Cold Hands

by John Niven

You thought you could leave the past behind.

Think again.

Donnie Miller counts himself lucky. Living in a beautiful, spacious house in the wild and remote landscape of central Canada, he spends his days writing for the local newspaper, working on a film script, and acting as house-husband. After a troubled and impoverished upbringing in Scotland, he now has all he wants: a caring wife, a bright and happy son, a generous father-in-law. As the brutal northern winter begins to bite, he can sit back and enjoy life.

But his peace is soon broken. There are noises in the nearby woods, signs of some mysterious watcher. When the family dog disappears, Donnie makes a horrifying discovery. Is it wolves, as the police suspect, or something far more dangerous, far darker? What secrets has Donnie been keeping? And why does he have the terrible sense that his dream was never going to last?

A taut, shocking and visceral novel that will leave you gasping for breath, Cold Hands is the first thriller by the remarkable John Niven.

• ISBN10: 009953553X
• ISBN13: 9780099535539
• Publish Date: 21 November 2013 (first published 2 August 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 August 2014
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Vintage
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9780099535539

Reviews

[thepunktheory]

This is the fourth John Niven book I read. When I bought it I didn't even check what it is about. To be honest, I was expecting something like "Kill Your Friends". I was quite surprised to find out that the book is actually a thriller.
However, John Niven did solid work on this one. Although I consider his other works as better, his first attempt on this genre is pretty good. Niven has a talent for describing the scenery. While reading the book I felt like I really am in Canada.
The story itself also seems well thought out. It does show a little bit that crime is not Niven's usual genre but there are definitely far worse crime books out there.

Although I missed Niven's black humor in this one, it's still a very good book. It very interesting how there are almost two separate stories. One taking place here and now and the second one informing the reader about the main character's past.

It's easy to see that John Niven put a lot of effort and thought into this book and it really paid off!