A Season to Lie by Emily Littlejohn

About the book: (from the publisher) In Emily Littlejohn’s follow-up to her acclaimed debut Inherit the Bones, a twisted killer stalks his prey in the dead of winter.

On a cold dark night in February, as a blizzard shrieks through Cedar Valley, police officer and new mother Gemma Monroe responds to an anonymous report of a prowler at the local private high school, The Valley Academy. In her idyllic Colorado small town, Gemma expects the call was just a prank by a bored teenager.

But there in the snow lies the savaged body of a man whose presence in town was meant to be a secret. And a disturbing message left by his killer promises more death to come.

This is only the beginning . . .

Nothing is as it seems in Cedar Valley and stories, both fact and fiction, ensnare Gemma as her investigation moves from the halls of an elite academy to the forests that surround Cedar Valley.

Against a backdrop of bleak winter weather, stymied by those who would lie to protect what is dearest to them, Gemma hunts a ruthless killer before he strikes again in A Season to Lie.

About the author: Emily Littlejohn was born and raised in southern California and now lives in Colorado. If she’s not writing, reading, or working at the local public library, she’s enjoying the mountains with her husband and sweet old dog. She has a deep love of horror stories, butter pecan ice cream, and road trips. A Season to Lie is her second novel, following Inherit the Bones.

Connect with the author: Website | Facebook | Instagram |

Genre: Fiction/Mystery

[bctt tweet=”Perfect wintry mystery, masterfully written: A SEASON TO LIE by Emily Littlejohn.” username=”KatherineSJones”]

My take: In A Season to Lie, Emily Littlejohn has created my kind of mystery, spot-on in surprising detail with a keen eye for dialogue and one-of-a-kind characters. Hers is a twisty tale with well-crafted metaphors finely threaded throughout, written with an almost poetic grace, the kind that makes me as a writer start taking notes. Lines like these:

“Something sinister crawled out of that grin and slid across my skin like a frayed scrap of silk, soft and lingering, then gone.”

“His voice was like butter melting on a hot steak; it was that smooth.”

Nice, right?

In Gemma Monroe I found a flawed character to root for; in her story I found a certain grittiness (including some language), but also a few unexpected high notes of faith.

Expertly paced and plotted, a line of just-right tension and unanswered questions drew me relentlessly forward to a satisfying end, leaving just enough unresolved issues to prompt my eagerness for what’s next in this intriguing series. All of which is to say, I’m hooked.

Thanks to Minotaur Books for providing me this book free of charge. All opinions are mine.

Buy it here. 

After words: What mysteries await you on your shelf this winter?