The Dead Time: A Collection of 4 Books for the End of the Year

Terrifying tales for the darkest, coldest time of year.

A collection of four books from Sunday Times top 10 best-selling and award-winning author Paul Finch.

Two novellas, two short story collections…brought together for the first time ever in this great-value all-in-one. 

Perfect listening for fans of Adam Nevill, Catriona Ward, and Laura Purcell.

Season of Mist

Industrial Lancashire, 1974. The kids in the coal-mining town of Ashburn love the waning of the year. Fancy dress and scary stories for Halloween. Fireworks and treacle toffee on Guy Fawkes Night. And a month after that, snow and the approach of Christmas. But this particular autumn will be memorable for entirely different reasons. Because this year, someone is killing the children of Ashburn. Or should that be something?

While police and parents search for a maniac, Stephen Carter and his schoolmates know better. They may be on the cusp of adulthood, but there’s still enough of the youngster left in each of them to recognize the work of an evil supernatural unique to these deserts of slag heap and coal tip....

Sparrowhawk

In the year 1843, embittered Afghan War veteran John Sparrowhawk is released from the debtors’ prison by the beautiful and enigmatic Miss Evangeline.

Penniless and alone in the world, he takes employment with his mysterious benefactor, agreeing to stand guard over a house in Bloomsbury for the duration of that December.

The task sounds simple, but in fact is anything but.

While London is gripped by the coldest winter in living memory, a supernatural entity emerges from the frozen shadows, challenging Sparrowhawk at every turn, tormenting him not just with his own demons, but by drawing on the darkest, most sinister myths of the Yuletide season....

In a Deep, Dark December

Christmas. A time of feasting and good cheer. Gifts, cards, blazing holly logs. But it isn’t always joyful. It’s the coldest time of year. The days are short, the nights long, and chilling myths lie hidden behind the raucous revelry.

The ghoulish events in the frozen workhouse.

The undead presence at the costumed ball.

The pantomime that became a massacre.

The winter goddess with the heart of ice.

The thieves who woke the dark side of the festive spirit.

The Christmas You Deserve

Christmas, the happiest time of year. Plum puddings, candy canes, carols by the fireside.

But outside, the mist lies deep and still. Frost gnaws at your fingertips. Shadowy forms lurk in the evergreens. It’s the season for ghost stories.

The Christmas present that wants to butcher you.

The horned devil in the Santa Claus suit.

The terrifying events at Mistletoe Hall.

The movie makers trapped in a winter nightmare.

The festive puppet show that ends in death.