Dead of Winter
- Judith D Collins
- Oct 9
- 7 min read
By: Keri Beevis
Narrator: Imogen Church
ISBN: 9781835336038
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Publication date: 10/10/2025
Format: e-book
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
Preorder the chilly BRAND NEW. pulse-pounding psychological thriller from the INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING author of The House Sitter, Keri Beevis
A sister looking for answers.
A brother with secrets to hide...
Three days before Christmas, I travel to Midwinter Manor in Norfolk through a worsening snowstorm to meet Daniel, the brother I never knew existed. He has reluctantly granted me an hour of his precious time.
The welcome I receive is frosty. Daniel is cold, intimidating and unfriendly, while his wife, Rose, is polite, but tense. From the moment I step through the door of this imposing manor house, I sense I’m not welcome.
When I go to leave, the snowy blizzard prevents me. Then there’s a power cut and I can’t let anyone know where I am. I realise I am trapped.
Something feels wrong in this house. The way Daniel and Rose speak in whispers behind closed doors suggests something’s amiss. As cracks start to form in their stories, I wonder what it is they are hiding.
Midwinter Manor is a house full of secrets, and some of them are dangerously deadly.
The thrilling new read for fans of Freida McFadden, Claire McGowan and Lisa Jewell.
My Review
Keri Beevis makes her triumphant return with another signature spine-tingling locked-in psychological thriller, DEAD OF WINTER, which immerses readers in a suffocating atmosphere of tension and dread. In this chilling tale, just days before Christmas, a woman embarks on a journey to a secluded manor in a snowstorm, eager to connect with a long-lost biological brother she has never encountered.
However, her plans are quickly derailed as a merciless snowstorm descends, and everything tells her to turn around and leave. Then she arrives and is trapped within the formidable walls and iron gates of the estate. As she navigates the labyrinthine corridors, she uncovers a web of sinister secrets lurking within her newly discovered family, and ones they want to protect, shrouding her experience in layers of suspense and danger.
About..
A sister looking for answers. She only wants to know where she came from and a brother with secrets to hide…
Manchester, Three Days Before Christmas:
Just days before the festive cheer enveloped the city, Lola Henderson found herself grappling with a bittersweet revelation. After the passing of her adoptive mother, she had unearthed a fragile letter that contained details about her biological family—a long-lost connection. Her adoptive father had vanished from her life when she was just three, and her mother never remarried, leaving Lola to navigate her childhood in a world defined by absence.
As she delved deeper into her origins, Lola learns the somber truth: both of her biological parents were deceased. Her mother had succumbed to a brain hemorrhage, while her father had met a tragic end in a dreadful accident. Yet, amidst the sorrow, a glimmer of hope emerged—she had a brother named Daniel, a fact the adoption agency had tried to convey but failed to communicate successfully.
Why would they give her up for adoption? Why had they not wanted her? Was there an affair? Yet they had a son years earlier.
Intrigued, Lola begins sleuthing, revealing a shocking detail about her father's lineage: they were affluent, a stark contrast to her own upbringing. However, she is not interested in the money. She only wants to know about her family.
She discovers that Daniel had once been a celebrated chef, crafting culinary masterpieces in a renowned London restaurant until a catastrophic skiing accident had forever altered his life, rendering him paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair. He was four years her senior. The notion of having a brother filled her with an exhilaration she had never anticipated.
Determined to bridge the gap between them, Lola reaches out via Facebook, her heart filled with hope. However, her excitement quickly dwindled as Daniel responded with cool detachment and an air of dismissiveness. His lack of interest in forging a relationship felt like an insurmountable barrier, but Lola was resolute—he was her only link to a past shrouded in mystery.
Desperate for answers to reclaim the pieces of her identity, she seized an opportunity to arrange a brief meeting during a business trip to the area, securing a fleeting hour at his manor home rather than some public venue.
Norfolk, England:
Midwinter Manor, a stunning relic of the 1700s, hidden amidst the sprawling countryside, accessible only via a narrow, winding dirt track framed by ancient stone pillars and iron gates. It was a place that seemed plucked from the pages of a fairy tale—imposing yet beautiful. To some, it was daunting, but to its owners, it served as a sanctuary, a refuge steeped in history and secrets.
With the winter winds howling and a snowstorm making it difficult to drive, while everything in her tells her to turn around, she has a sense of dread. She finally arrives at the manor in her rented car, only to be met at the door by Daniel's wife, Rose. Her icy demeanor was hardly welcoming, setting the tone for an encounter that felt more like a test than a reunion. Daniel himself exuded an air of cold detachment, mean-spirited, his demeanor as unyielding as the weather outside.
The house may be grand, but something was menacing here. As they attempted to navigate an awkward conversation, the power suddenly flickered and then plunged them into darkness. Daniel is not forthcoming with information, and she realizes there will be no relationship.
With car troubles before she could reach the main road, the couple extended an invitation for her to stay the night—a gesture that felt more like a trap than hospitality. Then, several other mystery visitors. Trapped within the manor, Lola sensed an unease brewing beneath the surface, a web of perilous secrets waiting to unravel.
What are they hiding? What dark truths lie concealed within the walls of Midwinter Manor? What lies are they withholding about her past? Is she safe? As the night deepens, Lola finds herself ensnared in a chilling revelation, with no means of escape and the shadows closing in around her.
My thoughts...
WOW! Dark and gripping, a perfect read for the upcoming creepy Halloween and holiday season.
Cleverly crafted, told from past to present, we learn about Brett, Jimmy, Rose, Daniel, Quinn, and more as the mysteries are unraveled. From the atmospheric front cover that instantly grips your attention, the blizzard, the creepy house, and the sinister characters, you know you are about to embark on a spine-chilling adventure filled with unexpected twists and thrilling escapades.
Readers familiar with Keri Beevis' work know she is a true virtuoso in crafting atmospheric settings that immerse you completely in her stories. A big fan, her characters often find themselves in precarious situations that evoke a sense of claustrophobic tension.
With every turn of the page, you’ll discover an intricate tapestry woven with unexpected twists, hidden agendas, and cleverly placed clues. The multi-layered plot compels you to read on, heart-pounding, leaving you eagerly flipping pages into the early hours of the morning as you race to unravel the tantalizing mystery that lies within.
Prepare to root for Lola as she plunges into a heart-stopping adventure brimming with mystery, shocking twists, and tantalizing intrigue. This compelling domestic suspense will grip your imagination and hold you captive until the very last page!
Recs...
A captivating read that will draw in dedicated fans of the author, as well as those who relish the psychological depth and intricate storytelling found in the works of Mary Kubica, Lisa Jewell, Carol Goodman, Gilly Macmillan, and Freida McFadden.
DEAD OF WINTER promises to immerse readers in a chilling atmosphere filled with suspense and unexpected twists, making it a perfect choice for anyone who enjoys a well-crafted, thrilling narrative.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Oct 10 2025
My Rating: 5 Stars
Praise for Keri Beevis:
'Tense and twisty, this is a real page turner of a read that will keep you up late on the sultry summer nights. This is another star turn from a writer at the top of her game.'
- Claire Allen
'Keri Beevis has worked her magic yet again! A chilling, dark and suspenseful read that had me hooked from the very first page'
- Amanda Brittany
'Clever, tense and gripping. This compelling, twisty new take on Hitchcock's classic, Rear Window, stole my breath from start to finish. I read it in a sitting!'
- Jill Childs
'Another winner from Ms Beevis. A gripping story with plenty of twists and turns'
- J.A. Baker
‘From the start I was glued - a cracking roller-coaster ride of a story’
- Susanna Beard
‘Compelling, addictive, fast-paced and chilling. I loved it!’
- Amanda Brittany
'A tense, clever and thought-provoking thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish and long afterwards.'
- Natasha Boydell
'This is how to write a page turner.'
- Valerie Keogh
'Another suspenseful page-turner from this very talented author'
- John Nicholl
'Brilliant, chilling, and unputdownable'
- Gemma Rogers
'Another gripping fast paced story from the brilliant Keri Beevis.'
- Sadie Ryan
‘Beevis has created a dark psychological thriller thick with atmosphere. Cleverly woven threads pull together in a heart-stopping conclusion in this satisfyingly clever tale. Highly recommended’
- Diane Saxon
'A disturbingly chilling thriller which is completely gripping. The Sleepover is an intense mystery full of clever twists which I didn't see coming'
- Alex Stone
'An atmospheric thriller that grips until the last page. Beevis at her best!'
- Diana Wilkinson
About the Author
Keri Beevis is a bestselling psychological thriller author known for her dark and gripping mystery and suspense novels, many of which are set in her home county of Norfolk, England.
With rich character detail and a passion for creating twist-filled plots, Beevis crafts atmospheric stories that have a unique depth and keep readers on the edge of their seats.
She first found success with the huge bestseller, Dying to Tell, which was an instant hit, receiving praise for its complex characters, multiple red herrings, and suspenseful plot.
Her other popular titles include Deep Dark Secrets, The Sleepover, Trust No One, Every Little Breath, and Nowhere to Hide, while The Summer House was a global smash hit, topping the charts in the UK, the US, Canada and Australia.
Keri Beevis writes stories for readers who are fascinated with the darker side of nature. She is a huge Hitchcock fan and his influence is evident in The People Next Door, as well as her most recent release, The House Sitter.
Her next thriller will be out in October 2025.
Follow Keri Beevis either on her website or on social media to stay up-to-date with all of her latest releases. WEBSITE
