The query letter

Dear ________:

In visiting your website, I learned that you have a particular interest in suspense fiction. Therefore, I am writing in hopes you will consider representing me in bringing my 62,000-word suspense novel, A Place Called Winter, to publication.

In the early morning hours, a man commits murder in a motel room outside Eugene, Ore. At the same time, in Fairfield, Calif., a woman stands watch at her apartment window until she is sure no one waits outside, then hurries to her car with a single suitcase. Both will meet in Winter, an isolated community in the mountain foothills of eastern Oregon.

A Place Called Winter tells the story of Carol Ingram, who flees her California life after an attack that leaves her physically and mentally scarred. Amid the natural beauty of the remote canyon where she once spent childhood summers, a new journey begins. It includes old and new friends, a job Carol enjoys, and the growing sense that Winter is where she belongs. But a series of unconnected events soon threaten her future: her California attacker appears, an elderly resident commits suicide, and two young women go missing. When Carol discovers the women’s bodies in an abandoned house, shock blinds her to a clue that points to their killer. Later, in the home of a friend, her memory is jolted by objects on a kitchen counter. Knowledge comes too late. The killer is with her and knows she’s realized the truth.

A synopsis and the completed manuscript are available upon request. Thank you for your time in reading.

Sincerely,

[Name withheld]