Cloudland

Author: Joseph Olsham
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2013
Pages: 304
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: A stunning literary thriller set in rural Vermont from the much praised author of Nightswimmer and Clara's Heart.

Once a major reporter for a national newspaper, Catherine Winslow has retreated to the Upper Valley of Vermont to write a household hints column. While out walking during an early spring thaw, Catherine discovers the body of a woman leaning against an apple tree near her house. From the corpse’s pink parka, Winslow recognizes her as the latest victim of a serial killer, a woman reported missing weeks before during a blizzard.

When her neighbor, a forensic psychiatrist, is pulled into the investigation, Catherine begins to discover some unexpected connections to the serial murders. One is that the murders might be based on a rare unfinished Wilkie Collins novel that is missing from her personal library. The other is her much younger lover from her failed affair has unexpectedly resurfaced and is trying to maneuver his way back into her affections.

Elegant, haunting and profoundly gripping, Cloudland is an ingenious psychological trap baited with murder, deception and the intricacies of desire.

Review: Even though I'm having a really hard time concentrating on anything but my wedding which is at the end of next month, this book did draw me in.

Probably longer than it needed to be with maybe one red herring too many, this book is still enjoyable.

If you pay any attention to the dates on this blog, you can surmise that this book took me quite some time to read. Lately I had been reading books at lightening speed, almost making it a second job to have material with which to update my blog. I needed to take a little break. I went back to reading a chapter or two before bed rather than reading every free moment I could find, including during lunch at work.