Autumn may still feel like a long way away, but SLEEPERS IN THE SNOW will be hitting the shelves from October 8th. By then the leaves will be falling, the mists will be rolling in from the moors, the woolly sweaters will be out of storage again and trust me, by then you’ll be in the mood for parkin, mulled wine, and ghost stories.
And here’s a great pre-publication (starred) review in Publishers Weekly: just in time to go to press.
Harris spins a masterful and enigmatic tale of psychological suspense. At the outset, an unnamed man arrives at Kirkhill, an isolated house near a giant transmission tower on the North York Moors. Recently divorced and harboring animosity toward his ex-wife, he longs to make a fresh start in the property’s sublime isolation. He’s pleased the house has come furnished and most of the former occupants’ possessions are still in place—even their diaries, which he starts to read. Before long, he becomes enthralled by the writiings of the former residents, Arthur and Caroline, though the more he reads, the more he notices items around the house moving on their own or vanishing altogether. As strange individuals appear in the woods surrounding Kirkhill and the relentless whine of the tower starts to feel increasingly sinister, Arthur and Caroline’s diaries hint at a murder that might explain Kirkhill’s haunting. Harris ramps up the menace at a pitch-perfect pace, setting the stage for a big reveal that’s surprising, plausible, and unexpectedly poignant. This melancholy ghost story is a bona fide tour de force.
