Review: Hidden in Snow (Viveca Sten)

 

Snow. Cold. Mountains. Darkness.

You find these things a lot in Nordic Noir. And while Viveca Sten isn't usually included in lists of Swedish Nordic Noir writers, this book is probably one of her "noir-iest" yet. I had to sit with it for a few days after finishing it and let things process before I could put my thoughts down. Set in midwinter, in the leadup to Christmas, Hidden in Snow is the story of a young girl who disappears after a party and is later found dead on a ski lift in a mountain resort area. But it's so much more than that: this is about what happens to her family and town in the aftermath of that discovery.

My Favorite Authors of 2022

 Based on how I rated the books I read last year, here's my favorite authors of 2022. Keep in mind this is strictly my opinion and it's pretty subjective. But it's fair to say I'll be watching for more from these authors in the future, as well as going deeper into their backlists. I've linked to the author's website where possible. Some obviously, don't have websites. A few websites seem to be having some trouble.

First, no surprise, is Agatha Christie. Long a favorite in a favorite genre.

Update to Currently Reading

 Time for an update to the books I'm currently reading. Cemetery Boys (by Aiden Thomas, readng for the Read Harder challenge); Dune (by Frank Herbert); Hidden in Snow (by Viveca Sten, reading for the Cloak and Dagger challenge); and Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder (by Joanne Fluke, reading for the Cruisin' Through the Cozies challenge).

Currently Reading (Challenge Books)

Cloak and Dagger: Hidden in Snow (Viveca Sten, 12/1/2022) - 4%
Cruisin' Through the Cozies: Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder (Joanne Fluke, 2/23/2021) - 7%
Read Harder: Cemetery Boys (Aiden Thomas, 9/1/2020) - 5%

Read Harder Challenge 2023

I'll admit: I really like genre fiction. But I'll be the first to tell you, it's not always the most challenging stuff out there. So to up my reading a little, I've decided to do Book Riot's Read Harder challenge this year. It's only 24 books, maybe two a month, but the books selected have to meet certain criteria. Most of those are books I probably wouldn't normally read. For example, the first listed criteria is it has to be a book by a trans author about a trans character. I've chosen Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas. It's a book I've actually had for a while (audio), but I've never finished it. This time I will. It's not that I don't like the book. In fact, I do like the story of a Latine transgender person dealing with spirits and his (not always supportive) family very much. I just keep getting distracted by easier reads. It's time to fix that and get the book done. An hour a day, and I'll have it finished in two weeks.