Darkthaw: A Winterkill Novel

For as long as Emmeline can remember, she’s longed to leave the isolated world of the settlement and explore the wilderness that calls to her in her dreams. And now that the Council has fallen, she will finally, finally get that chance. With First Peoples guide Matisa at her side, Emmeline rallies a brave group to join her on her quest into the unknown, including her beloved Kane and his two younger brothers.

But the journey soon proves far more dangerous than Emmeline anticipated—with warring clans, slavers, colonists, disease, and natural disasters seemingly at every turn. After putting so many lives in danger, she starts to doubt everything she once knew. Did she make the right choice to leave the settlement—and can her relationship with Kane survive the ordeal? Matisa insists that to set things right and to fight the evil that is bringing all this danger and turmoil to the forest, Emmeline must journey to Matisa’s people—even if that means leaving Kane behind.

"Readers who have found themselves battling for their own versions of righteous truth-seeking will cheer Emmeline’s grit."

"A philosophical, ruminative adventure."

Emmeline knows shes not supposed to explore the woods outside her settlement. The enemy that wiped out half her people lurks there, attacking at night and keeping them isolated in an unfamiliar land with merciless winters. Living with the shame of her grandmothers insubordination, Emmeline has learned to keep her head down and her quick tongue silent.When the settlement leader asks for her hand in marriage, its an opportunity for Emmeline to wash the family slate clean—even if she has eyes for another. But before shes forced into an impossible decision, her dreams urge her into the woods, where she uncovers a path she cant help but follow. The trail leads to a secret that someone in the village will kill to protect. Her grandmother followed the same path and paid the price. If Emmeline isnt careful, she will be next.

Kate A. Boorman is the author of Winterkill. She was born in Nepal and grew up in the small Canadian town of Rimbey. Her pastimes include sitting under starry skies with friends and traveling to far-off lands with her husband and two children. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta.