When Alfie McAlister agrees to join a writers’ retreat at the remote and imposing Hallwood Hall, he hopes to find inspiration - and perhaps a moment of clarity about his past and future. But among the aspiring authors and eccentric personalities, tensions simmer beneath the surface. Then a guest disappears without a trace, and fiction starts to feel dangerously close to reality. As secrets begin to unravel, Alfie must uncover the truth - before someone decides his story should come to an end. Helena Marchmont is the pen name of Scottish author Olga Wojtas, who lives in Edinburgh and works as a journalist. Her popular cosy crime series BUNBURRY, set in a fictional village in the Cotswolds, combines British humour, eccentric characters, and classic mystery elements. Wojtas was awarded the Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award and has also written the Miss Blaine Mystery series as well as numerous short stories.