Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Thank you for letting me read this book and sorry for the delay in reading.
This took my a while to get into but when I did wow I couldn't put it down. Well written (even though translated) and a great storyline. I want more from this author.

Lovely feel good book to read. It was a joy to read. Lovely characters. Great plot. The book was charming. Very well written. I’d definitely recommend this book lovely location. Perfect seasonal book to get you in the mood for the festive season.

It's a thriller set in a small Swedish village. A thrilling Nordic noir. I love this writer's writing, so definitely recommended.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

Initially, I took a while to get into this story but once I had I was hooked. I wanted to know how the interplay between the characters would evolve and what relationships would develop and which would break down. I though that I had guessed the twist, but it turns out I didn't get it quite right. Always a bonus when this happens! Having read 'The Silver Road', i was looking forward to this, and it did not disappoint.

Stina Jackson writes a disconcerting, chilling, atmospheric and haunting novel set in Ödesmark a remote and isolated part of Northern Sweden. I was so excited to have the opportunity to read The Last Snow as I had enjoyed the author's previous book, The Silver Road so much.

The story centres on Liv Björnlund who lives with her seventeen-year-old son Simon and Vidar, her domineering father, in Björngården, her now much-neglected childhood home. When she was younger she attempted to leave several times, hitching rides from anyone who would give her a lift however, all were unsuccessful because her father always tracked her down. The Björnlunds are not well-liked in their village mostly because of decisions that seemingly wealthy Vidar has made in life regarding his business activities. Liam Lilja is hoping to turn his life around for the sake of his young daughter, but his brother, Gabriel is determined to make this difficult.

The isolated, bleak location of this story gives it an eerie, almost timeless feel. As the dark tale moves between the present and past the reader learns of Liv and her family, and in the past, a story of unnamed characters is recounted. Right from the first chapters, a sense of darkness pervades; the cold, harshness of the countryside, the damp pine forests, the marshes and the characters who all have their own secrets to hide. Liv’s despair is portrayed incredibly well by Stina Jackson as is her father's overbearing and mean behaviour. The ending is a shock and one I didn’t really expect, but it's in keeping with the story.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Corvus via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an unbiased review.
Set in a remote area of Northern Sweden, Liv Bjornlund lives with her teenage son and her controlling father Vidar. Locally it is rumoured that Vidar sits on a fortune despite his apparant reluctance to spend money on anything. The rumour makes the family a target and there are always those willing to take advantage.
Really good story, strong narrative and vivd description. I felt as if I got to know the character really well.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommended.

This is a novel set in a small village with a claustrophobic atmosphere.

At first it isn't clear exactly what the story is about, and I did find it hard to stay interested in the early part of the book. Liv is a young woman living with her son and father in a derelict house. The author has painted her in a very 'real' way - her life doesn't seem particularly pleasant and you get the feeling that she allows men to use her.

But at the same time, perhaps she is using them?

Locals begin to suspect that Liv's family, outwardly poor, are secretly rich. This ends up leading to tension and the family being targeted.

There's a sense that Liv's father has a dodgy past, and the story flips between the past and present to gradually reveal the truth about their family. It's very good at building atmosphere - there is a strong sense of being suffocated living in this tiny place where everyone thinks they know your business.

But I would have also liked it to have got going a bit faster at the start so I could be more interested in the characters sooner.

This is a solid Scandi thriller. Slow moving but with a good plot line and characters.

A family live in a farmhouse; Liv, her son, Simon and her domineering father, Vida. Liv has attempted to leave on a number of occasions, but, is always tracked down by her father, who is reportedly wealthy, with a stack of money that lives in a safe, only he knows the code to open. Then 2 brothers appear, who want the contents.

The characters are well drawn and it's a beautifully written book. However, I'm afraid I did struggle with how slow it was. For those who love the writing and descriptive paragraphs in this slow burning thriller, it's definitely worth a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

I’m a huge fan of this author so I was extremely excited to be invited onto the blog tour for The Last Snow her latest, amazing book. Once again the author has written a dark, intense and very atmospheric read which was very hard to put down. It’s going to be hard to review this book as I don’t want to give anything away.

Firstly this book isn’t just a murder mystery, it is actually so much more and there are some interesting topics discussed within it’s pages. I liked how the author manages to combine all of these without ruining any of the original story and all the different storylines ran smoothly alongside each other.

The author does a great job of describing the snowy, bleak landscape in the book so that I felt really able to imagine it in my mind. I felt that it helped add to all the action and drama that takes place throughout the book. It somehow made the actions of the characters more shocking which I thought was very clever.

This is a bit of a slow burn but it soon become very gripping as the story goes on. There is a bit of an underlying threat of violence and menace which made for very intriguing reading. I found that I couldn’t put the book down the further I got into it as I was desperate to see how everything ending. The ending was shocking and surprised me which I always love.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Corvus for my copy of this book.

I was obsessed with the setting in this book, and the author really brought it to life. I enjoyed the beautifully constructed descriptions of the places and it allowed me to insert myself into the story. 

The author kept me guessing until the end - they weaved an incredible mystery with twists and turns and made everyone seem like a suspect. However, I sometimes struggled with the jumping back and forth and it was hard occasionally to understand where I was up to in the story. 

The ending confused me and I was left with a few unanswered questions. Although that’s not always a bad thing, for me it left me feeling unsatisfied.

DNF at 36% unfortunately. The writing was too stilted and choppy for me, jumping between different characters often, and often with little notification. Although there was definitely moments where I was intrigued, I found myself ultimately not caring at all what happened to any of the characters. This was my first foray into scandi-noir, and I feel the style is not for me. Might be better for established fans of the genre, or those who enjoy very slow/people-driven mysteries.

I thoroughly enjoyed this slow burn thriller and am so glad I gave it a try because I didn’t enjoy a previous book by the same author The Silver Road. It just goes to show don’t let one book put you off the writer for ever.
The character development was wonderful and the plot was fascinating with just enough and timely back story. It’s not a red herring round every corner book but still the conclusion is really unexpected. Well it was to me at least.
Glad to give this five stars and have already been recommending it to all the Scandi-noir fans I am in contact with.

I really enjoyed this story and found the characters lovely and relatable. A good suspense story with a hint of romance. Really good and highly recommend.

Stina Jackson has done it again and written another compelling book which is just as good as her first novel The Silver Road which I also loved. This book is a slow burn of a read gradually building the story and immersing you in the dark and compelling Scandi noir that she is so good at writing. It’s a book that is very much character driven with feelings that slowly build up and the people in the book come alive ...some nice some not so nice but all described so beautifully that they become real in your mind as you are reading.
It was a book that was a compulsive read but what made it for me was the feeling that I began to know these characters as I was reading always a sign of a great writer, it is a mystery thriller but its also one hell of a great story and I look forward to more from this excellent author !!
My thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic books for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Have you ever read a book and wanted to reach in your hand to grab a character and shake some sense into her?
I understand why Liv was so reckless and slept with so many men but I didn't want to necessarily go through each of these liaisons with her. Great character building apart from that though and the two brothers were particularly chillingly drawn.

What stood out for me was the small Swedish village where this is set. You wouldn't want to go anywhere near those woods after this.

Remote, claustrophobic and dark. Scandi Noir takes us all the way to Lapland !

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I normally enjoy this type of book and was not wrong, really good storyline and had me gripped to the end. Would recommend.

4.5 stars

‘There are no monsters only men’.

The central much disliked character in this Scandi noir is eighty year old Vidar Björland who lives in rundown isolation in Ödesmark with his daughter Liv and her son, seventeen year old Simon. The dark tale is told from Liv’s perspective and that of Liam Lilja and his unpleasant brother Gabriel, who are local drug dealers.

This is a very well written novel with some beautiful descriptions especially of the Swedish landscape which allows you to easily visualise the unfolding drama. The characterisation is excellent especially Vidar, Liv and Liam. Vidar is watchful, harsh, extremely mean despite being rich and treats his daughter harshly to say the least. Liv is trapped, she’s miserable, full of loathing and hate, she longs to escape but she is inert and she can neither stay nor leave. Liam is trying to improve his life and break away from his controlling brother with limited success. The book is full of unease and tension between characters that is so intense you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. This is magnified by the bad blood and gossip about the Björlands in the surrounding area that creates a volcanic mix. There’s menace, violence, threat and fear with suppressed rage and hatred and a desire for revenge from several quarters. The story is darkly intense and builds from a slow simmer to boiling point with the resultant heated overspill being horribly fascinating as you try the figure out the truth from rumour and suspicion. Liv’s terrible despair is transmitted loud and clear. The end is a shock and one I didn’t see coming but it fits with the narrative.

My only negative and hence four stars rather than five is that the story moves backwards and forwards from 1998 and it’s sometimes hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. However, the backstories are vitally important in trying to identify where the truth lies and to understand the characters motivation.

Overall, this is a really good Nordic noir which makes for gripping and compelling reading and one I recommend to fans of the genre. The translation is seamless too.

With thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Books/Corvus for the arc for an honest review.

This book is my favourite kind of crime thriller with its slow and steady well woven plot that becomes about more than just the crime, it’s about the people, it’s about their relationships and it’s about the location and its community. It is also as much about what is not said as what is written on the pages. This book is really beautifully written, and very emotive, you easily get lost in the story, feeling every emotion along the way. The story is about grief, love and hope in all its forms and alongside all this it is a really good crime thriller too. The characters in this book will stay with me for sometime to come.

I love a good mystery / thriller and this certainly lived up to my expectations. I didn’t guess the plot which is always a bonus as it keeps you on your toes.
Well written, great plot, intense and twisty! Brilliant