Mind of Winter

Laura Kasischke, the critically acclaimed and nationally bestselling poet and author of The Raising, returns Mind of Winter, a dark and chilling thriller that combines domestic drama with elements of psychological suspense and horror—an addictive tale of denial and guilt that is part Joyce Carol Oates and part Chris Bohjalian.

On a snowy Christmas morning, Holly Judge awakens with the fragments of a nightmare floating on the edge of her consciousness. Something followed them from Russia. Thirteen years ago, she and her husband Eric adopted baby Tatty, their pretty, black-haired Rapunzel, from the Pokrovka Orphanage #2. Now, at fifteen, Tatiana is more beautiful than ever—and disturbingly erratic.

As a blizzard rages outside, Holly and Tatiana are alone. With each passing hour, Tatiana’s mood darkens, and her behavior becomes increasingly frightening . . . until Holly finds she no longer recognizes her daughter.

The critically acclaimed and bestselling author of The Raising returns with a haunting and shadowy thriller about the love between a mother and daughter.

Something had followed them from Russia.

On a snowy Christmas morning, Holly Judge awakens, the fragments of a nightmare—something so important that she must write it down—floating on the edge of her consciousness.

Something had followed them from Russia.

It was thirteen years ago that she and her husband, Eric, went to Siberia to adopt the sweet, dark-haired child they had wanted so desperately. How they laughed at the nurses of Pokrovka Orphanage #2 with their garlic and superstitions, and ignored their insistent warnings. After all, their fairy princess Tatiana—Baby Tatty—was perfect.

As the snow falls, enveloping the world in its white silence, Holly senses that something is not right, and has never been right in the years since they brought their daughter home. Now Tatty is a dangerously beautiful, petulant, and often erratic teenager, and Holly feels there is something evil lurking within their house.

She and Tatiana are alone. Eric is stuck on the roads, and none of the other guests for Christmas dinner will be able to make it through the snow. With each passing hour, the blizzard rages and Tatiana's mood darkens, her behavior becoming increasingly disturbing . . . until, in every mother's worst nightmare, Holly finds she no longer recognizes her daughter.

“It is not enough to say that Kasischke’s language is ‘poetic’ . . . [T]he language catapults us into another plane of existence, one of facade and reflection.” - New York Times Book Review

“A terrifying brew of family drama and horror. . . . The awesome ending doesn’t disappoint.” - Entertainment Weekly

“Shocking.” - Vogue.com

“As a reader, you know that something horrible is going to be revealed—something awful and inevitable. And, when you finally force yourself to turn that last page, it will not be a scream that gets caught in your throat, but a gut-punching, heart-wrenching sob. A book that will haunt you for days and long, long nights after reading.” - Booklist (starred review)

“An unknown horror hovers just out of reach in this gripping psychological thriller...Kasischke skillfully mixes an insightful look at a damaged woman with a twisty plot that builds to a shocking ending.” - Publishers Weekly

“Impossible to put down.” - BookPage

“Leave-the-lights-on-tonight frightening, with a quiet edge of horror that is much more effective than gore.” - NPR

“A nightmare-inducing domestic mystery...Kasischke’s background as a poet is clear in her use of language, particularly the repetition of certain phrases and images. The suspense and horror in MIND OF WINTER is largely created by these rhythms, and by her choices of what to leave out as much as to state… Kasischke knows that what lurks hidden in the shadows is scarier than any monster we can see. She also knows that, scared as we may be, we can’t resist a peek.” - Boston Globe

“A nightmare-inducing domestic mystery...Kasischke knows that what lurks hidden in the shadows is scarier than any monster we can see. She also knows that, scared as we may be, we can’t resist a peek.” - Boston Globe

“A genuinely disturbing tale, each layer perfectly crafted, stacked together like a set of Russian nesting dolls, the tiniest one at the center the horrific secret that everything else depends upon....Both a masterwork of evocative prose and a bone-chilling page-turner.” - Jennifer McMahon, New York Times bestselling author of The Winter People

“Thought-provoking and chilling, MIND OF WINTER will have you looking over your shoulder as you tear through the pages to the shocking and heartbreaking conclusion. It will leave you questioning not only what is real, but also what it means to be a good mother.” - Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia

“If I could stand on a mountaintop and shout over the land, I would do it now: This book is magnificent! It’s a gripping psychological thriller, at once both charmingly domestic and flat-out terrifying. Laura Kasischke writes so well that she leaves me inspired and very, very jealous.” - Elin Hilderbrand, author of Beautiful Day

“MIND OF WINTER is a tightly coiled story of suffocating love and undeniable horror. Its grip is remarkably chilling, masterfully poetic, and psychologically unrelenting.” - Ivy Pochoda, author of Visitation Street

“[A] literary page-turner reminiscent of Donna Tartt’s Secret History.” - Booklist