A Haunting Most Cold by Lauren Carter - alt text

COVER

​A stately house in the Victorian style nestled in tress and laden with snow. The title and author's name appear in a large gothic script. The image is rendered in shades of white and teal.

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The cover of Lauren Carter's A Haunting Most Cold is accompanied by the following text:

"Equal parts cozy and unsettling, Carter has supplied us with a gripping read that you won't be able to pur down"  - Cat Valeur

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​It had the usual makings of snowman, a carrot, a top hat, and stones for its features, but there was something more to this one, something different.

“Who built him then?” I asked my cousins. When neither of them answered, I turned to see that they hadn’t reacted at all. “Are you listening to me?”
“Why, yes, Sabrina,” Avenal said, still not looking up.

​“Did you build the snowman?” This got their attention. They both scrambled to their feet, then looked at each other. Without a word, Avenal opened the window, then grabbed a plate and threw it at the man, knocking his head off with a great thump. I staggered in disbelief. “Why on earth did you do that?”

Avenal didn’t answer. Quillon did. “Local boys.” When I looked at him in confusion, he continued. “They probably built it, Avenal is mad they’re on our property again, right?” He nudged his brother who was still looking out into the cold.
Without response  Avenal left in a rush, slamming, slamming doors as he went. I only just caught the face of thunder in a small snippet of flashness. Quillon offered me a look of reassurance before leaving in silence himself.

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“You do not need to hover. Not here,” a voice called out before I made up my mind. “Do come in.”
I slowly opened the door to a cupboard room with no windows and only a desk pressed against the opposite wall. The voice was coming from the figure with his back to me. Quillon, back hunch over writing, was sat at the desk.
He turned his head and I could see a quarter of a smile. “What brings you to my writing desk at this hour?”
“I apologise for disturbing you,” I said, wishing I had stayed in bed.
He turned back and shook his head. “Come, I told you. You need not hover, come in.”
Come where? I thought, looking around at the small space. I inched close enough to Quillon to peer down.
“I am a novelist,” he explained. “This is book seven, I believe. You are welcome to read it in its entirety once it’s finished. It’ll be nice to have another set of eyes other than my brother’s.”
“Where is Avenal? In his room?”
Quillon shook his head again. “He’s likely on the ground floor.”
“Don’t you sleep?”
He stopped writing for a moment. “We have trouble with it, as you can imagine.”
​"I can."

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The back cover of Lauren Carter's A Haunting Most Cold along with the following quote:

"I thought writing out the story, just as my cousin had once done, would help. But it only brings me more torment."

the back cover text reads as follows:

It was in the winter of 1876
that I arrived
at Dreadwood Estate...

When Sabrina Crowvin is orphaned, she is sent to Dreadwood Estate to stay with her last remaining family members, two brothers named Avenal and Quillon. Meeting her cousins for the first time, Sabrina discovers she may not be alone.
As worrisome messages begin to arrive in the snow outside without explanation, Sabrina begins to suspect there may be more to Dreadwood and her cousins than she understands
As winter whips at the windows, Sabrina wonders and worries about what lies within.

Reminiscent of M. R. James, this chilling ghost story is a perfect read for the dead of winter.
- Sophie Ingley, author of Eeriella: Super-Fiend!

A Haunting Most Cold is the perfect chilling read for when you're curled up by the fire. Equal parts cozy and unsettling, Carter has supplied us with a gripping read that you won't be able to put down.
                    - Cat Voleur, author of Revenge Arc