The first in the Julian Rivers series of mystery novels, written under a pseudonym by the author Edith Caroline Rivett, who also went by the name E. C. R. Lorac. Set in the Austrian alps, where a party of sixteen young skiers is linked to the discovery of a burned body back in London. Initially published in 1952. Introduction from Martin Edwards.

In London's Bloomsbury, Inspector Julian Rivers of Scotland Yard looks down at a dismal scene. Here is the victim, burnt to a crisp. Here are the clues - clues which point to a good climber and expert skier, and which lead Rivers to the piercing sunshine and sparkling snow of the Austrian Alps.