Dire Steps

by Henry V. O'Neil

  In 2005 he won the St. Martin’s Press Malice Domestic Award with his debut mystery novel Murder in Exile. That was followed by three more books in the Exile series: Reduced Circumstances, Exile Trust, and Contest of Wills. He has also written the theater-­themed mystery novel Death Troupe and two books in a horror series entitled Interlands and Denizens.

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  Also by Henry V. O’Neil

  The Sim War series

  Glory Main

  Orphan Brigade

  COPYRIGHT

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DIRE STEPS. Copyright © 2015 by Henry V. O’Neil. All rights reserved under International and Pan-­American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-­book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-­engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of Harper­Collins e-­books.

  EPub Edition SEPTEMBER 2015 ISBN: 9780062359230

  Print Edition ISBN: 9780062359254

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

  Australia

  HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.

  Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street

  Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

  www.harpercollins.com.au

  Canada

  HarperCollins Canada

  2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor

  Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada

  www.harpercollins.ca

  New Zealand

  HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand

  Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive

  Rosedale 0632

  Auckland, New Zealand

  www.harpercollins.co.nz

  United Kingdom

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  1 London Bridge Street

  London SE1 9GF, UK

  www.harpercollins.co.uk

  United States

  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

  195 Broadway

  New York, NY 10007

  www.harpercollins.com