Mel McGrath is an Essex girl, the author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling family memoir Silvertown. She won the John Llewellyn-Rhys/Mil on Sunday award for Best Writer Under 35 for her first book, Motel Nirvana. She has published three Arctic mysteries featuring the Inuit detective Edie Kiglatuk under the name MJ McGrath, the first of which, The Boy in the Snow, was shortlisted for a CWA Gold Dagger.In the last year she has been one of the founders and moving lights of the website Killer Women, which has rapidly established itself as one of the key forums for crime writing in the UK.

‘At its heart — and at its best — this book is an exploration of grief and the very different responses it produces. It is also about the dangers of the distance it can create between two people. . .McGrath's tender examination of grief and vulnerability is confidently told and a very relatable tale.’ Daily Mail‘McGrath’s unspooling of her unsettling drama is non-pareil, shored up with multi-faceted characterisation (particularly of the traumatised central couple).’Financial Times‘Dark and sinister with a shocking final twist.’Bella‘McGrath provides a sensitive study of trauma and loss as well as expertly ratcheting up the tension, and the result is a compelling read.’Guardian

Mel McGrath is an Essex girl, the author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling family memoir Silvertown. She won the John Llewellyn-Rhys/Mil on Sunday award for Best Writer Under 35 for her first book, Motel Nirvana. She has published three Arctic mysteries featuring the Inuit detective Edie Kiglatuk under the name MJ McGrath, the first of which, The Boy in the Snow, was shortlisted for a CWA Gold Dagger.In the last year she has been one of the founders and moving lights of the website Killer Women, which has rapidly established itself as one of the key forums for crime writing in the UK.

‘At its heart — and at its best — this book is an exploration of grief and the very different responses it produces. It is also about the dangers of the distance it can create between two people. . .McGrath's tender examination of grief and vulnerability is confidently told and a very relatable tale.’ Daily Mail‘McGrath’s unspooling of her unsettling drama is non-pareil, shored up with multi-faceted characterisation (particularly of the traumatised central couple).’Financial Times‘Dark and sinister with a shocking final twist.’Bella‘McGrath provides a sensitive study of trauma and loss as well as expertly ratcheting up the tension, and the result is a compelling read.’Guardian