Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Buried bones turn up in the woods…...long buried bones. A 30 year old cold case has so many secrets…..secrets that can’t stay secret any longer.
What really happened in the woods?
What is being covered up?
A duel timeline story going from the 1980’s to 30 years later.
A domestic suspense that is very eerie with a twist at the end I did not see coming.
All opinions expressed are my own.

A really convoluted psychological Thriller combining police Procedural, coming-of-age issues, domestic violence and Sexual abuses in a twisted mystery sure to keep intrepid readers guessing throughout as a "rush to judgment" overtakes victims, law enforcement, and those on the periphery. Like those neighborhoods left pondering "But he seemed like such a nice guy" (as some bystander always whines), the family, friends, and neighbors now confront their own consciences while deciding if they should have been proactive "way back when."

Cold Woods is the first book I have read by this author and I was quite pleased with the storyline and the well-crafted characters. Looking forward to reading more by this author in the future.

In this novel we find homicide detective Parker working on a cold case. The bones of a missing father are found in the mountains and find out what really happened to him will be more complicated than anyone ever imagined.

The author weaves such a mystery that you are kept guessing until the very end - well done@

I think that the students in our school library need to hear lots of diverse voices and read stories and lives of many different kinds of people and experiences. When I inherited the library it was an incredibly sanitised space with only 'school readers' and project books on 'the railways' etc. Buying in books that will appeal to the whole range of our readers with diverse voices, eclectic and fascinating subject matter, and topics that will intrigue and fascinate them was incredibly important to me.
This is a book that I think our senior readers will enjoy very much indeed - not just because it's well written with an arresting voice that will really keep them reading and about a fascinating topic - but it's also a book that doesn't feel worthy or improving, it doesn't scream 'school library and treats them like young reading adults who have the right to explore a range of modern diverse reads that will grip and intrigue them and ensure that reading isn't something that they are just forced to do for their English project - this was a solid ten out of ten for me and I'm hoping that our students are as gripped and caught up in it as I was. It was one that I stayed up far too late reading and one that I'll be recommending to the staff as well as our senior students - thank you so much for the chance to read and review; I really loved it and can't wait to discuss it with some of our seniors once they've read it too!

The bones have been found. After 30 years the crimes are out in the open. Whose crime it is and which crime worse?

This is a very good mystery and even more interesting human drama. The human drama aspect is what I generally like about Ms Katchur novels, but this time a very interesting mystery angle is added.

Trigger warning for the domestic abuse and sexual violence occurring in the book (these acts are needed for the plot development).

What I generally find in Ms Katchur's novels is the motive of emotional development, the coming-of-age kind, where act/acts of some kind have frozen something in the hearts of the protagonists. Now that "something" is out and with it the chance to see it, to confront it, to move - in any direction. In this book this aspect is especially strong, as the abuse's hurt goes deep. That's why Trisha and people around her might not be very likable, but they are realistically portrayed. This is a serious food for thought kind of book, above being a good mystery.

The ending twist - well. While literally I very much get it - I am also sad. Simple communication could solve so much so sooner! But, the reality often differs from the afterthought stands.

So, while this is not a happy book, it is a good thinking material.

I haven't read much by this author in the past, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The pacing was great and the plot kept me engaged. Like all thrillers, I had to suspend some belief, but I found it did not impact my enjoyment. I will be reading more from this author in the future

I tried to get into this one several months ago. And realized I never put down a review. It wasn't the book for me. While I enjoyed the first one, this one just wasn't for me.

New favorite author found.

This story begins with homicide detectives out trying to find out more about long buried bones that have been found in the mountains.

Thirty years ago the father of one of the three teenage friends go missing without a trace. Now the teenagers meet up again after all this time.

I thought this would be your typical detective trying to solve a murder type of book but was pleasantly surprised with all the twist and turns this story took. It get me guessing and at the edge of my seat. A very unexpected ending. So good I read it in one sitting.

Thanks to NetGalley, Publisher and the Author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent writing. Very interesting, intense and full of suspense. Buentema and perfect characters that entwine you in the plot and allow you to be part of their emotions. I can't wait to read Karen Katchur new book, I love his suspenseful style and mystery that prevails through the characters and the plot. Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity given to read it. Every review and opinion is mine alone as a reader

I love a good suspense/thriller series. This is the second book in the series and although I haven’t read the first book, I didn’t feel completely lost in the characters and plot. I thought this book was very well written and easy to follow along. I also loved all the details from a detectives point of view.

This is the second book in the series, I however didn't read the first book. This book was very well written, I enjoyed the characters, the plot was very interesting, I enjoyed this book a lot. It was well paced, it gave the reader the inside thoughts of a detective.
I love a good mystery like this, this is my first time reading a book by this author, I look forward to reading more.
Thank you Netgalley for the copy of this book.

This book is definitely one of the best I have read. Though it’s a very touchy subject matter. Full of heartbreaking violence(between the lines so to speak) and family who are in a way hiding horrendous things behind closed doors. This book touches on alcoholism, domestic abuse, child molestation, and in my opinion pure evil. It shows what happens when a person has had enough. When you think you are going to die, actually know beyond a doubt that you will die if you don’t do something. This book can trigger things so be warned, but it’s also a fantastic story of how things played out. Filled with such a great ending. I figured out part of the, who did what, but not all by any means. I actually just had an idea of who may or may not have killed Lester.

Trisha comes home after being gone thirty years. One of her best friends mother had died and she wanted to reconnect and help her friend, Dannie. She was also running from her very sick and abusive husband. She was use to the best of things but she also had a bad problem with drinking. It helped to ease the pain she was in and from what I read it seems her husband may have helped to turn her into an alcoholic. He’s a very bad man and Trisha wants nothing more than to get away from him. She’s never told him about where she lived with her mother so she felt she was safe. Trisha and her mother didn’t have the best relationship either. Her mother did quite a bit of drinking also and had always been working when Trisha was young and needed her most. She was alone with her stepdad, Lester. Lester was a full on alcoholic who loved putting his sorry hands on young girls. Trisha felt it was all her fault. That she deserved what happened to her. This is unfortunately the way victims do feel. Lester had called her a tease and other things and she was afraid to tell anyone, even her best friends.

Trisha, Dannie and Carlyn met the day Trisha’s family moved to Bangor, Pennsylvania. On second street in a side by side house. They had left Chicago for this new start. The three girls because best friends right off and it seemed they would do anything for each other. They had a bond and were as different as any three could be. But they were there for each other up until each went their own way after high school.

A whole lot happens in this book. A lot of it very ugly yet told in a way that made the story what it was. When the story starts a body has been found and eventually identified as Lester. There are two main cops in this story who keep on the case until the very end when someone finally admits to the crime and tells why. Believe me they had every reason to do it.

Things had changed so much between the three friends that when Trisha came back it seemed they would never be friends again. But they are there for each other despite the distance and time. Dannie and Carlyn never left the town other than Carlyn going to college. Trisha of course had run fast and far to escape everything. Even though there were problems the three girls, grown women not, stand together. Dannie’s mother had died and they helped her, along with their mothers, clean out the house. They eventually seem to get over the hurt and resentment that started way back in the mid eighties. Their mother’s had become the best of friends also over the years. Sharon, Trisha’s mother and Linda, Carlyn’s mother were still very upset over losing their friend Evelyn, Dannie’s mother. Each of them had been left single mothers who would do anything for their girls.

This book is one that will definitely make you do some serious crying. It also has a couple of funny parts but not many and they are small. I cringed in so many places. From the young Trisha’s abuse at the hands of her stepdad to the awful horrible cruel treatment at the hands of her husband. The only one who truly loved Trisha was Scott, her high school sweetheart. But that ended also when she left town. She just didn’t feel she was good enough for him. He was a very kind and good boy who grew up to be a policeman and a great dad.

This book had some great characters in it. I didn’t read the first book, River Bodies, but will now. This is a stand-alone but from what I read it would be great to read the first one to get to know Detective Parker Reed more. To find out exactly what happened that made him the way he was. He’s a good cop and a very good human being. He seems to honestly care about what happens to Trisha and her mother. Even to her friends. He tries hard to get Trisha to not go back with her husband. Will he succeed with that. There is no romantic feelings between these too, Parker and Trish. He just knows that in domestic violence cases things don’t always end well. He wants to help. He’s fighting demons of his own yet always seems to reach out and help others. To me he is an all around good man who started liking a character in the first book.

Even with all the hurt and heartache in this story it’s well worth the read. The thriller/mystery of this book will keep you turning pages until the very surprising arrest and ending. The who and what will surprise you. It did me mostly. One I did think of but was not sure. It was so well written and had me hooked from the very first page. It’s told from different time periods and settings or from what is happening at the time. You will want to know who did what and what is going to happen to Trisha.

I am very glad I read this book. It is one that in many ways haunted me and will for a while. I cried so hard in places. If you have ever had an alcoholic stepdad who loved to touch you it may trigger those feelings. I personally was able to cry and work my way through it. I rooted for Trisha and actually all the characters who were touched by the things Lester did to prevail.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Tomas&Mercer for the ARC of this book in exchange for my complete and honest review.

I give this one 5 stars. I also recommend it to anyone that loves a good mystery/thriller.

Cold Woods is the second book in the Northampton County series by Karen Kutcher. The story starts with a long-buried bones being discovered. It's later identified as being that of Trisha's stepfather, Lester, who went missing 30 years before. Trisha, her friends and their mothers are all questioned by detective Parker Reed. But as Parker digs deeper, he realizes that the truth isn’t always simple.

I liked the basic storyline though the detection part was not well fleshed out. The flashback scenes were quite well written. Overall an interesting story.

This was my first foray with Karen Katchur and I have to say I really, really enjoyed this book. Of course, I have no triggers, but if you do, please think twice about this book.

I didn't know that this is the second book in the Northamton County series, but I don't think you have to read the first book before reading this one.

The characters (even the evil ones) are well developed, there is evil, good, frienships that last a life time, coverups, murder, drinking, and an ending that I did not see coming.

If you like dark subjects, than this is the book for you. I am looking forward to more from Karen!

#NetGalley #ColdWoods #KarenKatchur #DarkMatter

A very emotional and brilliantly written novel.

Detective Parker Reed and his partner, Geena Brassard must investigate when a young man uncovers the skeleton of a male on the Blue Mountains near to the Appalachian Trail. Soon news of the discovery reaches three women and their respective mothers. The girls had been best friends from the day Trisha Haines had moved into the neighbourhood with her mother and stepfather in 1979.

Trisha has come home in time for Dannie’s mother’s funeral. Carlyn the third member of their little group, they’d called the Slate Sisters, is also there. Soon the women must answer questions about the skeleton. It’s Trisha’s stepfather.

This book moves between the present and the past. Often authors confuse their readers by jumping between times, not so in this novel. Karen Katchur ensures that the storyline moves smoothly between the present and the past.

What is so remarkable about this storyline is that no character is more important than the other. Each one has a huge role to play. Each one has buried secrets that will have massive repercussions once they are exposed.

The friendship between the girls is one that spans a long period. They think that they know each other – but how well does anyone know someone else? There is also the friendship between the three mothers. Again, these cover many layers.

The subject of domestic violence is never easy to read. Karen Katchur has told a story that felt real and a story of what a friend will do to help another friend. A truly beautiful storyline.

Dietes

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

When I started reading this book, I knew it was the second book on the Northampton County series. I never read the first book or even read anything from Karen Katchur, but I still give it a try. Now I realize that going into this story knowing who the homicide detective Parker Reed is and what we went through in the previous book is important to connect with the character.

It is easy to understand the story even when I don't know all the backstory from the previous book because the only thing they have in common is the detective (and the "girlfriend"?). Any problems he faced with is life was still justified and explained just not in big depth since the reader is supposed to have read the first book.

Other than that, it was amazing getting to know Trisha, Carlyn, and Dannie. All the problems they had to face, seeing their friendship blossom and how it shattered over time. The importance of friendship is the real central point in the story and how childhood friends can be the strongest bonds we can have.

The jumps from the past to the present are one of my favourite ways to tell a story and with Cold Woods wasn't an exception. Being able to see how all the girls are with each other in the present and slowly going back to the past to see how everything started is amazing. Learning how they fell apart and what Lester had to do with it. How each of them felt when things started to change. And how hard each of their lives was and how it affected their friendship.

I really enjoyed this story and I will go back to the beginning and read River Bodies to know how detective Parker' story started. And I'm sure this won't be the last book I read by Karen Katchur.

4.5 Stars!

Cold Woods is the second book in Ms. Katchur’s Northampton County series and reads well as a standalone - but it’s predecessor, River Bodies, is a great read and there are a couple of back-story type things that will make more sense if you grab it first.

Told in two timelines, Cold Woods revolves around Trisha, a troubled child turned alcoholic and abused spouse, who returns home after the death of her childhood friend’s mother. Reunited with her friends and her own mother, the past is dragged into the present when the skeletal remains of Trisha’s stepfather are found near the Appalachian Trail, threatening not only Trisha but her former friends, Carlyn and Dannie, and their families. Throw in the abusive husband who has tracked Trisha down and is intent on dragging her back under his thumb, and there is plenty of drama and suspense to go around.

What makes the Northampton County series different is that Ms. Katchur has allowed the location to be the thread that ties the series together. Both Becca and Parker Reed, the handsome detective from River Bodies, make a return but it’s largely peripheral. The story focuses more around Trisha, Carlyn, Dannie, and their mothers and how their childhood experiences - the poverty, abuse, absentee or abusive father figures - and the secrets and lies surrounding them affected their formative years and their adult lives.

Ms. Katchur, as always, has done a wonderful job of drawing believable and nuanced characters. The pacing is on point (although a little slow in the middle), and the little misdirects and reveals will leave your jaw hanging open!

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review Cold Woods!

This is the second book in the Northampton County books. I thoroughly enjoyed the first one River Bodies so was pleased to receive this one in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Although this is the second book in the series it can be read as a stand-alone novel.

Lester Haines had disappeared three years previous, now his bones have been discovered in the Cold Woods of Bangor, Pennsylvania. When alive he hadn’t been a nice person, and everyone had thought he had run off leaving his abused wife Sheila and teenage stepdaughter Trisha behind. On examination of the bones the forensic pathologist concludes that he had been murdered. But who had committed the murder?. The wife Sharon and Trisha are the most obvious suspects as most murders are committed by those closest to you.

Trisha had left the area at 18 but had recently come back to see her mum and her teenage friends Carolyn and Dannie. She has been living in Vegas for the last thirty years. She had married a wealthy but abusive and controlling man. Fearful he will come after her and drag her back because she has left him.

The story is told in two different timelines the past and the present. Detective Parker Reed is back in this book leading the investigation looking at the events that were happening back in the 1980’s leading up to Lesters disappearance.

I really enjoy the way the author writes, the characters work well, and the story is well plotted throughout. Looking forward to book 3 in the series.

Another well written book by Karen Katchur, there are lots of things to throw you off the case and keeping you guessing. It’s a case of unravelling the secrets of the past and finding out what really happened.

This book is the second in a series. Like the last book, the focus is on the characters involved in the murder rather than the detectives investigating the case. Complete with flashbacks and uncertainty. A good second book in the series.