SHIVER | Allie Reynolds
10.27.2020 | G.P. Putnam & Sons
Rating: 4/5 stars
When Milla accepts an off-season invitation to Le Rocher, a cozy ski resort in the French Alps, she’s expecting an intimate weekend of catching up with four old friends. It might have been a decade since she saw them last, but she’s never forgotten the bond they forged on this very mountain during a winter spent fiercely training for an elite snowboarding competition. The resort is deserted. The cable cars that delivered them to the mountaintop have stopped working. Their cell phones–missing. And inside the hotel, detailed instructions await them: an icebreaker game, designed to draw out their secrets.
Calling all fans of locked room mysteries! This one’s for you!
It’s no secret that I absolutely adore a locked room mystery book. There’s something about a snowy setting that makes them even more intriguing for me, so when I heard about Shiver a few years ago, I knew I wanted to pick up a copy eventually and I’m so thankful I did!
Shiver is told through alternating timelines, one featuring present day and one slowly unraveling the events of 10 years prior. These timelines bind together Milla and her former friends into a deadly web of secrets. I loved getting to know each of the characters through Milla’s eyes and then watching their interactions. These friends are ruthless and not one’s I think I would want to hang out with anytime soon. The setting of a seemingly abandoned ski resort deep in the snowy French Alps aided in adding an overall sense of tension throughout the story.
In addition to a fun cast of characters and an atmospheric setting, Reynolds does a phenomenal job of slowly planting the truth for the reader and her characters to put together. Each revelation felt natural and each added to the progression of the plot. I was able to guess parts of the story, but I never felt that taking away from my interest or commitment to finishing the book. I really enjoyed Reynolds’ writing and I’ve already added her book, The Swell, to my shopping cart!
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