The Stroke of Winter

 

The Stroke of Winter

Author: Wendy Webb

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Publication Date: November 1, 2022

Once again, Wendy Webb does not disappoint. The reader is at once drawn into the story of Tess, a divorced middle-aged woman who has inherited the home of her grandparents, a large Queen Anne set on an island in Lake Superior. Tess plans to convert the house into a Bed and Breakfast. 

Almost ready for opening, Tess soon begins hearing mysterious noises at night. They seem to be coming from a section of the house that has been sealed off for as long as Tess can remember. She plans to convert this wing into a personal living space to use when guests are staying in the house.

Late one night, a white German Shepherd appears at her back door during a blizzard. Tess takes the mysterious dog into her home, where he immediately becomes her companion and protector. The dog growls at the noises that come from the sealed-off section of the house, frightening Tess even more.

What lurks behind the walled-up wing? Why are people seeing what appears to be a human figure in the unused wing, although there is no way to access the area? 

Tess calls in workers to open the wing and find out, once and for all, what is making the noises and what lies in the rooms that have been sealed off for decades. What they discover unveils a dark family secret kept hidden for years. What lies beyond that wall is so dark that it threatens to ruin all of Tess' dreams for the future.

Perfect reading for a long winter night, you will not be able to put this mystery down. A perfect combination of the supernatural and natural worlds, the novel is sure to please.

The Vanishing by: Wendy Webb

Title: The Vanishing Author: Wendy Webb Publisher: Hyperion Pages: 286 Copyright date: 2014

From Amazon:

Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired . . . and who the world believes is dead.

When she arrives at the Sinclairs' enormous estate on Lake Superior, Julia begins to suspect that there may be sinister undercurrents to her "too-good-to-be-true" position. As Julia delves into the reasons of why Amaris chose to abandon her successful writing career and withdraw from the public eye, her search leads to unsettling connections to her own family tree, making her wonder why she really was invited to Havenwood in the first place, and what monstrous secrets are still held prisoner within its walls.

Oh, wow! This book was awesome! It kept me guessing from page one! I loved it! Were Adrian, Drew, and Amaris friends or enemies? Was Drew a real man or a centuries-old ghost? I love Wendy Webb's novels and I do believe this is my favorite. This is one of those books to take along on a vacation, or to dive into on a long snow day. You will not want to put it down. You need time to savor each and every page. One thing I love about Wendy Webb's writing is that she doesn't waste time on boring detail. Each page has a twist or turn that leaves you thinking the opposite of what you thought on the page before. She is an awesome writer. This book contains just the right mix of reality and the supernatural in an amazing setting. The book left me thinking, "huh?" but I won't ruin it for anyone. It is waaaay to good for that. THIS is the book to take along when you have some time to sink into a really awesome novel.