Serpents in the Cold

They found her on the beach, frozen, like a statue carved in ice...

Post-war Boston is down on its luck, and desperate to reinvent itself. But promises of a brighter future sound ever more hollow as the worst winter in recent memory tightens its grip.

No one is interested in a string of murdered women - everyone would much rather pretend they don't exist. But the latest victim was loved...

Old friends Cal and Dante are both struggling to find a way to live in a city that seems to be leaving them behind. The hunt for a killer gives them new purpose, as well as making them powerful enemies. But they believe in justice and second chances, and they will see this thing through - whatever the cost.

“Brutally realistic...The authors give us one last, lingering look at the good-bad old days - New York Times Book ReviewThis is a bone-crunching, gut-wrenching novel that captures the atmosphere of a city in decay and its inhabitants. It delivers noir fiction like we always want it to be - Kirkus ReviewsO'Malley and Purdy bring postwar Boston to life, making neighbourhoods feel as distinct as separate countries...They have delivered a love-letter to a Boston that's long gone. - Publishers WeeklyGorgeous...A noir novel can be the high, slippery tightrope of mysteries. It's difficult to sustain a dark, moody balance; many writers slide right off into caricature. But O'Malley and Purdy let in just enough daylight - even if it's harsh winter light - to hold out hope of redemption. - WBUR”

Brutally realistic...The authors give us one last, lingering look at the good-bad old days - New York Times Book Review

This is a bone-crunching, gut-wrenching novel that captures the atmosphere of a city in decay and its inhabitants. It delivers noir fiction like we always want it to be - Kirkus Reviews

O'Malley and Purdy bring postwar Boston to life, making neighbourhoods feel as distinct as separate countries...They have delivered a love-letter to a Boston that's long gone. - Publishers Weekly

Gorgeous...A noir novel can be the high, slippery tightrope of mysteries. It's difficult to sustain a dark, moody balance; many writers slide right off into caricature. But O'Malley and Purdy let in just enough daylight - even if it's harsh winter light - to hold out hope of redemption. - WBUR

Thomas O'Malley was raised in Ireland and England. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and currently teaches on the faculty of creative writing at Dartmouth College. He is the author of the novels In the Province of Saints and This Magnificent Desolation. He lives in the Boston area.

Douglas Graham Purdy grew up in the Boston area. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Boston and worked in Film & Media Studies at MIT. This is his first novel.

They found her on the beach, frozen, like a statue carved in ice... Post-war Boston is down on its luck, and desperate to reinvent itself. But promises of a brighter future sound ever more hollow as the worst winter in recent memory tightens its grip. No one is interested in a string of murdered women - everyone would much rather pretend they don't exist. But the latest victim was loved...Old friends Cal and Dante are both struggling to find a way to live in a city that seems to be leaving them behind. The hunt for a killer gives them new purpose, as well as making them powerful enemies. But they believe in justice and second chances, and they will see this thing through - whatever the cost.

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