This New-to-Max True Crime Series Is a Chilling Binge Watch
In the age of true crime, a new murder mystery series practically drops every day. At times, it can feel like quantity over quality. But the new to Max true-crime series, A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read, is a cut above the rest. Originally airing across three nights on Investigation Discovery in March 2025, its arrival on Max could introduce it to a larger audience. Its theatrical examination of a potential murderer is thrilling, especially because the murder suspect in question is the documentary’s main subject. Karen Read is front and center for the duration of the five-part series and is an anomaly. The highly publicized case revolved around the potential drunk hit-and-run of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, a Boston Police Officer. Leading up to and then taking place during the extraneous, highly publicized murder trial, her guilt will keep you guessing until the end.
A Body in the Snow is one of the most meticulous and thought-provoking true-crime series to come out recently. It should come as no surprise, then, that it’s executive-produced and directed in part by Terry Dunn Meurer. An executive producer on the seminal classic true-crime series Unsolved Mysteries, her expertise shines in A Body in the Snow, which leans into the murky waters of Karen’s innocence. Set in Boston, Karen’s friends, lawyers, and John’s friends are all interviewed, with varying opinions about her character and guilt. The series immerses itself in Boston’s culture and dives deep into the potential police corruption within the case.
What Is ‘A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read’ About?
On the night of January 28, 2022, Boston native Karen Read and her boyfriend, police officer John O’Keefe, went out drinking with friends at local dive bars, some of them fellow cops themselves. A blizzard arrived with heavy snow and brutal road conditions, but Karen and John continued to drink heavily. Everyone then decided to continue the party at a house in Canton, so Karen drove herself and John over while intoxicated. Karen claimed John got out of the car with his drink and told her to wait, then went into the house and never came back out. Angry, Karen drove off and left the premises. John was then found dead, in the snow, outside the Canton home in the early morning of January 29, 2022. The home also happened to belong to a prominent Boston police sergeant.
Karen was arrested on a drunk hit-and-run manslaughter charge but maintained her innocence. It was then elevated to a second-degree murder charge. Instantly becoming a high-profile case with many women coming to support Karen, she became something of a local celebrity during the trial, with throngs of supporters gathering outside the courthouse every day. Famous defense prosecutors Alan Jackson and Elizabeth Little, who represented Kevin Spacey in his criminal trial, represented Karen. They painted a picture of corruption within the Boston police force and claimed that Karen was being framed by everyone who was in the Canton home that night.
This Max True Crime Series Is Perfect for Fans of ‘The Jinx’ and ‘Making a Murderer’
Karen Read is a fascinating subject, and a bit scary herself. A former college professor, Read is intelligent, articulate, and cutthroat, and she fights tooth and nail during the duration of the documentary against any allegation brought against her. She is calm, cool, and collected and rarely shows any emotion. A Body in the Snow centers every episode around sit-down interviews with Karen, where she calmly stares right into the camera with an unwavering voice. It can be unsettling at times, especially when she talks about the deceased, John O’Keefe. The series films her doing her hair before trial every day, picking out stylish clothes, and posing for pictures with fans on the street before entering court. It drives home the message that this is not a woman grieving, but one who may love the spotlight, and creates a dilemma for viewers. Is Karen an indifferent killer banking on her newfound fame, or is she yet another woman exploited by the media for a good story and cheated by a system that protects its own?
For fans of groundbreaking series like Making a Murderer and The Jinx, A Body in the Snow taps into that same vein. Whereas Robert Durst was at the center of each episode of The Jinx and gave unfiltered access to documentary crews, Karen does as well. The series mainly stays neutral, but there are glaring problems with Karen that are hard to ignore. She shows little remorse for John’s death, nor ever emotes grief over him. She even goes so far as to say in one scene that it’s sad what happened to John, but that she’s largely over it, and just focused on herself. It’s shocking to hear, especially during a trial and documentary where she is trying to win over sympathy. There’s also the issue the documentary makes clear: prior to the trial and her arrest, she had an obvious drinking problem. That includes driving drunk, which the prosecution banks on as they stick to their story of a hit-and-run. Karen was extremely intoxicated the night of John’s death, leading to her reputation as an unreliable narrator. It makes A Body in the Snow all the more baffling and addicting to watch. When her defense lawyers, Jackson and Little, enter the courtroom in the back half of the season, it feels like a legal thriller blockbuster. They reveal their theory of a police cover-up, and that all the people at the house where John died in front of, came together to frame Karen.
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The docuseries keeps its focus on the victims.
‘A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read’ Is Full of Conspiracies
A Body in the Snow is the best of both worlds. It’s a fascinating murder mystery investigation, and a murder trial all rolled into one. Everything hinges on its subject. Read is a mystery and yet compelling because of her persistence in advocating for herself when it becomes clear the case was initially mishandled. But, whether she is a victim or the culprit, lingers through all five airtight episodes, with big cliffhangers at each episode’s end. It makes it the easiest true-crime binge in quite some time. Once at trial, many bombshells are dropped. It’s similar to the fellow Max documentary series, I Love You, Now Die, where audiences got full access to Michelle Carter‘s infamous trial regarding her boyfriend’s suicide. A Body in the Snow‘s Meurer similarly makes sure to consistently return to Read’s reactions while in court. Dressed in stylized suits, she is casual and unbothered, and even admonished by the judge for smiling. It adds to her enigma.
Conspiracy theories are a major part of Karen Read’s case. She’s an intriguing suspect with a questionable alibi due to her drinking. But by the series’ end, there are, without a doubt, many loopholes within the prosecutors’ case. Read’s defense lawyer, Alan Jackson, is an excellent performer and will keep you on the edge of your seat. He brings many accusations against the Boston Police Department during the trial, and the off-duty cops who were inside the house the night John died. The most damning piece of evidence against the prosecution is introduced early on. It’s revealed that the wife of one of the men inside the house had googled, “how long to die in the cold,” around the time of John’s death. It has become a crucial part of the defense’s case in the ongoing investigation and trial. Ambiguous until the end, it’s unclear whether audiences have just spent five hours with a cold-blooded killer or a victim. As shocking biases are unveiled against Karen during court, it’s a thrilling look inside the criminal justice system and how murder trials function, and as everyone awaits the verdict, it’s a must-watch for crime-junkies.
