Homicide cop Lizzie Snow moves from Boston to Bearkill, Maine. She is searching for her niece that disappeared not long after her sister died. And now she has a photo of a little girl that could me Nicki. Sheriff Cody Chevrier is problems of his own. Four ex-cops have died during the last year and only he suspects that it is murder.

Winter at the door was a great book. I liked Lizzie Snow from the moments she was introduced into the book, short black hair, red lipstick and red fingernails. Small but strong, a really tough cop! She has moved from big-city Boston to little Bearkill (great name for a town) with ulterior motives; to find her niece that went missing. But soon she is caught up in the suspicious deaths of the ex-cops and then a child disappears...

I liked the characters; her ex-boyfriend Dylan Hudson who is trying to make amends for how their relationship ended and Trey Washburn the local vet who isn’t her type but still a very nice man and an excellent cook. And of course, Sheriff Cody Chevrier, who reminds me of Sheriff Longmire from Craig Johnson’s books and when I think about it; Lizzie Snow reminds me of Vic Moretti. No wonder I like this book.

The plot was good, it was never boring and Sarah Graves tied everything good together in the end. There are some things still not resolved, but I never expected everything to be fully explained in the end. This is the first book in a series. I’m looking forward to reading the next book!

I received this copy from the publisher through Netgalley in return for an honest review! ( )

Unusual, in that we have a fairly ambivalent/favorable character who turns out to be a serial killer, and that there are 3 large mysteries here that end up connecting. I found the connections to be plausible and firmly grounded in contemporary reality. I found the romantic stuff to be awkward and annoying, but that does seem to be how the character feels, too, so there's that. I'm having a hard time with Lizzie's quest to find her niece -- I'm just not sure why it's plausible that her niece is traceable in some way, nine years after the fact. Unless she DNA tests every nine year old blonde in Maine, I don't see how she's likely to find her. And why wouldn't the person who took the child move out of state? It's just a weird and unlikely premise, given how realistic and grounded the rest of the book is. Pretty interesting community, pretty interesting cop, interested to see where it goes next. ( )

It's formulaic- heroine giving up everything for a small town and her long lost love. Even the mystery at the heart of the story was easy to figure out. ( )

The author does a great job of portraying life in this small Maine town in Aroostook County. I liked her touch on the art of potato picking...moose...and meth dealings...although the Chamber of Commerce may not think it was so funny. Lizzie, Dylan, Cody, and the rest of the characters were all likable and believable. There were a few things that were a little peculiar. We never really saw Lizzie investigate any of the crimes. She was more like a bystander than a trained investigator....and it seemed that the murders of the retired lawmen was more of an after thought than a bigger part of the story. Still, it was a good read and I will read another in the this series. ( )

Lizzie Snow has moved from Boston to the County (northern Maine) to become a deputy sheriff. She has an ulterior motive as she's received a tip that her kidnapped niece might be hidden up there. Meanwhile, she has her hands full with a number of retired policemen suddenly dying; they appear to be suicides, but her new boss thinks they're murders. She also has to contend with her ex, a State policeman who seems to be hanging around a lot.
I enjoyed this novel. The author captures life in Aroostook County pretty well, touching on potato picking, moose, and some meth dealing. Lizzie, Dylan, Cody, and the rest of the characters were enjoyable to read about, and I look forward to the next book in the series. The author writes well though I found a few things just a bit too coincidental to help solve various mysteries. The main reason that Cody brought Lizzie to Maine, the murders of the retired lawmen, was dealt with more as an afterthought.
Still, it was a good read in the vein of Paul Doiran and James Hayman, and I recommend it. ( )