Girl in Snow is a deep debut novel by Danya Kukafka about a
murder; but concentrates more on those affected by it, whether friend, family
or suspect.
Lucinda Hayes has been murdered and her body found in a pile
of snow. Suspicion is immediately cast on Cameron Whitely as he is perceived as
Lucinda’s stalker. Slowly more suspects enter the picture; Jade, from whom
Lucinda stole a job and a boy, and Ivan, the janitor from the school who found
her. Or could it possibly be Edouard, Lucinda’s ex, or Mr O, a teacher dating
Cameron’s mother? With so much possibility pointing at someone, surely the most
obvious person is the killer? Or is there more to this than meets the eye?
The story is told from 3 perspectives, one from Cameron, one
from Jade and one from Russ, Cameron’s father’s partner in the police force.
Cameron from the off is a very intriguing character; slightly
oddball, slightly scary. After his father was arrested for assault, let off and
did a runner, his mother did her best to raise Cameron normally, but let’s just
say he has quirks. He sees the world in a very different way and his thoughts
tend to become tangled, to a point where he would respond to a situation in a different
way to what is perceived as normal. To him the game of Statue Nights, where he
stands very still at night outside a person’s house and watches, is not being a
stalker. It’s taking in life; it’s learning and absorbing. He has memorised
everything about Lucinda, from her appearance to her habits. Lucinda’s dad has
seen him and chased him away so his night games are not unknown and clearly
make him the prime suspect.
Unbeknownst to Cameron, Jade has seen his statue game too so
can verify his strangeness. However Jade is not quite a mainstream teen either
as she has her own reasons to hate Lucinda. Jade is the only character’s
perspective to be written in the 1st person which is very clever. It
allows the reader to come closer to her angst and puts her story on a different
level to the others. It’s almost as if her story can be changed by her actions
whereas the others are guided by outside forces. Jade has a horrible home life
with an abusive mother and has every reason to want to lash out at the world.
Was Lucinda’s stealing of her job and guy enough to send her over the edge?
The janitor who discovers the body is Russ’s brother-in-law,
a reformed convict who preaches a religious ideal. Russ is struggling with his
present and future; so much that looked rosy is turning sour and with what
happened to Cameron’s father he is reluctant to see Cameron as a suspect.
As more incidents happen and more memories surface you are
torn between characters and whether they are guilty or not. I found myself
rooting for someone then changing my mind as I thought it could be them. A book
that keeps you guessing until the end is a rare find. Even though the
revelation itself it rather quick, I enjoyed that fact that the story didn’t
end there. The author takes you to those affected and shows you the
ramifications; something a lot of stories don’t do. It breaks down the nitty
gritty of people’s feelings and explores sharing and love and emptiness. Along
with the excellent editing the interesting storyline and depth of character
makes this an intriguing read.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the book.
