by Jane Holland
Just before climaxing, he cries out, ‘Rachel!’
I don’t correct him.
He may be right, after all. Who knows?
Afterwards, cradled in the circle of his strong arms, I gaze out of the window at the white mountains, and my eyelids grow heavy as I listen to the steady drip-drip-drip of thawing snow.
Acknowledgments
I am vastly indebted, as always, to my dynamic and brilliant literary agent, Luigi Bonomi, and also to Alison and Danielle at LBA, for their continuing support (not to mention all those life-saving email chats).
Many thanks to my lovely editors at Thomas & Mercer, Jane Snelgrove and Jack Butler, without whom this book would not exist. I’m also grateful to the whole Amazon Publishing team for their belief in me and their hard work, especially Emilie Marneur, Eoin Purcell, Hatty Stiles, Victoire Chevalier, Shannon McMonagle and Sammia Hamer. Many thanks also to Ian Pindar, David Downing and Gemma Wain for their insightful and entertaining editorial comments.
Plus, a very special thank you to Stuart Gibbon, of gibconsultancy.co.uk, for his expert help and advice with matters of police procedure. Any mistakes are entirely my own.
As ever, I thank my fantastic cohort of readers, many of whom have become friends over the years on social media and in Real Life – thank you, Martha Dunlop! – for having my back, and pushing me on with your enthusiasm. Also to my fellow writers, who understand all too well how much of your soul goes into every published book, and who lighten each day with hilarious memes and cat-pic shares. All of you keep me writing and hoping.
Lastly, my grateful thanks to my loving husband Steve, and my children Kate, Becki, Dylan, Morris and Indigo, for being there when I need you, and for not being there when I need a quiet house instead. And for all the cups of tea . . .
About the Author
Photo: © 2011 Anna Rybacka
Jane Holland is a Gregory Award-winning poet and novelist who also writes commercial fiction under the pseudonyms Victoria Lamb, Elizabeth Moss, Beth Good and Hannah Coates. Her debut thriller, Girl Number One, hit #1 in the UK Kindle Store in December 2015. Jane lives with her husband and young family near the North Cornwall/Devon border. A homeschooler, her hobbies include photography and growing her own vegetables.
