This hit all the winter-thriller tropes for me! Isolated location, snowed in, challenging (dangerous?) in-laws, and lots of secrets to come out. This was a great popcorn thriller for the winter, and despite the story being a bit clunky in how it came together, was really fun and quick to read and had tons of twists!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to receive this ARC.

This was actually the first book of this authors that I have read even though I have at least one on my TBR.

Theo and her Fiancé Connor head up to his family's mountain resort. It is her first time meeting them all and man what a meeting it is.

This is a fun, fast paced thriller in the setting of a cold winter backdrop. The pacing of the book is good. There are quite a few twists and turns right up to the very end that keep you on your toes. And it has quite the cast of characters. A group of wealthy family members who are hard to crack

Title: A Killing Cold
Author: Kate Alice Marshall
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: February 4. 2025
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Pages: 304

Theodora ‘Theo’ Scott, was orphaned at an early age and raised by an abusive, dysfunctional adoptive family. She claims they’re all dead, but is she telling the truth, or hiding a dark secret about her past? Theodora has no memories before she turned four, only vague images of a woman in a red scarf—possibly her mother—telling her to run from an unknown danger.

Theo now works in a bookstore and meets Connor Dalton, at an art show. They fell in love immediately and they are now engaged. He invites her to Idlewood, his wealthy family’s winter retreat,
Although Theo has been warned to stay away from Connor and his family, she chooses to ignore the warnings.
However once there, she finds strange things she cannot ignore… such as a photo of herself as a child. Hmmm she has no memory of ever being there!
It becomes clear that the Dalton family has secrets,

I love thrillers and one set in a snowed-in remote cabin always is interesting.
Since I love thrillers I know to expected twists- this did not disappoint.
My third Kate Alice Marshall. I actually was surprised that I requested it as the other two had me disappointed with the foul language – Yes! I know I am alone in my dislike of profanity – Perhaps I was expecting it in this story as I actually liked it much better than the other two I read!~

Want to thank NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this early audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for February 4, 2025.

Unfortunately, I had a very hard time buying into this one. The plot was totally unbelievable and it just didn’t work for me. I was too far in to DNF, so I kept going. Bummer, but that’s ok! On to the next one!

The book opens with Connor Dalton and his new fiancée, Theo (our main character), driving through the snow on the way to meet Grandma (who if, he jokes, doesn’t like you, will have you ritually sacrificed in the mountains.) Great opening for meeting the self-described “intimidating and overly protective” future in-laws, with whom you’ll be spending two isolated weeks in the woods near Christmastime. Theo, a bookstore employee, has also been recently getting anonymous texts warning her to stay away from super rich Connor (although, cut off from cell service, at least those texts won’t continue). A last piece of warning karma has the couple getting stopped on the driveway to the family grand lodge by a bloody, injured deer, that Theo approaches and almost gets 10 antler tips embedded into her. No wonder she has nightmares about men with antlers. Welcome to a Dalton Family Christmas!

As an impulsive character who fears dogs, Theo immediately started out on thin ice with me, especially when it’s obvious she’s a major secret-keeper about her own family and identity, even from Connor. We do get to know that Theo was an abandoned child at age 4, with only partial memories of her life as a toddler. Her adoptive parents were inflexible religious disciplinarians and somehow Theo escaped them, but apparently not without associated trauma. What is weird to Theo is that the Dalton family estate, on the other side of the country from where she grew up, seems awfully familiar. With that, the plot line gets very disturbing and twisty as family secrets are slowly revealed.

This book reminded me of Catherine Steadman’s terrifying “The Family Game” (that family introduced their prospective daughter-in-law to evil Santa, Krampus). Keeping track of the Dalton family members and their shifting loyalties and multiple viewpoint recollections can be dizzying. The author brilliantly pulls it altogether in the end — which might not be the tidy end you want, but at least Theo has made friends with the family dog. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO No green ones, although Theo describes hers as gray or blue and Connor’s as blue.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO But the very first few pages has the characters traveling to Datura, also the name of the poisonous angel’s trumpet, jimson weed, or devil’s weed. A useful flower for terrible “mischief” (an entire cable series was based on an an evil child poisoning his parents with jimson tea). What could possibly go wrong near a town of that name?

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Looking for an atmospheric winter thriller?! Look no further and be sure to pick this one up in February!
❄️Locked Room
❄️Powerful Wealthy Family
❄️Dark Secrets
❄️Atmospheric
I was kept on the edge of my seat the entire time. And when I tell you the twists were twisting!!!!! I thought I had it figured out but I was wrong.
Dark, tense and twisty. It’s a thriller you won’t want to miss.
Thank you so much Flatiron Books for the early copy.

It took me awhile to get into the storyline but once it picked up it definitely had me intrigued. It was full of twists especially at the end. Love this author.

Thank you Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the digital arc.

This my favorite of the books I’ve read by Kate Alice Marshall. I loved it. The setting was great, and the twists kept me guessing.

A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall

Theodora (Theo) Scott is about to walk into a life she never thought she’d have—a world of money, power, and prestige that couldn’t be further from her lonely, small-town upbringing as the unwanted adopted daughter of a devoutly religious middle-class family. Her fiancé, Connor Dalton, is rich, charming, and completely smitten, but winning over his family is another story. When he takes her to Idlewood, the Daltons’ luxurious mountain retreat, Theo is prepared for some frosty receptions. What she isn’t prepared for are the memories that start to creep in—memories that make her realize she’s been to Idlewood before. And the deeper she digs into her own past, the more she realizes that someone here will do whatever it takes to keep their secrets buried.

At first, A Killing Cold has all the makings of a great mystery: the perfect setting, family drama, a dash of romance, and a hint of something darker lurking just out of view. It sets the stage for what should be a juicy mix of suspense and self-discovery. But somewhere along the way, it all falls apart.

Theo’s anxious inner monologue sets the tone early on, but instead of building tension, it quickly gets repetitive. She’s constantly second-guessing herself and overanalyzing everything, which makes her more exhausting than engaging. The story hints at big revelations, but they never quite land. Instead, we get a pile of clichés: rich people behaving badly, classist snobbery, and a heroine who keeps making baffling choices, like staying in a situation that screams get out now.

The book tries to explore some big questions—how well do we really know the people closest to us, and is the truth always worth the cost?—but it never follows through. Instead, it gets bogged down with far-fetched twists, too many red herrings, and dialogue that feels stiff and unnatural. By the end, the characters feel more like plot devices than real people, and it’s hard to care about what happens to any of them.

The most frustrating part is how much potential this book had. The premise is intriguing, and the opening chapters draw you in, but the story can’t keep up. What could have been a smart, thrilling mystery ends up feeling hollow and overcomplicated.

Final Thoughts: 1.5 Stars
A Killing Cold starts strong but loses its way fast. The moody setting and intriguing setup might pull you in, but the flat characters and over-the-top plotting will make you wish you hadn’t bothered. If you’re looking for a gripping mystery, this one might not be worth your time.

#Netgalley #AKillingCold

I was fully in this! I loved the setting and the characters. Everyone kinda sucks, and I liked all the tie ins and the twists were fun and not too over the top!
I really enjoy Kate Alice Marshall!

This was my first Marshall novel, but I already ordered another book from her! Definitely a really great thriller. I'll read more from her soon!

If you are a fan of a locked room mystery, a family full of dark and dangerous secrets, and a woman hell bent on getting to the truth then you need to grab A Killing Cold. What a bunch of truly awful characters! this was one wild and crazy ride and ai was there for it all. A read in a day story for me, I just could not stop reading.

Connor and Theodora have had a whirlwind romance and are now engaged to be married. Connor comes from a very wealthy family, Theo is adopted and alone. They travel to Connor’s family’s winter retreat which is cut off from the rest of the world. His family aren’t sure about Theo, and starts to notice strange things, while memories start to return.

A fun and emotional thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you so much to Flatiron on NetGalley for my advanced reading copy. Publishes on February 4th.

I do enjoy Kate Alice Marshall’s thrillers and A Killing Cold was no exception. The setting of a winter mountain compound was practically a character too. It had depth and added to this chilly, twisty thriller.

The characters were a hoot of dysfunction as only a family of rich entitled secret holders can be. The main character had her secrets too. The slowly recovering from amnesia set a nice tempo for this story.

The resolution was the weakest part but it still made for a fast paced and enjoyable read. KAM is an automatic read for me and will continue that way.

4.5/5
Thank you @flatiron_books #partner for the gifted copy of this eARC!

This one has all the makings of a great thriller and I enjoyed it immensely! A sketchy family history, an untrusting couple, a wealthy family, a beautiful estate and a mystery surrounding their past.

Theodora meets Connor and although they’ve not known each other for long, they get swept away in their budding romance and have plans to get married very quickly. It’s no surprise that Connor wants her to meet his family so when she makes it to their beautiful estate she’s a little nervous. Soon after she arrives she senses someone watching her and sees footprints outside her window. Something is niggling at her memory and she can’t put her finger on it. But then something crazy happens…she finds a picture of herself as a child where they are staying and she isn’t sure who she can trust. She doesn’t recall anything from her childhood and now wonders just who these people really are!

I have loved all of Kate’s books and this one was just as juicy and fast paced as her others! This book was very addicting because of Thor’s perplexing past and the cryptic clues she was stumbling upon! I always love when a book is written where the couple cannot trust each other because it adds a layer to the crazy! It was also set in a sprawling property set away from people which made it feel like locked room! (My fav!) I am so happy I have this bad boy preordered and can’t wait to get my grubby little hands on it! Sign me up for any and all of her books! I already need another one!

I absolutely devoured "A Killing Cold" and loved it! I definitely did not see the twists coming at the end and never would have guessed who did what. Loved the main character, Theo, and was co.pletely invested to.find out what happened during her childhood/backstory. Highly recommend to read during the winter, on a snowday, with a warm cup of coffee.

What a wild ride! I really enjoyed this book. Fast paced with tons of twist and turns along the way. I was captivated by Theo. While reading, I wasn’t sure how reliable of a narrator she was going to be, but I knew I had her back no matter what. I loved being inside her point of view and the way this story developed.

Kate Alice Marshall is a fantastic author and I’m going to read everything she writes!

This was a fantastic thriller! I devoured this story very quickly and I didn't figure it all out, which I really enjoyed! This is the story of Theo and Connor, who are recently engaged after a whirlwind romance. Theo brings a lot of secrets to the relationship from her past and Connor is from a very wealthy family. When Connor and Theo arrive his isolated family home, Theo starts to have flashes of memory she hadn't had before. This story had a lot of twists and turns, and it was had to put down! A great mystery by an author I have really been enjoying lately! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Arc review - pub date 02.04.25

Theo is newly engaged to Conner and they are spending time away at the family’s isolated winter retreat. She quickly realizes she is not welcome by the family, even receiving threatening texts/letters that she needs to get out asap.

It did take me a bit to get into the story, but once it picked up I was intrigued. Lots of twists, especially at the end. I’ve loved all of her other books and this one was a win as well. Perfect snowy/locked in mystery to read this winter!

4⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and FlatIron books for my ARC!

This one was great! The main female character is an on reliable narrator… She doesn’t even know who she really is. She and her fiancé Connor go to spend Christmas in the woods with Connors. Very wealthy family. But there are so many secrets as we untangle who, Theo is. And who her birth parents are… She remembers her adopted family and nothing before that. But while she is on the mountain in the snow, she starts to remember. As the secrets start to unravel, Theo is in danger. No one is who they say they are. She’s not even sure if she can trust her fiancé when someone dies the truth starts to come out. This book had me guessing through all the twists and turns. I loved the setting and the characters were wonderfully unlikable. Thank you NetGalley for the digital copy. 4 1/2 rounded up.

I couldn’t put this book down! From the very first page, it had me hooked. The tension builds so naturally as Theodora Scott, a woman on a whirlwind romance with her fiancé, Connor, is brought to his family’s remote winter retreat, where strange things start happening. The eerie sense of déjà vu and the discovery of a childhood photo at Idlewood had me on edge, wondering what dark secrets the Dalton family is hiding. The twisty plot kept me fully engaged until the very end, and the suspense never let up. A truly thrilling ride that I highly recommend for anyone who loves a good mystery with plenty of twists and turns!