What is a blackberry winter? Later, at home, I sat down at my desk to do some research. I wanted to read the lyrics, but mostly, I wanted to know the origins of the title. That day in the car, I pulled out my phone (which, ahem, happens to be a Blackberry), and emailed myself the name of the song and its artist. Summer just wasn't summer without berry-stained fingers. My sister and I would eat the majority of them, and the rest would find their way into one of mom's famous pies or cobblers. We'd all take bowls and tromp through the woods near our home, scouting for blackberries. I get nostalgic when I think about the after-dinner walks I took with my parents and siblings during the summers of my childhood. As a lifelong Northwesterner, blackberries are special to me. I glanced at the radio, and the screen read, 'Blackberry Winter by Hilary Kole.' The title made my heart flutter. I turned to my husband, who was driving: 'This is a beautiful song!' I exclaimed. I had never heard it before, but I was instantly transfixed by the melody, and the singer's haunting voice. One morning, while in the car with my husband and our young sons, an intriguing song came on the radio. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. With Blackberry Winter-taking its title from a late-season, cold-weather phenomenon-Jio continues her rich exploration of the ways personal connections can transcend the boundaries of time. Sarah Jio burst onto the fiction scene with two sensational novels- The Violets of March and The Bungalow. In the process, she finds that she and Vera may be linked in unexpected ways. Seattle Herald reporter Claire Aldridge, assigned to cover the May 1 “blackberry winter” storm and its twin, learns of the unsolved abduction and vows to unearth the truth.

Outside, she finds his beloved teddy bear lying facedown on an icy street, the snow covering up any trace of his tracks-or the perpetrator’s. She emerges to discover that a May Day snow has blanketed the city, and that her son has vanished. Single mother Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son goodnight and departs to work the night shift at a local hotel. From the New York Times bestselling author of Always and The Violets of March comes an emotional story of a dreadful storm, a missing child cold case, and a determined reporter who just may have a stronger connection with the past than she realizes.

Blackberry winter by sarah jio