A Season to Lie by Emily Littlejohn (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"In Emily Littlejohn's follow-up to her acclaimed debut, Inherit the Bones, police officer Gemma Monroe has just returned to work from maternity leave. And what a first day back: a blizzard is blowing into her idyllic Colorado ski town, and while Gemma hopes for a quiet, warm evening in, she knows it will mean plenty of calls out for snow-related accidents. But when an anonymous caller reports seeing a lurker at the local high school, Gemma gets far more than she bargained for. Behind the school building, half covered in a drift of snow, lies the gruesomely murdered body of a world-famous author—whose presence in town was meant to be a secret."

My Thoughts:

I was really looking forward to this book after enjoying Inherit the Bones so much last year (book one in this series).  It was funny because I realized while reading this book that I had forgotten some of the details from book one although nothing major.  I just went back and read my thoughts on it - I gave it five stars and wrote a glowing review so yeah....I would say I enjoyed it.  I can honestly say that I enjoyed this book almost as much as that beginning read.  It begins with Gemma returning from maternity leave back to police duty.  On almost the very first day that she returns a huge snowstorm hits the area and in the midst of it Gemma and her partner get called out and find a body.  I'm a huge sucker for mysteries set in the cold and especially in the midst of a snowstorm so honestly the author had me right from the beginning.  It just gave the book this eerie feeling which I'm now remembering that she also had in book one.  Probably another one of the reasons that I am enjoying this series so much!

I really enjoy this author's way with words.  There is just something about the way she describes things that I can't seem to get enough of.  There is this scene at the beginning of the book where Gemma goes to this home nestled in the woods - the way that the author compares it to a cottage that you would find in a fairy tale just made it all come to life for me.  It's funny because I guessed the killer early on in the book without really believing that I was right.  I spent the majority of the book trying to figure out who the killer was then only coming to the end and realizing I had been right in the first place.  Go figure!  But at least it kept that level of tension that I prefer when I'm reading mysteries and thrillers.  I read a slightly negative review on this book that left me a bit surprised but I don't believe that the reader had read both books.  Ultimately, I do think that this is a series where you need to read them in order just because so much carries over from the first book to the second.  I definitely felt differently and actually really enjoyed this book a lot!

This series has turned into a real winner for me!  Two books in and I'm definitely planning on reading the third...just as soon as it comes out that is.  I still think that the first book was my favorite so far but this was a really great follow-up.  It also really got me in the mood for winter with all of the talk about snowstorms and snow.  I love the snow so I'm more than ready for winter to hit although I will take fall weather any day!  I can easily recommend this book but do read Inherit the Bones first to get the full reading experience.  Highly recommended!

Bottom Line:  Another great addition to this series which has become a favorite of mine!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.      

A Season to Lie releases on November 14th!