Dead of Winter

More of Ollie’s words trickled into his mind, something he had said about finding his place, where he needed to be, something about water. What had he said?

But then, Frances Lawrence was in his head, too, whispering. People have places on earth where their souls feel comfortable, Louis, places where they feel at home.

His fingers closed around Ollie’s snowflake stone, and he remembered: The water is where you need to settle, Kincaid. It doesn’t have to be here. There’s lots of water in the world.

He stared out at the frozen lake. This was not the place. He had thought it would be but it wasn’t. Right now, he wasn’t sure where he did belong.

The only thing he knew for sure was that he had to go on trying to find it. Gripping the hard black stone, he turned and started back.

MEET P.J. PARRISH

P.J. Parrish is the New York Times bestselling author of ten Louis Kincaid and Joe Frye thrillers. The author is actually two sisters, Kristy Montee and Kelly Nichols. Their books have appeared on both the New York Times and USA Today best seller lists. The series has garnered 11 major crime-fiction awards, and an Edgar® nomination. Parrish has won two Shamus awards, one Anthony and one International Thriller competition. Her books have been published throughout Europe and Asia.

Parrish's short stories have also appeared in many anthologies, including two published by Mystery Writers of America, edited by Harlan Coben and the late Stuart Kaminsky. Their stories have also appeared in Akashic Books acclaimed DETROIT NOIR, and in Ellery Queen Magazine. Most recently, they contributed an essay to a special edition of Edgar Allan Poe's works edited by Michael Connelly.

Before turning to writing full time, Kristy Montee was a newspaper editor and dance critic for the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. Nichols previously was a blackjack dealer and then a human resources specialist in the casino industry. Montee lives in Fort Lauderdale and Nichols resides in Elk Rapids, Michigan.

The sisters were writers as kids, albeit with different styles: Kelly's first attempt at fiction at age 11 was titled “The Kill.” Kristy's at 13 was “The Cat Who Understood.” Not much has changed: Kelly now tends to handle the gory stuff and Kristy the character development. But the collaboration is a smooth one, thanks to lots of ego suppression, good wine, and marathon phone calls via Skype.

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