In 2011, Sarah Jio burst onto the fiction scene with two sensational novels, The Violets of March and The Bungalow. 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. Seattle, 1933. Single mother Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, good night and departs to work the night-shift at a local hotel. She emerges to discover that a May-Day snow has blanketed the city, and that her son has disappeared. Seattle, 2010. 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. Are she and Vera linked in unexpected ways?

Seattle, 1933. Single mother Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, good night and departs to work the night-shift at a local hotel. She emerges to discover that a May-Day snow has blanketed the city, and that her son has disappeared. Seattle, 2010. 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. Are she and Vera linked in unexpected ways?

"Seattle, 1933. Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, good night and reluctantly leaves for work. She hates the night shift, but it's the only way she can earn enough to keep destitution at bay. In the morning--even though it's the second of May--a heavy snow is falling. Vera rushes to wake Daniel, but his bed is empty. His teddy bear lies outside in the snow. Seattle, present day. On the second of May, Seattle Herald reporter Claire Aldridge awakens to another late-season snowstorm. Assigned to cover this "blackberry winter" and its predecessor decades earlier, Claire learns of Daniel's unsolved abduction and vows to unearth the truth--only to discover that she and Vera are linked in unexpected ways"--