Dead of Winter by Sean Harris #25daysofbooks

This year I’m counting down the days ‘til Christmas with books and other fun things readers enjoy! I love the Holiday Season so I’m sharing ideas for you to fill your holiday stocking!

Dead of Winter by Sean Harris



"Fairbanks, Alaska is a city filled with colorful characters and I was one of them. Since I was a teenager, I’ve seen spirits and ghosts walking among us. There’s a lot more of them than you might think."

A young woman reaches out from beyond the grave, and a reluctant clairvoyant, Allysen Coles, answers her pleas to solve a decades-old murder. With the help of her friends—a spiritually magnetic computer programmer and a hockey-playing priest—Allysen uncovers something far more sinister than murder. In the long, dark winter of Fairbanks, things aren't always what they seem.

Excerpt:

In the room, the thumping was nearly deafening. With each tremendous blow, Harry and I nearly fell over. He did as I told him and kept a firm hold on me. Suddenly, books began flying off the shelves. We ducked constantly to avoid being hit. Leave it to a doctor to own lots of large, heavy books. One of them caught me on my injured leg. Thankfully, it didn’t hit the wound but it was enough to make me cry out. I felt my knees start to give out on me, but Harry caught me and kept me from falling.

The booming blows continued to rain down on the house, and drywall dust fell from the ceiling as the structure began to show signs of the beating it was taking. To our right, the closet door swung open and slammed shut in perfect rhythm of the moans and wails.

Then, suddenly, it all stopped.

The closet door stood wide open. I looked into it from where I stood but could see nothing but darkness. Either the entity I was looking for was in there and inviting me into its lair, or the Meyers had one heck of a walk-in closet.

I could hear the sound of someone or something breathing in the darkness. That was unusual, considering that ghosts don’t need oxygen and have very little use for breathing. Some of them continue to do it out of habit, but after a while, most of them found it too tedious to keep up the façade.

Cautiously, I took a step toward the closet.

“Careful, Allie,” Harry said. He still had a death grip on my hand.

“Harry, is the closet door open?” I needed to make sure I wasn’t the only one seeing this.

“Yes, and I can hear something breathing. And it smells bad.”

I didn’t notice the odor myself, but now wasn’t the time to argue about it. I took another step, and I thought I could make out movement there in the darkness.

“Allysen, we’ve been waiting for you.” voices called in unison from the darkness.

I suddenly wanted—no, needed, to get out of that room. The door to the hallway suddenly slammed shut, causing both Harry and I to jump.

“Come, Allysen. Come see what we have in mind for you,” they called again.
 

I stepped backward, but I was a split second too late. Before I could go anywhere, some force I couldn’t see reached out and grabbed my wrist. I knew in that instant what it was planning to do.

Stupidly, I’d played right into its plan.

“Harry, let go of my—”

Laughter echoed in my head as the unseen force dragged me and Harry into the darkness.

Happy Holidays!


Tricia