Blackthorn Winter:
A Murder Mystery
by Kathryn Reiss

    BLACKTHORN WINTER by Kathryn Reiss
    Category:  Mystery/Thriller
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 6+
    Release Date:  10/1/07
    Publisher:  Harcourt
    Reviewed by:  coollibrarianchick
    Rating:  4 Stars


    Fans of the Nancy Drew stories will enjoy this latest book by Kathryn Reiss. BLACKTHORN WINTER is a
    well-written “who done it?” mystery that leaves you wondering until the very end.

    Blackthorn is a perfect place for a mystery to take place. It is a damp, gloomy town in England, an artist’s colony
    with some very interesting residents. All the residents seem to be busybodies, knowing a little too much gossip and
    happenings in the town. It’s a far cry from sunny California, where Juliana and her family used to live.

    Her mom, facing a crumbling marriage and wanting to explore her artistic roots further, made Juliana and her
    brother and sister move to England with her. The adjustment wasn’t easy – she was away from her Dad, her
    friends, and everything else she knew. England, at least where she was, didn’t look like any of the pictures in the
    calendar Mom bought her. Even worse, Juliana had a constant nagging feeling that something wasn’t right.

    The book has two mysteries intertwined together. The first mystery that has to be solved is finding the murderer of
    Liza Pethering. As you delve further into the book you will discover that finding the culprit is easier said than done.
    The person arrested is the easy choice, but not particularly the right choice. The second mystery has to deal with
    Juliana’s past, which has to be unraveled so she can move forward. At five years old, Juliana joined the Martin-
    Drake family. Ever since she was little, Juliana has had trouble with recalling memories of her past. It seems that
    she can’t remember anything before she was five.

    Did something happen to her to make her repress the memories? Are the two mysteries tied together somehow?
    All she knows is that she must solve both of them before another person, maybe herself, becomes the next victim.