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Chapters 37-52Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapters 37-40 Summary
Liz wakes up the next morning and hears a scream. Everyone rushes to Ani and Tiger’s room to find that Ani is dead. Erin examines the body and sees the telltale signs of suffocation. She guides everyone downstairs, where she pours whiskey and discusses how Ani died. Liz tells the group about their conversation the night before, and Tiger admits to taking sleeping pills given to her by Eva. It is in this moment that Danny realizes his staff key is missing, causing a slew of accusations from Rik and Topher. Amid the tension and arguing, Topher announces that Erin is Lady Dorothea de Plessis FitzClarence, the youngest daughter of the Marquess of Cardale. Danny exits the room, feeling betrayed; Erin chases him while Topher tells the others that this is the second avalanche Erin has been involved in. The last one killed her brother, Alex, and her lover, Will.
In the staff quarters, Danny accidentally slams Erin’s injured leg in the door trying to close it. This breaks his anger and the two talk. Erin reveals her backstory: that her family is not especially rich and that, at 19, she and her brother and her boyfriend went on a skiing trip that cost the men their lives. She had to dig Will out of the snow because he carried the emergency GPS locator she needed to activate for search and rescue to find her. She “can’t seem to bring [herself] to leave the mountains” (206). She and Danny reconcile as Erin cries.
Chapters 41-52 Summary
Downstairs, Tiger remembers Ani tell her, “I didn’t see her,” but she was too muddled by sleeping pills to fully wake up. When Erin and Danny rejoin the group, they debate what Ani could have meant and briefly wonder if Eva faked her own death. Liz then confirms that she also saw Eva when she was riding the bubble lift down from the top of the mountain. After Miranda points out that Topher has the biggest motive for killing Eva and storms out of the room, Topher decides to ski to St. Antoine le Lac. Rik decides to accompany him, and the two begin to suit up. By noon, Tiger announces that she will join them. Miranda and Rik fight, and Carl suggests going to the Haut Montagne, which is more likely to be occupied. The group at first disagrees, but then he proposes splitting the group—the strong skiers can attempt the trek to St. Antoine le Lac, while the weaker skiers can go to the much closer Haut Montagne.
Liz gets ready for the trek to the ski chalet and is briefly filled with hope. Erin helps the others get prepared, and the group watches as Liz falls down the stairs. Erin helps her catch her breath and recover, but her knee is hurt. Erin and Danny establish that he will go in Liz’s place to show them the way, but Danny makes her promise that she won’t let anyone into the ski chalet except for the police or himself. Erin is uncomfortable with this, but eventually agrees. The groups depart and Erin locks up the chalet, then she and Liz play cards. Visibility worsens as clouds settle in, making Erin worry for Danny. When Erin asks Liz how she got involved in Snoop, Liz describes the excitement of working with the company, of being the personal assistant, of being involved. When Erin asks why she left, Liz shuts down and claims that she doesn’t view the money she would get for her shares as really hers.
When Liz asks, Erin finally opens up about the avalanche. She explains that her ski cut her face, leaving her scarred, and talks about digging out Will’s body. She also confesses that it was her idea to ski off-piste, or off the prepared ski trails, which caused the avalanche in the first place. Erin privately reflects on the trauma, the guilt, and the terrible feeling that the mountain will one day take her back. The women go to the kitchen to select food to heat on the woodstove, and while doing so they talk about Eva. This leads them to wonder if Miranda is involved because of Ani’s use of the pronoun she. Erin becomes fearful that she sent Danny out into the snow with a murderer. After Liz discovers that the pipes are frozen, they decide to sleep by the woodstove. Liz goes upstairs to get bedding while Erin converts the couches to sleeper beds. While doing so, she finds Danny’s missing staff key but struggles to remember everyone who sat on that couch that morning. She realizes that the only two people who have sat on the couch are herself and Liz.
Chapters 37-52 Analysis
As the novel approaches its climax, a key component of building tension is information coming to light. The characters’ suspicions are compounded by each piece of information that is revealed, which is further compounded by the fact that one person has died for each day at the chalet.
Erin’s past experience as minor royalty and an avalanche survivor causes the group to briefly doubt her intentions. Her subsequent conversation with Danny clarifies the events of the day from Erin’s perspective, and the reader can put together the pieces of Erin’s past. Her scar, nightmares, and acceptance of the current avalanche all make much more sense. Later, when she confesses to Liz that it was her idea to ski off the predetermined trail, there is a sense of finality to her confession. It is a point of no return because she has voiced the secret she has been carrying for three years. This acknowledgement of guilt is contrasted with the continued silence from the murderer.
Adding to the tension is the fact that, finally, the group is attempting to break out of the avalanche. While this is a dangerous choice to benefit the whole group, it increases the isolation of the two main characters, who find themselves completely alone except for each other. Erin begins the day feeling secure with Liz, having told Danny that “she was never really a realistic prospect for the killer anyway […] she has one of the strongest motives for not wanting Eva dead” (226). However, when she is alone with Liz and realizes how uncanny the woman is, her sense of ease fades. The discomfort is further enhanced by the absence of the others, whose journeys are treacherous and impossible to predict. The final revelation that Liz stole the staff key cements suspicions about Liz but raises new questions about her motives and her potential involvement in the tragedies of the last four days.
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