"Mind of Winter"

"Mind of Winter"
Written by Laura Kasischke
Reviewed by Diana Iozzia


"Mind of Winter" is an incredibly written horror and thriller novel. A new author to me, I found
Laura Kisischke's writing to be fascinating and intriguing, making simple and mundane scenes entangled with bizarre details that convince us that not all is right.

The story begins on the morning of Christmas Day, following Holly, mother of Tatiana. We learn in two parallels, the memories of when Holly and Eric adopted Tatiana, compared to the current day of Tatiana's increasingly odd behavior. In addition, we also are told of some very bizarre events that have occurred in the years since Tatty's adoption. They include: the injury of the pet cat, scratched CDs, chickens attacking the hen, and other strange events. Holly awakes and finds her daughter wide awake, upset that Holly had slept in. Eric had left earlier in the day to pick up his parents from the airport.

As the morning continues, Tatty's behavior increases in its intensity, causing her to fight with her mother. She's erratic and wild, running and screaming in a maniacal manner. Due to the anger and sadness shown by both mother and daughter, we begin to wonder if one of them is disturbed, or both of them. The book causes the reader to change its alliances often, suspicious of both characters. In addition, certain moments of the day set off red flags. They include: a phone flying and breaking, an unusual rotten fruit smell, Tatty's frequent clothing changes, and a bit of radio silence from Eric, caught in a blizzard.

The events of this story cause the narrative to shift frequently, causing the reader to be unsure if insanity is at play, or if supernatural events could be occurring. Who is in danger? Reminding me of "I Am Thinking of Ending Things" and "Orphan", I was very impressed by the surreal and confusing characters and events.

This shorter yet effective story builds to an unusual and unpredictable reveal. I cannot say that I found the reveal to be absolutely incredible, but I did find myself awestruck and shocked. Then, we also are revealed a second major twist involving the final police report. Wow. I believe that the second twist surpassed the first, which truly cemented this novel as a great thriller and horror story.

In conclusion, I truly loved this book. I think that it is incredibly underrated and should be recognized by many other readers. I can imagine that this might be in the top 15 books of the year for me. I can tell that this is a new favorite. I will continue to tell other readers and reviewers about this book for many years to come. I highly recommend it for every aspect that this author created. I cannot wait to look into more literature written by Laura Kasischke.