John Banville

The incomparable Booker Prize winner's next great crime novel--the story of a family whose secrets resurface when a parish priest is found murdered in their ancestral home Detective Inspector St. John Strafford has been summoned to County Wexford to investigate a murder. A parish priest has been found dead in Ballyglass House, the family seat of the aristocratic, secretive Osborne family. The year is 1957 and the Catholic Church rules Ireland with an iron fist. Strafford--flinty, visibly Protestant and determined to identify the murderer--faces obstruction at every turn, from the heavily accumulating snow to the culture of silence in this tight-knit community. As he delves further, he learns the Osbornes are not at all what they seem. And when his own deputy goes missing, Strafford must work to unravel the ever-expanding mystery before the community's secrets, like the snowfall itself, threaten to obliterate everything. Beautifully crafted, darkly evocative and pulsing with suspense, Snow is "the Irish master" (New Yorker) John Banville at his page-turning best.

Snow

Cheri McElroy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
A priest was murdered during a snowstorm in Ireland in 1957. A Protestant policeman is sent to investigate.

This is a literary mystery with superb writing; the insights into the mind of St. John Strafford, were top notch. The atmosphere was brilliant; I could feel the cold and isolation. This is Banville doing what he does best.

TW: child abuse

Joan Westenberg

A contrived fanfiction like collage of better authors’ work, with a graphic description of child sexual abuse that was entirely unnecessary.

'The body is in the library,' Colonel Osborne said. 'Come this way.' Following the discovery of the corpse of a highly respected parish priest at Ballyglass House - the Co. Wexford family seat of the aristocratic, secretive Osborne family - Detective Inspector St John Strafford is called in from Dublin to investigate. Strafford faces obstruction from all angles, but carries on determinedly in his pursuit of the murderer. However, as the snow continues to fall over this ever-expanding mystery, the people of Ballyglass are equally determined to keep their secrets. 'The sinister and unnerving Snow has all the trimmings of a classic country house mystery - body in the library, closed circle of suspects, foul weather - all elevated by Banville's immaculate, penetrating prose.' Peter Swanson

John I. Clark

Great book, loved to language and the characters. It's pretty dark though, so be warned...

Christine Liu

Banville has an elegant way with words, but this book didn't do much for me otherwise. It's set up like a classic country manor murder mystery with a body in the library, but there isn't much investigative work. Female characters are weakly written and undeveloped, and sexual abuse of minors is treated in a glossed over way. It just felt like there was no substance to this story.

Navya R

The incomparable Booker Prize winner’s next great crime novel—the story of a family whose secrets resurface when a parish priest is found murdered in their ancestral home Detective Inspector St. John Strafford has been summoned to County Wexford to investigate a murder. A parish priest has been found dead in Ballyglass House, the family seat of the aristocratic, secretive Osborne family. The year is 1957 and the Catholic Church rules Ireland with an iron fist. Strafford—flinty, visibly Protestant and determined to identify the murderer—faces obstruction at every turn, from the heavily accumulating snow to the culture of silence in the tight-knit community he begins to investigate. As he delves further, he learns the Osbornes are not at all what they seem. And when his own deputy goes missing, Strafford must work to unravel the ever-expanding mystery before the community’s secrets, like the snowfall itself, threaten to obliterate everything. Beautifully crafted, darkly evocative and pulsing with suspense, Snow is “the Irish master” (New Yorker) John Banville at his page-turning best.

A Novel

JungMin Heo

Helen Bright

Suyash Goylit

Sara Sunshine

Aine Meehan

Kathy Andrew

Kathy Rodger 

Laura Schmidt

Maggie Horikawa

The body is in the library,' Colonel Osborne said. 'Come this way.' Following the discovery of the body of a well-loved parish priest at Ballyglass House - the Co. Wexford family seat of the aristocratic, secretive Osborne family - Detective Inspector St. John Strafford is called in from Dublin to investigate. Facing obstruction from all angles, Strafford is determined to identify the murderer. But, as the snow continues to fall over this ever-expanding mystery, the people of Ballyglass are equally determined to keep their secrets.

readwithJLH

Jennifer Forrester

Kimberly

'The body is in the library,' Colonel Osborne said. 'Come this way.' Following the discovery of the body of a highly respected parish priest at Ballyglass House - the Co. Wexford family seat of the aristocratic, secretive Osborne family - Detective Inspector St. John Strafford is called in from Dublin to investigate. Strafford faces obstruction from all angles, but carries on determinedly in his pursuit of the murderer. However, as the snow continues to fall over this ever-expanding mystery, the people of Ballyglass are equally determined to keep their secrets.

Snow

Reviews