The Red Winter

A LibraryReads pick! An Indie next pick!

DELUXE EDITION--the hardcover edition of The Red Winter features beautiful red sprayed edges!

A devastating love story. A bewitching twist on history. A blood-drenched hunt for purpose, power, and redemption.

In 1785, Professor Sebastian Grave receives the news he fears most: the terrible Beast of Gévaudan has returned, and the French countryside runs red in its wake.

Sebastian knows the Beast. A monster-slayer with centuries of experience, he joined the hunt for the creature twenty years ago and watched it slaughter its way through a long and bloody winter. Even with the help of his indwelling demon, Sarmodel - who takes payment in living hearts - it nearly cost him his life to bring the monster down.

Now, two decades later, Sebastian has been recalled to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d'Ocerne, an estranged lover who shares a dark history with the Beast and a terrible secret with Sebastian. Drawn by both the chance to finish the Beast for good and the promise of a reconciliation with Antoine, Sebastian cannot refuse.

But Gévaudan is not as he remembers it, and Sebastian's unfinished business is everywhere he looks. Years of misery have driven the people to desperation, and France teeters on the edge of revolution. Sebastian's arcane activities - not to mention his demonic counterpart - have also attracted the inquisitorial eye of the French clergy. And the Beast is poised to close his jaws around them all and plunge the continent into war.

Debut author Cameron Sullivan tears the heart out of history with this darkly entertaining retelling of the hunt for the Beast of Gévaudan. Lifting the veil on the hidden world behind our own, it reimagines the story of Europe, from Imperial Rome to Saint Jehanne d'Arc, the madness of Gilles de Rais and the first flickers of the French Revolution.

"An absolute feast of a book: rich, red, sinfully delicious. I've rarely been this satisfied--or this hungry for more." --Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Starling House

"So bloody good. The Red Winter is absolute ripper entertainment--miss it at your peril!" --Shelley Parker-Chan, bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun

"A gorgeous tangle of history and fresh-made myth. You'll eat this one up." --Cassandra Khaw, bestselling author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth

"Charming, haunting, ambitious, and a great deal of fun." --T. Kingfisher, New York Times bestselling author of A Sorceress Comes to Call

Author: Cameron Sullivan
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 02/24/2026
Pages: 544
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.53lbs
Size: 8.48h x 5.88w x 1.64d
ISBN: 9781250362766


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 01/01/2026
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2026
Shelf Awareness 01/01/0001
Library Journal 11/01/2025 pg. 57
Publishers Weekly 12/15/2025

About the Author
Cameron Sullivan was born in Perth, Western Australia. He grew up with the dark fantasy and horror icons of the '80s and went on to study classics and creative writing at the University of Western Australia. After several years working and studying in Italy and the UK, he returned to Australia and settled in Melbourne, which is the best place for Australians who actually enjoy the winter. He works as a copywriter and will easily lose a weekend to a good book, a new recipe or games of any kind, from tabletop DnD to pub trivia.