Growing up, Bea (not her real name), lived under the whims of her mother who kept attempting to marry up, no matter what it took. Bea has learned from her mother. She’s not going to leapfrog from situation to situation: she’s going for the gold. Collin Case, scion of one of country’s wealthiest families, though dull, meets her criteria, and she has a plan to ensnare him.

Bea doesn’t count on Collin’s best friend, Gale Wallace-Leicester, who is just as determined that Bea not pollute her social milieux with her inferior genes, not to mention her own unrequited love for Collin. This cat-and-mouse game has deadly stakes.

Although I enjoy novel about con artists and the super-rich behaving badly, I felt on unsteady ground throughout this novel. I didn’t know where it was going or how I should feel about the characters. This might well have been the author’s intention, but it made for an uncomfortable reading experience. Bea was unlikeable but Gale was worse, leaving no one to root for.

I wanted to like the stand-off between Bea and Gale more, but I thought Gale was underdeveloped and I thought it would have been strong had her motivation been either because of her love for Collin or to protect “people like her” (gross). I also didn’t really like Gale’s secret weapon.

Most people I know who read the book adored it, though, so I’m a bit of an outlier, and would encourage you to check it out if you do like stories about con artists or the antics of the super wealthy.

Special thanks to Berkeley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

The writing is suspenseful and there is a lot of characters in this book. I knew I was going to like this one. I love a good con as much as anyone else and these characters were INTERESTING!

I definitely would have no problem recommending this book. Bravo!

This was a fast, reasonably enjoyable read. I didn't find myself rooting for any of the characters except for maybe the fiance's unconventional sister.

n this debut psychological thriller, Bea is working on her latest con, trying to marry into old money. She's looking for her own brand of legitimacy, thinking this is her last con, but she'll have lots of other women to take on before she can achieve her goals. Like her mentor and mother and her potential husband's best friend.

There's plenty of female dynamics going on here that I found really interesting, and the writing is tight and suspenseful. Bea is a complex character and I'm still not sure how I feel about her without being too judgemental and I liked that about this book. I'm not sure any of these characters were likable, but they sure were interesting. This story had just the right darkness for me. Collin's friend Gale also provides some terrific moments as she questions Bea's motives and takes her on while looking out for her best friend.

As a thriller, it kept moving along at a good pace, and had enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. The end felt rushed but that's typical with this genre, it's more about the ride to the ending. Overall, a very nice debut.

Fanatasic! This is one of the first books of 2023 that I am recommending to everyone I know. It was easy to get caught up in the characters and the story moved along at the perfect pace. I will be watching for more from Rachel Koller Craft (even a sequel to this one would be great - I want to see what comes next)!

Bea, our wildly unpredictable MC, takes us for a wild ride in this entertaining book that I completely devoured. As a reader, you either love her or you hate her. And I hated that I loved her! As many villainous things that she does, she does it with such snark and determination that you can’t help but root for her!

As Bea continues her pursuit to achieve what she believes she deserves, we get a look at a lot of wild female relationship dynamics. The book explores a highly toxic mother/daughter relationship, a cat and mouse relationship between two women competing for the same man, women in the workplace, socialites who believe the world revolves around them and their circle, and many more!

It’s a crazy book that I highly recommend! One moment you’re laughing at Bea’s inner snark and spot on analysis of her boyfriend’s inner circle and the next you are feeling heartbroken when you get a preview of why she is trying so hard to hide from her past. This thrilling debut is a winner! I absolutely cannot wait for the series adaptation!!

The author wrote the heck out of this book. I truly was blown away by how I reacted to the emotions of the main character. Bea is such an amazingly complex character, no matter what she said or did, I wanted to her to come out on top.
Her past is sketchy to say the least and her intentions with her new husband aren't always clear (does she love him, does she not?) but whatever Bea was going thru, I wanted to be right there along side her.
This book will surprise you, scare you and keep you guessing!
If you love family drama, mystery, hidden evil and high stakes, this is definitely a book for you!

With a cover and title like Stone Cold Fox it was pretty much a given I was going to read this debut novel by Rachel Koller Croft, but the rave reviews didn't hurt either. I live for cunning women and cat-and-mouse games, and this book definitely delivered on both. Technically Bea might not be a great person, but I couldn't help but root for her, and it felt like the worse she acted the more I loved her character. She's basically the epitome of a stone-cold fox, so the title makes sense, and she has more secrets than you can shake a stick at. The book alternates between her past as a young girl then a teenager with her mother as well as the present time, and this helped me get an unmistakable picture of her background and what she had to deal with. Some of it was painful to read, and I think this is what really helped me empathize with her.

The audiobook is narrated by Carlotta Brentan, and I couldn't have been happier about this. I think the audio is really the way to go with Stone Cold Fox, and not only was Brentan able to make Bea feel larger than life, but she also had wonderful narration overall. Her accents were perfection, and her pacing was spot on making for an enjoyable listen. I saw a bit of what was coming in the story, but I definitely had a couple of surprises as well, and it is really impressive to me that this is a debut. My only issue with this one was that the end felt rather anti-climactic after everything we go through to get there, and there were a handful of times I felt like it dragged more than I would have liked. Other than that, this was a SOLID read and I loved basically every minute of it! I will be reading whatever this author writes next for sure.

Review will be posted on 3/6/23
Bea has grown up with a conniving, scheming mother who takes advantage of wealthy men. She wants to leave her past behind, but some of her old habits die hard. While working at an advertising agency in New York City, Bea starts dating a client, Collin Case, who just so happens to be one of the wealthiest bachelors in the United States. He falls for Bea hard and before she knows it, she is immersed in his world of privilege. Things don't come easy to Bea despite her fool proof background - no one will figure out her past - but Collin's friends and family start questioning just about everything about her since she isn't the "type" of girl that Collin should date. One friend in particular, Gale, starts to really dig deep into Bea's past. The more time Bea spends with Gale, she realizes that Gale is actually in love with Collin and is trying to thwart her plans. Whether at Greenwich, Manhattan, or Newport, Bea is one step away from becoming Collin's wife, but there's so much at stake and so many obstacles in her way. She has no choice, but to start to play a bit of a cat/mouse game with Gale and then things start to get very interesting. Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft is an entertaining debut that is good fit for fans of Gone Girl or The Last Mrs. Parrish.

Bea is the type of character you love to hate in Stone Cold Fox. We know the games she is playing are wrong and readers will question her motives, but we don't want to see her lose, especially when she is up again Gale who is the worst! At first, Bea is just messing around with Gale, because what could Gale actually have on her? But things take a quick turn, and boy, does it get serious quickly. Bea underestimated Gale initially and she has come to take her down and tell Collin the truth of Bea's past. Plus, there's also Sylvia Austin, Collin's new assistant, who seems innocent, but there's definitely more to her than meets the eye.

All the while, Bea is trying to escape the toxic patterns of her childhood as well as her past with her deranged mother. Ultimately, Bea still looks for her mother's approval deep down and often thinks about what she would do in a situation. Bea strives to be less like her mother, but the more she plays these dangerous games, the more history repeats itself and the cycle continues in Stone Cold Fox.

If you love a good thriller that is reminiscent of Gone Girl and The Last Mrs. Parrish, Stone Cold Fox is it. In fact, it's already in the works to be made into a TV show and I think that it would translate very well to the small screen. Stone Cold Fox is definitely entertaining and while the end seemed a little far-fetched, I enjoyed the ride. Have you read Stone Cold Fox? Is it on your TBR list? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I have so many emotions about this book. I have it 4 stars for the entertainment factor. It was completely engrossing and has one of those main characters you love to hate. But the more you learn about Bea the more you root for her. You want her to not make those stupid decisions she’s contemplating.
There were some things that left me a little unsettled. One was Dave. Without spoiling anything I’ll just say I have no idea why he was in the story. There were many plot points in the story that just seemed to go no where. The other part I was meh about was the ending. The whole story seemed to do a 180, To me the last 20% really dragged on.
Overall did I enjoy this? Yes very much. I will also check out more by this author.

Bea is the definition of stone cold. She wants to marry into money and has found the perfect patsy, I men husband, for the job. Collin Chase comes from that old money and has status, Bea won't want for anything. Does it matter that she isn't in love with him or isn't who she says she is? Not in the least! Bea was raised by a con artist mother, going from man to man and money. All she feels she has ever wanted is to have a stable home life but is that enough for her? She has escaped her mother to strike out on her own but has she really escaped her? She moves right into Collin's world even if his best friend Gale is watching her every move.

Hard to put this one down. All the machinations were so fun to read. As much as it was hard to like Bea, I really felt for her. Her mother was a piece of work but then again, she made Bea that way too. I would love to see what happens next with Bea.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for a copy for review.

Such a good revenge and grown up from trauma novel. Reminded me of the British novel How To Kill Your Family. Was super into seeing the characters grow in the span of a year and see that it wasn’t a fast wrap up.

Are you looking for your next binge read? Look no further!

STONE COLD FOX hooked me from the very first pages and I absolutely devoured this debut. It was the perfect cat-and-mouse thriller featuring unlikeable characters that you love to hate, and it definitely gave me Good Rich People vibes, which was another great read that I loved and devoured.

*many thanks to Berkley for the gifted copy for review

This book is full of mysteries. Who is Bea? What's Bea's life been that made her this person? Who and what are her mom? Then there's will she ever fit in to her new family? Will the marriage happen? Will Gale out her? Will someone else from her past sabotage her new life? Will she and Collin find there happily ever after?

The answers to these and so many more questions are what drives this book. Little by little the reader gets more and more information. Some of which made me think less of Bea and some was endearing. She may not love Collin like he loves her but she's never mean or hurtful to him and that says a lot about her character. Well, unless you consider marrying him fro the wrong reasons as mean and hurtful. That's up to each reader. I personally felt she may have been there for greedy reasons but Collin was getting a lot from their relationship. She's cold and calculating often but she's got a good side.

There's more than enough to keep the reader engaged in this story. Lies upon lies, touching moments and some sweet, some awful memories, and worse mayhem (but I won't spoil the story). I was touched by developments toward the end of the book when we see a softer side of Bea.

I didn't love this book but I didn't hate it either. It was a solid, interesting read though I would have like more likable characters.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved so much about this book. The MC was so cold and I loved that she went after what she wanted no matter what. I was rooting for her the entire way. But the ending made everything fall apart for me. The last 10% was almost bizarre and I just wish that there was an alternate ending that didn't include her mother coming back.

What a wild ride. I personally love messy, unreliable, bad women characters. The more unlikeable the better. And bea is perfection - she’s hilarious. Her disdain for other women, the rich, her husband and his family is palpable. Her inner monologue is fabulous and funny and so messy. I really enjoyed this debut.

If you’re not a fan of tidy endings, know this is very elusive. But it feels so right for the story.

5/5 ✨ stars! I seriously need to know why more people aren't reading Stone Cold Fox! This book was such an entertaining ride from the very first chapter! I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. Cannot recommend it enough.

Scammer stories deserve more hype in the thriller/book community. The power of women was highlighted in the book, and GOSH DID I LOVE THAT. I couldn't get over how addictive it was to see Bea and Gail compete against each other. I didn't know I had a soft spot for dark humor until I read Stone Cold Fox. Bea's POVs made me laugh my heart out and also made me very anxious cause WHAT IF OTHERS FOUND OUT ABOUT HER EVIL PLANS? Oh so FUN AND ADDICTIVE.

I loved how the author swifly changed timelines from the past and present time to give us a glimpse into Bea's life to help us understand her better. I loved the outline / layout of the story so much. The author's talent to write a dramatic plotline shone throughout the book!

I need more people to read this book please. K, thankyou.

After spending her childhood watching her beautiful mother manipulate rich men, Bea manages to snag the rich, blue-blooded Colin Chase--but her past may catch up with her.

Quick read but I was hoping for a little more depth.

This was a lot of fun! I am a huge fan of con stories and I blew through this book in a day flat. I really enjoyed the audio and felt like the narration made me enjoy the story even more! Rich people doing terrible things always makes for a good story, so make sure this one is on your TBR!

Oooh this was a fast read - and I could totally see it become a movie. Not sure who I would want to play Bea, maybe Margot Robie? Either way, this femme fatale/gold digger storyline had me captivated from page one and I was not disappointed in the ending.