Generally, when I finish a book, I know immediately that I liked the book or was not a fan. I do not think I have found a book, that I have not at least appreciated. So needless to say, I at least appreciated the book for what is was. When I finished, The Last Winter of Dani Lancing, I sat for a few moments pondering about my reaction to the book. of course, knowing that the publisher and other potential reads would want to know my thoughts of this book. I think I have come to the conclusion, I need to read the book again to determine my level of liking the book.
The Last Winter of Dani Lancing, is about Dani Lancing, who goes missing after Christmas break while in college. Twenty years, after her death, the case is still unsolved, her parents are divorced and her mom is a wreck. Her dad sees Dani’s spirit and converses with her as if she is still alive.
Dani falls into hard times due to experimenting with drugs during her first year of college. Her father is the only one in her family that finds out about this.
The author uses flash backs in the book. However, the flashbacks are not in sequential order and often times become confusing. The author does list, at the start of the chapter, the date, the event is occurring. I found myself often times referring back to previous chapters to determine how the events were falling into place. For the longest part of the book, I thought the spirit of Dani was the real person. I feel, I may have missed some subtle hints, eluding to her being a spirit.
I feel the book has potential but needs some more work. I felt the ending was very drawn out. I think it could have either had more action or took up less of the book. The book is supposed to be a murder mystery, but the end seemed like people were sitting around talking about how the crime occurred. Much of the forensics was lacking detail. In one part of the book, the character mentions that the body was washed. The forensics team, should have been able to determine that the body was washed.
I would like to hear feedback from others, on your thoughts of the book.
Books by Sarah Goffman 