"A stranded detective tries to solve a murder in a tiny Alaskan town where everyone winters in the same high-rise building, in this gripping debut by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Iris Yamashita. When a local teenager discovers a severed hand and foot washed up on the shore of the small town of Point Mettier, Alaska, Cara Kennedy is on the case. A detective from Anchorage, she has her own reasons for investigating the possible murder in this isolated place, which can be accessed only by a tunnel. After an avalanche causes the tunnel to close indefinitely, Cara is stuck among the odd and suspicious residents of the town-all 205 of whom live in the same high-rise building and are as icy as the weather. Cara teams up with Point Mettier police officerJoe Barkowski, but before long the investigation is upended by a gang from a nearby reservation who are seeking shelter from the snowstorm. Cara soon discovers that everyone in this town is keeping secrets. If there is anything as elusive as the residents themselves, it's answers"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

Detective Cara Kennedy investigates a murder in a small Alaskan town after a local teen discovers a severed hand and foot washed up on the shore, teaming up with a town police officer as bad weather approaches. 50,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

A stranded detective tries to solve a murder in a tiny Alaskan town where everyone lives in a single high-rise building, in this gripping debut by an Academy Award–nominated screenwriter.

When a local teenager discovers a severed hand and foot washed up on the shore of the small town of Point Mettier, Alaska, Cara Kennedy is on the case. A detective from Anchorage, she has her own motives for investigating the possible murder in this isolated place, which can be accessed only by a tunnel.
 
After a blizzard causes the tunnel to close indefinitely, Cara is stuck among the odd and suspicious residents of the town—all 205 of whom live in the same high-rise building and are as icy as the weather. Cara teams up with Point Mettier police officer Joe Barkowski, but before long the investigation is upended by fearsome gang members from a nearby native village.
 
Haunted by her past, Cara soon discovers that everyone in this town has something to hide. Will she be able to unravel their secrets before she unravels? - (Penguin Putnam)

Iris Yamashita is an Academy Award–nominated screenwriter for the movie Letters from Iwo Jima. She has been working in Hollywood for fifteen years developing material for both film and streaming, has taught screenwriting at UCLA, and is an advocate of women and diversity in the entertainment industry. She has also been a judge and mentor for various film and writing programs, and lives in California.
- (Penguin Putnam)

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Unusual topography plays a major role in screenwriter Yamashita's atmospherically charged debut, a locked-city mystery. Once a secret military base, the tiny city of Point Mettier, Alaska, is reached by land through a narrow, one-way tunnel. Full-time residents live in one self-sufficient high-rise. During eight months of winter, the temperature reaches -35 °F and "eyelashes could actually freeze." When 17-year-old Amy Lin and friends discover a severed hand and foot in Hidden Cove, where they retreat to smoke pot, Det. Cara Kennedy comes from Anchorage to investigate. That Cara has hidden personal motives for wanting to be on the case raises the tension. Then a blizzard and avalanche block the tunnel, and harrowing secrets and lingering lies surface along with more body parts. The disappearance of a mother and her two sons prompts a search that leads to a spellbinding, unforgettable climax and an unpredictable resolution. Well-defined secondary characters include a roving gang of ruffians on snowmobiles with their own violent agenda. This distinctively original perspective on a "community of stragglers, oddballs, and recluses" heralds the arrival of a major new talent. Agent: Lucy Carson, Friedrich Agency. (Jan.)