The Last Winter of Dani Lancing

by P.D. Viner

Twenty years ago, college student Dani Lancing was kidnapped and brutally murdered. The killer was never found. Dani's family never found peace. Thrust into an intense devastation that nearly destroys their marriage, Patty and Jim Lancing struggle to deal with their harrowing loss. Dani's childhood sweetheart, Tom, handles his own grief every day on the job--he's become a detective intent on solving murders of other young women, and hopes to one day close Dani's case himself. hen everything changes when Tom finds a promising new lead. As lies and secrets are unearthed, the heartbreaking truth behind Dani's murder is finally revealed.

• ISBN10: 0804136823
• ISBN13: 9780804136822
• Publish Date: 8 October 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 28 October 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

The Last Winter of Dani Lancing is tragic, the premise unimaginable, yet it was engrossing. P.D.Viner created characters that made you feel. Grief. I felt her parent's grief, it hung in the air like a cloud before a rain storm. You'd think with the subject matter, a young girl murdered with her parents left to pick up twenty years of pieces that I would be crying my eyes out; but the puzzle of Dani Lancing is laid out in such a seductive manner that your eyes would only run for lack of blinking.

While there are many "I didn't see that coming" moments I did have a sneaking suspicion of who the culprit was (supposedly confirmed halfway through the book). That did not detour the intensity of The Last Winter of Dani Lancing, as it was very well written and plotted out. I may have worked it out in my mind but Viner gave me the "how" one of the most important elements in the 5Ws and H. I sound very evasive but I fear of giving key points away if I type too much.

Like Dani's mother Patty I made a mad dash to learn her fate. Unfortunately, it did not live up to the well paced hype. The explanation just seemed to come out of nowhere. I was also disappointed by Tom's partaking, it is mentioned that he owes someone of high power a favor but I felt the author failed to elaborate and just kind of dropped the subject matter. Overall, The Last Winter of Dani Lancing was a good, solid novel, I just don't think the conclusion matched the build up the novel presented.

I recieved a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

[Lianne]

It took me about two or three chapters to orient myself to what was going on in the novel. But once the confusion cleared and the story took off, I could not put this book down and ended up finishing it in the wee hours of morning. The Last Winter of Dani Lancing is very much about the psychology of grief, how different people respond and cope. Patty and Jim, for example, cope with the death of their only daughter in very different ways, resulting in a breakdown of their marriage.

The Last Winter of Dani Lancing was an intriguing novel with a very fascinating and introspective take on grief and loss. While it was also suspenseful and had an atmosphere of tension and uncertainty, I was far more taken with how Jim, Patty and Tom were struggling to accept and reconcile their feelings over Dani’s loss. If you’re into psychological novels and crime novels, this book is worth checking out.

You can read this review in its entirety over at eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2013/09/30/review-the-last-winter-of-dani-lancing/