Beneath the Snow
It’s been a long, hard winter in the small Alaskan town of Lake’s Edge – and things are about to get even tougher.
Lisa McCall, a young research scientist, has vanished in the wilderness in the middle of a snowstorm. Her sister, Abby, reluctantly drops everything and flies out of England to join the search party – she hasn’t spoken to Lisa for four years after a terrible row and now she must face up to the fact there may never be a time for reconciliation.
Alaska is the last place Abby wants to be. Alone in the freezing outpost, bruised by a broken love affair, Abby struggles to understand Lisa’s disappearance. But Abby soon realises the situation is far more sinister than it seems.
Her little sister, she discovers, had both influential friends and powerful enemies, and might just have been too clever for her own good.
‘There’s passion, heart-stopping suspense, and plenty of action in this pacy thriller . . . Like a new theme park rollercoaster, it’s a thrilling ride’
‘A real rollercoaster of edgy thrills and spills’
‘A tense, action-packed adventure that grips the reader right from the start . . . Carver beautifully conjures up the stark beauty of Alaska’
‘A fast-moving adventure novel that definitely falls into the category of unputdownable . . . Leads to a nail-biting climax. Read and enjoy’
‘This is a well-written thriller which makes you turn the pages faster and faster. Real characters people the tale . . . the background is magnificently delineated by Caroline Carver’
‘A thrilling mystery set during a freezing hard long winter in Alaska, Beneath the Snow is a real page-turner’
‘As a fast moving thriller with strong female protagonists it’s pretty much perfect’
Carver gives us strong heroines battling against the odds, fast-moving plots and a strong sense of place. She deservedly won the CWA Debut Dagger for Blood Junction, read Beneath the Snow for another excellent crime novel’
CJ’s brother is a scientist working at a university institute, and when she heard an American scientist died under disputed circumstances and that he’d also been working at a university institute, she took notice. Local authorities said the scientist had committed suicide, but his family were insisting he’d been murdered, possibly in connection with the work he had been doing.
This true story inspired CJ to create a fictional scientist, Lisa McCall, who goes missing in Alaska.
CJ was also interested in the issues of global warming, which are very apparent throughout Alaska - roads are buckling due to the permafrost melting, and houses tilting – wanting to look at possible solutions and how they might affect the oil & gas and utilities industries.
Abby awoke to the sound of hammering on wood. She thought she heard her name being called. Her eyes snapped open to see pale arrows of sunlight falling coldly through the window.
Pulling the robe tight around her, Abby blearily checked the VCR clock as she stumbled through the living area. Ten a.m.! She couldn’t remember when she’d last slept in that long. Yawning, eyes watering and feeling every one of her thirty-one years, she peered through the window to see Trooper Demarco stamping her feet on the front porch, vapour pouring from her nostrils and mouth.
Abby groaned aloud. She’d arranged to meet Demarco at the Moose for breakfast at nine.
Abby opened the door and made an involuntary sound, something between a yelp and a moan. Christ, it was cold. She was about to urge Demarco inside and offer her a coffee when she took in the trooper’s expression. Her heart faltered.
Demarco took off her beaver hat and held it formally in front of her. She cleared her throat, held Abby’s eyes.
Oh, God, please no. Please don’t let Lisa be dead. She’s my past, my history, she knows everything about me. Please God, she can’t be dead.
‘I’m sorry, Abby. We’ve found the body of a woman in the mountains.’