Emily is a women's fiction writer who has been asked to write one of a twelve-book series that features retellings of fairy tales. She has chosen the Grim tale, Maleen the Maiden, in which a princess defies her father by wanting to marry whom she wants to marry. Maleen and her hand servant are locked up in a windowless tower for seven years, only to realize no one is rescuing them, and they must break out on their own. Seven years ago, Emily walked into her apartment to find her roommate dead from a stabbing. Emily is a readhead and believes that she was the intended target. She hasn't told her husband any of this. Tristan, her husband, works as a forensics expert. He also knows about Emily's past and believes that the recent stabbing death of a local redhead is connected to what happened to her. He believes that there is a serial killer who may want to circle back and kill his intended victim, Emily. Tristan is keeping all of this from Emily due to her anxiety and panic attacks. He's also hiding the fact that he has an evil brother and a father who committed suicide.
Tristan's therapist (also Emilly's therapist, though she does not know this) suggests a cabin retreat to get away from all his problems. Triston sees this as perfect for Emily, who has writer's block and a deadline looming. The cabin is owned by Alex Liu, a woman running from her own past, who is married to a military man and lives on a farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains. When Tristan and Emily drive down from Pennsylvania and meet Alex for the first time, she tells them that she was born and raised in a small town in Maine, where Tristan lived until he was nine. Tristan recognizes the redhead as the woman who was stabbed but survived. He realizes that her stabbing fits in with the others, and the serial killer seems to strike every seven years. There is a massive snowstorm coming, and Alex and Emily will find themselves all alone with the sense that someone is watching them.
I enjoyed this book that entwines sections of Emily's book with what is going on. It is a true page-turning thriller. But as with books of this nature, there is a real twist at the end that doesn't make a lot of sense. The ending is not as good as the rest of the book, but I'm still going to recommend it because it is a very enjoyable read with interesting characters, including a marriage where both parties are keeping major secrets from the other and believe they have a great marriage. They love each other incredibly, but do not really know each other. This book has a great start to it, but fizzles at the end. I give it three out of five stars.
