PHENOMENAL!!! Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

MIND BLOWING!! INCREDIBLE!! ADDICTIVE!!
Kate Alice Marshall delivers once again!! "A Killing Cold" is an utterly gripping, chilling, and atmospheric psychological thriller that I could NOT put down! It had me on the edge of my seat, constantly wondering who I could trust. Just when I thought I had it figured out, another crazy whirlwind twist hit me.

This book is packed with everything I love in a thriller! From dark family secrets, dangerous and deadly lies, a dysfunctional wealth family, no cell phone service, a secluded, wintery mountain retreat, threatening messages, suppressed memories and a shocking reveal!! OH MY!! 😮

The tension builds page by page until you're holding your breath. I devoured this in one sitting! I just wanted to scream to get out!! Easily one of the most suspenseful, bingeable reads I've picked up in a long time. I wholeheartedly recommend this unputdownable, stunning masterpiece and it deserves all the stars!!!⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What Lies In the Woods is one of my favorite thrillers, and I've since been enjoying Kate's other books. A Killing Cold is no exception.
I enjoyed the storyline showcasing how essentric some families are, especially when they have money to fall back on. Each character was distinct and easy to differentiate between. I liked Theo, our FMC, a lot.
And, this may be a mild spoiler, but it is SO refreshing to not have the main character's significant other be the bad guy! That plot twist is overly used in thrillers, and I was worried throughout the story Conner would turn out to be behind it all. But the way he protected Theo made me happy.

This book had me completely gripped—tense, eerie, and layered with just the right amount of emotional depth and creeping dread. A Killing Cold starts with what feels like a classic setup: a whirlwind romance, a secluded estate, and a family that’s just a little too perfect. But from the moment Theo sets foot at Idlewood, you can feel that something is off—and it only gets more unsettling from there.

Theo is such a compelling protagonist. You feel her disorientation, her curiosity, and her growing fear as the story unfolds. Her vulnerability never makes her weak—it makes her real. Watching her confront both the literal danger around her and the foggy fragments of her past was incredibly powerful. She’s unraveling a mystery, yes, but she’s also reclaiming her own story—and that added a whole other layer of meaning to the suspense.

The atmosphere is just... chilling. Snow-covered woods, locked rooms, hushed conversations, and the constant sense that someone is watching. Kate Alice Marshall is brilliant at building tension without ever needing to go over the top. Every clue, every moment of recognition or doubt, pulled me deeper into the story.

And the twists? Completely satisfying. Some I saw coming in bits and pieces, others knocked the wind out of me. But it all fits—tight, smart plotting with emotional stakes that hit hard.

If you're into thrillers that balance mystery with memory, isolation with intensity, A Killing Cold delivers in every way. I couldn’t stop turning pages, and I didn’t want to leave Idlewood—even if it terrified me.

Got about half way through this one and just couldn't connect with the story or characters so I put it down for now. I will try to revisit it at a later date. I seem to be in the majority and think I wasn't in the right headspace for this one right now.

On pause

This was another quick and twisty novel from Kate Alice Marshall. She has a way of setting up a story that will bring a reader in right away! I inhaled this novel from start to finish. The relationship between the main characters allowed for me to get sucked into the family drama.

This book had me hooked and unable to put it down - i read the whole thing in 3 hours. The plot was fantastic, and the twists were great to keep you guessing without being too frustrating or unbelievable. I appreciated the way the characters were built and truly enjoyed this book! Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Flat Iron Books for allowing me to read this novel early. This is my second book by this author and I really enjoyed it! The plot twist at the end definitely got me!

Slow start but very immersive atmosphere. I am a little over the rich people secrets trope. Recommend.

Another great book by Kate Alice Marshall! Filled with secrets, lies, deception, and family bonds this book touches on all the feelings. With each twist more and more secrets are revealed, and the lengths a wealthy family will go to to protect each other becomes evident. Add in a miscommunication trope, and its a recipe for a great thriller. Atmospheric and dark this book had me gripped from the beginning!

Karissa Vacker did an amazing job of bringing this book to life! One of my favorite narrators!

Thank you to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Macmillan Audio for an advanced reading and listening copies of this book.

There’s something about an isolated house in the snowy woods that instantly sets the tone—and A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall leans into that claustrophobic chill in the best way.

The story follows Theodora Scott, who heads to her fiancé’s remote family estate to meet the in-laws. But this isn’t just a “girl-meets-boy’s-wealthy-family” setup. Things take a turn when Theo stumbles across a childhood photo of herself—taken at this exact house. The only problem? She has no memory of ever being there.

From that moment, the tension never lets up. The further Theo digs into her own past, the more twisted the family dynamics—and the house itself—begin to feel. There’s a constant sense that someone is watching, that something is just slightly off. And Kate Alice Marshall builds that creeping dread masterfully.

It’s atmospheric, layered, and full of icy secrets. The setting practically becomes a character on its own—snowbound, remote, and hiding things Theo might not want to remember.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by the author. The premise was intriguing, dysfunctional family, mystery surrounding Theo, elitist/entitled family, and spooky setting.

I had trouble staying interested in the story and did skip some paragraphs here and there. Some of the twists and turns were expected, some were surprises. I wasn’t fond of the ending of the book.

Overall, not a bad book, not my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Kate Alice Marshall, for the eARC.

What a thriller!!! Totally kept me at the edge of my seat and I absolutely loved the twists and turns!! This book kept me guessing and I enjoyed it the whole time..

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Theodora hasn’t had it easy in life. When she meets and falls in love with the well to do Connor, things seems perfect. She is invited to stay with his family in their winter estate and it seems like a great opportunity to be a real part of the family. However, things aren’t always what they seem with the family members or the estate.

I love a good isolated thriller and I especially love a cold weather thriller. This check all the boxes for me. As things start to happen you really don’t know who to trust. A solid rush people doing bad things thriller.

Kate alice marshall does it again. The queen of thrillers is back. This book did not disappoint, you need to pick it up!

A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall is a chilling thriller about Theo Scott, who joins her fiancé at his family’s remote winter estate. When strange memories surface and she finds an old photo of herself at the estate—despite never remembering being there—she starts questioning everything. As she pieces together the past, dark secrets emerge, and she realizes she might be in serious danger. This book kept me guessin! I was drawn in by opulent wealthy family with secrets in an isolated area with no way out.

This was a fun read and I flew through it. Love the atmospheric vibes too as the old cabins were like a character in itself. I typically enjoy this author and this wasn’t my favorite by her, but I did enjoy it.

It got a bit convoluted towards the end and of course you must suspend belief here…a LOT!

The he did it, no she did it, no wait SHE did it got a bit old for me but overall a good read.

Thanks for my early copy and I did also order it for my BOTM. This is a great one for atmospheric lovers as well as family secrets! 3.5 ⭐️

Thank you @flatiron_books for my gifted ARC! A Killing Cold is out now. This was also the #winingdownbookclub February book although I was unable to attend 😞.

Theo is going home for Christmas with her new fiancé, but she has been keeping a secret. Theo has no early memories of before she was adopted and has a terrible relationship with her parents. She’s hoping for a fresh start with Connor’s family when they go to Idlewood for the break. But as soon as she arrives, she begins to get the feeling that she’s been here before. Little things look familiar and finally she finds an old photo hidden in a cabin that she herself is in. How can that be?

I like how this book really built up. It started with just Theo’s mysterious childhood and her lack of memories. But once she is starting to recall little bits and pieces is when the story really takes off. The remote retreat adds to the atmosphere as well as the cold, snowy weather. I thought the book was very well crafted with little clues dropped.

This book had all the makings for a 5-star read for me - an uppity, rich family, an outsider that's hiding something, and a situation in which everyone is trapped somewhere that they can't easily get help.

There was definitely intrigue - the more I found out about Theo's past, the more I wanted to know. She thinks she was this horrible, evil child, but was she really? Because the ridiculous amount of religion that her adoptive parents believed in led me to believe that maybe there was more than meets the eye.

Unfortunately, just like a winter that lasts way too long, this book lasted too long as well. I was bored. There weren't enough elements to keep me interested, and I kept finding every reason to not read this book. Normally it takes me 5 to 7 days to finish a book, and this one took me two entire weeks.

The worst part is that I actually like this author, but maybe this just wasn't one of her better works.

Better luck next time?

I really enjoyed this. The plot was great and it kept me wanting to read it. A lot of the twists I did not see coming but I really enjoyed the end. Made me feel like my family was normal! Lol

This was a chilling, thrilling, and utterly gripping read! Packed with dark family secrets and jaw-dropping revelations, the twists kept coming, each one more shocking than the last. The story was filled with deception, making for an intense and unpredictable ride.

The characters were a mix of highly unlikable and deeply sympathetic ones. My favorite was Theo—I truly felt for her. The character development was excellent, making the dysfunctional, wealthy family feel all the more real. Set in a grand mansion, the atmosphere was tense, and I never knew who to trust.

From the very first page to the last, I was completely hooked. The fast-paced plot, combined with an eerie and immersive setting, made this both a psychological thriller and a domestic family drama. The addition of a snowstorm heightened the tension, making the story even more chilling.