Chris Mooney: The Snowgirls, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House UK,  9781405932530, paperback, pub date November 15,2018

(He is published in German but no publication yet for this brand new novel)

I rate Chris Mooney as one of the best psychological thriller writers working today, having read a few of his Darby Mc Cormick books. “The Snowgirls” is one of his bests in my opinion; the plot is tight and leaves room for various outcomes until the very end. The author reserves the resolution until the last pages which makes it a gripping, fast paced read, I had no clue how it would end for a very long time.

Chris Mooney uses the current topic of pedophile priests in the US as his storyline. It has been a while since Claire Flynne disappeared while sledding on a neighborhood Belham hill. Investigator Darby Mc Cormick, with a Harvard PhD as a forensic psychologist, is called in as an expert by police investigator Kennedy when he is assigned to cold cases. The key suspect had been Father Richard Bryne, who was also linked to two previous disappearances of young girls. The police were never able to come up with enough evidence to pin him to a court case. The case has a personal connections for Darby as none other than her first love Mickey Flynne is the father of missing Claire. His life has been completely destroyed after his child vanished. When Darby interviews the now defrocked Father Bryne, she learns he is terminally ill having only weeks to live. He is anything from repentant, quite to the contrary he has some disturbing information for Darby and seems to glee in it. It becomes very clear that some powerful connections are willing to do anything to prevent Darby and the police from digging up the disappearance of the three snowgirls.

If you are looking for a gripping thriller with lots of twists and turns that will keep you on your couch for a rainy November weekend, this would be an excellent choice.