Theo feels she has finally found the person to share her life with. Connor is kind, good looking, and comes from a financially stable family. And (so far) he hasn’t asked too many questions about her past. But now, he has brought her to Idlewood, the Familys Retreat property, and his family – who expects a certain quality to those who plan to marry in, will have questions. Shoot, Theo isn’t even her real name.

Theo has only a small memory of her early years – at the age of 4, after a horrific incident left Theo without her mom and no relatives to step in, her following years placed with a family in a strict household are nothing she cares to share with Conner’s family. After all, they would not be too keen about some things during that time.

It turns out that Idlewood has secrets of its own that it is also reluctant to share. Set deep in the woods where cell reception is nonexistent, the cabins are luxurious except for one. One cabin sits away from the others, abandoned and neglected, and behind its door… secrets that belong to Theo can be found. Secrets – that some will go to great lengths to keep in the dark.

I picked up this book from Book Of The Month. A new author to me and an interesting title and synopsis. I love a good setting in the woods, and Theo’s story was intriguing (if not adding sparks of deja vu as I just recently read a book (First Lie Wins) with the female protagonist using a false name)

There is much I liked about this book. The characters are well developed; I felt as though I could picture them, who they were, and enough back story… the setting as mentioned, perfectly spook worthy, and Theo’s story backs up and made sense as it is revealed…
My only small peeve was that as we had a couple of family generations in this setting, occasionally when switching into a new chapter and not revealing who was talking and mentioning “my father” I was left wondering which father? And I would have to read on to finally put it together. Maybe it was just me, but each time that happened, I was pulled out of the story.

Second peeve is the title. It just doesn’t fit the book… yes we are in the winter, but there is no big storm as part of the setting… and believe me… it wasn’t the cold that was causing the killing.

Minor griping aside, I would suggest trying this one for yourself. There are a lot of reviews and opinions on this book that differ from mine 🙂

Nosing around Kate Marshall’s website I see a few titles that catch my eye.

Rated: 3 out of 5
Read Author Before: No
Read Author Again: probably
Where Read: Can you believe I am still in Fort Myers Florida? 🙂