The Ice: A Gripping Thriller For Our Times From The Bailey’s Shortlisted Author Of The Bees

An Electrifying Story Of Friendship, Power And Betrayal By The Bestselling, Baileys-prize Shortlisted Author Of The Bees. It's The Day After Tomorrow And The Arctic Sea Ice Has Melted. While Global Business Carves Up The New Frontier, Cruise Ships Race Each Other To Ever-rarer Wildlife Sightings. The Passengers Of The Vanir Have Come Seeking A Polar Bear. What They Find Is Even More Astonishing: A Dead Body. It Is Tom Harding, Lost In An Accident Three Years Ago And Now Revealed By The Melting Ice Of Midgard Glacier. Tom Had Come To Midgard To Help Launch The New Venture Of His Best Friend Of Thirty Years, Sean Cawson, A Man Whose Business Relies On Discretion And Powerful Connections - And Who Was The Last Person To See Him Alive. Their Friendship Had Been Forged By A Shared Obsession With Arctic Exploration. And Although Tom's Need To Save The World Often Clashed With Sean's Desire To Conquer It, Sean Has Always Believed That Underneath It All, They Shared The Same Goals. But As The Inquest Into Tom's Death Begins, The Choices Made By Both Men - In Love And In Life - Are Put On The Stand. And When Cracks Appear In The Foundations Of Sean's Glamorous World, He Is Forced To Question What Price He Has Really Paid For A Seat At The Establishment's Table. Just How Deep Do The Lies Go? Laline Paull. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 369-371). THE ICE is an electrifying story of friendship, power and betrayal by the bestselling, Baileys-prize shortlisted author of The Bees. It's the day after tomorrow and the Arctic sea ice has melted. While global business carves up the new frontier, cruise ships race each other to ever-rarer wildlife sightings. The passengers of the Vanir have come seeking a polar bear. What they find is even more astonishing: a dead body. It is Tom Harding, lost in an accident three years ago and now revealed by the melting ice of Midgard glacier. Tom had come to Midgard to help launch the new venture of his best friend of thirty years, Sean Cawson, a man whose business relies on discretion and powerful connections and who was the last person to see him alive. Their friendship had been forged by a shared obsession with Arctic exploration. And although Tom's need to save the world often clashed with Sean's desire to conquer it, Sean has always believed that underneath it all, they shared the same goals. But as the inquest into Tom's death begins, the choices made by both men in love and in life are put on the stand. And when cracks appear in the foundations of Sean's glamorous world, he is forced to question what price he has really paid for a seat at the establishment's table. Just how deep do the lies go? An electrifying story of friendship, power and betrayal by the bestselling, Baileys-prize shortlisted author of The Bees. 'A memorable eco-thriller. This is a world of arms dealers, heroic arctic adventurers and power crazed captains of industry. And that's just the ladies' The Times A frozen corpse emerges from a melting glacier and after three years of uncertainty, Sean Cawson can finally put the past behind him. Tom Harding, Sean's friend of thirty years was lost in an accident and Sean was the last person to see him alive. Tom's body is not the only secret hidden in the ice. As global businesses and global powers jostle for territory in this new, lawless frontier there are big opportunities for those with the courage – or mendacity – to seize them. And equally big risks. For years Sean has navigated these dangerous waters, loving the glamour and influence they bring. But as the inquest into Tom's death begins, the choices made by both men – in love and in life – are put on the stand. Soon everything Sean has believed about his friends, his position and himself is thrown into question. Just how deep do the lies go? As the melting ice of the Midgard glacier expels a frozen corpse into the Barents Sea, long-submerged secrets threaten to come to light. Discovered near a glamorous wilderness retreat owned by explorer-turned-businessman Sean Cawson, the body is that of his best friend Tom Harding - lost in an accident on the glacier three years ago, when Cawson had been the last person to see him alive. Their friendship, forged by a shared obsession with Arctic exploration, had often been strained by their differing ambitions. And, as the inquest into Tom's death begins, the choices made by both men - in love and in life - are put on the stand. Soon Cawson begins to wonder whether Tom was in fact the only one who truly understood the world they were operating in, and whether the price he has paid for his place at the establishment's table is higher than he could ever have imagined