Deep Freeze begins with an accident - a plunge into freezing water with John Reiff's life ending. Twenty two years later he is revived with the newest technology. However, everything is a little suspicious. Why was he revived? Who did the funding? What are they planning to do with him? Deep Freeze is a spine tingling, riveting, one of a kind mystery thriller. The writing is outstanding and kept me glued to the pages. Definitely one to add to your reading list. Thank you NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

The beginning of this book immediately gripped me. The extremely short chapters with cliffhanger endings made me keep flipping the pages way too late into the night. I enjoyed the back-and-forth between perspectives, especially the interspersing of John's memories and thoughts in italics. The fast-paced writing style and sci-fi elements reminded me of works by Blake Crouch.

As the book became more military-esque, I started losing momentum. This is a personal preference and not necessarily a fault of the book at all.

Although it was an entertaining read, I think I would have enjoyed it as a standalone novel more. This is also just a personal preference!

Overall I would highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy fast-paced, sci-fi-based thrillers and for fans of Blake Crouch.

Deep Freeze by Michael C Grumley
Pub date: January 9th
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Library or Buy-worthy? Library
***Caution Spoilers Follow***
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Genre: Medical Thriller, multiple narrators
Similar Vibe: Intercepts by T.J. Payne, The Borne Identity by Robert Ludlum, Jack Reacher books by Lee Child

Deep Freeze by Michael C Grumley starts off with a bang, really sucking you into the storyline immediately. There's a modern day Frankenstein quality to this story that's intriguing. Beyond the killer beginning, the momentum slows a lot with necessary medical drama.The twist is pretty good and is revealed right about when the boredom starts to get overwhelming. Look for the twist around the 40% point (for pacing reference). As the characters learn what is really going on so do we. Some chapters end in cliffhangers which disrupt the reading flow but it's not hard to follow. Beyond all that the characters feel a little generic to me, like a 1980s mystery. It's unusual for me to equate doctors with ignorant people but that's what this plotline requires.

Overall, the premise is intriguing enough to carry the book and the writing is okay. I would've liked the whole book to be written with the same depth as the beginning but it didn't get there. The beginning was the best part for me. Thanks to Tor Forge for my free review copy.

TW for animal testing

The beginning of this sucked me in, with a man stopping a robbery in progress and then downing a beer like he didn't he didn't do anything special. It slows down a little bit after that, with the man being unfrozen, and us watching to see how all that unfolds. However once he wakes up things take off, and we get glimpses of the man he was before. It became action-packed and kept me on the edge of my seat until the end.
I'm excited to see where the series is going to go from here, especially with the way it ended.

This was an extremely enjoyable thriller set in the near future. The beginning of the story involved the thawing of a man after more than a decade and the medical problems the staff experienced. It then progressively turned into something much more sinister. Both the main characters and the reader were clueless most of the time and it was very satisfying as some questions were slowly answered. Unfortunately, by the time the book ended not only were there still quite a few unanswered questions, but a number of new ones. I need the next book immediately!

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

The accident happened so fast, plunging a bus load of people into the freezing cold river below, trapping them all. Among them was Army veteran John Reiff.

Now years later, John is slowly waking up. He has no clue what is going on and the doctors just say its all fine.

As his mind and body slowly recover, he becomes certain the doctors are lying to him. As the puzzle pieces of his mind slowly fits together, he realizes things aren’t what they seem, and critical information is being kept from him. Can John figure out what the information is, and get some answers before it’s too late?

This one was a slow start for me and it had me questioning whether or not I wanted to shelve it for later. But I read a few reviews and saw what people were really enjoying, so I stuck with it, and I am glad I did. Things definitely picked up around the 25% mark, and then they didn’t stop. I do wish that the beginning had been written a little differently so I wouldn’t have trudged through it, but it worked out in the end. The story was actually very compelling, and I enjoyed that it took place in a dystopian world. I love a good dystopian novel, and this one had all the making of what I enjoy. This book had plenty of action that helped propel me through the pages. The writing was thought provoking and entertaining. This one ends on a pretty interesting cliff hanger that made me want to keep reading the series.

Thank you so much to Tor Publishing, Forge Books @forgereads and Netgalley @Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Some parts still don’t add up, but I hope it’s something that’s addressed in a sequel. Overall, it’s got a quick pace, but I did find the middle dragging a bit after the exciting start, before picking up again after the halfway mark.

What can I say. My kind of book. The excitement at the start of the read was palpable. I was holding my breathe when those people were trapped in the bus. I did not expect what came next but suffice it to say, it was amazing. Great writing and great storyline, to boot. I definitely recommend this book for action/adventure/thriller readers. After reading this one, I started on Michael C. Grumley's previous books. I love finding a new author whose work I love.

DNF - I'm so sorry, I was bored with this. The excitement at the beginning (and it WAS exciting there) was followed by so many dull short chapters. Not for me.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Tor Publishing Group/ Forge for an advanced copy of this thriller featuring a man who is saved by cutting edge science and medical technology for dark reasons that might change the world.

Frigid temperatures saps the strength from the human body, makes people tired, confused, and seeing things as it gradually shuts the body down. John Reiff feels that way when a awoken from a coma, caused by an accident he can barely remember. Something about a bus. an icy river and deep, deep cold. As Reiff heals he begins to notice things. Why is his door always locked. Why aren't there any nurses. And how can he know about a laboratory a level away, complete with cages for animals, one he can draw as clear as day. Deep Freeze by Michael C. Grumley is a medical thriller of the near future, where a man on ice has become a commodity that many want a part of.

John Reiff is straight from being a Good Samaritan by stopping a robbery, when the bus that he is traveling on has an accident, crashing through a bridge railing and falling into a frozen river. Reiff is able to help a young mother and child escape, before the bus finally sinks to the bottom with only darkness waiting for him. Reiff awakens in a room, cared for by a team who has used the latest in medical technology to warm his body and save his life. Slowly under their care he begins to heal, rapidly to the team, but slowly to himself. Reiff notices that even though he is as weak as a mouse, his door is always locked. There is no television, and no phones visible. The hospital is very quiet, and he never sees anyone except his doctors. At night he has dreams of things that seem real, but never happened. And when testing his motor skills he is able to draw a room he has never seen. A laboratory in the building complete with animal cages. Reiff is beginning to suspect that there is a lot more going on, and Reiff has the skills to find the answers. And these answers will change everything.

A combination of Michael Crichton and Lee Child, with a bit of Robin Cook and a whole lot of one-on-one ultraviolence. Grumley has a great sense of pacing in his story, with short chapters that keep things moving. There is a bit of science and a lot of medical terminology, but Grumley explains everything well, and it really helps enhance the story, with a feel that a lot of this is possible. The action is good, and again make sense, people get hurt for real, and everything has a sense of realism. The story might be a touch fantastic, and there are some parts of the that don't add up, but this is all easily ignored as the story really is good. Also this is the first book in a series, so I am sure that what seems odd now, will make sense later. Also this has one of the best last sentences I have read in a novel in a long time, and makes me eagerly await the next book. I will not ruin it for readers.

A lot of fun. A good book to read while watching the snow fall and thinking hmm, if John Reiff could survive an icy river I can probably shovel soon. Then going back to reading. A very fast paced adventure story, and a very interesting introduction to what could be a great series.

Please tell me this is going to be a quickly released series, I have so many unanswered questions! I want a deeper look into the Great Struggle, John, Waterman, the MONKEY! The ending and final conflict felt so abrupt, which was disappointing for me

Deep Freeze is the perfect book for someone who is looking for the beginning of a fast-paced series. I am intrigued by the ideas and problems about immortality that are explored in this book.

I must start by thanking both NetGalley as well as the publisher Tor for my honest review in exchange for an eARC..
Wonderful! Great premise, l need to know one thing, what happened to the Capuchins Monkey? I am hoping for a follow up, and l cannot wait to read it.

Deep Freeze by Michael C. Grumley This is a spine-tingling, riveting, one-of-a-kind mystery with the enigmatic John Rieff at it's center. Short, action-packed chapters reveal many distinct elements in this action-packed thriller. The ending does leave many loose ends which hopefully will be resolved in the next book in the series. What was with the monkey?

Thank you to the author, Tor publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Retired soldier John Reiff rescues a family from a bus that's plunged into a frozen river, sacrificing himself in the process. Which is why he's so disoriented when he wakes up in a secret medical research facility afterward. How much time has passed? Why is he there, and what's the meaning of the weirdly vivid dreams he now has? Most importantly, who's funding this research and what's the goal of the project? Grumley delivers a solid action thriller with "Deep Freeze" and it's a definite page-turner that'll keep you going until the very last page. Definitely one to add to your travel reading list.

3.5 stars

I’m having a love/meh relationship with this book. First off, the writing was phenomenal and kept me glued to the pages. Hence the love.
Meh, the subject matter isn’t really my thing, and felt a touch misleading from the synopsis.
But, the writing being so good kept me interested the whole time, and kept me wanting to know what was happening and where this was all going to go.

3.75 stars

John died in an accident. But did he die? 22 years later he is revived with the newest technology. Although everything is a little suspicious. Why was he revived? Who did the funding? What are they planning to do with him?

I had never heard about this author before but I loved how I constantly wanted to figure out more. I needed to find out more about our main character, John Reiff. And god when all the weird stuff started to happen. I hate though that we never really got a good conclusive ending, but this book will eventually be part of a series so I guess we will have to wait! Besides the plot, the writing was very well done. I was really intrigued as I hadn't heard about this author before and I am curious to see how I will like his other books and his coming books.

Michael C. Grumley writes about the near future. In his newest book he explore cryogenics and immortality.

Deep Freeze begins with an accident - a plunge into freezing water with John Reiff's life ending. Not long after we meet the scientists working to bring him back to life. Rachel and her lab animals and many more. As Reiff begins to regain the ability to speak, the scientists learn that they may be pawns in a much bigger game. Life and death is at stake, perhaps for the whole world. If you like espionage, international games and are interested in cryogenics and other ways to stall aging, Deep Freeze is for you ! #Tor #DeepFreeze #MichaelCGrumley