Gillian White Livres

A valuable background book for young adult and adult students of English, combining information on life in the UK with opportunities for lively discussion.

‘Peace on earth and mercy mild...’ But there’s no mercy here. There is no telling how long the body has been down in the cellar, rising as the water level rises...In a wintry seaside resort an old woman goes missing from her residential hotel for the elderly, the inappropriately named Happy Haven. And in a remote farmhouse not far away, the Moon family gathers for Christmas. Clover Moon, the farmer’s wife, looks forward to the forthcoming festivities with quiet desperation and dread.What terrible events from the past are coming back to haunt them? As gales and blizzards cut off the power and maroon the Christmas gathering, where did the body come from which is swept into the farmhouse cellar by the rising flood water? In Gillian White’s dark and disturbing world, where nothing is quite as it seems, a mystery from the past becomes a terrifying ordeal in the present, and a traditional family Christmas turns into nightmare.

Shelley loves her kids passionately, but Joey, her eldest, has always been a problem. She has defended him through all his misdemeanours, but when he is involved in the death of a young baby, she is distraught. When the authorities send her and her familyto the Boltons' remote farm, they find a refuge. But many families have come to the Boltons' farm, and not all of them have left it."

Martha tolerated Jennie, took her on holiday, helped her with the children—but all the time she was wondering how much longer she could stand living next door to her. As time went on, however, the roles seemed to reverse. As Jennie became more confident and successful, Martha's life was falling apart. At times they seemed less like friends, and more like sworn enemies. Their relationship became bitter and twisted—a relationship which only one of them could survive.