Mind of Winter: A Novel

Marc Notes: On a snowy Christmas morning, Holly Judge awakens, the fragments of a nightmare--something she must write down--floating on the edge of her consciousness. Something followed them from Russia. On another Christmas morning thirteen years ago, she and her husband Eric were in Siberia to meet the sweet, dark-haired Rapunzel they desperately wanted. How they laughed at the nurses of Pokrovka Orphanage #2 with their garlic and their superstitions, and ignored their gentle warnings. After all, their fairy princess Tatiana--baby Tatty--was perfect. As the snow falls, enveloping the world in its white silence, Holly senses that something is not right, has not been right in the years since they brought their daughter--now a dangerously beautiful, petulant, sometimes erratic teenager--home. There is something evil inside this house. Inside themselves. How else to explain the accidents, the seemingly random and banal misfortunes. Trixie, the cat. The growth on Eric's hand. Sally the hen, their favorite, how the other chickens turned on her. The housekeeper, that ice, a bad fall. The CDs scratched, every one. But Holly must not think of these things. She and Tatiana are all alone. Eric is stuck on the roads and none of their guests will be able to make it through the snow. With each passing hour, the blizzard rages and Tatiana's mood darkens, her behavior becoming increasingly disturbing and frightening. Until, in every mother's worst nightmare, Holly finds she no longer recognizes her daughter--; Provided by publisher. Review Quotes: "It is not enough to say that Kasischke's language is 'poetic' . . . [T]he language catapults us into another plane of existence, one of facade and reflection."--New York Times Book ReviewBrief Description: "On a snowy Christmas morning, Holly Judge awakens, the fragments of a nightmare--something she must write down--floating on the edge of her consciousness. Something followed them from Russia. On another Christmas morning thirteen years ago, she and her husband Eric were in Siberia to meet the sweet, dark-haired Rapunzel they desperately wanted. How they laughed at the nurses of Pokrovka Orphanage #2 with their garlic and their superstitions, and ignored their gentle warnings. After all, their fairy princess Tatiana--baby Tatty--was perfect. As the snow falls, enveloping the world in its white silence, Holly senses that something is not right, has not been right in the years since they brought their daughter--now a dangerously beautiful, petulant, sometimes erratic teenager--home. There is something evil inside this house. Inside themselves. How else to explain the accidents, the seemingly random and banal misfortunes. Trixie, the cat. The growth on Eric's hand. Sally the hen, their favorite, how the other chickens turned on her. The housekeeper, that ice, a bad fall. The CDs scratched, every one. But Holly must not think of these things. She and Tatiana are all alone. Eric is stuck on the roads and none of their guests will be able to make it through the snow. With each passing hour, the blizzard rages and Tatiana's mood darkens, her behavior becoming increasingly disturbing and frightening. Until, in every mother's worst nightmare, Holly finds she no longer recognizes her daughter"--Review Quotes: "A genuinely disturbing tale, each layer perfectly crafted, stacked together like a set of Russian nesting dolls, the tiniest one at the center the horrific secret that everything else depends upon.... Both a masterwork of evocative prose and a bone-chilling page-turner."--Jennifer McMahon, New York Times-bestselling author of The Winter PeopleReview Quotes: "If I could stand on a mountaintop and shout over the land, I would do it now: This book is magnificent! It's a gripping psychological thriller, at once both charmingly domestic and flat-out terrifying. Laura Kasischke writes so well that she leaves me inspired and very, very jealous."--Elin Hilderbrand, author of Beautiful DayReview Quotes: "Thought-provoking and chilling, MIND OF WINTER will have you looking over your shoulder as you tear through the pages to the shocking and heartbreaking conclusion. It will leave you questioning not only what is real, but also what it means to be a good mother."--Kimberly McCreight, New York Times-bestselling author of Reconstructing AmeliaReview Quotes: "Leave-the-lights-on-tonight frightening, with a quiet edge of horror that is much more effective than gore."--NPRReview Quotes: "A terrifying brew of family drama and horror... The awesome ending doesn't disappoint."--Entertainment WeeklyReview Quotes: "Shocking."--Vogue.comReview Quotes: "Impossible to put down."--BookPageReview Quotes: "MIND OF WINTER is a tightly coiled story of suffocating love and undeniable horror. Its grip is remarkably chilling, masterfully poetic, and psychologically unrelenting."--Ivy Pochoda, author of Visitation StreetReview Quotes: "A book that will haunt you for days and long, long nights after reading."--Booklist (starred review) Review Quotes: "A nightmare-inducing domestic mystery... Kasischke knows that what lurks hidden in the shadows is scarier than any monster we can see. She also knows that, scared as we may be, we can't resist a peek."--Boston GlobeReview Quotes: "An unknown horror hovers just out of reach in this gripping psychological thriller... Kasischke skillfully mixes an insightful look at a damaged woman with a twisty plot that builds to a shocking ending."--Publishers WeeklyPublisher Marketing: Something had followed them from Russia. It was thirteen years ago that Holly and her husband, Eric, went to Siberia to adopt the sweet, dark-haired child they wanted so desperately. How they laughed at the nurses of Pokrovka Orphanage #2, with their garlic and superstitions, and ignored their insistent warnings. After all, their fairy princess Tatiana--Baby Tatty--was perfect. As the snow falls, enveloping the world in its white silence, Holly senses that something is not right, and has never been right in the years since they brought their daughter home. She and Tatiana are alone. Eric is stuck on the roads, and none of the other guests for Christmas dinner will be able to make it through the snow. With each passing hour, the blizzard rages and Tatiana's mood darkens, her behavior becoming increasingly disturbing . . . until, in every mother's worst nightmare, Holly finds she no longer recognizes her daughter. Review Citations: Library Journal Prepub Alert 11/01/2013 pg. 68 (EAN 9780062284396, Hardcover) Library Journal 11/15/2013 pg. 84 (EAN 9780062284396, Hardcover) Booklist 12/01/2013 pg. 27 (EAN 9780062284396, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Publishers Weekly 12/23/2013 (EAN 9780062284396, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2014 (EAN 9780062284396, Hardcover) Entertainment Weekly 04/11/2014 pg. 4 (EAN 9780062284396, Hardcover) New York Times Book Review 06/01/2014 pg. 19 (EAN 9780062284396, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Kasischke, Laura Laura Kasischke teaches in the MFA program at the University of Michigan. A winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for poetry, she has published eight collections of poetry and ten novels, three of which have been made into films, including The Life Before Her Eyes.