I have been a fan of Andrew Klavan’s writing from the very beginning. Klavan, who may be more popular now for his conservative podcast than for his terrific novels, puts his imprint on the holiday season with his next great mystery, WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES.

Interestingly, Christmas does not play a huge role in the book other than acting as the backdrop for a devastating murder case. The prologue takes us beneath the snow, beside the lake in Sweet Haven, an idyllic town that is soon indelibly tarnished by the sin of a horrifically violent act. It reminded me of David Lynch’s 1986 film, Blue Velvet, which is set in a white-picket fence, virginal town that will be forever scandalized by the dark underbelly about to rear its ugly head.

"WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES is an ideal mystery novel for the winter season and one you will not soon forget."

Sweet Haven in wintertime has been called “a Christmas card from a simpler time.” Being such a close-knit town, there are bound to be certain families that stand out as leaders of the community. Among them are the Blakes, who have produced three generations of Army Rangers --- including Travis, a Silver Star-winning hero of the Afghan crisis. So it is especially shocking when Travis confesses to the vicious murder of his girlfriend, Jennifer Dean, whose body he dismembered and dumped somewhere in the town’s lake.

As Travis awaits trial, his attorney Victoria Nowak runs into her old lover, Cameron Winter, and asks a huge favor of him. Cameron is a lonely English professor who seems permanently distracted and is filled with the ghosts of a past that may never have happened. You can imagine his surprise when Victoria, right after telling him that she is representing Travis Blake, asks him to dig up evidence of Travis’ innocence. Cameron has a knack for figuring out crimes and helping people find those who are responsible for evil acts.

Throughout the novel, Klavan gives us an almost dreamlike past that appears to belong to Cameron, even though much of it may be unreliable. One particular story from the past involves a young Cameron being pushed off on the family of his German housekeeper to spend the holidays one year. He recalls the patriarch of the family, Albert, telling a haunting story about interacting with the ghost of a deceased woman. The resolution of this tale will give you chills.

As Cameron begins digging into Travis’ life, he learns that a veteran who has seen what Travis did can never truly come home again. Could the PTSD from which he probably suffers be behind the alleged murder he committed? It turns out that Travis was nearly broken by both the war and certain misfortunes in his past until he met Jennifer. Once the extremely shrewd and sentient Cameron gets rolling, he quickly comes up against a startling fact that will force him to question everything he thought he knew about this baffling crime.

WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES is an ideal mystery novel for the winter season and one you will not soon forget.