Chills by Mary Sangiovanni

Author:  Mary Sangiovanni
Publisher: Lyrical Underground (Kensington)
Date of publication: September 2016

It begins with a freak snowstorm in May. Hit hardest is the rural town of Colby, Connecticut. Schools and businesses are closed, powerlines are down, and police detective Jack Glazier has found a body in the snow. It appears to be the victim of a bizarre ritual murder. It won't be the last. As the snow piles up, so do the sacrifices. Cut off from the rest of the world, Glazier teams up with an occult crime specialist to uncover a secret society hiding in their midst.

The gods they worship are unthinkable. The powers they summon are unstoppable. And the things they will do to the good people of Colby are utterly, horribly unspeakable… 

I have to admit that I started this book 3 times before I finally got past the first chapter.  I am glad that I gave it more than one chance.  Chills ended up being a fairly enjoyable horror novel.  I was pleasantly surprised.  In the story, it's almost June and the small town of Colby, CT is having a massive blizzard.  A body is found that has cult symbols carved into it.  People start seeing things dangerous in the snow. A small police task force has to find out what is going on before it's too late.

I have read some comments that this book reminded some readers of something they would see on the SciFy channel.  I have to agree with them.  It's like a guilty pleasure b-horror movie.  Once you get past the first chapter, the book takes off and becomes very fast paced.  It's creepy and is definitely kind of gruesome. I enjoyed the pacing and the way the background information was parsed out.  There were no huge info dumps to slow things down.

I liked all of the main characters from the police task force, especially Kathy and Teagan. There was some nice relationship possibilities between the two. I'll admit I was happy that the author decided not to add in the trope of a sex scene in the middle of chaos.  So often that happens and I can't understand who in their right mind would take the time to have sex when there is imminent danger around.   Along with them, there are other characters introduced along the way.  You never know who will be safe and who won't survive.  I'm not going to talk plot really, because I don't want to give away any spoilers.  The twist toward the end was a nice surprise.

If you are in the mood for a fun horror book, I do recommend this one. There is another book featuring Kathy coming out next month.  I'm looking forward to reading Behind the Door.