Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
I haven't read the first book in the series but there are plenty of references to previous events to ensure readers are able to follow the story and become familiar with the main characters so I didn't feel I had missed anything. The book is listed within the 'crime' and 'mystery' genres; I was expecting a murder thriller from the title but it is definitely in the style of a 'cosy mystery'. I thought it very atmospheric with its references to the winter cold and snow in addition to the way of life and beliefs, although the frequent use of local words interrupted the flow for me. There were some witty, comical descriptions and statements but on the whole the story progressed at too slow a rate for me - it took a quarter of the book to get through one day in Olga's life. The pace made it a struggle for me to maintain interest: there was a whole paragraph about Olga smelling something which might have been paint, and she couldn't think why this should be, but it was never explained or referred to again. Just before the train crashed Olga began running towards it, trying to signal the driver to stop but as the engine had a snow plough on the front it seemed unlikely she would be able to see the track, and no-one asked her why she tried to stop it; I thought this was unrealistic and stopped reading just beyond that point.

Blood on the Siberian Snow is the second of the The Olga Pushkin Mysteries series. I really enjoyed the first in the series and was looking forward to reading the second., I was not disappointed. There is a lot going on in this book so I would recommend reading the first book first. I’m glad I had read the previous book as I had a clearer picture of the characters and what they have been through before. Looking forward to the next.

I’m not too sure about this book…

It WAS charming and lovely, I really warmed up to the main character, Olga, but it also seemed to shoot a little past the mark.

I felt like the characters were flat, some of the actions quite predictable (and so was the killer reveal) - and a little too much inside thoughts and repetition for my liking.

I really loved the set up of the small, cold and snowed in Siberian village, however.

Overall, an ok read, but left a lot to be desired.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

Blood on the Siberian Snow is the second book featuring railway engineer Olga Pushkin and I really should have read the first book, Death on the Trans-Siberian Express, before starting this one. There are lots of callbacks in this book to the previous one, so I felt I was missing out having not read it, especially on the character relationships.

The story was quite atmospheric with a “locked room” atmosphere being created by an unseasonal snowstorm, but I found the crime and the criminal somewhat unsatisfying for some reason. The characters also all seemed to use the male versions of the Russian patronymic names (e.g Petrovich for a woman instead of Petrovna) which I thought was a bit odd. Three stars seems fair. I’d probably read another one of these, particularly if Dimitri the hedgehog gets more air time.

An Icy Glow…
The second of the Olga Pushkin series of mysteries arrives with an icy glow. Much has occurred and the fate of Olga seems sealed until a train crash derails the plans of others. Murder, however, is never far away. Amidst a snowy landscape this atmospheric tale is a delight, the cast of credible and beautifully crafted characters leap from the page and the mystery at heart is one to devour at leisure. A worthy second outing indeed.

Blood on the Siberian Snow C J Farrington

5 stars

What an atmospheric read

I absolutely loved this book and read it in two days. It is set in Siberia and the coldness and hard life that the inhabitants live was incredible, I could almost feel the cold whilst reading this book.

Olga Pushkin is a railway engineer tasked with keeping all the railway lines in perfect order around her small village of Roslazny but she has dreams of her own. She has written a book about her life on the railways and is waiting for the publisher to confirm the publication. She is also in love with Vassily, the local policeman, but he is searching for his lost wife and only seems to want friendship.

As the book begins, Olga has been transferred to another job in Mongolia and is dreading having to leave her family and friends but in, what I presume, is present day Russia, she has no choice. However the day before she is due to leave a train is sabotaged causing two deaths and a blizzard keeps everyone marooned in Roslazny.

One of Olga’s closest friends had just arrived, the beautiful Nevena Komanov, and immediately tries to help Vassily to solve the murders. Olga offers her help but is told she must not interfere and that she is even a suspect as it was her railway tracks that were sabotaged. Even worse for Olga, is that she can see that Vassily is being dazzled by Nevena and has forgotten all about her.

Despite this Olga is determined to discover what has happened and pursues her own investigation which leads her into great danger.

The characters of this small community were all described brilliantly and the hardships of their daily life seem hard to believe in this day and age. I really enjoyed the atmosphere created by the author and the shock news at the end hopefully means that Olga will be back in another book.

I was not surprised to read that the author had met an Olga whilst on a train in Russia, she is a very real character and makes a good central character of this book. I would highly recommend this book.

Karen Deborah

I’m wondering where to begin with this book. It felt like a tough slog to get through but it wasn’t unenjoyable, in fact I grew to quite like Olga, Pasha and some of the other characters. I hadn’t read the first book in the series, not that it mattered. It alludes to it throughout but it doesn’t actually change the story in anyway. Maybe some of them might have had more depth but I didn’t feel I missed out. The story grew and grew, and the plot really developed about halfway through but then it all seemed to end. There was a big build up but the final act just flattened so to speak without much drama as I was hoping.
It’s an interesting read, quite enjoyable and I’d you’re fancying a winter thriller I wouldn’t discount this. It just didn’t set me alight.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early release in exchange for my honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy of Blood on the Siberian Snow, the second novel to feature railway track engineer Olga Pushkin, set in the Siberian village of Roslazny.

Olga is being forced to leave Roslazny for a two year exchange in Mongolia, but her train is derailed outside the village, killing the driver and his wife. Sergeant Vassily Marushkin soon discovers it was no accident, but with the village cut off by heavy snow he is forced to enlist the investigative help of Olga and her recently re-found friend Nevena Komarov.

I found Blood on the Siberian Snow to be a bit of a mixed bag. I don’t regret reading it as it has a certain charm, but I didn’t overly enjoy the writing style.

I have not read the previous novel in the series, so this is my first meeting with Olga and the denizens of Roslazny, which I don’t think matters as it works well as a stand-alone. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to find Olga’s situation funny or simply different. I would guess that she’s in her late 30s and is working in a dead end job as a glorified labourer with dreams of becoming a published author. Still, she takes pride in her job and is on her way to publishing her book of truisms, 100 Life Lessons from the Trans-Siberian Railway. Well, whatever way you take it she is a nice person, determined to do the right thing.

The plot is interesting with another murder and all sorts of secrets coming to light. By about the middle of the book it isn’t difficult to work out the perpetrator’s identity, although the motive isn’t so clear. Still, that’s not so important as the reader knows that Olga has more trials ahead, because the novel opens with her fighting for her life against the weather conditions. I would have found the novel more interesting than I did - it failed to hold my attention in any meaningful way - if it hadn’t been so full of Olga’s homespun musings on life and love. I found them tedious, a touch condescending and distracting from the main event.

Blood on the Siberian Snow is not for me, but other readers may find it charming.

This is the first book I have read by this author but it won't be my last, I really enjoyed it. A quick, and easy to read cozy mystery that had me hooked. I really enjoyed it.