This is a pretty horrific tale but it is written in such a simplistic style it might almost have been designed for young adults. Indeed it features a bunch of teenagers who set each other dares on “Hop-tu-naa”, the Isle of Man Hallowe’en. Then a prank goes badly wrong and one ends up in prison. Six years later our protagonist, Claire, is a police officer. Now the story starts to contain letters of vengeance and the body count mounts. Throughout the tale there is a feeling of menace that builds to an obvious climax. This is easy-read stuff; good escapism.
When Claire Cooper was eight years old her mother mysteriously vanished during Hop-tu-naa, the Manx Halloween. At fourteen, Claire is still struggling to come to terms with her disappearance when she's befriended by a group of five teenagers who mark every Hop-tu-naa by performing dares. But Claire's arrival begins to alter the group's dynamic until one year a prank goes terribly wrong, changing all their futures and tearing the friends apart. Six years later, one of the friends is killed on Hop-tu-naa in an apparent accident. But Claire, now a police officer, has her doubts. Is a single footprint found near the body a deliberate taunt? As another Hop-tu-naa dawns, bringing with it another death and another footprint, Claire becomes convinced that somebody is seeking vengeance. But who? And which of the friends might be next? If she's to stop a killer and unlock the dark secrets of her past, Claire must confront her deepest fears, before it's too late. The author of the bestselling Safe House returns to the Isle of Man with a thriller that will keep you up all night.
Chris Ewan is the award-winning author of The Good Thief's Guide to... series of mystery novels. His debut, The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam, won the Long Barn Books First Novel Award and is published in 10 countries, and Amsterdam, Paris and Vegas have all been shortlisted for CrimeFest's Last Laugh Award. Born in Taunton in 1976, he now lives in the Isle of Man with his wife, Jo.
