Came back on to this account after being away from it for quite a while. I realised I had forgotten to leave a review for this. Usually, I would have just left it. But I’m this case, I remember this book and I remember details and I loved it. I have read many books in the meantime that I do not recall as well as this.

I’ve read a few books by this author and they are all brilliant. I loved this one and I would 100% read again, some shocking twists and turns that I didn’t even expect! Creepy to the point where I have to stop reading for a second to let it set in!

Wow. What a gripping novel. This kept me hooked throughout and had some great heart wrenching moments too. Really enjoyed following the story to its eventual conclusion

I am not really a fan of the plot of the story (molestation etc), but I understand the reason thereof, it is part of our society these days. It was a gripping read, and I will read more by this author in future.

Claire Flynn disappeared from Belham eleven years ago on a snowy night whilst out sledding with her friend and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. Father Richard Byrne has been suspected of being her abductor since she vanished and is also linked to two identical disappearances in towns where he was the parish priest. He has always denied any involvement with the abductions but hasn’t talked to anyone regarding them. Until now.

Investigator Darby McCormick is surprised when she receives a call from Belham PD explaining that Father Byrne wants to talk but only to her. She remembers Claire Flynn’s case and the shockwaves that rippled through the town, resulting in those involved being left with heartbreak, anger and hatred. Darby expects to hear a confession from the defrocked priest but what she hears is much worse and sets off a chain of events from which nobody will be left untouched.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. From the first page I realised that this was going to be a cracking read and I was right. As the story unfolded it got better and better, the fluidity of the writing was unforced and an absolute pleasure to read. The characters were strongly defined and their interaction with the story was clear..

In short, I thought this book was brilliant.

I’d like to thank Penguin UK and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my thoughts.

It took me a good while to get into this book and I stopped and started with it for a couple of weeks before settling down with it properly. Good characters and a nice writing style and it definitely picks up after a while.

Ganz großes (Kopf-)Kino, wie immer bei diesem Autor. Spannung bis zum Schluss mit einem Ende, das man nicht besser erfinden kann.

This is somewhat of a slow burner, it took me a while to get into it, but once I did I was hooked.

A great thriller with a brilliant twist at the end.

Brilliant, edge of your seat thriller. Darby is such a great character! Chris Mooney delivers a fantastic read!

Such a gripping read! I loved this book and though it is such a sensitive topic (child abduction) it was very well-written and engaging. The only reason I’m not rating it 5 stars is that I would have loved an epilogue a few years later to see what became of the major players in the book.

In Darby McCormick, Chris Mooney has created another of those characters that you know you're just going to have to follow. I have read one of the books in the series before, but haven't read them all and now I'm going to have to! Having said that, this is a book that is easily read as a stand alone crime fiction novel and you don't need to have read any of the others to enjoy this. The story centres around a young girl who went missing (in the snow) in Darby's hometown when she was small and over ten years later her disappearance is still unsolved . The main suspect is a defrocked priest who happened to have also been in the same area when two other young girls had gone missing (again in the snow) some years prior to this. Darby is called back to her hometown to investigate when the former priest, who is dying of cancer, says he will talk to her. There is plenty of intrigue in this book and just a possibility of romance as the girl's father is Darby's former boyfriend. I won't give more away - just read it!

Darby McCormick has been called back to her home town 11 years after the disappearance of Claire Flynn. The chief suspect in Claire's disappearance, Father Byrne, is dying & wants to talk - but only to Darby. Is he going to spill the beans before he dies or is there another agenda?
This is a reasonable, solid thriller if not altogether original or surprising. Darby is the chief character who, unsurprisingly, has a history with the town she grew up in. She also has a past history with Micky Flynn the father of the missing girl. On the whole the book was fairly predictable as this type of thriller goes - Micky wanting to kill Father Byrne, Darby dealing with her demons, people getting framed, Darby being attacked etc.
The only thing that really took me by surprise was the ending. I won't explain - I don't want to give away any spoilers - but I didn't think there were enough clues throughout the book for this to be a successful ending. Usually when there is a large twist at the end I can think back through the book and see the odd little clues that were dropped which led to this conclusion. These are vital for the reader as it is very dis-satisfying to be presented with an ending which isn't based on clues and facts throughout the book. There are a couple of clues but no where near enough. I don't mind not seeing an ending coming provided I can look back and see the hints. I couldn't with this book.
This isn't a bad book and I enjoyed reading it. However there is nothing major to make it stand out from the crowd. There are a couple of swipes at political/social agenda such the Catholic church covering up abuse by priests (I won't mention others - spoilers!) but they didn't over power the book and make me feel as if I was being preached at.
This is really a 3.5 star book and with a few more clues to the ending it would have made a 4.5 star review.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

I absolutely love every book that I have read by Chris Mooney. I was lucky enough to get an ARC from Netgalley that was actually a prequel to the Darby Mccormick series. So even thought it wasn't number 1 - it actually worked perfectly. I enjoyed it so much that I then read all the other books in the series. So was very pleased to have an opportunity to read this book before it was published. Just bad timing that I was too busy to read it until after it was published. Darby is a great character who doesn't suffer fools, and most of the guys she helps out in law enforcement are fools. All these books are well paced, with well written characters and plenty of twists. I would thoroughly recommend this to thriller and mystery lovers

I have read the other books by Chris Mooney in this series. This book was not one of my favourites but is worth reading. The story line and characters are well thought out and the story keeps you interested until the end.

This is a very enjoyable story and it had me gripped!

The story is well planned out and I loved how it developed as the book progressed. The characters are excellent and they worked really well with the plot. I was hooked from the start and gripped to the end.

Whilst this is the 8th book in the series I found it to read absolutely fine as a stand alone too! Five stars from me – very enjoyable and I now need to get the rest of the author’s back catalogue after I enjoyed this one so much!!

Wow, been waiting for Darby to return, such a strong character, fantastic storyline, very topical, if you haven't read any of the series then it's time you started, brilliant as per usual, well done, you've done it again, stayed up all night just so I could get as far as possible, riveting read

Excellent book! Loved the characters and it was a great storyline. I would highly recommend this book.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Another book about the psychologist consultant Darby McCormick. This was not as gritty as the previous 7 novels but nevertheless a brilliant read.

I hadn’t read the previous books in this series but it can easily be read as a standalone. Darby McCormick is a forensic psychologist and she returns to Belham, where she grew up. Her father, also a Detective, was murdered there and where the police haven’t forgiven her as she exposed the police corruption. She is now investigating a cold case that happened 11 years ago, where a 6 year old girl was taken from a snowy hillside. Two more girls also disappeared and so the three girls were known as the Snow Girls. Mickey, Claire’s father, was Darby’s firstboyfriend and he is still a broken man as he blames himself for her disappearance all those years ago. The prime suspect for the missing girls is Father Byrne, a defrocked Catholic priest. He is terminally ill and wants to talk to Claire about the girls before he dies and takes any secrets to his grave. There are lots of buried secrets and many twists and turns along the way in this book and an ending I didn’t see coming. A highly recommended read,
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

‘The Snow Girls’ by Chris Mooney is the 8th novel in the Darby McCormick series. Having read Mooney’s previous novel ‘Every Pretty Thing’ which was also a 5 star read I had extremely high expectations for ‘The Snow Girls’.

One of Mooney’s favourite fan letters is from a fan calling him SICK, SICK, SICK and a DISTURBED individual before asking him when his next book will be released. He takes you to places in a novel that you could never imagine in your worst nightmares. Hearing your heart thump in your ears, wanting to hide behind your pillow and leaving you sleeping with the light on. He is one of a few authors that can make me feel well and truly terrified.

‘The Snow Girls’ follows Investigator Darby McCormick who gets a call to return home to help with an 11 year old cold case, involving the disappearance of 6 year old Claire Flynn. The main suspect, Father Richard Byrne is at deaths door and he’s willing to talk, under one circumstance, he talks only to McCormick.

Returning to her childhood home opens up old wounds for McCormick. We start to understand her more by learning about her strict, religious childhood and the rejection she faced from her first love. We also learn that McCormick is not welcome in the town due to many of the locals having secrets that they want to remain hidden.

As the novel unfolds many secrets are revealed resulting in a lot of twists and turns along the way. This is a novel that will have you hooked from the first page and every time you feel you are on the right path another twist will throw you completely off course.

I recommended Mooney’s previous novel ‘Every Pretty Thing’ to all my family and friends who were just as blown away as myself after reading. I would recommend the whole series and ‘The Snow Girls’ to anyone similar to myself who cries out for a thriller to have well rounded yet flawed characters, a plot that has so many intricate pieces to fit together that when they do it is just mind blowing and an author that tells his story so well it leaves your terrified yet unable to put down the book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC in return for an honest review.

This is another compelling story in the series featuring Darby McCormick. The snow girls were three children who were abducted from different locations at different times, the latest child eleven years earlier from Darby’s own home town, where the main suspect was a priest, later unfrocked as a paedophile.
Although suspected of the abduction and murder of the children, no concrete evidence has been found against him. Now he is dying and has said he will speak only to Darby, who hopes he will reveal where the children’s remains are. However, the ex-priest is a thoroughly unpleasant character with an agenda of his own, and knowing Darby and her family history, he is keen to manipulate and exploit her while she attempts to get him to reveal where the children were buried.
This is a very engaging thriller with a surprising twist in the end.
I am grateful to NetGalley and to Michael Joseph Comms for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review of the book.