The book itself was a bit too slow paced for me. I also felt there were too many POV's floating around and too many subplots happening in conjunction with them. I also found it to be a bit predictable and felt too much of the book was spent as a set-up for more in the series itself.

THE FEAR OF WINTER — Book One of the Fear Of Series – by S.C. Sterling

‘On a frigid December night, Megan Floyd vanishes from the mountain town of Fraser, Colorado. . . . Her father, Tom Floyd, is forced to confront his worst fear that his daughter will never be found . . . ‘

‘A year after the disappearance and with no new leads, Tom hires private investigator Marshall York, a former detective, and his assistant Hannah Jacobs. They soon start to uncover the secrets of Megan’s dangerous second life, all while fighting their own demons.’

This book will hit you with all the feels—My Heart! I love how Hannah is portrayed in the book: caring, courageous, and a bonafide bad***, in this reader’s opinion. Bring on Book Two, THE FEAR OF FIRE, released May 16, 2024.

Thank you, NetGalley and No Bueno Publishing, for providing me with an eBook of THE FEAR OF WINTER at the request of an honest review.

The Fear of Winter by S.C. Sterling is a debut suspense novel that is a little bit gritty and a little bit dark. Megan has been missing for a couple of years and her case has now gone cold. Her father, a former police officer named Tom, has spent two years searching for her with no luck. He hires Marshall and Hannah, a PI and his assistant, to help bring new life to the case.

This story is told from multiple POVs and it took me a minute to get into it. There are only 8 chapters in the book, with those chapters split into many POVs throughout. I think the flow of the story would have benefited from having those changes be different chapters. We get a lot (A LOT) of backstory from each of our characters, some of which has nothing to do with the plotline. I was having a hard time connecting with the story and the characters, but did find myself enjoying Hannah's story.

I enjoyed that it was set in beautiful Colorado - the winter setting really added to the story. I also loved that it was set in the 90s - there were a lot of cool references (maybe too many?).

There was a lot of language and violence throughout the book, which I wasn't aware of before reading. I usually avoid books with a ton of language or a lot of gratuitous violence.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

TW: drug use, self harm, among others

The Fear of Winter; Book One in The Fear Of Series by S.C. Sterling was not for me, personally. I am still thankful that I got to read this! I don't think I'll read the sequel.

This was a good suspense because I actually have visited Colorado numerous times. I loved the way everything ended and felt like there could be more in the future-however, there were a few subplots that I didn't necessarily love. Overall, this book was a fun time and perfect for the upcoming winter season.

I like missing people stories and when its a child it is heartbreaking. This is a bit predictable and a little slow, but nice and short Maybe get book 2 when avaialble

On a frigid December night, Megan Floyd vanishes from the mountain town of Fraser, Colorado. The extensive search provides no answers and as attention of her disappearance fades, the case goes cold..
Omg talk about a roller coaster read wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat through out I just couldn't put it down this writer keeps you hooked and once your hooked your not letting go!

This is great and sad cold case mystery with great characters inthe dad, the investigators, and others. Really enjoyed its d want to read more.

I'm not a huge fan of first-books-in-series that make it very clear that's what they are; I prefer a story that can stand alone, and not just prepare us for what's to come.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* It took me awhile to get into this book not gonna lie but after a few chapters i got into it and started understanding what was going on lol would recommend

This crime/thriller was pretty good. I did rather enjoy it. I was able to stay interested in the book. It was a pretty fast read. Was done reading it in just 6 hours

Great new crime thriller. I've been craving dark mysteries/thrillers and this one was satisfying. There isn't a big twist or reveal, instead what Sterling delivers is an action-packed kidnapping story with some kickass characters who refuse to give up or take no for an answer.

I'm looking forward to more from this author.

An interesting look at the investigation into a young woman's disappearance. The book follows multiple characters, the woman's father, a private investigator and his assistant and it is interesting to see their different viewpoints. I look forward to reading the next in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and No Bueno Publishing, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for accepting my request to read and review The Fear of Winter.

Published: 01/18/23

I liked this story. It is the first book of a new series, and I do want to read book two.

The book was around 225 pages. The characters were okay. I really only liked Tom, a dad. I can see him going on in the series minimally. The rest I will barely remember. All the characters had problems, and if you read the synopsis, they were fitting and not over the top which I liked. They had personalities.

The book is okay. It's not bad, but it's not good either. I found it current and clever enough to continue with book 2.

The Fear of Winter is gripping from the get-go. Following Tom, the father of a missing girl, and Marshall and Hannah PI's that he hired to try to find her. It's a fast-paced, twisting adventure that I would highly recommend.

A quick, easy read which true crime fans will enjoy. The characters were well-written and felt real, and I particularly enjoyed the insights into Kevin Strand - I loved the writing style of these sections in particular, and I think they will strongly appeal to those interested in true crime.

The circumstances surrounding Megan’s disappearance were interesting, but I found that the suspense tailed off around halfway through the book as it became obvious what had happened and who was guilty. This made it more difficult to finish the book, as most of the ending was predictable regarding Megan’s disappearance, although there were some surprises with the other plot points.

What a sneaky story this is!

A father/Sherriff hires a detective agency to investigate his daughter’s disappearance from 2 years prior. Really well written mystery about a missing girl which turns into a story about so much more!

Cold, desolate setting is perfect for this story with an unexpected ending.

Being book 1 of the series, I was shocked at the end to see how the series will go forward. I was not expecting it but am actually really excited about it. I won’t spoil it by saying how it ends- you’ll have to pick this one up and find out for yourself. I can’t wait for this series to continue!

4.5 stars!! Perfect read for Crime Thriller, Missing Persona Mystery fans! So good!

Although there were definitely some hard parts in this story I did like the plot and the characters. It flowed well and I felt like I got just enough information. I hope that there will be more with the MC.

A cold case thriller that has no true surprises. The chapters are on the longer side, and can be hard to follow at times. Overall, its a quick read that in the end was enjoyable, yet does not stand out.

I want to thank Netgalley and No Bueno Publishing for an ARC of this book.

Happy #pubday to @scottcsterling

The Fear of Winter by S.C. Sterling is out today!

Here is my ☆Book Review☆ thanks to @netgalley

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Fear of Winter by S.C. Sterling is a fast-paced, crime thriller that takes place in Fraser, Colorado. This story surrounds the unsolved cold case mystery of 19 year old Meagan Floyd and is told from her father, Tom Floyd's POV, along with P.I. Marshall York & his assistant, Hannah Jacob's.

Along the way, we find out that Meagan's mother, Lisa, turns to drugs & alcohol to try to numb the pain of Meagan's disappearance, which leads to divorce from Tom. Marshall is haunted by a missing-child case from his former Detective career, and Hannah is determined to bring justice to the Floyd family in honor of her own missing sister.

This compelling, suspenseful novel had me flying through the pages! I loved it and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Synopsis:

On a frigid December night, Megan Floyd vanishes from the mountain town of Fraser, Colorado. The extensive search provides no answers and as attention of her disappearance fades, the case goes cold. Her father, Tom Floyd, is forced to confront his worst fear that his daughter will never be found, and soon his life and marriage begin to disintegrate around him.

A year after the disappearance and with no new leads, Tom hires private investigator Marshall York, a former detective, and his assistant Hannah Jacobs. They soon start to uncover the secrets of Megan’s dangerous second life, all while fighting their own demons. Tom is guilt-ridden over a missing child case from his past, and Hannah is haunted by the unsolved murder of her older sister.

The case begins to consume all three of their lives, and as they dig deeper, they start to unravel the dark truth of what happened to Megan.

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