Dig too deep and you might unearth more than just a nugget
Journalist, Kate Hartley, is in Snowdonia to interview Welsh-gold prospector, Tom (Digger) Johns.
Things do not pan out the way she hoped, but Kate’s editor is keen for her to take advantage of another golden opportunity. Superstar Hollywood actor, Sir David Evans, is back in his homeland to search for a reliable and sensitive ghost-writer. Will Kate be up to the job of dealing with the reclusive, grief-stricken actor, widowed after the tragic events in New York in 2001?
Kate is soon out-of-her-depth; the treacherous weather and a dangerous adversary conspiring to put her life in double jeopardy.
Extract
Tom is floating, face down, in a swirling eddy, about two metres from me. I quickly scramble back up the bank to where Ed is lying. Averting my eyes from the blood-soaked leaves by his head, I pull the spear out from where it is pinned, underneath his body, then slip and slide back down to the river with it.
At the mere sight of the brown meltwater roaring over the rocks, I can taste the bitter bile collecting in the base of my throat.
Taking some deep breaths, I tentatively place one foot onto the trunk of a spindly fallen Rowen tree, its clusters of bright-orange berries still pointlessly dangling from the thin branches. I give it a quick test, bouncing it to make sure the tree is not planning an excursion off down the river anytime soon.
Satisfied, I step out over the raging water.
Proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Reverse Rett charity.