A Q&A WITH CATH STAINCLIFFE

If you could describe this book in one sentence to tempt new readers, what would you say?

On a bitter winter’s night in the magnificent desolation of Fountains Abbey, dedicated teacher, loving husband and father, Patrick Armitage, lies dying, his life blood freezing on the ancient stones.

Without spoilers, what makes this investigation unlike any Donovan and Young have faced before?

Snow smothers the land while Leo and Shan work tirelessly to hunt down the killer, digging up shocking secrets in the small-town community frozen by fear and riven by grief.

What makes the Yorkshire Fells such a perfect setting for a murder mystery?

The remote landscape of the Yorkshire Dales, with its fells and valleys, waterfalls and rivers, drystone walls and ruined barns, deep, dark caves and windswept limestone pavements, its isolated communities and visiting tourists is wonderfully fertile ground for the imagination of dark deeds and mysteries.

Do you always know who the killer is before you start writing, or does the mystery sometimes surprise you too?

I usually know whodunnit but I often get surprised by tangents, diversions and new depths to the mystery as I write.

What can readers look forward to from Donovan and Young in the rest of the series? Is there anything you're especially excited for them to discover?

The unique partnership between Donovan and Young, two very different detectives, continues to grow and to deepen. Both of them will face their demons both at work and at home but together they will live to fight another day.