“The Snow Lies Deep” and perhaps nowhere deeper than in a small village in rural Vermont at Christmas. Paula Munier takes us right into the heart of the small, picturesque town of Northshire as the town celebrates the holiday season in grand style. The village is hosting the “Solstice Soirée,” “twelve days of eating, drinking, and making merry, beginning on the winter solstice and continuing through Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and Christmas right on to New Year’s Day.”
As we visit the festivities with main character Mercy and her nine-month-old daughter Felicity, we can practically smell the pine, the roasting chestnuts, and the steaming hot cocoa. There are festive lights everywhere, and there’s even a Christmas market on the town commons selling all kinds of gifts and food.
However, from the very beginning, we know that there is a dark underside to Northshire. We are privy to one death that is described, but we don’t know when it happened or who was killed. And then, as Mercy waits for Felicity to meet Santa, the mystery begins. The usual Santa, a very jolly guy, has been temporarily replaced by the town mayor, Lazlo Ford, who is too tall, too skinny, and too timid to make a decent facsimile Santa. It’s when he takes a phone call, all but dumps the child sitting on his lap and disappears into the crowd, that the mystery is afoot.
Mercy senses that something is awry and follows him, aided by her retired military dog Elvis. But by the time they find Laz, he’s been killed, and bizarrely, a Yule log has been placed on his abdomen and lit. Soon, there’s another death. At the same time, Mercy’s husband Troy, a warden with Vermont Fish and Wildlife, is tracking a poacher. Munier shares in gruesome detail how poachers disregard any semblance of humanity when they kill wild animals, endangered or not, indiscriminately.
Along the way, we are treated to the complete cast of characters that readers of the series have met in previous novels. There’s Daniel Feinberg, the billionaire who is also Mercy’s employer at times. Mercy’s mother, Grace, and her father, both successful attorneys, dress impeccably, and her mother runs the Solstice Soirée. Grace is determined that the murders not mar the event, and toward that goal, she asks Mercy to find the killer.
Welcome to a world where those in Mercy’s circle all dress to the nines in cashmere and tweeds. The parties are elegant, and silk dresses and jackets are the norm. Mercy and Troy are determined to make their daughter’s first Christmas a special one, and both their mothers help decorate their home, Grackle Tree Farm, in splendid holiday fashion inside and out. Mercy’s family is treated to decorators and caterers as their home is transformed into a veritable winter wonderland.
There are druids, standing stones, endangered animals, evangelical zealots, Eastern European people — some of whom live in town and some who are clearly visiting with nefarious intent, parties, fragrant baked goods, and more dead bodies. Most of the dead bodies are the victims of the poacher, but too many are of the human variety. And it’s up to Mercy to determine why it’s happening.
The Mercy Carr series mysteries are filled with atmospheric details regardless of the season, and in this Christmas tale, the setting is especially important. Even those who hate winter and long for warm sun and sand might be tempted to visit Northshire during the holiday. Everything — except the murders, of course — just seems so lovely. Enjoy a vicarious visit to Vermont, be stumped by the murders and wonder how it all connects, and become a part of the ongoing story of Mercy’s life when you read this clever mystery.
This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.