Because the word ‘ghosts’ appears in the title we know what they are when they turn up but our protagonist doesn’t. How he comes to realise this and cope with it is cleverly done in a creepy tale of persecution, war, loss and love very reminiscent of Susan Hill’s creepy tales. It’s short and atmospheric, a one-sitting read, highly recommended.
The Great War took much more than lives. It robbed a generation of friends, lovers and futures. In Freddie Watson's case, it took his beloved brother and, at times, his peace of mind. Unable to cope with his grief, Freddie has spent much of the time since in a sanatorium. In the winter of 1928, still seeking resolution, Freddie is travelling through the French Pyrenees - another region that has seen too much bloodshed over the years. During a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. Shaken, he stumbles into the woods, emerging by a tiny village. There he meets Fabrissa, a beautiful local woman, also mourning a lost generation. Over the course of one night, Fabrissa and Freddie share their stories of remembrance and loss. By the time dawn breaks, he will have stumbled across a tragic mystery that goes back through the centuries. By turns thrilling, poignant and haunting, this is a story of two lives touched by war and transformed by courage. THE WINTER GHOSTS is the gripping new adventure from the No 1 bestselling author of LABYRINTH and SEPULCHRE.
Kate Mosse was our Guest Editor in November 2012 - click here - to see the books that inspired her writing.
Kate Mosse is a number one international bestselling novelist, playwright and non-fiction writer. The author of several novels and short-story collections – including the multimillion-selling Languedoc Trilogy (Labyrinth, Sepulchre and Citadel) and Gothic fiction The Winter Ghosts and The Taxidermist’s Daughter, which she is adapting for the stage – her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and published in more than forty countries. She has also written four works of non-fiction – including An Extra Pair of Hands (Wellcome Collection, 2021) - four plays, contributed essays and introductions to classic novels and collections. A champion of women's creativity, Kate is the Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and a regular interviewer for theatre and fiction events. She is the Founder of the global campaign - #WomanInHistory – launched in January 2021 to honour, celebrate and promote women’s achievements throughout history and from every corner of the world. Kate divides her time between Chichester in West Sussex and Carcassonne in south-west France. The first two novels in The Burning Chambers series, The Burning Chambers and The City of Tears, are out now.
Perfect for reading by the fire on chill winter evenings, this bewitching tale of love, loss, and the ghosts of the past will hold the reader spellbound. Haunted by the death of his brother George in the Great War twelve years earlier, Freddie Watson travels to the south of France, hoping to find peace in the clear air of the Pyrenees. But when a car accident in a snowstorm leads him to a remote village deep in Cathar country, and a chance encounter with mysterious, tragic Fabrissa, Freddie begins to uncover a terrible secret that has lain dormant for centuries.