DI Ivan Winterman is a man with a troubled past. The Blitz
has left his young son dead and his wife seriously injured. He
has made enemies in high places and, with his career going
nowhere, he returns to his home town in East Anglia, seeking
to rebuild his life in a country gripped by post-war austerity
and the coldest winter on record.
As the first snow begins to fall, a drunken ex-clergyman
stumbles on the semi-mummified body of a small child
concealed in a ruined cottage. Days later, a second similar
child's body is found in a Fenland dyke. Both bodies have
been dead for several years, preserved in the Fens, the
cause of death unknown.
Winterman, supported by a small team of assorted misfits,
finds himself leading the investigation, uncovering a web of
connections and secrets in the small rural community. When
a further murder victim is discovered, Winterman discovers
that the secrets are darker and the threat far more
immediate than he'd ever envisaged.
And, as the snow finally begins to thaw over the Fens,
Winterman realises that his worst nightmares are about to
come true…
Winterman opens in the summer of 1940 as a group of teens
are enjoying the sun and swimming.
Cycling home later they realise that one of them isn't
following behind, but when they go back to try and find him
they discover that he has disappeared without trace.........
We are transported next to the winter of 1947 when D.I.
Winterman is assigned to the small village where he grew up.
Two years after WW2 ended and we find that Britain is still
struggling to rebuild, coal is in short supply, food is still
being rationed and there's a general air of depression in the
rural village.
When the skeletons of young children are discovered, along
with another body, then the story really picks up and I was
totally engrossed, trying to work out what was going on.
The main character of D.I. Winterman is well-drawn and I
did feel some sympathy for him and his tragic past.
Overall, a complex and compelling mystery.
Meet the Author
Winterman is Alex Walters's first historical crime novel. He is
the author of Candles and Roses, Death Parts Us and Their
Final Act, all featuring DI Alec McKay and set in and around
the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands. He has also written
five books set in and around Manchester – Trust No-One and
Nowhere to Hide featuring the undercover officer, Marie
Donovan, and Late Checkout, Dark Corners and Snow Fallen,
featuring DCI Kenny Murrain – and three crime novels set in
modern-day Mongolia, The Shadow Walker, The Adversary
and The Outcast. Alex has previously worked in the oil
industry, broadcasting and banking and as a consultant
working mainly in the criminal justice sector. He now
runs the Solus Or Writing Retreat in the Black Isle with his
wife, occasional sons and some cats.
the author of Candles and Roses, Death Parts Us and Their
Final Act, all featuring DI Alec McKay and set in and around
the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands. He has also written
five books set in and around Manchester – Trust No-One and
Nowhere to Hide featuring the undercover officer, Marie
Donovan, and Late Checkout, Dark Corners and Snow Fallen,
featuring DCI Kenny Murrain – and three crime novels set in
modern-day Mongolia, The Shadow Walker, The Adversary
and The Outcast. Alex has previously worked in the oil
industry, broadcasting and banking and as a consultant
working mainly in the criminal justice sector. He now
runs the Solus Or Writing Retreat in the Black Isle with his
wife, occasional sons and some cats.
Website - www.alexwaltersauthor.com
Facebook - www.facebook.com/alexwaltersauthor/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/MikeWalters60 @mikewalters60
