Snowball by Gregory Bastianelli is a book which will give you goosebumps, both from being set in the snow and on Christmas Eve, as well as from how chillingly horrifying it is.

The plot:

Christmas Eve will never be the same for a small band of travellers snowbound on a desolate stretch of highway during a blizzard.

As they gather to wait out the storm in an old couple’s stuck RV, the strangers pass the time by sharing tales of their worst winters, unaware that ghosts of winters past still haunt them. Swapping these stories raises questions about whether it is only coincidence that trapped this particular group.

Perhaps something in the past connects them… starting with the throwing of a snowball on a school playground more than twenty years ago.

This book is seriously intense

I judged this book by the cover, and whilst I definitely wasn’t disappointed, you get more than you bargained for here – if you’re unlike me who is just here for whatever as long as it’s good, this does have a supernatural element to it which isn’t really mentioned in any blurbs I’ve read.

The story starts off slow, with a few tense moments, leading on to each member of the group meeting each other – the author teases you with some strange moments and the odd horrifying chapter, and then it all just snowballs (had to, sorry) out of control. The plot did get a bit strange mid-way through, but I really enjoyed it – it was different, like Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle different.

This book is seriously intense. There was one section relatively early in the book where I didn’t breathe for several paragraphs because I was scared and trying to rush through – later in the book, I could literally feel my heart skipping a beat from the terror.

It was creepy and I’m all for that. It is very much a page-turner, and I sacrificed sleep to read more.

This definitely makes it into the horror genre for me. I love a bit of blood and guts but boy, Bastianelli has not held back.

Although not what I expected, when I finished the book I was chuffed, and it has tempted me into buying other books by Bastianelli, especially if his other books are as original.

Snowball, Gregory Bastianelli, RRP £20/9.95 (hardback/paperback); Book Depository 

Pages: 245

Publisher: Flame Tree Press

Genre: Horror