Alison Littlewood – författare

How far would you go to save your child? A nail-biting thriller, ''perfect reading for a dark winter''s night'' (Richard and Judy).Cass''s husband is missing, presumed dead in Afghanistan. Floored by grief, Cass is left alone to take care of her son, Ben, who has been traumatised by his father''s death. So when a renovated mill becomes available in the remote Lancashire village of Darnshaw, Cass decides it will be the perfect place for her family to heal. But it quickly becomes clear that outsiders are not welcome in the village, and Ben is displaying a hostility Cass can''t understand. As darker events unfold, Cass starts to question her son''s sanity. Then a blizzard blows in and Darnshaw is marooned in a sea of snow.Threatened on all sides, Cass finds herself pitted against forces she can barely comprehend.A broken family. A dark secret. The cold season has begun . . .

Some fairy tales are born of dreams . . . and some are born of nightmares.''I loved Path of Needles. Dark but satisfying like the best chocolate'' ELLY GRIFFITHS, bestselling author of The Postscript MurdersChrissie Farrell is young, beautiful and about to be crowned Queen of the Dance. But on the evening of her triumph she is abducted and murdered, her body left for the police to find.With no other clues, the disturbing way in which Chrissie''s body has been posed has PC Cate Corbin at a loss - until university lecturer Alice Hyland is called in. An expert on fairy tales, Alice quickly notices a connection between the murder and an obscure version of Snow White.When a second body is found, Alice is dragged further into the investigation - and only then realises that she is becoming a suspect.''Psychologically complex hybrid of magical realism and police procedural'' Publishers WeeklyNow Alice must fight, not just to prove her innocence, but to protect herself: because the body count is growing and it''s looking like she might be next . . .

What is lurking in the corners of Mire House? Chillingly atmospheric, The Unquiet House is perfect for fans of Stephen King. Struggling to recover from the catastrophic loss of both of her parents, Emma Dean desperately needs a fresh start. When she inherits an old house in the depths of the Yorkshire countryside, she realises that this could be her chance. Mire House is dreary, dark and cold - yet when Emma walks inside, she feels an immediate sense of belonging.It isn''t long before Charlie Mitchell, grandson of the original owner, appears, claiming he wants to seek out his family. But Emma suspects he''s more interested in the house than his long-lost relations.And when she starts seeing ghostly figures, Emma begins to wonder: is Charlie trying to scare her away, or are there darker secrets lurking in the corners of Mire House?''Reads like a timeless classic of the genre'' - Guardian

From Richard and Judy bestselling author Alison Littlewood, a genre-defying master of subtle horror, comes a perfectly horrifying omnibus. Containing A Cold Season, Path of Needles and The Unquiet House, as well an exclusive preview of A Cold Silence.A broken family. A dark secret. The cold season has begun . . .In A Cold Season, newly widowed Cass buys a renovated mill in the remove Lancashire village of Darnshaw, hoping that it will give her and her son, Ben, a fresh start. But it quickly becomes clear that outsiders are not welcome in the village and Ben begins displaying a hostility Cass can''t understand. As darker events unfold, Cass starts to question her son''s sanity. Then a blizzard blows in and Darnshaw is marooned in a sea of snow. Threatened on all sides, Cass finds herself pitted against forces she can barely comprehend . . .Some fairy tales are born of dreams . . . and some are born of nightmares.In A Path of Needles, a body is found in a shallow grave in the trees near Newmillerdam. The victim is a young girl, and the gruesome way in which the body has been posed has the police at a loss. Until Alice Hyland, an expert in fairytales is brought into the investigation and discovers a connection between the victim and an obscure Italian version of Snow White. It seems a fairytale has taken a twisted, nightmarish turn.Then another body is found in a similarly shocking state. Now Alice must fight, not just to prove her innocence, but to protect herself from what lies in wait in the woods . . .What is lurking in the corners of Mire House? In The Unquiet House, Emma Dean is desperately seeking a fresh start - so when she inherits an old house in the depths of the Yorkshire countryside, she realises that this could be her chance. Mire House is dreary, dark and cold - yet when Emma walks inside, she feels an immediate sense of belonging.It isn''t long before Charlie Mitchell, grandson of the original owner, appears, claiming that he wants to get to know her as they are the last of their family. But Emma suspects he''s more interested in the house than his long-lost relatives.And when she starts seeing ghostly figures, Emma begins to wonder: is Charlie trying to scare her away, or are there darker secrets lurking in the corners of Mire House?

''Alison Littlewood has a real talent for building atmosphere, loaded with the promise of things to come -hints of dread with the possibility of hope'' GuardianLeah thought Maitland Farm could give her a new life - but now old ghosts are dragging her into the past.Following the tragic deaths of her husband and son, Leah is looking for a new life. Determined to bury her grief in hard work and desperate to escape Christmas and the reminders of what she has lost, she rushes through the purchase of a run-down Yorkshire farmhouse, arriving just as the snow shrouds her new home.It might look like the loveliest Christmas card, but it''s soon clear it''s not just the house that needs renovation: the land is in bad heart, too. As Leah sets to work, she begins to see visions of the farm''s former occupants - and of the dark secrets that lie at the heart of Maitland Farm.If Leah is to have a future, she must find a way to lay both her own past and theirs to rest - but the visions are becoming disturbingly real . . .''Alison Littlewood is one of the brightest stars in the horror genre'' This is Horror

Susan Hill meets Wilkie Collins in Alison Littlewood''s latest chiller. Mad-doctor Nathaniel is obsessed with the beautiful Mrs Harleston - but is she truly delusional? Or is she hiding secrets that should never be uncovered . . . ?Haunted by his father''s suicide, Nathaniel Kerner walks away from the highly prestigious life of a consultant to become a mad-doctor. He takes up a position at Crakethorne Asylum, but the proprietor is more interested in phrenology and his growing collection of skulls than the patients'' minds. Nathaniel''s only interesting case is Mrs Victoria Adelina - Vita - Harleston: her husband accuses her of hysteria and delusions - but she accuses him of hiding secrets far more terrible.Nathaniel is increasingly obsessed with Vita, but when he has her mesmerised, there are unexpected results. Vita starts hearing voices, the way she used to - her grandmother always claimed they came from beyond the grave - but it also unleashes her own powers of mesmerism . . . and a desperate need to escape.Increasingly besotted, Nathaniel finds himself caught up in a world of séances and stage mesmerism in his bid to find Vita and save her.But constantly hanging over him is this warning: that doctors are apt to catch the diseases with which they are surrounded - whether of the body or the mind . . .''[An] enjoyable excursion . . . gripping'' The Sunday Times

A chilling Gothic mystery from the bestselling author of Richard & Judy Book Club hit The Cold Season, perfect for fans of Susan Hill, The Coffin Path and The Silent Companions - where superstition and myth bleed into real life with tragic consequences. ''The twist is brilliant'' Daily Mail''Intriguing and unsettling'' Sunday ExpressPretty Lizzie Higgs is gone, burned to death on her own hearth - but was she really a changeling, as her husband insists?Albie Mirralls met his cousin only once, in 1851, within the grand glass arches of the Crystal Palace, but unable to countenance the rumours that surround her murder, he leaves his young wife in London and travels to Halfoak, a village steeped in superstition.Albie begins to look into Lizzie''s death, but in this place where the old tales hold sway and the ''Hidden People'' supposedly roam, answers are slippery and further tragedy is just a step away.''A skilful blend of the supernatural and the psychological . . . If you enjoyed Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke and the Woman in Black by Susan Hill, this is one for you'' Mature Times

The sequel to the Richard and Judy hit A Cold Season (''Perfect reading for a dark winter''s night'' said Richard and Judy). New game Acheron offers you everything you desire . . . at the cost of your soul. Would you?Ben Cassidy promised his mother he would never to return to Darnshaw, the remote village they barely escaped when he was a child. But when his friend, Jessica, kills herself, he feels compelled to investigate.Jessica was playing a sinister computer game called Acheron, which claims it will give you anything you desire . . . for a price.As Ben and his friends delve ever deeper into the world of Acheron, good motivations and morality begin to slip, and they find themselves spiralling out of control. Ben could save them all, but the cost for doing so might be too high to pay . . .Would you?