Ben’s Book Club Featuring THE CHILLING by Riley James

An isolated research station. A storm approaching.

There's nowhere to run. But so much to hide.

Keen to flee the wreckage of her marriage, Australian scientist Kit Bitterfeld accepts a coveted winter research position at Macpherson Station in Antarctica. On the way there, Kit and her fellow researchers field a distress call from a nearby ship. 

By the time they reach the vessel it is on fire and the crew has vanished. A lone survivor is found, but he can't remember who he is or what has happened. 

They bring the survivor, identified as geophysicist Nick Coltheart, to Macpherson but it's clear that something is wrong. More and more of Kit's colleagues are acting strangely. And she can't shake the suspicion that Nick knows more than he's letting on. With the winter darkness setting in, Kit must figure out the truth before they are completely cut off from the outside world. But is the danger lurking out on the ice, or is it closer than she thinks? 

The Chilling offers a compellingly icy twist on the winter thriller setting, transplanting the most haunting elements of Scandi noir to the southern hemisphere, and announces Riley James as a brilliant new talent writing in a fresh corner of Australian crime fiction.

Riley James lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her partner and two children. She was born and raised in north-west Tasmania and has been writing since the age of six. She trained briefly as a journalist before completing a PhD and becoming an academic. The Chilling is her first novel.

Ben’s Book Club is a free monthly digital book club hosted by author Ben Hobson - brought to you by OverDrive Australia. We welcome guests to join us the fourth Tuesday of each month to engage and interact with authors from all genres. The Zoom link will be emailed to all attendees on the day of the event. During this digital book club, guests will have the opportunity to ask questions, interact with the authors, and enjoy a well-rounded bookish discussion.

This month’s featured title is available to borrow from Hornsby Shire Libraries eLibrary with no waitlists or holds! Download the Libby app to start reading: meet.libbyapp.com

Author Riley James (credit Paula Mahoney)