The Winter People

A Novel

By: Jennifer McMahon

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Kathe Mazur

Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times best-selling author of Promise Not to Tell returns with a simmering literary thriller about ghostly secrets, dark choices, and the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters...sometimes too unbreakable.

West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie. Now, in present day, 19-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara's farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that suddenly proves perilous when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished without a trace. Searching for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara's fate, she discovers that she's not the only person who's desperately looking for someone that they've lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.

©2014 Jennifer McMahon (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Jennifer McMahon is a writer of exceptional talent, and The Winter People is a hypnotic, gripping, and deeply moving thriller. With her beautifully drawn characters and complex, layered, and suspenseful story, McMahon has woven a dream from which I didn't want to wake - and couldn't have even if I wanted to." (Lisa Unger, author of In the Blood)

"In an edge-of-your-seat scary ghost story, Jennifer McMahon’s The Winter People yanks you from one page to the next by expertly weaving the past and present. I will never look at the woods behind my home in the same way again!" (Heather Gudenkauf, author of The Weight of Silence )

Good book! Yucky narration.

If you can get past the narrator, you'll like this book. Spooky mystery, but not horror. Narrator is going for scary I think but you always expect her to scream or something.

Strange

If you could sum up The Winter People in three words, what would they be?

Spell binding nail-biter

Which scene was your favorite?

Inside the cave was well done and kept me on edge.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. I felt I needed to stop and process what I had heard. I realized that it was necessary to have my complete attention especially at the beginning of the book. Near the end was when I couldn't put it down.

Worth a thousand credit

This is by far one of the best suspense novels I have bought ,it's grippingly good , I finished it in one day . Good story plus excellent narrator !! I love Cassandra Campbell .i don't understand why some dislike the narration , it was perfect . Cassandra is one of the best narrators

Chilling story

What did you love best about The Winter People?

I like how the author tied the past to the present.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Winter People?

When the body was discovered in the barn.

Which character – as performed by Cassandra Campbell and Kathe Mazur – was your favorite?

Ruthie. She had to find the strength to take care of her little sister and find her mother.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Winter People: A Chilling Tale of The Past

Any additional comments?

Spooky story! Worth listening to!

I See a Movie in the Making

If you could sum up The Winter People in three words, what would they be?

Deliciously creepy, well-woven

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the story told from different character view-points and time-frames. It melded together nicely.

What aspect of Cassandra Campbell and Kathe Mazur ’s performance would you have changed?

Voices were too stilted, too raspy.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Really wish I had had the time to read it in print next to a fire on a dark winter's night.

Any additional comments?

It's going to be a movie some day.

Good Novel!

I'm going to listen to it again! It's worth the second go. Better than THE NIGHT SISTER

Great suspenseful unfolding is storyline.

Jennifer McMahon has the most amazing ability to write a story that keeps you reading way past time for sleeping. Although sometimes disturbing story segments are included in her books, she brings the reader through the tougher parts to see things through the eyes of both the victim and the victimizer.

Amazing

The best book I have ever read/listened to. I have listened to it 2 times and read the book 1 time. I can't get enough.

THRILLER

Okay first of all I thought i wasn’t going to like this book and it was hard to get into the first couple of chapters it was hard to follow. BUT THEN once you are in YOU ARE ALL IN. Every time you think THATS CRAZY something EVEN CRAZIER happens! It’s hard to stop listening you become so entranced! Wasn’t a huge fan of the narrators voice for ruthie but other than that amazing! I HIGHLY recommend to anyone looking for a nerve wracking thriller!!

Not a Typical Ghost Story

I enjoyed the story. I like new takes on old genres. The ghosts (sleepers) here area kind of hybrid, which I thought was clever.

I would recommend this book.