The Merry

A knock on the door in the wee hours of Christmas morning brings a terrifying revelation to Madeline Williams.

Snowed in during a stay at her mountain home with her family, and with roads closed and a new storm brewing, the man waiting beyond the door is the last person she expected to see.

Not only does Madeline know the man standing in the cold, begging her to let him in, but he alone harbors a scandalous secret that could be the bombshell to disrupt her quiet domestic life-- and her marriage to good-natured Tom.

When the threat turns physical and police get involved, the stakes climb higher and higher. With extended family due to arrive the next morning, a holiday dinner to prepare, and now a motherload of old feelings stirred up by her uninvited guest, Madeline must find a way to protect her precious family and save Christmas.

Will her husband and kids find out Madeline's secret? Will they stand by the woman they know and love, anyway?

The Merry is a standalone, holiday-themed domestic suspense novel with gripping twists. It will keep you guessing right up until its shocking end.

(Publisher's Note: A shorter version of this story was previously published as Her Holiday Guest in Kelly Utt's Rosemary Run series.)