This book was exactly what I needed to read on my winter break vacation! I love books about con artists raised in the life, and about women caught up in the difficult job and fraught gamble of transcending their class by marrying into wealth and security, and while of course the intersection of those two things as the basis of a thriller is common enough, Rachel Koller Croft pulls it off better than most in this propulsive debut.

This is a fast paced and addictive thriller that will have you rooting for the anti-heroine.

This book is a trip! It jumps betweens Bea’s present day situation and her rocky upbringing with a manipulative and toxic mother. Bea is an anti-hero who you will feel sympathy for. Sure she’s morally grey, probably narcissistic and manipulating a sweet man for her own good. But Bea’s been through it and she deserves some happiness. I loved watching Bea grow and develop as a character.

Bea is open to herself about her manipulation and revels in playing games with the uber rich. It was fun to see inside the really wealthy world that Bea’s man Collin lives in: there is no repercussion for bad actions and everything is always taken care of. As Bea gets further into the very insulated world she comes up against Gale: Collin’s best friend who also happens to be obsessed with him. Gale is also happy to play vicious and vindictive games with Bea. It turns into a stellar game of cat and mouse with an electrifying ending. My only complaint is that I felt that the ending wrapped up a little too quickly. I could have easily kept reading about Bea, Collin, her mother and the way our past shapes our present and future.

This is an amazing debut and I’m not surprised to read that it’s going to be adapted into a move. You need to pick this up for a sexy and dark thrill.

Thank you Berkley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Stone Cold Fox is a debut novel and this may be the wackiest read so far this year. That's wacky in a good way, btw. Bea is after money, so a marriage with a man she can tolerate is good enough if he's loaded. She thinks she's got Collin in the bag until his BFF Gale begins to doubt Bea and her intentions. What follows in a cat and mouse game that puts Tom and Jerry to shame.

Mystery and suspense readers will love this!!

Thank you Berkley & NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

HOLY DEBUT by Rachel Koller Croft. Who doesn't love a good con artist plot? The first freakin' line had me clearing my schedule because I knew I would binge it. The female MC 'Bea' is a delicious villain and I absolutely loved her from the get go. I thoroughly enjoy stories that are able to have you rooting for the bad guy/girl. You get a lot of this with this book. Most of these characters on paper are EXTREMELY unlikable, but you are drawn to each and every single one of them. I got The Devil Wears Prada meets The Last Housewife meets The Last Mrs. Parrish vibes. The one liners that the FMC delivers both internally and externally are quick & smart and leave you either laughing or screaming 'BOOM ROASTED'. The ending & twist fell a little bit flat for me, but the overall execution of this entire story was so solid.

WHAT TO EXPECT
- con artists plots
- brutal and hilarious inner dialogue
- dual timelines
- unlikeable characters that you end of rooting for
- fast paced

FINAL THOUGHTS: Delicious. Smart. Hilarious. A little dark. A con artist story that will have you flipping pages so fast from the VERY FIRST LINE. This book is ALREADY on its way to being adapted for film & to be honest I felt like I was watching a movie while I was reading it. Rachel Koller Croft used her experience as a screenwriter to truly deliver a made for TV novel. The characters are unlikeable but lovable. The pacing is fast. The dual timelines gave it depth. Solid debut!

This book is a WILD ride. I could not stop flipping the pages of Bea's story. This felt like Gossip Girl on steroids for me. Remember Juliet from Gossip Girl? This book is like if Gossip Girl was from her perspective. This book was a like but not a love for me. I enjoyed Rachel Koller Croft's writing and will read what she does next. If you enjoyed the Anna Delvey book/show then this will be for you! This will also work for fans of Cover Story!

I am always drawn to morally gray characters, and the main character, Bea, is definitely one of them. As the plot unfolds, we see two lives of Bea: one in the present surrounding her relationship with Collin, and the other one with her being raised by a gold digger and manipulative mother who constantly changes partners gradually making Bea vulnerable to them. Bea is treated as an outsider by Collin’s family - at one point, Haven (his mother) offering her 5 million dollars! Moreover, his best friend, Gale, is secretly in love with him and searching for ways to get rid of her.

The story then transforms into a cat and mouse chase as Gale engaged in uncovering Bea’s past. I did not see the ending coming at all, and did not expect the twist. There was an allegation of sexual assault but was not explored into something more but more so, but was weaponized and used as blackmail. Nevertheless, this is an entertaining and dark thriller that will keep you on the edge, filled with elitism, and morally gray characters. I couldn’t keep it down and read this one quickly!

Stone Cold Fox review 🦊

by @rachkollercroft. thanks @berkleypub for the e-arc! this cover SLAYS and is just begging for photos like this 🦊

genre: thriller/suspense
pub date: 2/14/23
swipe for synopsis
rating: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

let me start off by saying SCF starts off with a bang, with an absolute pistol of a first line, and just keeps that energy throughout. this book has so many bingeable factors…. cons, manipulation, rich people, drama, secrets, desperation. such a FUN read, and a debut!!!

the characters are not meant to be likeable or relatable (hopefully 🤣) and that’s the best part. nothing about them made me want to root for them, but i was so invested in everything working out that i absolutely was eating it right up, extremely invested, and along for the WILD ride.

things happened quickly in this one and i loved how different parts ended up coming together (trying to keep this as vague as possible). the internal monologue and absolute cattiness/snark was executed so well; it came alive as it played out in my head while reading. i liked the moments from the past sprinkled throughout too that provided some clarity for readers and added depth.

hoping this one picks up right where it left off with a sequel!!! and if it’s not already, put this thriller on your TBR. would be such a fun one to chat about with your gals… a great book club pick for sure!

💚 read if you like: con artist theme, Cover Story (book), Ginny and Georgia (show), Things We Do in the Dark (book), Vigilante Shit by Taylor Swift (song)

This book was so juicy! And my goodness, would I never want to meet Bea in real life for fear of how much she would judge me. But she made for a very entertaining narrator.

This book was clever and just a bit suspenseful in all the right places. I loved the New York City setting, the glamorous families and houses that Bea's story takes place in, and the timeline that jumped back and forth between now and when she was a child with her mother.

I saw a few of the twists coming, but I really was surprised with the last few pages of the book and how it wrapped up.

I think that readers who liked Who Is Maud Dixon? and Bitter Orange would be interested in this one!

I think this is my new favorite thriller debut in a bit. Like I did not think I could root for this character and yet, here I am.

This book was compulsively bingeable and so much fun! Catty women, rich people drama, scheming and scamming? Sign me up!

The story is told entirely from the first-person POV of Bea, so it felt like there was more telling than showing sometimes. Yet I didn't mind at all because she's just so damn cool and her voice is simply entrancing. Being privy to her innermost thoughts was really enjoyable.

I love the dual timelines of past and present, watching social and family dynamics at play, and how well-written the relationship between Bea and her mother was. I never knew how the story would end and was thus kept on tenterhooks the whole time, but let me tell you that I absolutely LOVE how it all unfolded.

What a fantastic debut! I can't wait for what the author comes up with next - a sequel, a new standalone, I'll read anything she writes!

I was in a bit of a reading slump, but this book cured it! I loved Bea and her whip smart game play. Sure, she’s crazy and manipulative, but in the best way. I loved trying to figure out her secrets and what Gale was up to. I loved the fast pace and how the storyline progressed. I thought the ending was a bit rushed and a little confusing, but overall, it was such an entertaining read.

Bea wants to be someone. She wants to be someone rich and is willing to do what needs to be done to get there. She sets her sights on Collin Case. Collin is rich and has a successful family business to work at…the perfect husband.



Stone Cold Fox is an amazing psychological thriller. Bea is working to be someone, and the other woman is working to stop that from happening. There are lies told, secrets revealed, so many twists and turns that I could not stop reading. I was not always sure that I wanted Bea to come out the on top, but I knew that I did not want the other woman to win.



Rachel Koller Croft’s debut book is phenomenal. I will be on the lookout for her next book. This book kept me reading, turning pages, and wanting more. It started out as a gold-digger story and turned into so much more.



Thank you Berkley for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was a wild ride! Bea is an antihero that I loved despite her cold, hard heart. She has a goal in mind and nothing will stand in her way, not even Gale, her new nemesis. Gale is the bestie of the man she has set her sights on, and as soon as they met, the game was ON. Bea soon learns that Gale might just be a formidable foe. She’s got to keep her head in the game and make sure Gale doesn’t bring her past back to haunt her.

This book is so good! It’s told in first person and I found myself flying through the pages wanting to know what Gale would come up with next and how Bea would counter it. So much (nail-biting) fun!

I think this will be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but this was only an okay read for me. It started out strong with a devious, manipulative, and maybe unlikable heroine, Bea. She's about to marry Collin Case and join one of the wealthiest families in NYC. But Bea has a past, including a dysfunctional relationship with her mother who scammed, and used Bea to scam, wealthy men from coast to coast.

I do love a good con and appreciated Bea's quest to be a better person than her mother by settling down with a single man - albeit an extremely rich man who she manipulated for her own end. It was fun watching the cat and mouse games between her and Collin's best childhood friend Gale. Gale Wallace-Leicester, that is. It was kind of annoying that that's how Bea always referred to her. I guess it was to emphasize the ridiculousness of aristocratic families. Maybe? I also liked Collin's assistant Syl and Bea's budding friendship with her. It was the only time Bea really showed a flash of humanity.

I know a lot of readers will love this story. It had some good twists with a touch of humor, and I appreciated the dual timelines where we learn more about Bea's mother and their history together. However, I thought the ending was weak and didn't make a lot of sense. It felt a bit rushed and anticlimactic and tried to wrap things up neatly, which I'm not sure it accomplished.

A solid four-star entry in the "manipulative woman infiltrates high society" genre. Bea (not her real name) is in her mid-twenties, and she's decided it's time to settle down with as secure a nest egg as she can find. And what's more secure than marrying into NYC's upper crust? Sure, there's a prenup, but Bea's not planning on stealing any cash and escaping into the night. She's in it for forever: she'll be the best wife possible to Collin. She just needs to make sure no one ever finds out the truth of her past.

Unfortunately for her, she's got a rival in Gale, Collin's childhood BFF. Gale has been in love with Collin forever, and if she can't have him then she's going to at least make sure that whoever he falls for is a Good Person. At first, Bea enjoys their rivalry. But soon enough she realizes that Gale has some inside knowledge that she shouldn't have. With shades of "You" and "Gone Girl," this is a fun thriller for everyone who roots for the bad girl once in a while.

Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft was a stellar and thrilling read.

Bea is a women who wants it all and knows how to get it. She learned from the very best (her mom), so why wouldn’t she use it to her advantage. When Collin Case asks her on a date, Bea knows it may not be love, but at least she’ll have the wealth and security that comes along with his family’s old money. However, Collin’s best friend, Gale Leicester Wallace is doing everything she can to stand in Bea’s way, always reminding Bea can and will never be part of their rich, old money crowd. But soon, it becomes more than that. Gale seems to imply that she knows about Bea’s shady past and insinuates that she has the evidence to prove it. Using the tactics she learned from her mother, Bea tries to outsmart Gale, but somehow Gale is always one step ahead of her. Will Bea get the wealth and security she’s always dreamed of, or will Gale Leicester Wallace get in the way of happily ever after?

Overall, this is a highly engaging, page-turning novel. I’m devoured it quickly, always wanting to know what was going to happen next. As a character, Bea was rather unlikable, but as I read more about her past, I understood more about why she is the way that she is. There was also a couple of twists - one I had guessed something similar and one took me completely by surprise. All in all, this was an excellent read.

Fun! Unputdownable! Those were my first thoughts after finishing this debut thriller.

This was a solid 4 stars for me, meaning, I would recommend this to every thriller lover! And it is FUNNY. The author has a sarcastic wit that I loved. (And the opening line of this book is one for the ages!) A smart, beautiful con woman out to marry into one of New York's wealthiest families, Bea was an unforgettable (if not a little unlikeable!) main protagonist.

Bea has her scheme to marry Collin Case all mapped out. She has been aiming for this big catch and the only person standing in her way is Collin's best friend Gale. Bea thinks Gale has always been in love with Collin and hoped that she would marry Collin one day. But Gale is no match for Bea. Their game of cat-and-mouse was so FUN.

The story really kicked in for me when we began to read alternating chapters from Bea's childhood living with her cold, narcissistic con artist of a mother. Bea's mother spent her life going from one wealthy man to another, and Bea spent her childhood trying to please her mother. Even now, with her marriage to Collin on the horizon, she still wonders whether Mother would approve.

"Confidence is always the key, Mother says. Believe you are who you say you are, and they will, too."

Will Gale uncover Bea's true past and her real identity? And will Gale tell Collin his fiancée is a complete fraud before their wedding? It is a lot of fun finding out! I loved Bea's real thoughts about all the upcoming wedding festivities:

"...the last thing I wanted to do was spend a free hour with a bunch of idiots I had to look at all the time anyway. The hideous event was essentially a pseudo–bridal shower wherein I was bestowed with midlevel to upmarket wines, gift certificates to department stores and a fair amount of tacky household items I’d never use, like coffee mugs or pillowcases, etched with MR. & MRS., BRIDE or TAKEN. And I had to sit there and smile with a miniature veil atop my head in the middle of the day like an absolute loon."

This book is nothing too heavy, but the twists were lots of fun and I can't wait to see the TV adaptation!

(Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.)

This wasn’t what I was expecting, but boy was it a wild ride. Bea had a hard life and is working to climb up in status and marry rich so she will never worry about money again. She is unrelenting in her belief that she deserves everything she wants and will stop at nothing to get it. Told mostly in the present day, but with flashbacks to her rough childhood.

I really thought everyone was a little unlikable in this one, but I had some guesses as to what was going on pretty early on in the book and just had to know if I was right. And I was mostly right in my guesses, but not always for the right reason.

Bea ends up in quite the cat and mouse game with Gayle due to Gayle’s connection and love for Bea’s boyfriend. And that cat and mouse game escalated to epic proportions throughout the book. I really enjoyed watching the Bea and Gayle trying to get the upperhand.

I can’t wait to see what Croft comes up with for her next novel.

“The bi+ch of back and we’re both in heat.” ~Bea

As I’m reading this debut novel, I keep thinking of the song by Kanye West called, “Gold Digger.” For those who don’t know it, here is a sample of his lyrics:
"...Now I ain't sayin' you a gold digger, you got needs..."

We meet Bea who is a self-proclaimed “user” and Collin Case will be her greatest and last mark. Her damaged, harsh, and exceptionally cold upbringing by the best female con artist is non-other than her mother. She learned what is like to fight for money, how to con men out of it, and always travel light. Any gifts from men, make sure those things can be sold at a moment’s notice if needed. Bea knew enough to always keep her earned money in bank accounts, foreign and domestic, and in the stock market. Have a light footprint when it came to material goods. Never attach meaning to anything at risk of not being permanent. That is how Bea had always lived her life and it has served her well.

Her nemesis: Collin Chase’s family which includes Collin’s parents, Hayes, and Haven, his two siblings, Chloe and Calliope, and his very best friend, who also happens to be female and in love with Collins, Gale Wallace-Leicester.

So if Bea is the vixen who is supposed to be the “uber” bad villain, why is it that I am so drawn to her when I should rightfully be rooting for Gale? Oh, the matching of the hostile verbiage and constant besting each other when those two are within inches of each other… riveting! Somebody, get the scratching post out!

I felt the book was witty, engaging, and exceptionally entertaining.

Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Writing Style: 4/5
Predictable and full of cliches: Great twist at the end 4.5/5
Entertainment - 4.5/5
Recommend: 5/5

I have to confess, this debut novel by this author was truly a joy to read. I did not think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did but it was spellbinding. I ripped through it and wanted more! Please, sequel!!!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Berkley Pub for my digital copy.

I could not turn the pages fast enough! #StoneColdFox is a brilliant debut that is soapy and will be guaranteed to be a perfect spring break read sitting on a beach. Even better the rights for this book already sold and it’s being optioned for the screen and I cannot wait to see it!
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Bea grew up as a tool in her mom’s cons, making men fall in love with her and open their homes and wallets. Bea doesn’t follow her mom’s game plan exactly, but she does have a plan and her plan is to marry Collin, one of the most eligible bachelors and practically American royalty.
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Collin’s best friend Gale senses something amiss and engages in a cat and mouse game with Bea. I don’t want to give to much away because I was totally surprised by one aspect and I love to be surprised.
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I loved how the chapters alternate between a current timeline and her mom’s past cons which really highlights how Bea became the woman that she is. Also, side note I was super amused with the shoutout to Peaches for Prom dresses and getting flowers from Jewel, which is such a Chicago thing and I loved that attention to detail!
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I really cannot wait to see what she writes next! Thank you
Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review