The central characters of DI Walker and his wife are also well-rounded and engaging. They are expecting a baby and there is a sub-plot to do with their past in London which adds a bit of depth and interest to their relationship and situation – although I think the sub-plot probably feels more high-stake if you’ve read the first book. I thought it was a shame that more of the police team weren’t given more to do – so much of the focus is on Walker himself that the team don’t really have distinct personalities. The team is working hard to piece all the clues together and the pool of suspects grows the more they learn about Robert Bateman as he was in a lot of debt and he let some of his friends down but could one of them killed the whole family? Then comes along another twist. The same crime was committed 24 years ago at the very same farm house the only difference is that in this case the daughter Charlotte has been murder; however in the first case the baby Megan her body was never found. Is it coincidence that the same crime has been committed or are they in some way linked. Whatever the answer James is determined to get to the bottom of it.

My thanks to Alex and Netgalley for allowing me to read The Killer in the Snow in advance of the publication date. As the case is investigated James Walker finds out that the farmer was in a lot of debt. Was this one of the reasons that he and his family are dead? We also learned that 24 years previous that the owners of the farm also ended up the same way and their daughter was missing. Are these deaths connected somehow?Without a neighbour for miles, there are no witnesses and little evidence. And the crime scene has strange echoes of another terrible murder committed at the farmhouse, twenty years earlier… Perfect for fans of smash-hit TV series Whitehouse Farm, Simon McCleave’s The Snowdonia Killings and Catherine Cooper’s The Chalet. What a puzzle! On Christmas Eve, at Oaktree Farm, the owner, his wife and daughter are found murdered. Twenty four years earlier, at Oaktree Farm, the owner and his wife were found murdered. Their infant daughter was never found. I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys tense and twisty police procedurals. There are some really creepy ideas and situations in the book so it probably isn’t for the faint of heart. However, there’s lots to enjoy and it would make a lively festive read…if Christmas bloodbaths are your thing.

Lovers of police procedural are thoroughly going to enjoy trying to keep one step ahead of James in solving the crimes. I suspected just about every character at some point.I’d have liked a little bit more character development of James and Annie. However Alex Pine includes enough to make me care about them. I found the impact of the crimes on James one of the most affecting aspects because it adds a provoking and revealing depth to the story. Instinct told him that whatever was going on in the house had to be more important than what might be happening in the cellar, so he turned sharply on his heels and rushed towards the front door. This is the second book in the detective James Walker series but this book could be read as a stand alone thriller for those who haven’t read the first book which I found to be just as good as this one. So for anyone who’s looking for a couple of good Christmas murders the DI James Walker books are certainly for you! The shoeprints went down the steps and stopped in front of the door, which suggested that whoever had gone in there hadn't yet come out.