Booklist Review of A Winter’s Rime

Mallory Moe is an army mechanic back from serving in Kuwait who has immediately consigne herself to self-imposed exile. She considers herself dangerous to others due to a ferocious temper and a medical condition that unpredictably either debilitates her or evokes violent reactions. Only immersion in nature or physical exertion can quench Mallory’s simmering rage and alleviate her hypersensitivity. After a particularly volcanic fight with her partner, she seeks refuge in the woods, where she encounters a battered teen fleeing from a too-familiar scene. Compelled to assume responsibility for the girl’s safety, Mallory compares their parallel experiences and obtains valuable insight into the source of her own puzzling explosivity. Dunbar’s (The Net Beneath Us, 2022) rich depiction of a brutally crystallized Wisconsin landscape reflects the callous cruelty endured by her characters. Closing her absorbing narrative, the author helpfully includes a list of active resources for those impacted by abusive situations. PTSD sufferers and trauma survivors will recognize many of the symptoms that Dunbar portrays, and her treatment of the subject is unflinchingly raw but unwaveringly compassionate.

— Joelle Egan

Booklist, August 2023.