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Winter Mysteries
280 Plays11 months ago
Snow and darkness are the hallmarks of winter (at least in the Northern Hemisphere). They are also perfect for setting up an intriguing mystery. In this episode, Brook and Sarah discuss what makes a great winter mystery and a few of their favourites.
Discussed
And Then There Were None (1939) Agatha Christie
Murder On the Orient Express (1934) Agatha Christie
The Sittaford Mystery (1931) Agatha Christie
In a Dark, Dark Wood (2015) Ruth Ware
One by One (2020) Ruth Ware
The Hunting Party (2018) Lucy Foley
An Unwanted Guest (2018) Shari Lapena
The Sanatorium (2020) Sarah Pearse
Death and the Dancing Footman (1941) Ngaio Marsh
Midwinter Murder: Fireside Mysteries from the Queen of Crime (2020) Agatha Christie
Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries (2017) ed. Martin Edwards
Dead of Winter (1987) Arthur Penn (director)
The Woman in Red (1941) Anthony Gilbert
Trapped (2016- 2021)
"Has an Old Soviet Mystery at Last Been Solved?" New Yorker (May 10, 2021) Douglas Preston
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Transcript
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Transcript
Introduction to Winter Mysteries
00:00:11
Speaker
Welcome to Clued in Mystery. I'm Sarah. And I'm Brooke and we both love mystery. Hi Brooke. Hi Sarah. I'm sitting here recording with you looking out at a little skiff of snow and the sky is pretty dark today. It feels a little mysterious.
Winter Settings in Mysteries
00:00:31
Speaker
Well, that's perfect because that's what we're talking about today is mysteries set in the winter. And many of us rest and spend a little bit more time indoors during the winter and the colder, darker nights are perfect settings for mysteries.
00:00:47
Speaker
In today's episode, we're going to discuss some of our favorite mysteries set in the winter. So it's winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, although this year, at least on the west coast of Canada, it's been a little bit slow to arrive. And so I've had to turn to stories to get my fill of snow. Winter really lends itself to one of my favorite setups, a remote cabin that becomes cut off because of a storm. As a reader, you know that nothing good will come of that.
00:01:14
Speaker
Countless authors have written something with that premise, drawing inspiration from Agatha Christie's and Then There Were None, although that book isn't actually set in winter. However, her Murder on the Orient Express, she does use a train caught in a snowdrift to trap the suspects.
00:01:32
Speaker
So Brooke, maybe we can talk about that set up to
Agatha Christie's Influence
00:01:35
Speaker
start. Yeah, that sounds great. And as you said, it's like the perfect setting because we have got a lot of darkness. We've got short days and then the, the storms that can oftentimes
00:01:47
Speaker
you know, thwart someone's travel or keep them indoors when they would love to get away. So yeah, I've been thinking a lot about how this, I don't know if it's really a trope, but whether it becomes just as much of a character in the story as the setting, because as I said, it can prevent or sometimes assist the villain.
00:02:11
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. Like, evidence can disappear in the snow, right? Footsteps that, you know, you might see one hour have been completely covered up if you're in the midst of a snowstorm. That's right. Or conversely, because there's snow, you could perhaps capture footprints or be able to see something, you know, scratched in the windowsill in the frost.
00:02:37
Speaker
So it's a really fun, like I said, almost like a character for a author to play with as part of.
00:02:45
Speaker
how the story unfolds. Well, and I think the weather, particularly bad weather, can really add to the tension, right? You feel trapped. You feel cold. You feel uncomfortable. And all of those characters are feeling the same thing. And I think you feel that more with mysteries that are set in the winter than ones that are set in the summer.
00:03:13
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. I was thinking about, one of the books I read this week to get into the mood was The Cittaphard Mystery, which is an Agatha Christie from 1931. I was noticing the words, the adjectives that she uses, and she says, chilling, stark,
00:03:35
Speaker
The person was numb from the cold. They were snow blind and many of those you could still use any time of the year. But because you're then coupling it with the actual temperature and the storm outside and things like that, like you said, it just ramps it up. And I also thought it was interesting because all of those things are describing how you feel in
Books Featuring Winter Settings
00:03:57
Speaker
the cold.
00:03:57
Speaker
But there are also ways to describe fear, so it really just brings that tension to life in this wintery, mystery scenario.
00:04:08
Speaker
Oh, that's such a great observation that she's using that language in multiple ways. I love it. So I realized that I've read a few books recently that are set in winter. And I don't know if it's because it's the season. And like I said in the opening that we just really have not had much of a winter here yet. But one that came to mind is in a dark, dark wood.
00:04:35
Speaker
by Ruth Ware. So it's probably set more in the fall because I think it's like the first snowfall that happens, but it's that same setting, right? It's a group of people have gone to this remote cabin and strange things start happening and, you know, it ends in death.
00:04:57
Speaker
That's funny that you bring up a Ruth Ware book, which I also love in A Dark Dark Wood because on my list, when I was thinking about what books have I read that would fall into this category, another Ruth Ware title came up, which is One by One. And in this one, she takes the group of people
00:05:18
Speaker
to a luxurious resort in the French Alps and they're going to have a corporate retreat. Of course, the snow comes and this creates a locked room or a closed circle, however you want to look at it, scenario and someone doesn't come back from the ski slopes.
00:05:37
Speaker
Well, so that reminds me of I think it's The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley. And so it's a group of friends who every year for New Year's, you know, go on this great trip. They go to different destinations and this year they're going to a remote hunting lodge.
00:05:57
Speaker
things do not go as planned. And it's that, you know, it's been a while since I read it, but I think there is a storm that comes in and they're, you know, they're feeling trapped. They're, you know, a little panicky, right? Because things are not going well and they can't get out of there.
00:06:26
Speaker
Yeah, so the idea of the remote cabin or even mansion or something that can happen in any season, but it's so convenient because the snow either makes the roads impassable, the power's probably
Isolation and Suspense in Winter Mysteries
00:06:43
Speaker
out. That's one of the ways that the tension can get ramped up is that they can't call out.
00:06:48
Speaker
It's dark and their transportation probably can't get to them. So winter time seems to be a really great way to create that isolated group of people.
00:07:03
Speaker
And you know, I will say cabin fever is a real thing. Yeah. You mentioned Sarah, that winter is late in coming and I'm in kind of the same general geographical area as you and same. We haven't had much winter yet, but, um, in 2016 in, in my area, we had what is now fondly or not so fondly referred to as snowpocalypse because.
00:07:26
Speaker
We had one of those 30-year weather situations where we literally would get a foot of snow a day and it lasted for six weeks. If you didn't continually plow the driveway, you literally couldn't leave with your car.
00:07:45
Speaker
will admit it's a panicky feeling when you think, you know, I can't go somewhere if I need to go there. And thankfully I was just with my loved ones. I wasn't with a group of coworkers or friends from years ago or anything. So everything turned out okay for us.
00:08:07
Speaker
And so that reminds me of a book that I read not too long ago called An Unwanted Guest. And so in this one, this is by Sherry Lapina. In this one, a group of people, strangers, go to a boutique hotel in, I think they're in Furmont. The actual location might not be revealed, but
00:08:34
Speaker
you know, somewhere where there's lots of snow. And sure enough, despite them being complete strangers, someone is out to get them. And same thing that, you know, the power goes out, the roads are blocked because of this storm. And it takes a few days before any relief comes. And by then, it's too late.
Authors Using Winter Themes
00:09:03
Speaker
Yeah. And it's interesting, isn't it? We pick this book up and you can probably tell from the cover what kind of thriller or, or puzzle mystery in the case of some of these more golden age stories, what you're getting yourself into, but.
00:09:20
Speaker
We don't tire of that. We realize this is going to be a group of people cut off from the world and something bad is going to go down, but we suspend that disbelief because it's a really fun ride. Another one of those that sounds really similar to the one you just described, Sarah, is, and I read this a few years ago, the Sanatorium by Sarah Purse. This is a 2020.
00:09:47
Speaker
This one, I had the French Alps before. This one's in the Swiss Alps. Someone's taken this old abandoned sanatorium and converted it to a high-end hotel. Detective Ellie Warner is on a much-needed vacation. She's gone to the hotel with her significant other and then this estranged brother and his fiance because they want to celebrate their engagement.
00:10:15
Speaker
But the fiance turns up missing. And with the storm happening and it's closed off access to the hotel, poor Ellen must take the case even though she was trying to be on vacation. So that one's a little bit of a twist because she is a detective by trade.
00:10:35
Speaker
But of course, it wouldn't have been a case she would be on otherwise, except she's the most experienced person on the scene. So. So that reminds me of a Noyo Marsh book, Death and the Dancing Footman. The setup is that a man has invited guests to his home and it ends in murder. And Noyo Marsh's Detective Detective Allen is
00:11:02
Speaker
nearby and he ends up having to go and investigate and kind of figure out what what has happened.
Classic Winter Mystery Films
00:11:12
Speaker
So, I mean, this device has been used for decades by authors.
00:11:20
Speaker
Yep, and it's still fun. And there are a few, you know, if someone is looking for some golden age examples, there are some collections of short stories. So I know the Agatha Christie estate has released in 2020 a book of collected winter short stories called Midwinter Murder, Fireside Mysteries from the Queen of Crime.
00:11:46
Speaker
And that includes some that are set around Christmas time and some that are just set in the winter.
00:11:56
Speaker
And Martin Edwards has compiled a book of short stories called Crimson Snow, Winter Mysteries, and that was published in 2017. And like all of the collections that Martin Edwards puts together, it's, you know, some authors that readers may be familiar with and some that might be new to them.
00:12:19
Speaker
I haven't actually read that collection, but I have read other collections that Martin Edwards has put together and really enjoyed them. So I'm sure that this would be just as enjoyable.
00:12:31
Speaker
Yeah, that's great. What was the title of that Martin Edwards book again? Crimson Snow. So that actually brings up something else I was thinking of is because of the whiteness, it's a vast covering of white that any color you get, and this could be either in film or in a book you're reading because the pictures are formulating in your head.
00:12:57
Speaker
You know, whether it's a blood trail or some bright colored scarf, that's the clue that's left behind. You get that very stark comparison with color in the winter because it's void of color and then something odd happens, right?
00:13:18
Speaker
So great title, great title for a group of winter mysteries.
TV Shows and Seasonal Reading
00:13:23
Speaker
What about TV, Brooke, or films? Are there any that you can think of that are set in the winter?
00:13:31
Speaker
Um, well, I that's, I'm glad that you asked Sarah, because I immediately, when we talked about this topic, thought back to, uh, a movie that we had in my house, I pretty sure that we recorded it from the television on a VHS machine. But because we owned it, my sister and I watched it many times and it's called dead of winter. It was.
00:13:53
Speaker
filmed in 1987. The actress is Mary Steenbergen and then it has Roddy McDowell and a very creepy Yawn Rubes. But it's a great story where the premise is this actress gets hired for a role, but she has to go do the filming on location in this wintery mansion. And of course, when she gets there, she soon learns that things aren't
00:14:22
Speaker
what she expected them to be. And there's a couple of really great twists. I rewatched the film last night. It is on prime here in the US. And even though, yes, there's some hokey 1980s stuff about the movie, it still holds up. I still love the twists. Yeah, so check out Dead of Winter if you want a wintery mystery. And she does
00:14:49
Speaker
try to escape in the ice and snow and can't get it done. Something new I learned about Dead of Winter on this viewing is that it is actually inspired by The Woman in Red, which is a Golden Age novel by Anthony Gilbert. And Anthony Gilbert is a pen name for Lucy Beatrice Mallison. So maybe we'll have to look up Lucy, Sarah. Well, that sounds like a great idea, Brooke.
00:15:20
Speaker
Yeah, as we learn more about different Golden Age authors. So one show that I thought of is Trapped, which I think is still on Netflix. So it's Nordic Noir, an Icelandic town becomes cut off due to a storm. And of course, there's a murder that the police need to investigate. And it's very
00:15:48
Speaker
Well, it's Nordic Noir. So you get the sense of feeling trapped, just like the title says. Exactly. It is so atmospheric, right? Those books or those films from Nordic Noir are so like you know it when you see it. There's just that feeling about them. So any time of the year, if you need a wintery fix,
00:16:17
Speaker
That's a great group to look at, which actually was a question I was going to ask you, Sarah, do you tend to read books set in the same season or do you like to read opposite? Like if you need a summertime fix in the winter or vice versa?
00:16:37
Speaker
That's a that's a really good question. And I don't know that I'm that deliberate when I choose what I'm going to read.
Theme of Fire and Warmth
00:16:48
Speaker
I mean, I think over the summer I did read some like
00:16:53
Speaker
books set in summer. And it was almost too much, right? Because it was very hot and the summer was hot. So it was a bit much. So maybe I should have been reading winter books in the summer to help me cool down. But yeah, I don't know that I can say that I'm that deliberate.
00:17:16
Speaker
Yeah, I think that I would agree. I'm probably not that deliberate. But I do find myself, like around Christmas time, choosing things that are holiday themed sometimes just to get into the spirit. So I guess I do it a little bit. I can understand that when it's hot, you need something to cool you down, at least mentally.
00:17:39
Speaker
One thing that we see a lot in the winter mysteries is talk about fire and or like the fireplace. They're grouped around the fire because it's a probably a big cold damp place. And I enjoyed that because that's often how we read them.
00:17:58
Speaker
or where we like to be in the winter, cozy around the fire. I just think that that is a nice point about them.
Real-Life Winter Mysteries
00:18:06
Speaker
An unsolved real-life winter mystery that I came across, Brooke, is the Dyatlov Pass in the Ural Mountains in Russia. Nine skiers set out on a multi-day journey and were all found dead after they failed to reach their destination.
00:18:24
Speaker
Some died of exposure and some died with brutal injuries. Douglas Preston, who has authored several fictional mysteries with Lincoln Child, wrote a piece for The New Yorker in 2021, exploring one of 75 theories about what happened in this 60-year-old mystery. And it was a really fascinating read. We'll include a link to The New Yorker article in the show notes. But it was an event like I had never heard of this before.
00:18:55
Speaker
No, that's fascinating. And you know how much I enjoy reading True Crime. So I'll be looking into that link as well. 75 theories. Apparently. Yeah. Yeah. And one of them being like, you know, a Yeti attacking them. Yeah. I mean, the theory that that Preston explores is it seems pretty reasonable to me.
Conclusion and Farewell
00:19:20
Speaker
But I think it's one of those things that they just may never actually get an answer to. So interesting. Well, thanks for this conversation, Brooke. I think I've added a few new titles to my list of books to read in the winter, and I hope you have too.
00:19:41
Speaker
I definitely have Sarah, and I hope that our listeners have too. And thank you guys for listening today to another episode of Clued in Mystery. I'm Brooke. And I'm Sarah. And we both love mystery. Clued in Mystery is written and produced by Brooke Peterson and Sarah M. Steven. Music is by Shane Ivers.
00:20:01
Speaker
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