Hello Everyone,
Book Title: The Winter Ghosts
Author: Kate Mosse
Series: Standalone
Genre: Adult Fiction,Historical Fiction
Publisher: Putnam
Page Count: 300
Type of Book: Hardback, Owned
Trigger warnings: ghosts, war, death, cold, grief/depression
Notes: The town Nuelle in the book is fictional however the story is based on real events
Goodreads Summary:
By the author of the “New York Times”-bestselling “Labyrinth,” a story of two lives touched by war and transformed by courage.
In the winter of 1928, still seeking some kind of resolution to the horrors of World War I, Freddie is traveling through the beautiful but forbidding French Pyrenees. During a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. Dazed, he stumbles through the woods, emerging in a tiny village, where he finds an inn to wait out the blizzard. There he meets Fabrissa, a lovely young woman also mourning a lost generation.
Over the course of one night, Fabrissa and Freddie share their stories. By the time dawn breaks, Freddie will have unearthed a tragic, centuries-old mystery, and discovered his own role in the life of this remote town.
My Thoughts:
There’s a lot of French in this book, and I’m not well versed in french do fair warning for those that are like me in that I speak very little french. I had to keep translating but I still really liked this a lot!
My Review:
This book is beautifully designed! Lovely artwork at the start of each chapter, frayed edges, and decent sized font for once! Usually as of late, book font has been small, but while this was a normal book and not large print, it was easily readable.
The story starts with Fred locating a man that can translate a letter that has deeply personal meaning to him. Even though he’s never been able to read the letter, he treats it as a personal keepsake that he can’t bear to lose. The man realizes this letter holds key importance of a historical nature, and Fred leans in and tells a tale.
The story then goes back in time to when Fred mourns the loss of his older brother George, who was killed/presumed missing in war. After a few years he accepts his brothers death and spends time in a sanatorium. He’s released and he travels… and becomes lost in France when searching for a particular place. A heavy snowstorm with lightning leaves him in distress, and he becomes stranded in the middle of nowhere, not a soul around for miles and miles.
What follows is a great ghost story, telling history of a place that I know extremely little about. This was refreshing from the usual stories in relation to the world wars, and while the ending was a bit sad, everything wrapped up nicely. I have never read a Kate Mosse book before, though I’ve seen them several times and they are on my tbr. She just earned another reader, as I look at her other books with eager interest. I read this during a dark, dreary rainstorm which made for excellent reading material. Ghosts and creepy villages in the middle of nowhere and a nice historical revelation is always neat.
I’m happy to grant this three stars, and highly recommend for fans of history as well as ghosts.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Until next time,
-Pass Me That Book
Pass Me That Book 