Winter's Cry (DI Winter Meadows #7) by Cheryl Rees-Price

Winter's Cry (DI Winter Meadows #7) Reviews

• 
  Lavins

  2 stars
  
  By far my least favourite one in this series.
  It is extremely repetitive and they keep going in circles over and over again, saying the same stuff.
  As other pointed out, far too many characters which also change names so it becomes very hard to track who was who and did what.
  
  The ending is a stretch.
• 
  Audrey

  As with all the others this is a well written story. I highly recommend this series !
• 
  Ridel

  My Cry of Anguish
  
  Just like before, I would suggest fans avoid the back of the book before reading Winter’s Cry. I highly recommend the novel, and the remainder of this review will assume you’re aware of the back cover’s minor spoilers.
  
  The author appears to have taken a second stab at The Silent Quarry. Her debut novel had several weaknesses, but Winter’s Cry provides her a second opportunity at an event of personal consequence to our hero. Intimate crimes often lead to authority figures acting stereotypically, and there are instances where the typical Hollywood tropes rear their ugly head. On the bright side, a lot of that drama is solved in a mature and realistic manner, and the author deftly explores Winter’s past in far superior scenes to the hamfisted flashbacks of Beth and Gwen in the first novel.
  
  The change to the police procedural is also a refreshing change of pace, as our hero is now a victim, taken off the case and isolated from his coworkers. Forced to approach the mystery as an outsider, he leverages different skills as we dive deeper than ever into the lives of persons of interest. With so much detail, we face the most complex and twisted mystery thus far.
  
  Winter’s Cry is beyond convoluted. I resorted to drawing a web of relationships to keep all the characters straight. Cheryl Rees-Price has always excelled at gritty and flawed motivations, and adding those emotions to the quagmire of interconnections between a dozen characters left me faffing about trying to solve the mystery. It is solvable! But unless you have the patience to build your own investigative whiteboard, I suspect the plot twists will keep you in suspense until the end.
  
  Being the seventh in the series, I appreciate the variation on the Winter Meadows formula. Combined with the most difficult mystery to date, Winter’s Cry is joined by my own, as I give up trying to outwit the author.
  
  Highly Recommended.
  
  The following is in spoiler tags, and I say so since some Goodreads clients may not respect it. You’ve been warned:
  
  I had a lot of trouble keeping Kern and Jerome’s storylines separate, as their pasts are similar overall, and then they switched names. This resulted in paragraphs of confusion as often I couldn’t remember which person did what, and who was being discussed at the time. This alone doubled the effort in attacking the mystery.
  
  I was also quite close to solving the crime at about the 75% mark, though certainly, the novel assists by striking out persons of interest the further into the novel you read (Iggy’s real name let me strike him off the board). The revelation that there were three historical crimes, Kern and Jerome’s original sins, as well as the first corpse’s murder, was quite devious since there was information provided in the context of events that were mundane at the time, but a few chapters later, were relevant because the crime had changed.
  
  This is a common problem for real-life detective work as well. Often new information arises that requires good detectives to revisit their assumptions and even their investigative techniques (previously friendly interactions should have been approached combatively). This piece of classic misdirection fooled me into identifying the wrong suspect.
  
• 
  Elaine

  I have read and enjoyed all the DI Winter Meadows books, set in Wales. The location and local customs in rural Wales make the books even more interesting to me and Winter Meadows is a complex and fascinating characters. In this book, the crime involves the commune where Winter and his brother grew up and he is deemed too close to the case. Of course that doesn't stop him. The seemingly peaceful commune has many secrets and most of the founding members (the "old") came there to start over and hide from the public. Winter learns many things about his deceased father that he didn't really want to know. The only reason for the 4 stars is that the plot is very complicated and convoluted, with multi identities for several of the characters. It makes the story a little hard to follow but the plot is unique and fascinating all the same and I will wait for the next installment.
• 
  Robert Crouch

  As a fan of this excellent series, I enjoyed being back with Winter Meadows and his team. Only he isn’t a part of the team this time, after a body is found buried in woodland. The land belongs to the commune where he’s spent much of his life. As the murdered man could be his father, he steps away from the investigation. But members of the commune still view him as a police officer and remain suspicious.
  
  It’s the start of a twisting, baffling story that goes to the heart of the commune, the main players there and Winter’s family. Some people are not who they seem to be. Some people are keeping secrets about past events and crimes they committed.
  
  But the danger is definitely in the present, as the death of a respected member of the commune causes more confusion and fear.
  
  Could Winter also be in danger?
  
  While more personal than previous books in the series, the insights into Winter’s life and past are fascinating. It develops into an intriguing read that builds from a gentle start into a complex story that keeps you guessing. With no real leads, and more questions than answers, nothing is as it seems until Winter’s own investigation makes the connections that lead to a solution.
  
  If you enjoy crime stories that are a little different from the usual, take some time to get to know this series, which continues to entertain and intrigue with each book.
  
  Highly recommended.
• 
  Maggie

  When a body is found on land belonging to the Commune where DI Winter Meadows grew up he knows he will have to step back a bit. However when suspicion seems to be coming close to home & the senior members of the group are only really willing to talk openly to Winter, it looks like this is going to be a tricky case.
  
  This was a twisty whodunit that, just when you thought you knew what was what another surprise appeared. I loved the setting & found the characters easy to become involved with. It was a great read. I can't believe DI Winter Meadows has slipped under my radar & this is book seven in the series. I'll definitely be looking out for the next one. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.
• 
  Erik Empson

  This was an intriguing installment in the series as we learn more about the engimatic detective Winter Meadows' past, which clearly wasn't as rosy as we might have expected it to be. We travel to the commune where he grew up when a body is found near by, and the story takes a dark turn when we find out the personal connection. A gripping read.
• 
  Amanda Giles

  I enjoy this series from Cheryl, a local Welsh author. This story gave me a deeper understanding of Winter Meadows, and his childhood in the commune. Lots of mystery and a bit of confusion, but I enjoyed it. (Library)
• 
  Nancy

  I have enjoyed this series very much so far, but this one is definitely my least favorite. Too many characters with multiple names, poor detective work, and pretty boring overall. Hope the next one is better.
• 
  aprilla

  I will continue the series
• 
  Jay0354

  The most ridiculous plot yet, name and identity switching.
  A very confusing menagerie of characters, a rather stupid story.
• 
  Victoria Metcalf

  This was my first read of one of Cheryl Rees-Price's novels. I liked this book quite a bit. Thank you for writing it and entertaining me for a few hours!
• 
  vicki Anderson

  Really good story and always keeps you guessing