by Sarah Jio
First published 2012
Vera Ray works the night shift at a Seattle hotel in 1933. She returns home one May morning to find heavy snow blanketing the city and her young son Daniel missing. Only his stuffed toy remains in a snowdrift as proof he existed. Vera vows to find Daniel no matter what it takes. Decades later, journalist Claire Aldridge reluctantly covers a modern May snowstorm that paralyzes the same city. While researching in the archives, she discovers records of the 1933 storm and the child who disappeared during it. The old case resonates with Claire because of her own family struggles. As she digs deeper into Vera's story, Claire realizes the past and present are connected in ways she never imagined. Her investigation becomes more than just a news story. It becomes her chance to heal old wounds and save her own family from falling apart.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, contemporary, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Seattle
Period: 1933, Modern Day
286 pages · Paperback · Penguin Publishing Group