Ice Out: A Novel

Review\n2022 NYC Big Book Awards Distinguished Favorite in Visionary Fiction
2022 International Book Awards Finalist in Fiction: Visionary
2022 Book Excellence Awards Winner in Fiction
2022 Eric Hofer Book Award Finalist
2022 Literary Titan Book Award Gold Award Winner\n“[D]eftly focuses on redemption and forgiveness . . . an engaging tale about thorny family ties.”
—Kirkus Reviews\n“This is a story that will at times chill your bones, but also warm your heart. Susan Speranza’s Ice Out is a transformative tale of one woman’s desperate journey to save the ones she loves, and in the process save herself. Part allegory, the novel explores the inner reaches of our soul, to our moral compass, in order to find the way forward toward forgiveness and self-acceptance. Speranza brilliantly threads the line between utter heartache and redemption in a thrilling novel that lingers long after its last page is turned.”
—Wm. Anthony Connolly, author of Psalms & Stones and The Smallest Universe\n“In her tense, riveting thriller Ice Out, Susan Speranza taps into ancient tropes of desire, faith, and fear to weave a tale of lovers Francesca and Ben. Seemingly in possession of the perfect marriage, Francesca certainly feels occasional tension from Ben, but as the pages fly along, the signs grow more foreboding. A wicked, tragic final act at last makes Francesca face the cold, hard facts of her life. But when she finds herself suddenly with real power in her hands, will Francesca choose forgiveness, or the much more tempting revenge? Speranza’s fine storytelling in Ice Out grabs the reader and simply never lets go.”
—Tony D'Souza, author of Whiteman and The Konkans\n“Ice Out is an emotional rollercoaster with an intricate psychological plot. Readers who enjoy metaphysical fiction, thriller, or psychological fiction novels will be drawn into this riveting story.”
—Literary Titan\n“A harrowing, mind-bending journey; fans of fast-paced fiction will thoroughly enjoy this book. Highly recommended!”
—Book Excellence Awards\nFrancesca Bodin has a near-perfect life as an accomplished music teacher and professional flutist living in the Vermont countryside with her husband Ben, and their four-year old daughter, Addie. This ends suddenly when a snowmobiling accident traps the three of them in a frozen lake. Ben, after escaping onto the ice, leaves her and Addie to die.\nFrancesca believes she sees their dog pull Addie from the lake and drag her into the nearby woods. Desperate to help her daughter, she crawls from the icy waters and follows them. Once she enters the forest, however, she finds herself trapped in a sinister, dream-like world where night never ends, where Addie’s whereabouts remain hidden from her, and where she encounters a group of women who, like Francesca, have been left to die and now seek to unleash their revenge on those who have harmed them. When they have Ben in their sights, Francesca realizes that if she is ever to escape this nightmare and save her daughter, she must first save the husband who abandoned them.\nWhile Francesca’s pilgrimage through this bleak landscape is on the surface a desperate attempt to find her daughter and reestablish her life as it was before the accident, it ultimately becomes an allegorical journey that takes her from despair to hope, from grief to acceptance, and from bitterness to forgiveness.