She couldn’t wait for their first Christmas together. But it might be her last.

When Emma joins her new boyfriend Michael for a ‘Friendmas’ in the Alps, she’s quickly thrust into an exclusive world of privilege, partying, and politics. Emma can’t ski and is out of place among the close-knit group, but she’s determined to win them over.

Without the usual headache of extended family members, Brussels sprouts, and unwanted gifts, the group turn back the clock and unwind with wild abandon. As a storm gathers outside, the friends begin to retrace their past, prodding at memories and feelings that have long been buried.

When the house wakes on Christmas morning, they find one of their party dead. Thanks to the storm, no one can leave, and they can’t call the police either. As the snow piles up, the evidence of the night before begins to disappear, and with it goes the ability to distinguish friend from foe.

As the group turn on her, Emma must find a way out before the killer finds her.

From the million-copy bestseller Claire McGowan comes a white-knuckle thriller that asks how far people are prepared to go to keep their stories hidden.

Born in Northern Ireland, Claire published her first novel in 2012, and has followed it up with many others in the crime fiction genre and also in women’s fiction (writing as Eva Woods). Writing thrillers for Thomas & Mercer, she has sold over a million books and has had several number-one bestsellers. She ran the UK’s first MA in crime writing for five years, and regularly teaches and talks about writing. Her first non-fiction project, the true-crime book The Vanishing Triangle, was released in 2021. She also writes scripts and has several original projects in development for TV, as well as having had four radio dramas broadcast. Several of her novels are also in development as television series. She lives in London and would love to hear from readers via the methods below!

Website and email via: www.clairemcgowan.co.uk

X: @inkstainsclaire

Instagram: @clairemcgowanwriter

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