Cover of Snow

First-time author Jenny Milchman, a Montclair native now living in Morristown, sets Cover of Snow (Ballantine Books) in a cryptically named small town in upstate New York. Fictional Wedeskyull has one streetlight, an eight-month winter and plenty of secrets.

When Nora Hamilton discovers that her husband, a respected officer on the Wedeskyull force, has hung himself on a January night, her grief threatens to overwhelm her will to unearth what led to his fatal decision. Cover of Snow is reminiscent of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, in that both novels unravel a mysterious death in a small town, where stubborn relatives and heavy snows help conceal the crimes.

Milchman’s ability to weave suspense rivals that of established authors. Every chapter ends with a strategic cliffhanger, revealing another unexpected clue and propelling the reader deeper into the plot.