
The Winter Guest
Sarah Moss(Author)
Macmillan (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 1. October 2026
Book
Hardback
128 pages
978-1-0374-1217-2 (ISBN)
Description
A short novel to gulp down in one sitting, The Winter Guest, from Sunday Times bestselling author, Sarah Moss, is an enthralling story about how the past will always come to find you in the end.
'Deliciously twisty. Destined to be one of those Christmas Eve classics' - Rachel Joyce
'Pure pleasure from start to finish' - Katherine Rundell
Tell me the worst thing you've ever done.
On Christmas Eve, in a hotel on Ireland's west coast, a man and a woman meet for the first time. As a snowstorm gathers outside windows twinkling with fairy lights, they share a meal, pour wine, propose a toast.
Janice and Gerry may be strangers to one another, but they each have a confession to make.
As the blizzard howls, the night will take an unexpected turn, and their conversation will have consequences far beyond the candlelit table . . .
'A perfectly measured serving of expert storytelling with a deliciously dark twist. I inhaled it in a single sitting. This is classic Sarah Moss' - Jan Carson, author of Few and Far Between
Readers love The Winter Guest:
'Powerful, provocative and a classic in the making. One of my best reads of 2026' *****
'The Winter Guest then is a perfect novel for a cold winters evening, preferably beside a warm fire' *****
'Sarah Moss has crafted a perfect tale spun out beside a hotel fireside in the snow-swept darkness of an Irish Christmas' *****
'This short novella by Sarah Moss was a delectable feast' *****
'The writing is beautiful and will transport you to a stormy winters night' *****
'Deliciously twisty. Destined to be one of those Christmas Eve classics' - Rachel Joyce
'Pure pleasure from start to finish' - Katherine Rundell
Tell me the worst thing you've ever done.
On Christmas Eve, in a hotel on Ireland's west coast, a man and a woman meet for the first time. As a snowstorm gathers outside windows twinkling with fairy lights, they share a meal, pour wine, propose a toast.
Janice and Gerry may be strangers to one another, but they each have a confession to make.
As the blizzard howls, the night will take an unexpected turn, and their conversation will have consequences far beyond the candlelit table . . .
'A perfectly measured serving of expert storytelling with a deliciously dark twist. I inhaled it in a single sitting. This is classic Sarah Moss' - Jan Carson, author of Few and Far Between
Readers love The Winter Guest:
'Powerful, provocative and a classic in the making. One of my best reads of 2026' *****
'The Winter Guest then is a perfect novel for a cold winters evening, preferably beside a warm fire' *****
'Sarah Moss has crafted a perfect tale spun out beside a hotel fireside in the snow-swept darkness of an Irish Christmas' *****
'This short novella by Sarah Moss was a delectable feast' *****
'The writing is beautiful and will transport you to a stormy winters night' *****
Reviews / Votes
Deliciously twisty, both whip-smart and playful, this is destined to be one of those Christmas Eve classics you come back to every year as soon as darkness falls and the mince pies hit the table. -- Rachel Joyce, author of <i>The Homemade God</i> The Winter Guest is a perfectly measured serving of expert storytelling with a deliciously dark twist. I inhaled it in a single sitting. This is classic Sarah Moss -- Jan Carson, author of <i>Few and Far Between</i> I love Sarah Moss's work. The Winter Guest was pure pleasure from start to finish; funny, gripping and sharp - I read it in a single, gleeful sitting -- Katherine Rundell, author of <i>Super-Infinite</i>More details
Edition
Main Market Ed
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Dimensions
Height: 168 mm
Width: 130 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0374-1217-2 (9781037412172)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
approx. 10/2026
Macmillan
€18.49
Not yet available
Person
Sarah Moss has written several novels including the Sunday Times top ten bestseller Summerwater, Ghost Wall, which was longlisted for the Women's Prize, and Ripeness. She has also written two memoirs, My Good Bright Wolf - winner of Non-Fiction Book of the Year at The Saltires, Scotland's National Book Awards - and Names for the Sea, which is an account of her year living in Iceland. She was born in Glasgow and grew up in the north of England. After moving between Oxford, Canterbury, Reykjavik, west Cornwall and the English Midlands, she now lives in Dublin.