It's Jaws. IN THE SNOW!
Snow Shark is a horror novel by Brian G. Berry released in April 2022.
Alex Henning and his family are celebrating his son's birthday while vacationing at the White Cap Lodge in Washington. However, shortly after they arrive at the ski lodge, they soon discover that a ferocious shark capable of attacking its victims in the snowy terrain is on the loose. The Henning family soon finds themselves struggling to survive the beast's rampage, all while a mysterious group of commandos has been dispatched to neutralize the shark by any means necessary.
Snow Shark provides examples of:
- The Bad Guy Wins: General Hall succeeds in eliminating any potential witnesses of the snow shark's rampage, blames the civilians' deaths on Colonel Heywood's men, and uses the whole event to get the military to mass produce more sharks in the future.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Colonel Heywood tries to be a major threat towards the end of the book, turning on his own men and successfully getting one of them killed. He's quickly outsmarted by Trent and ultimately devoured by the shark.
- Cruel Twist Ending: By the end of the book, almost all of the protagonists, including Corrina and Megan, have been killed. But it's okay, because Alex and Caleb have successfully evaded the shark and are taking shelter on a ski lift. The final chapter reveals that Alex froze to death while waiting for an ambulance. Caleb survives and is rescued by the paramedics, but he and the paramedics are all killed by General Hall's men to silence any potential witnesses about the snow shark's presence.
- Downer Ending: Like many of Berry's novels, the ending is anything but uplifting. All of the protagonists perish, killed either by the shark, Colonel Heywood, or General Hall's assassins. The snow shark, while implied to have become dormant, is still on the loose. Even worse, the ending reveals that General Hall set up the entire plot with the Secretary's knowledge. Not only does he get away with it, but he intends of mass producing more snow sharks.
- Greater-Scope Villain: General Coy Hall is revealed to have instigated the whole plot. He sabotaged the avionics on the plane taking the snow shark back to its facility knowing full well it would wreak havoc upon the public.
- Hope Spot:
- Towards the end of the book, Alex comes up with an idea to wait out the snow shark by staying on the chairs on the ski lift. He puts Megan and Corrina on the lift and the second the chair starts moving, the shark appears out of nowhere and eats them.
- Alex and Caleb successfully get on the lift without being attacked the shark. So they should survive—nope. Alex freezes to death waiting for medical attention. Caleb is killed by General Hall's men to keep him from exposing the snow shark's existence.
- Karma Houdini: General Hall is the one who intentionally set the shark free in the first place by messing with the plane's avionics. This is revealed in the final chapter, long after anyone and everyone who could oppose him has been disposed of.
- Killed Offscreen: Alex freezes to death between the penultimate and final chapters. The last chapter also reveals that Caleb was murdered off-screen by General Hall's men to keep the snow shark's existence secret.
- Land Shark: On snowy terrain.
- Leave No Witnesses: General Hall has Caleb, the sole survivor of the massacre, killed alongside a group of paramedics so none of them can go public about the snow shark and its possible origins.
- The Scapegoat: Colonel Heywood and his team of soldiers. After everyone at the ski lodge is killed by the shark, General Hall writes off the massacre as a terrorist attack Heywood orchestrated.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Alex and Caleb Henning decide to wait out the snow shark by getting on a ski lift...in the middle of a raging blizzard. Alex ends up freezing to death.
- Threatening Shark: The book's primary antagonist is a shark that attacks its victims in a snowy terrain.
