American Gods, 10th Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman, 522 pages

Neil Gaiman is a master storyteller.  This proud-to-be-an-Englishman-thank-you-very-much wrote a rollicking tale about America.  The original text won several literary awards from Science Fiction to Fantasy to Horror.

Shadow has been in jail for three years and three days before he is supposed to be released gets tragic news that gets him released early.  Shadow is at loose ends and gets hired by the mysterious "Mr. Wednesday" who somehow knows him, even though they just met.

Shadow travels America with Mr. Wednesday gathering other mysterious figures for a potential epic battle.  Crossing, double crossing, gods and adventure ensues.  I'm not doing it justice but if you haven't read the book, read the 10th anniversary edition like I did, because it is expanded and is the author's preferred text.  If you like to listen to books - even better.  The audiobook features a full cast of different readers.

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon 314 pages

There’s no way to tell what The Winter People is about just by reading the blurb on the jacket. It’s just as well because I might not have read it otherwise. And even though I got an inkling of where it was headed early on, it didn’t matter because by then I was hooked. The Winter People moves back and forth between 1908 and the present moment.

Sara Harrison Shea kept a diary in which she recorded the events of her life including a monumental loss she suffered in 1908 and the decisions she made because of it. Decisions that reverberated through the years and touched or altered countless lives some in horrific fashion. 

In the present moment Ruthie wakes up one morning to discover that her mother has disappeared without a trace. While searching for clues she uncovers a gun, wallets belonging to people she has never met and Sara's diary. During that same time period, Katherine loses her young son to leukemia and then several months later her husband to a car accident. While trying to come to terms with her losses she finds some missing diary pages and a map in his belongings, items that will eventually lead back to Sara. Eventually these three stories intersect in a way that has lasting consequences on all three.

I was enthralled and on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book. What an excellent read!