This is an odd story by a new writer about a dysfunctional family in downstate New York around the time of the exceptional blizzards in that area in 1977.

Harmon Pond runs a local community newspaper which is gradually going bankrupt. He has a wife Pauline and three children, Teresa, Fran and Lonnie but the family is slowly falling apart. The catalyst for this is the death of a local policeman and Harmon’s debts and unwise loans but much more happens on the way and everything is connected. There’s also quite a lot of looking back and unpacking where things went wrong.

In an odd way, the book is almost a trilogy. In the first part, the reader sees a collapsing family structure caused by poverty, debts and secrets. The second part is a crazy rollercoaster with a lot of blood, and the third is how the story gets wrapped up.

It could be very hard for some readers to stay focused on all this and, sometimes, the family members seem to do odd things just to ease the plot along.

There’s some natural description of scenery and an evocation of an odd kind of life where you don’t quite know who’s in charge! Anyway, it’s an interesting read if not highly recommended. You need to judge it for yourself!