A gripping short story on living in a nightmare of your own creation.

READ IF YOU…

• Enjoy heartfelt stories
• Want a gripping short story
• Want a quick read

Title: Snowflakes | Author: Ruth Ware| Rating: 3.5/5

I wasn’t expecting anything but a gripping tale from Ruth Ware, and Snowflakes delivered. Part of the Hush Collection, a collection of six stories, ranging from political mysteries to psychological thrillers, in which deception can be a matter of life and death. Each piece can be read or listened to in one truly chilling sitting.

Leah has spent her formative years isolated on a remote island with her family. But their quiet existence, far from the devastated mainland, is cracking. Father, sensing a coming threat, demands that a wall be built. As the stone blockade rises, Father’s paranoia escalates. So does Leah’s dread that the violence the family left behind has found its way to their sanctuary.

I expected this story to be about a group of people persecuted for their beliefs, their way of life, shot down by police, a war raged in the name of justice. But the story delivered an angrier punch than that.

Snowflakes, which can be read in about an hour or so, is harsh and cruel, the characters nuanced enough even in the shorter number of pages. Once again, Ruth Ware offers something thrilling, twisted, and unexpected.

I kept expecting everyone to die in this story, kept hoping everyone would survive, and felt the rise and fall of my heart with each turn of the page. The ending was very unexpected, and snipped the story’s ending with a tight stitch.

I don’t typically enjoy short stories, but this one, which is more like a novella, is worth it.