4.5 stars What a nice change of pace book of thought pieces about winter, often rooted in the author's fond memories of her childhood in Fife. The winter celebrations, the family traditions, the hearty food, the wildlife and how things have evolved over the past 50+ years. Quite a range of subjects, all attached to the season, including the author's use of the cold, forbidding days outdoors to marshal her notes and thoughts together for her next work. Every segment interesting. I was especially taken with comparing her childhood experience of stormy winter days with mine in the same years. Scotland is one of my favorite settings and yet, surprisingly, I don't think I'd read a Val McDermid book until this one. Now I know I'll have to remedy that. I was quite taken with her writing style. Thanks to Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

This is a very easy and most rewarding read. In a series of short essays, beloved Scottish crime writer Val McDermid takes a trip down memory lane to relive some of her most heartwarming experiences of winter, from the frosty scenery to local traditions to the succession of winter celebrations (all the way from Halloween to Hogmanay). Scotland is far enough north that winter is a big deal, and this book invites the reader to experience the warmth and the cold of the ending of the old year and the beginning of the new. There are some beautiful illustrations by Philip Harris throughout the book to add to the atmosphere. This book would make an excellent Christmas gift.