Book excerpt: Some fairy tales are born of dreams . . . and some are born of nightmares. Chrissie Farrell is young, beautiful and about to be crowned Queen of the Dance. But on the evening of her triumph she is abducted and murdered, her body left for the police to find. With no other clues, the disturbing way in which Chrissie's body has been posed has PC Cate Corbin at a loss - until university lecturer Alice Hyland is called in. An expert on fairy tales, Alice quickly notices a connection between the murder and an obscure version of Snow White. When a second body is found, Alice is dragged further into the investigation - and only then realises that she is becoming a suspect. Now Alice must fight, not just to prove her innocence, but to protect herself: because the body count is growing and it's looking like she might be next . . . "I loved Path of Needles. Dark but satisfying, like the best chocolate" --Elly Griffiths, bestselling author of The Dark Angel