No matter the genre, books set during winter are often full of mystery. Maybe that’s because the days are getting shorter, and darkness seems to reign. Or perhaps it’s because of the eerie quiet that snow brings. With books like these, you won’t have to don your snow gear to get a taste of winter. Pick up one of these twelve chilly reads and experience the season from the warm comfort of your reading nook.
Mystery
If you’re a mystery reader, you’re no stranger to books with snowy backdrops. Scandinavian crime novels, like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the rest of the Millennium series by Stieg Larsson, pair cold settings with icy-hearted villains. Jo Nesbø, another author of Scandinavian noir novels, writes dark crime novels in a similar vein.
Literary Fiction
For fans of classics and literary fiction, there is a wealth of wintry tales. Much of Russian literature, from War and Peace to Doctor Zhivago, features ever-present snow falling in the background. American literary fiction leans on snowy settings, too. Winter’s Bone, by Daniel Woodrell, paints a frigid picture of the crime-riddle Ozarks, and Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson, is a luminous coming-of-age story set near a glacial lake called Fingerbone.
History
If historical books are more your speed, there are plenty to choose from. Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier, gives a chilly portrait of the South during the Civil War, and Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, drops readers into King Henry VIII’s court.
