The Ski Trip - Now Death in the Snowed in Resort - by Sarah Clarke
- Published on
- Shalini
- in Book Posts, Book Reviews, Digital Reads Media, Digital Reads Reviews, Fiction
Table of Contents
Blurb
The Ski Trip
A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT…
Four friends go to the Alps on a boys’ skiing holiday. But their trip is cut short when one of them falls to his death.
Zoe travels to France with Ivy to collect Tom’s body. But while Zoe is consumed by grief, Ivy starts to question everything.
OR COLD-BLOODED MURDER?
The slope Tom fell from wasn’t dangerous, and tensions between the group were at breaking point in the days before his death.
But if Ivy’s suspicions are correct, Tom was killed by one of his closest friends. And they are still in the chalet…
Publication Date: September, 2023
Book Links
My Review
What was The Ski Trip all about
The Ski Trip by author Sarah Clarke is a standalone thriller that was both intriguing and had the locked place trope. I was filled with curiosity to decipher the secret between five friends and get to the identity of the killer when one of them is pushed down the ski slopes.
Different personalities with snippets of past and present had me racing down the pages of the book. Tom died on the slopes during a storm, but his other two friends had a few secrets up their sleeves.
When wife Zoe and best friend Ivy arrive to collect his body, it was up to Ivy to solve the puzzle that was Tom’s death. You see, Ivy dealt with facts and loved puzzles. And nothing about his death was matching up.
The Hook
Trigger Warnings: violence on women was a side note in this book. One such scene shocked me, but didn’t trigger me. Whew.
The book kept me hooked right until the end, though I have to admit certain sections caused my attention to waver. Hence the 4 stars.
The barebones of the story seemed to have a sense of familiarity attached to it, but the author had filled it up with enough lines that I was completely unsure about the statements of the characters.
Who was telling the truth? All or no one?
The Characters
Quite a contrast in the characteristics in all the five characters were shown. The men had egos, the women were shown to be softer. But each was going through their own struggles in life while studying. So, that was the THEN part.
The NOW section had the men being furtive in their real lives. So that helped me in casting my doubts on all of them. You bet they were all in my suspect list.
The Intricacies of The Ski Trip
The main plot line had a feeling of familiarity to it, though there was enough meat in the story to keep me guessing. The final perp took me unaware. I certainly didn’t expect that.
Dual POVs were embedded in the story, though I kept supporting only Ivy because she seemed to be the one who was telling me the truth, even when she tell me the complete truth.
The last few chapters felt slightly hurried, maybe because of twists and action, but the epilogue both made me aghast and thoughtful. Did the story really need one, or was it a marketing strategy. Nonetheless, I had come to expect such twists in the last page of the book.
A MINI SPOILER ALERT
I can’t have a child. It hurts, definitely, but adding that into the book and making women turn into b1tch3s was not needed. That was so passé. We could definitely show women stronger than that. That made me shake my head and go “Uh-oh.”
The Setting
The Alps were beautifully described in the Ski Trip. I found the lines vivid and quite immersive. I have never skied and found the information given to me not so easy to decipher. But all those amongst you who ski often would understand the moves and slopes of skiing.
The cold winds and brittle cold were realistic. I had to admit I felt I was right there, wanting hot chocolate with a shot of vodka to warm me up. I know that’s a bad combination, but have you done it? Chocolate + vodka shots?
The atmosphere was maintained right until the last chapter of the book with the frozen pond and precarious situation.
The Pace
In the mid-section of the book, at some moments, I felt the information given to me felt to be slightly repetitive. I got the idea of what happened to Tom and the circumstances around it.
Steady pace was this book with bursts of fast moments, nothing dragged but some scenes felt familiar, already done in another book.
The style of writing - The Prose of The Ski Trip
I think I have enjoyed Sarah Clarke’s books, though I don’t remember reviewing it on the blog. I would say the author has skills and knows how to keep the readers engaged. But with only 41reviews, this book probably needed better marketing by the publishers. I have not seen it much on the social media too.
I would buy this author’s books since her writing was solid and though predictable, she had a few twists up her sleeve that were explosive.
How it made me feel
I actually enjoyed the book. A couple of secrets could be predicted due to the vibes given by the characters. But the perp had my jaw dropping. The reasons for the murder had me slack-jawed for another reason. The epilogue was the cherry over the cake.
I was happy for the hours of escape I received with this book.
Do I recommend The Ski Trip?
A solid thriller with good worldbuilding of the Alps. Well recommended
Get it from your library and jump into its pages with no expectations. You will enjoy it.
Check out the other books available on Amazon.
I downloaded the digital version of the book from an online retail, and this is my journey down its pages, straight from the heart. STRICTLY HONEST and UNBIASED.
If you’ve loved the review, buy me a cuppa to perk me up.
Check out my other posts here
