The Stroke of Winter
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-12-17 07:51:37
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Wendy Webb
- ISBN：1542037603
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
In the tourist town of Wharton， on the coast of Lake Superior， Tess Bell is renovating her old family home into a bed-and-breakfast during the icy dead of winter…
As the house’s restoration commences， a shuttered art studio is revealed。 Inside are paintings Tess’s late grandfather， beloved and celebrated artist Sebastian Bell， hid away for generations。 But these appear to be the works of a twisted mind， almost unrecognizable as paintings she and others familiar with his art would expect。 The sinister canvases raise disturbing questions for Tess， sparking nightmares and igniting in her an obsession to unearth the truth around their origins。
What evil has been locked away for so many years？ The ominous brushstrokes， scratching at the door， and moving shadows begin to pull Tess further and further into the darkness。
As the house’s restoration commences， a shuttered art studio is revealed。 Inside are paintings Tess’s late grandfather， beloved and celebrated artist Sebastian Bell， hid away for generations。 But these appear to be the works of a twisted mind， almost unrecognizable as paintings she and others familiar with his art would expect。 The sinister canvases raise disturbing questions for Tess， sparking nightmares and igniting in her an obsession to unearth the truth around their origins。
What evil has been locked away for so many years？ The ominous brushstrokes， scratching at the door， and moving shadows begin to pull Tess further and further into the darkness。
Reviews
Brianna
，
In this gothic horror/thriller， Tess is attempting to turn her family's home in wintery Wharton into a bed and breakfast when she literally opens the door to a decades-old family mystery。 Her house is haunted， but by whom？ And why？ I expected more spooky chills from this book， but it was more romance than horror。 The romance entered the book very soon， and it was really the main theme as Tess and her new man attempt to solve the mystery together。 I kept reading only to find out what the mystery In this gothic horror/thriller， Tess is attempting to turn her family's home in wintery Wharton into a bed and breakfast when she literally opens the door to a decades-old family mystery。 Her house is haunted， but by whom？ And why？ I expected more spooky chills from this book， but it was more romance than horror。 The romance entered the book very soon， and it was really the main theme as Tess and her new man attempt to solve the mystery together。 I kept reading only to find out what the mystery really was and why the house was haunted。 I hate to say this， but The Stroke of Winter felt more like a Lifetime movie than true horror。 。。。more
Kathleen Galop
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2 1/2 stars rated down a half star
Sheilla
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I loved the book。 I couldn't put it down。 It put me there with the characters， feeling what they felt。 I am a fan of this author's great suspenseful work and look forward to reading her other books。 I loved the book。 I couldn't put it down。 It put me there with the characters， feeling what they felt。 I am a fan of this author's great suspenseful work and look forward to reading her other books。 。。。more
Heidi
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Stop with the cookingAll right， except for the way-too-detailed descrpitions of cooking。 I had to skip over them。 Felt like reading a cooking site where you have to slog thru someone's life story before getting to the apple crumble recipe you were looking for。 In this case， though， the story is completely interrupted by full-on descriptions that lend nothing at all to the story。 Stop with the cookingAll right， except for the way-too-detailed descrpitions of cooking。 I had to skip over them。 Felt like reading a cooking site where you have to slog thru someone's life story before getting to the apple crumble recipe you were looking for。 In this case， though， the story is completely interrupted by full-on descriptions that lend nothing at all to the story。 。。。more
☆。
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（1。5） i've been looking to give wendy webb a second chance since the haunting of brynn wilder， so this being a first reads seemed a good opportunity to do so。 i expected something similar， sure， but not really this similar， yet somehow worse？the stroke of winter takes place in the same universe as brynn wilder， which， okay， fine， i understand。 i like when authors do this， when they can have a continuity that makes sense - but， unfortunately， this leads to the same "hallmark with light horror" vi （1。5） i've been looking to give wendy webb a second chance since the haunting of brynn wilder， so this being a first reads seemed a good opportunity to do so。 i expected something similar， sure， but not really this similar， yet somehow worse？the stroke of winter takes place in the same universe as brynn wilder， which， okay， fine， i understand。 i like when authors do this， when they can have a continuity that makes sense - but， unfortunately， this leads to the same "hallmark with light horror" vibe as brynn wilder， but， like i said， even worse。 the town of wharton just annoys me with how artificial it comes across; i'm a big believer in suspending belief and just allowing a story to be told， but the town and characters within just feel incredibly hollow with very little characterization except Exactly What They Need To Be， which of course is how a story Works， but there's just something off here。 everything is so safe and boring and wholesome to a point it's grating。 it clashes horribly with the attempt at horror， to establish wharton as a town with a "connection" to "the other side" where "dark things happen" - but everyone lives a cookie cutter life with almost no problems。 maybe it's because i don't like consuming media where rich people aren't suffering but i was really exhausted with everyone and their perfect lives and cutesy little houses in a Small Town Where Everyone Loves Each Other。 it's difficult to tell the extras apart because there's really nothing to discern them beyond Love Interest and Scottish Accent; there's no defining character traits or personalities that bounce off of the main character， who is also cardboard。 i had little hopes for her when her name was revealed as "amethyst bell" who constantly "lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding。" the romance isn't too bad （leagues better than brynn wilder） because i think 'older' people being in love is cute， and it's not instant， which is a plus， and the soft moments where they're working towards a relationship are well done， but Love Interest has nothing going for him， just like tess （which is amethyst's nickname）， so beyond that？ i don't care。 the one thing that really made brynn wilder passably good was that it didn't fall into ableist horror tropes but this book sure does！ the villain of the story is described as being "born evil" and there's just a lot of gross language regarding his possible mental illnesses （which is maybe actually a demon or something idk it's very poorly written and explained and really just infuriated me） and instead of like， Ever getting him help everyone just said he was destined to be evil from the womb and let him be evil？ then his dad just Kills Him instead of getting him some help and maybe Jail？？ the ending is so poor and honestly the whole haunting/murder/paranormal/horror side of the book feels rushed and as if it was added in as an afterthought。 i think i would've liked it better if it was just focusing on the romance （it wouldn't be five stars， but it'd be something。） two books in to webb's bibliography， and i just don't think it's for me。 it's definitely for the crowd who like lifetime/hallmark with super low stakes and characters they can project onto。 there's a time and place for that and i'm sure there's books with the same vibe i've liked before but she's just not for me frankly！（two other things: there's a few times where pages are just wasted going over recipes because tess is a chef and it's very dumb; also， when the ghost hunting starts to happen， the characters really explain what every little device is for， which is so pointless because i doubt there's a person over like， 13， on this planet who hasn't seen some kind of ghost hunting show， so everyone understands， and tess even says she's seen them and gets it？ after acting confused over what the equipment is for？？？ the editing is so bad。 i don't think this book actually went through an editing process， honestly， which seems to be a trend with authors in this category） 。。。more
Lisa Marie
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Really great！I really enjoyed this atmospheric ghost story， it had little touches of the supernatural and had me captivated from the start！ The characters were well written and likable。
Diana Davis
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Another book by Wendy Webb that did not disappoint！ This one really had a good creep factor and a bonus because the book mentions Bentleyville。 Great story about Northern Mn and Wi。 This is easy to read and I recommend it if you like ghosts and winter！
Debbie
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I don't usually like/enjoy the 'otherworldly' genre。 For some reason， Wendy 's works have captivated me。 I don't usually like/enjoy the 'otherworldly' genre。 For some reason， Wendy 's works have captivated me。 。。。more
Schwimp
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Shelley Lawrence
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4。75 starsThe Stroke of Winter， by Wendy Webb， is an absolutely riveting， chilling， paranormal story。 This book was “un-putdownable” for me。 I don’t usually get freaked out by stories， but this book got my heart rate up。 It was tense and creepy， but deliciously enticing。 This story is set in winter， in the small town of Wharton， Michigan。 Tess has returned to her generational family home to renovate it and turn it into a bed and breakfast。 She realizes on her first night home， that there is a my 4。75 starsThe Stroke of Winter， by Wendy Webb， is an absolutely riveting， chilling， paranormal story。 This book was “un-putdownable” for me。 I don’t usually get freaked out by stories， but this book got my heart rate up。 It was tense and creepy， but deliciously enticing。 This story is set in winter， in the small town of Wharton， Michigan。 Tess has returned to her generational family home to renovate it and turn it into a bed and breakfast。 She realizes on her first night home， that there is a mysterious scratching at the door that has been locked closed her entire life。 As she begins restoration on the inn， with the idea of turning this sealed room into a private residence， some horrific things are revealed， questions arise， and secrets are slowly unveiled。 But answers and peace are not found until this ominous eerie presence is dealt with。 You definitely have to suspend belief when reading this story。 It is a ghost story， after all。 But I found it to be a thoroughly engaging and entertaining spooky， atmospheric read and I look forward to more from this author。 。。。more
Jackie Lynn
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I liked it， but a lot of the dialogue was really repetitive， and had descriptions i didn’t care about; like Janes house。 I honestly skipped two pages on that
joni allego
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pretty unbelievable Really didn’t like this book。 It started out with a good story line ， but became quite unbelievable。 These ghosts were some crazy powerful entities。 Oh but the next door neighbor is a ghost hunter。 Lucky for Tess the main character ， who fall in love with her furnace repairman ， who happens to be drop dead gorgeous。 Oh and did I mention her family has millions。 Dang that girl is lucky。
Julie
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Tess is discover more then she bargained for。
Whitney B。
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It's like The Shining and a Hallmark Holiday movie had a baby。 And I didn't hate it。 It's like The Shining and a Hallmark Holiday movie had a baby。 And I didn't hate it。 。。。more
Jenna J
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I loved this book！ This book is about a woman who was previously divorced and moved into her fathers family estate （now vacant following the passing of her grandmother） when her son went to college。 She intends to turn the home into a bed and breakfast， while an owners suit。 The house belonged to her fathers family， with her grandfather being a very famous painter。 In the home there is one wing that has been boarded up since her grandfather passes away; she wants to open this wing and turn it in I loved this book！ This book is about a woman who was previously divorced and moved into her fathers family estate （now vacant following the passing of her grandmother） when her son went to college。 She intends to turn the home into a bed and breakfast， while an owners suit。 The house belonged to her fathers family， with her grandfather being a very famous painter。 In the home there is one wing that has been boarded up since her grandfather passes away; she wants to open this wing and turn it into an owners suit。 Every night she hears scratching coming from behind the door and strange things start to happen in the home。 The only way to find out if the scratching is an animal and how much work she will have to do， is to open the closed off wing。 That was not the greatest description of the book， just a short snippet， but I assure you， you want to read this book！ I had never heard of Wendy Webb before and I got this book as my Amazon Prime First reads in October。 I had put off reading it， because I knew it had paranormal themes and I am not the biggest fan of those， but decided to give it a try in December。 I am so glad I read this book！ Not only did I love Wendy's writing style， but the pacing， mystery， suspense， and paranormal aspects all came together beautifully to keep me on the edge of my seat the entire book， there were times that I had goosebumps and the hairs standing up on the back of my neck。 Definitely give this book and author a chance， because they are both fantastic！ 。。。more
Natalie Caisley
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Really enjoyed this Amazon first reads book。 It had a nice atmospheric feel to it and an interesting story line。 Some parts were simply written but this this didn’t distract from the great characters。
Christie Omo
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This one is an easy read。 The author really pulls you into the characters， but the storyline is too predictable and cheesy。 Just doesn't quite bump to a 4-star rating for me， mostly due to the predictability。 This one is an easy read。 The author really pulls you into the characters， but the storyline is too predictable and cheesy。 Just doesn't quite bump to a 4-star rating for me， mostly due to the predictability。 。。。more
Melanie Scarth
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I could not decide on three or four stars for this book。 It is touted as a gothic novel。 I feel like I had a bit of whiplash with this book。 It was a light hearted fun “beach read” until BAM， vengeful spirits haunting this house， then there were spirits haunting all the houses， then there was a whole “other-worldly” community that had existed for generations。 I did enjoy this book for the most part as I also enjoy true gothic novels with characters and situations with darkness and mystery。 I jus I could not decide on three or four stars for this book。 It is touted as a gothic novel。 I feel like I had a bit of whiplash with this book。 It was a light hearted fun “beach read” until BAM， vengeful spirits haunting this house， then there were spirits haunting all the houses， then there was a whole “other-worldly” community that had existed for generations。 I did enjoy this book for the most part as I also enjoy true gothic novels with characters and situations with darkness and mystery。 I just felt like it wasn’t cohesive in this book。 It was just kind of dropped in and kept getting more strange。 I feel like the author has a good premise and good ideas。 Just not a long enough book to fully develop and introduce the “gothic” aspects。 。。。more
Jennifer
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Just a terrible book。 And the ending was ludicrously rushed。 Was the little epilogue even necessary after the asinine seance？
Shelley Cundick
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Tess is transforming her grandparents home into a b&b。 Strange things keep happening in the home， and Tess is certain there are some dark family secrets that are waiting to be uncovered。 A spooky story with a bit of romance thrown in。 Thoroughly enjoyed it！
Mmartinez Martinez
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Captivating！A very well written entertaining book！ Kept me in suspense until the very end。 Absolutely loved the story Line。 It made me feel so present！
Tanya Piper
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Alright readThe ending needed more， it built you up only to have a ending that still left you with questions about a lot of things
Amanda Morris
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This was a genuinely creepy， satisfying mystery perfect for cold winter nights。
Tina Raine
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Don't read at night aloneI wouldn't say that I generally read books of hauntings。 This was a different story line from the beginning。 I finished it by the light of day。 Don't read at night aloneI wouldn't say that I generally read books of hauntings。 This was a different story line from the beginning。 I finished it by the light of day。 。。。more
Sarah
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This one was weird
Peggy
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A well-done， suspenseful novel centered around a haunted house， with a love story on the side。 The north-of-Duluth winter setting does its part at inducing romance。
Roger
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A lovely little gothic mystery/romance/ghost story that flows along gently and easily， carrying you along in the current of haunting scenarios。 There are a few familiar tropes， like the local ghost buster; the good-looking handyman; and the well-meaning but overbearing parents， but all in all it's an enjoyable fun read。 In short， Tess inherits a house with a spooky mystery/history， takes in a very protective dog， meets a hunk of a man， and engages in some ghostbusting。 Phew。 Enjoyable。 A lovely little gothic mystery/romance/ghost story that flows along gently and easily， carrying you along in the current of haunting scenarios。 There are a few familiar tropes， like the local ghost buster; the good-looking handyman; and the well-meaning but overbearing parents， but all in all it's an enjoyable fun read。 In short， Tess inherits a house with a spooky mystery/history， takes in a very protective dog， meets a hunk of a man， and engages in some ghostbusting。 Phew。 Enjoyable。 。。。more
Toni
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I loved this book。 I both didn't want it to end and wanted to read it in one setting。 I loved this book。 I both didn't want it to end and wanted to read it in one setting。 。。。more
Emy-Lou Chadwick
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A nice read， saw the twist coming， but the writing creates great atmosphere and a real like of the main characters。
Erin Purdy
，
I loved this book。 It was the perfect book to read during the cold winter months。 This book hits on multiple levels: thriller， romance， family， and friendship。。。all in the snowy winter wonderland of Wharton。 There are some mystical， supernatural elements alive and well in the town that plays well with the plotline。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Stroke of Winter
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Stroke of Winter&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Stroke of Winter&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0