**Six contestants. One chance at a new life. Who wouldn’t be tempted to cheat?**
Six down-on-their-luck people with links to the world of crime writing have been invited to play a game this Christmas by the mysterious Midwinter Trust. The challenge seems simple but exciting: Solve the murder of a fictional crime writer in a remote but wonderfully atmospheric village in north Yorkshire to win a prize that will change your fortunes for good.
Six members of staff from the shadowy Trust are there to make sure everyone plays fair. The contestants have been meticulously vetted but you can never be too careful. And with the village about to be cut off by a snow storm, everyone needs to be extra vigilant. Midwinter can play tricks on people's minds.
The game is set - but playing fair isn't on everyone's Christmas list.
Six members of staff from the shadowy Trust are there to make sure everyone plays fair. The contestants have been meticulously vetted but you can never be too careful. And with the village about to be cut off by a snow storm, everyone needs to be extra vigilant. Midwinter can play tricks on people's minds.
The game is set - but playing fair isn't on everyone's Christmas list.
CRIME & MYSTERY. Death has come twice to Ravenbank, a remote community in England's Lake District, each time on Hallowe'en. Just before the First World War, a young woman's corpse was found, with a makeshift shroud frozen to her battered face. Her ghost - the Faceless Woman - is said to walk through Ravenbank on Hallowe'en. Five years ago, another woman, Katya Moss, was murdered, and again her face was covered to hide her injuries. Daniel Kind, a specialist in the history of murder, becomes fascinated by the old cases, and wonders whether the obvious suspects really did commit the crimes. He spends Hallowe'en at a party in Ravenbank - only to find death returning to this beautiful but isolated spot. Once more, the victim is a woman, once more her damaged face is shrouded from view.
Seven years ago, Bethany Friend was found drowned in mere inches of water in the lonely Serpent Pool in England's Lake District. Was it suicide or murder? Now, determined to win justice for Bethany's dying mother, SCI Hannah Scarlett of the Cold Case Squad re-opens the case.-- Publisher's description.
"Daniel Kind is finding his relationship with Miranda going through a difficult time. Feeling isolated in their rural idyll in Brackdale, Miranda has itchy feet, and Daniel fears she may just get up and leave. She wouldn't be the first: ten years ago a woman called Emma Bestwick left her cottage and disappeared, and unresolved case which has always irked DCI Hannah Scarlett, head of Cold Case Review Team. When someone starts dropping hints about Emma's death, Daniel and Hannah are drawn together again and discover that one person will preserve the secrets of the past at any price."--BOOK JACKET.
