Darkness the Color of Snow

Darkness the Color of Snow by Thomas Cobb

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


On a cold winter night in a small town in New England, small town cop Ronny Forbert pulls over a car full of old acquaintances for speeding and driving with a broken headlight. The driver, Matt Laferiere, is intoxicated, belligerent, and fights with the officer, and during the struggle he falls and is struck and killed by a hit and run driver. So begins Darkness the Color of Snow, a terrific psychological drama set in the dead of winter in the cold of the town of Lydell (which I believe is a fictional town but I could be mistaken).

It is a small town, and everybody has a history with everyone else. That’s the thing with growing up in a place like that, and why it is normally a good idea to leave. Ron and Matt used to be friends, Ron’s girlfriend used to be Matt’s, the Police Chief used to mess around with a lady that raises goats…everywhere, history. There are no secrets, and everyone remembers the person you were in high school, which works out for some and not for others.

The police department in this small town faces the existential threat of being disbanded in favor of patrol by State Police. Politics in this town are controlled by Town Council President Martin Glendenning, who is a slippery fellow and an opportunist who sees this latest incident with the local Police as a chance to get rid of the Police force once and for all.

This isn’t my usual cup of tea, but it’s pretty excellent nonetheless. I can relate to the bleakness of the New England winter, the desperation of the small town, the entrapment of misguided career choices. This book succeeds because it captures all of that and makes the most of it. Awesome book.




View all my reviews