i have to start this by saying that i absolutely love this cover. it gives like Magazine Cover Vibes... anywyas! on to the actual book!

what i loved: any thriller that has like con artist type of vibes is always a fun time. yes, the characters are unlikeable but in a way that i actually really like. the plot twists!!!! gasp! shock! this is the definition of an unputdownable read!

"Bea" is a con woman on a very specific mission. Her skills lend themselves to a natural success in her chosen advertising career, but Bea isn't content with that. With tell-all vibes, Bea spills all her deepest, darkest thoughts to the reader, along with her plans. She's looking for a wealthy husband to ensure a life of moneyed leisure after her good, marrying years are behind her. While she didn't initially aspire to snag a husband with inherited wealth, Collin Case was an opportunity that practically fell into her lap. Born to the 1%, he's affable and mediocre, easy to manipulate, and generally inoffensive to Bea's existence if she doesn't think too much about his overdone veneers. She knows that sealing the deal will take something more, though. She has to convince his family and the rarified society he was born into to accept her, or all her hard work and good looks will be for naught. Collin's best friend Gale shapes up to be a particular challenge. The good news? Despite Bea's ultimate and pressing goal, she loves to play, and she loves to win.

Bea's not much likable, and it works for her as a protagonist. Because while she does nothing but pretend with everyone else, the reader feels in on the secret, getting the ugly, unvarnished truth right from the source. You're completely sucked into her mind games with a front-row seat to all her strategizing and power plays. Bea has just the teeniest bit of mommy issues, revealed through progressively alarming flashbacks. But you know? Sometimes I just like a book about a slightly unhinged lady. In general, I think a theme of the book is dangerous women-- manipulative, scheming, and complicated. There's no sugarcoating to make them easier to like, but rather a peeling back of the secrets that turned them into the creatures they are.

I was glad to not be entirely right about some major reveals, but I also wasn't particularly shocked by how the final action unfolds. There's no romance subplot, and while this might be surprising considering my general genre preferences, it's a relief not to deal with it in this setting. The part that let me down was an ending that was open-ended to the point of feeling rushed and unfinished. Sure, we don't want what was otherwise a heady, fast-paced concoction to turn protracted and boring BUT. It's not only a question of if it's satisfying, aka resolved, but also if it makes sense. Because sometimes thrillers aren't resolved, and that's part of their tantalizing intrigue. And sometimes twists change how a reader makes sense of a situation. But other times it just fails to meet those marks and falls flat. For me, this book was a little of column A, a little of column B.

If you want to read a thriller where you burrow into the engrossing mind of a strategic con woman outmaneuvering classism for her own purposes, this is a fun read. Definitely check content warnings if you need to, of which there are many. Thanks to Berkley for my copy to read and review!

Ambitious Woman’s Con Artist Past

Stone Cold Fox is a gripping debut thriller by Rachel Koller Croft that centers around Bea, a cunning and ambitious woman raised by a con artist mother. After years of living a life of deception, Bea seeks to leave her dark past behind by marrying into one of the most prestigious and wealthy families in the United States.

One of the book's greatest strengths is its ability to keep readers on the edge of their seats with its clever plot twists and engaging characters. However, some readers might find the characters' moral ambiguity unsettling, and the story's focus on deception might not appeal to everyone. Despite these potential drawbacks, Stone Cold Fox stands out as a memorable and entertaining debut.

In conclusion, Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft is a thrilling and thought-provoking novel that explores the complexities of human nature and the lengths one will go to for redemption. Its engaging plot, intriguing characters, and sharp writing make it a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers.

I tried really hard to get into this one, but I struggled. Probably a case of more than the book. I love a scammer type of suspense story, but this one just didn’t enroll me. But I would happily read this author again.

Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft is a gripping and suspenseful thriller that will captivate readers who enjoy complex, morally ambiguous characters and intricate plots, particularly those who appreciate stories about con artists, family dynamics, and the blurred lines between truth and deception.

Excellent debut with sharp dialogue and great characters that you'll love to hate. Can't wait to see what Rachel writes next after this witty, twisty book.

Rich people behaving badly? YES PLEASE. I was pleasantly entertained by this debut novel and am eager to read more from Koller Croft.

I am often drawn to stories that explore messy characters, secrets, and the blurred lines between truth and deception and y’all “Stone Cold Fox” delivered. I both love and loathe main character Bea, but can say, she seems to have won me over a bit by the end of the book. Her complex character ARC was what really carried this book for me. I appreciated the flashbacks to her youth; this allowed us to really see the how and why are who Bea is today.

“Stone Cold Fox” gives readers an edge of our seat experience that’s completely binge-worthy.

The Book You Should Read Next, Based on Your Favorite Nostalgic TV Drama

If you love Revenge

After years of being forced to swindle men with her mother, a now-solo Bea wants nothing more than to disappear into the safety of old money. She chooses her target: the fully loaded though thoroughly dull Collin Case. Bea has no problem getting a ring from Collin, but she finds it harder to win over Collin’s family and friends, especially his childhood best friend, Gale. As the games she plays with Gale turn life-and-death, Bea must finally decide who she really wants to be. Fans of the secret identities and revenge plots of Revenge will be taken with Stone Cold Fox.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

I love a psychological thriller that features a villainous lead, and STONE COLD FOX delivered that and more!

Bea works as an executive at an advertising agency in NYC. Bea is beautiful, wealthy, and talented—but she isn’t doing all of this work to rise the corporate ranks… She is putting in the work to make herself a desirable trophy wife for a rich husband. Bea feels that the way to obtain financial security for life is to find her way into the generational wealth that only a select few families have.

Bea learned the art of the swindle from her own mother, but she has risen far above her mother’s skills. She has firmly closed the door on her past and moved on to bigger and better things. Which is when she meets the dull but nice Colin Case. Colin is that old blue-blooded wasp-y money that Bea dreams of. He’s the perfect target to become her husband.

Bea may be an expert in deception and have her hooks in Colin, but she may have met her match with Colin’s best friend from childhood, Gale. Gale is in love with Colin and she has her sights set on exposing Bea. Will Bea be able to keep her past buried and get the life she always wanted, or will Gale expose her for the fraud she is?

Narrated entirely from Bea’s perspective, it’s hard not to secretly root for her though she isn’t exactly a beacon of morality. The more we learn about Bea’s past, the more complicated our feelings about her become. She has a really sad backstory that made me empathize with her. At the same time, it’s hard to truly feel badly for Colin’s family and social circle. These people will never understand what it means to barely be able to afford to survive. If they knew who Bea was, they would snub her. As a result, it’s hard to not feel at times that they deserve a small comeuppance served to them by the wily Bea.

Absorbing and fun!

This book made me root for our anti-villain character. Bea is an intelligent gold digger who knows how to play men and loves to compete. It was a joy to read. I did feel sorry for her. Her mother shaped her so that Bea's whole life and mind were used to lure men. She could have ruled the world if she wanted to. Still enjoyable to read about her playing with rich people. After all, eat the rich.

My big problem with the book is that there were flashbacks to her childhood. I feel that there was no need for parts to cut away from the exciting present-day to the past. The writer could have found other ways to weave what the reader needs to know from the past into the present-day text.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

Bea is a woman who knows what she wants… and she wants to marry rich. She has set her sights on Colin, but she needs to win over his family and best friend, Gale.

Stone Cold Fox is told from Bea’s point of view. She is a sexy, manipulative con artist. Her mother was also a con artist, so it’s the only life Bea has ever known. Bea thinks maybe she can change her ways when she meets Colin. Unfortunately, winning over Colin’s family and friends, especially his best friend, is more challenging than Bea was expecting.

A wickedly devious read with characters that are fun to hate. This was a debut novel, and I look forward to reading more by this author.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This deliciously dark and funny story about Bea, who is determined to break from her past and break into the life she deserves, is square in my wheelhouse. Bea’s inner monologue is everything — wicked, funny and darkly humorous. She’s my kind of main character energy!

Raised by the queen of the con, Bea spent her childhood moving from place to place as her mom targeted one man after another. And she was always happy to use Bea as bit of bait, and to cut her down to keep her in line.

Now free from her mom, Bea knows she’s destined for way more — and she knows exactly where to find it.

Collin Case is heir to an uber wealthy Manhattan family & while earning his affection is easy, getting his family’s approval is the hard part. But Bea’s biggest challenge lies in Gale, Collin’s childhood best friend who is nothing short of suspicious of Bea. And she’ll stop at nothing to prove to Collin that Bea is not who she pretends to be.

I loved this book so much and Bea's voice is so on point. She reminds me of Chloe from Never Saw Me Coming and Paloma in My Sweet Girl. Fantastic read and I'll have my eyes out for more from this author in the future!

Great character development. I enjoy books with unlikeable characters and this book delivered! I could not put the book down because I needed to know what happened next.

A highly entertaining character study of a very twisted woman who is striving to make something of her life. The character development is intense and the plot interesting. For fans of Samantha Downing.

Read if you liked: The Lies I Tell or Cover Story

Bea knows what she’s worth and she’s determined to get what she deserves – and she knows that she will stop at nothing until she’s gotten it. When she begins dating Collin, she know its time to pull out all the tricks to get his family's approval.But his childhood friend Gale seems to see right through Bea’s act. They go toe to toe in a game of cat and mouse as the truth of Bea’s past threatens to come out. But can she prove herself before it's too late?

Stone Cold Fox is an absolute knockout of a debut – from the cover to the last page, I loved it all! This book has a little bit of everything - rich people behaving badly, snarky manipulation, and a good ole fashioned game of cat and mouse that takes you for a WILD ride. Bea is a character you love to hate and even though I strongly disliked her, this story was fantastic because of her. The plot was so good and the characters were so well developed throughout the book. This book was fast-paced, delivered with well placed twists, and an ending that had me saying “WHAAAT?!?” I am already anticipating the next book by the author!

This book had potential but I feel it fell flat. The ending was unbelievable. I really love fraudsters and con-artist but for some reason this one did not work for me.

i loved the premise and i loved the narcissistic and enigmatic narrator. the narrative was quick and snappy, which is exactly what makes a thriller so enticing and fast paced. i really loved the flashbacks as well, and how it built up more and more of a background for our narrator (who literally hides everything in the present day narrative). i literally could not put this book down and finished it in a day.

but i just thought the payoff was just a bit too anticlimactic and rushed at times. i feel like this could have been a five star and now i'm a tiny bit sad.

Thank you to Netgalley, Berkley Publishing, and Rachel Koller Croft for an advance copy of Stone Cold Fox in exchange for an honest review. Ok, I completely respect that the author created a character who I equally hated but also rooted for! Watching Bea swindle and con her way into the lives of the wealthy was so interesting and so slimy. I loved how the storyline played out and it featured some twists I definitely was NOT expecting. The ending was extremely satisfying for me and I feel like it left room for maybe more Bea & mother in the future?! I look forward to seeing what this author writes next. You can pick this one up now! 4.5 stars

I can't resist a con artist story and this is a fun one! Bea is marrying into a rich family who doesn't know about her sketchy past so when a frenemy discovers her deception, all bets are off.

Stone Cold Fox is a cat and mouse thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The writing is fantastic, the characters are complicated and compelling and the twists just keep coming. Such a dazzling debut - I can't wait to read what Croft writes next!

4.5 stars

Thanks to Berkley for the copy to review.