "The atmosphere kept me reading even when the plot meandered," noted one Goodreads reviewer. "Great buildup but the payoff wasn't worth the wait," commented another. Ratings: Goodreads: 3.89/5 (79,814 ratings) Amazon: 4.3/5 (2,156 ratings) LibraryThing: 3.8/5 (591 ratings) Barnes & Noble: 4.1/5 (152 ratings)

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The Broken Girls by Simone St. James The renovation of a haunted boarding school reveals connections between a decades-old murder and a present-day crime.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters A country doctor becomes entangled with a family whose deteriorating mansion harbors malevolent forces tied to their lineage.

🌲 The novel's setting of West Hall, Vermont is a fictional town, but McMahon based many of its features on real Vermont locations where she has lived, capturing the state's eerie rural atmosphere. ⌚ Jennifer McMahon wrote much of the book during the aftermath of Hurricane Irene in 2011, when she was without power for several days—an experience that helped shape the story's isolated winter setting. 👻 The concept of "sleepers" in the novel draws from various folkloric traditions, particularly the Native American legend of the Wendigo, a supernatural being associated with winter and human possession. 📖 The book's structure alternates between two time periods (1908 and present-day), a technique McMahon specifically chose to show how history repeats itself and how past events echo through generations. 🏠 The farmhouse featured in the novel was inspired by McMahon's own experience living in an old Vermont farmhouse, where she discovered hidden artifacts in the walls during renovation—similar to how characters in the book uncover hidden diaries and secrets.