Book Review: Snow Kill

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Snow Kill     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Tom Eslick
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Write Way, May 2000, $24.95, 288 pp.

Following two brutal and dehumanizing tours of Viet Nam, Chad Duquette returns home to the woman of his dreams. They marry and she becomes pregnant, but is killed during a convenience store robbery. Chad’s shaky mental state totally collapses and he flees to his grandfather’s New Hampshire farm. For the next few years, Chad struggles to pull himself together. Eventually, Chad seems to have recovered his equilibrium and even begins dating. He works as a volunteer emergency medical technician and watches over his stepbrother, an idiot savant who needs constant supervision.

While on an EMT call, Chad is attacked while trying to save the life of a hunter. He and the hunter make it to the hospital, but the assailants killed the man’s buddy. The corpse vanishes and several days later another hunter is murdered under suspicious circumstances. The victim’s body is found at about the same time that Chad’s stepbrother disappears. As Chad searches for his sibling, the police begin to suspect the veteran of being the killer. When law enforcement officials try to arrest him, Chad goes on the run, determined to locate his missing relative and expose the real perpetrator.

Tom Eslick is a sharp descriptive writer who paints a picturesque panorama of the great outdoors. Readers will fully understand and empathize with the lead protagonist, a person whose life is filled with tragedy. SNOW KILL captures the essence of the independent spirit heard often mentioned by the media every four years about residents of New Hampshire. The plot takes readers down a curving road filled with detours that will leave the audience wondering what will happen next on their roller coaster ride. Mr. Eslick provides a winning regional mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner