Saint-Martin-de-Comminges is a small town nestled in the Pyrenees. The kind of place where nothing happens. Until the winter morning when a group of workers discover the headless body of a horse, hanging suspended from a frozen cliff. Toulouse city copy Servaz can't believe he's been told to investigate the death of an animal. But there's something disturbing about the crime he can't ignore. Then DNA from one of the most notorious inmates of a nearby asylum is found on the corpse...and a few days later the first murder takes place. Madness and revenge is stirring in the snowbound valley, and Servaz must uncover the town's dark secret before the killer strikes again.
'A publishing sensation in France, where it's rushed up the bestseller lists, this is Minier's first crime novel and this translation justifies its vast French reputation...With a villain possessing the intelligence of Thomas Harris's immortal Hannibal Lecter, this is great story-telling, with a creeping sense of dread that would not disgrace Stephen King at his best.' - Daily Mail
'Revenge is at the heart of this clever mystery, which involves a plot as cold-blooded as the slaying of the horse' - Sunday Times
'This densely written and very atmospheric thriller is Minier's first novel. It has been a bestseller in France and, in this well-translated English edition, deserves to be one here' - Literary Review
Author
About Bernard Minier
Bernard Minier grew up at the foot of the Pyrenees. He has received several awards for his short stories, and THE FROZEN DEAD is his first crime novel.