Publisher's Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips is back with a delightful novel filled with her sassy wit and dazzling charmDeepest winter.An isolated island off the coast of Maine.A man. A woman.Puppets. (Yes, puppets . . .)And . . .A mysterious house looming over the sea . . .Hes a reclusive writer whose imagination creates chilling horror novels. Shes a down-on-her-luck actress reduced to staging kids puppet shows. He knows a dozen ways to kill his characters with his bare hands. She knows a dozen ways to kill an audience with laughs. But shes not laughing now.Annie Hewitt has arrived on Peregrine Island in the middle of a snowstorm and at the end of her resources. Shes broke, dispirited, but not quite ready to give up. Her red suitcases hold the puppets she uses to make her living: sensible Dilly, spunky Scamp, and Leo, the baddest of bad guys. Her puppets, the romantic novels she loves, and a little bit of courage are all she has left.Annie couldnt be more ill prepared for what she finds when she reaches Moonraker Cottage or for the man who dwells in Harp House, the mysterious mansion that hovers above the cottage. When she was a teenager, he betrayed her in a way she can never forget or forgive. Now theyre trapped together on a frozen island along with a lonely widow, a mute little girl, and townspeople who dont know how to mind their own business.Is he the villain she remembers, or has he changed? Her head says no. Her heart says yes.Its going to be a long, hot winter.