Cold Truth

When you can fake anything, how do you know what's real?

Harlow Close has made a career as an influencer uncovering the secrets of Winnipeg, dubbed 'North America's strangest city'. The region is renowned for its sub-zero temperatures, dropping to minus 40 degrees - sometimes for months at a time. Yet, it's not just the frigid winters and geographic seclusion that render Winnipeg peculiar. When Harlow's father mysteriously disappears amid a brutal cold snap, suspicions of foul play arise. It's not like Scott to miss phone calls - and he's been even more cautious since that time he was catfished by a romance scammer. Unhappy with the pace of the police investigation, Harlow launches her own search, enlisting her sister Blaise's reluctant help.

As Harlow struggles to uncover what happened to her father, she's forced to question everything and everyone around her - including herself.

About the Author

Ashley Kalagian Blunt writes to expose the myriad ways our technology makes us vulnerable. She is the number-one bestselling author of Dark Mode, a psychological thriller published in multiple territories and languages. Dark Mode was shortlisted for the 2024 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year and the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction, and was voted number 20 in the Better Reading Top 100.

Her earlier books are How to Be Australian, a memoir, and My Name Is Revenge, collected fiction and essays, which was a finalist in the 2018 Carmel Bird Digital Literary Award. Her writing appears in the Sydney Morning Herald, Overland, Griffith Review, Sydney Review of Books, Australian Book Review, Kill Your Darlings and more.

Ashley co-hosts James and Ashley Stay at Home, a podcast about writing, creativity and health, and has taught creative writing across Australia. Originally from Winnipeg, Canada, she lived and worked in South Korea, Peru and Mexico before moving to Gadigal land.