An intricate mystery involving past trauma and hidden secrets ...

Marla Lindberg’s memories are crystal clear: of the strange message that lured her years ago to a disused maternity clinic. Of the figure who tried to kill her. The strange whistling cough of the psychopath during the fight to the death.

After years of psychotherapy, the highly intelligent young woman has learned that these are all false memories. And on top of that, Marla suffers from face blindness. Her brain plays tricks on her in extreme situations when it tries in vain to recognize people by their faces.

When Marla receives an invitation to a class reunion in the Alps, she hopes to be able to reminisce with her former classmates. But when she arrives at the snowy mountain hotel, all the rooms are already occupied. There are used dishes on the dining table, the fireplace is flickering, but no one is there. Marla starts looking for the others. And then she hears it again. Someone whistling and coughing, outside, in the icy darkness ...

Marla soon realizes that there is only one thing more dangerous than leaving the hotel at night: staying!

About the author: Sebastian Fitzek is the most successful German best-selling author, whose works have sold more than 19 million copies and have been published in more than 36 countries. He began his career in radio, later studying law and gaining a doctorate in copyright law. In 2006, he published his first psychological thriller, Therapy, which became a best seller, as did all subsequent books. Between 2014 and 2021, Sebastian Fitzek was the most successful German author of the year six times. In 2023, his books The invitation and Parent’s Eve were the best-selling books of the year. Many of his books have been successfully adapted for film and television series, such as Therapy (Prime Video) as a six-part miniseries, which was a top 10 hit in 17 countries for several weeks. Also, many of his works have been the subject of several theater adaptations, including Soulbreaker, Therapy, and Passenger 23. Sebastian Fitzek has twice been nominated for the Glauser Prize and has been awarded the Golden Lovelybooks Readers' Prize several times. He also received the Hörkules and won the European Prize for Crime Literature in 2016. He is an ambassador for the German Child Protection Association and patron of the association Das frühgeborene Kind e.V. Fitzek was born in Berlin in 1971. He lives with his family in Berlin.