A child in danger, an isolated house - and a killer on the loose...

'Joan Aiken's triumph with this genre is that she does it so much better than others' New York Times Book Review

Snow-covered fields and moors stretch away on all sides of Herondale House. Despite rumours of an escaped killer on the run, Deborah Lindsay knows that she must control her terror - she has a young charge, 13-year-old prodigy Carreen, to care for.

But the isolated Yorkshire farmhouse already holds the terrible secret of one death - and an increasing number of sinister 'accidents' lead Deborah to wonder how long it would be before evil strikes again ...

'A splendidly romantic first thriller' Times Literary Supplement