This was a suspenseful page turner that kept me hooked from beginning to end! I love a thriller that takes place in an eerie secluded location and this one delivered just that. Full of unreliable characters, I honestly didn’t know if anyone could actually be trusted and my mind was constantly trying to analyze what was happening! If you love a good locked room whodunnit with an added dose of family drama in which everyone is suspicious, then I definitely recommend adding this one to your tbr now…It’s the perfect winter read!

Thank you to @netgalley @flatiron_books for this advance reader’s copy!

When I started this book, I didn't think I would like it. A winter setting with a rich family and a protagonist with secrets seems a little overdone. But I should have trusted Marshall, because it wasn't long before I was totally locked in. This was twisty and heart-pounding. A very good thriller/mystery all around.

Theo doesn’t remember her earliest years. She knows she was adopted when she was around 4, but no one can really tell her much more than that. Her adoptive parents were difficult people and didn’t really raise her in a loving home, not that she made it easy to love her with her own actions. When she meets Connor Dalton and gets engaged to him, she feels like this is her shot to start over. Connor takes him to his family compound in the mountains where they vacation for the holidays. When you get involved with a family that has money to burn there are often secrets to hide. Theo has no idea how closely these secrets will be to her.

Even halfway through this book I was setting myself up to be disappointed. I was ready for the old poor girl gets engaged to rich boy and the family digs up dirt on her to keep them apart. There was so much more to this story, so many break neck twists and turns and I ended up loving it!

“My whole body thrums with fear. It tells me to run. It tells me that the hunter is here, and I am prey. I have always been prey.”


If you like books about dysfunctional families and lots of twists, this is the book for you!

This one is a wild ride where you’re never quite sure who is the hunter and who is the hunted. Every time I thought I had a piece right, Marshall switched it up!

It’s also an atmospheric story as it takes place at an isolated mountain mansion family property around Christmastime where there is of course, no cell reception. The characters stay in their own cabins on the property and the snow is its own element in ‘A Killing Cold.’



The main premise is this:

Theo and Connor are recently engaged (after having only met a few months ago) and headed to Connor’s wealthy and influential family’s property in the mountain woods of New York where Theo has a couple weeks to impress them and be accepted into their curated life.

“All I have to do is convince them that I love him, that I’m charming, that I’m not just interested in his money.”

“All I have to do is ignore the text on my phone… The text that arrived last week from a number I’ve never seen before. ‘Stay away from Connor Dalton.’”

Theo has her own secrets she’s been keeping from Connor— her name isn’t really Theo. And her parents aren’t really dead, but if Connor finds out the truth about them, he might leave her forever.

“The story isn’t about what happened in the attic. It’s about what happened after— what happens when I feel trapped. It is dangerous to corner a wild animal. Even a wounded one.”

There is also part of her childhood she knows must have been traumatic because she barely has any memories of that time and most of them come in the form of nightmares with an ‘antler man’ and running away.

“I’ve never minded blood. It’s a trail to follow, back through my memories.”

The mysteries and secrets pile up as she meets the various family members and learn of their vices and their tragedies, including the mysterious death of Connor’s charming father and the desolate cabin that is no longer used or talked about.

Even as Theo confronts the reality that someone is trying to keep her away from Connor, she’s also discovering that parts of the family property are familiar. Snippets from her memories come back and she realizes the chilling fact: She’s been here before.

“I thought all of this was a coincidence, too wild to be true. But what if it wasn’t? What if I didn’t stumble my way here? What if I was led?”



I will say that if abuse is a trigger for you, you may want to pass on this one as it depicts both adult and child abuse.

I will mention here that it was really hard to read about what happened to Theo with her adoptive parents, especially when the parents attempted to justify their heinous behavior and parenting with what I’m assuming Marshall is portraying as a Christian Bible.

“Holy words wound their way through it, but it was pure punishment. It was like something had been set on fire in Beth’s soul and decades of being a demure and submissive wife became nothing but kindling for her rage.”

She never identifies what religion they claim to be; there are elements of their beliefs surrounding gender and sex that are associated with Christianity but it’s clear that if the Bible is their ‘foundation’ they’ve discarded and twisted most of it because there is nothing biblical about what they said and did to Theo.

It’s hard to read about child abuse but it’s even harder to read it knowing someone had the words of life but were blinded by evil and instead offered only pain, violence, and a wrong theology about sin that not only hurt that child physically but emotionally, spiritually, and in every sense of identity and security.

“I’m a devil-child; my parents are alive, they just don’t want me.”

“Who am I? Maybe I’m no one. Maybe I didn’t come from anywhere at all. Maybe there’s nothing inside me except all the little pieces I’ve collected from the people I’ve wanted to love.”



There were some reviewers who thought the plot was tired and relied too much on fate. I guess I haven’t read a lot that are similar to this one— probably the most similar would be The Family Bones, The Alone Time, or The Fury but even those have their own thing— so it didn’t feel overdone.

There was perhaps an element of fate but truly so many stories require that because ultimately stories set out to answer the question ‘what if’ such and such happened, not ‘here’s how this could legitimately happen’ so for the most part I take no issue with that either.

However, when she unlocked the phone after only a few tries by using the mother’s birth date I was like— nope, no one uses that and even if they did, how would she know this lady’s birth date? She wouldn’t.


A couple times I was nervous that the author was playing up the main character’s recklessness or the mystery of what she did in her past too much so that the culmination of everything was going to be explained in a stupid or stereotypical way or just be not a big deal in general. I’m pleased that Marshall didn’t do that. The direction she took was disturbing and tragic but was a better way to tell the story than how many other authors opt to do.



Recommendation

This story is a pretty tangled web of secrets and is definitely a thrill ride. I found it all very compelling, however there was some content in it that I usually avoid and may be something that would keep certain readers from picking it up, including a decent amount of swearing and a few brief, but graphic sexual encounters.

The reviews are a bit mixed on this one and several mentioned they loved her book What Lies in the Woods better (which had also been on my to-read list) so I might still give that one a shot. I liked the complexity and unpredictability of her book but am still deciding if it’s worth wading through some of the other stuff or not.


[Content Advisory: 41 f-words, 18 s-words; some brief but graphic sexual encounters, a couple prominent characters are LGBTQ; some gore; adult and child abuse; miscarriage]

Secrets are kept because of the trouble they might cause .

Theodora Scott doesn't know much about her life before she was taken in by the Scott family when she was four. A few things come to her in her dreams (nightmares, really)...images of a forest in winter, a man with antlers, and the instinct to run...but they are hardly reassuring. The couple who raised her weren't ideal parents either, immersed in their fundamentalist religion and rigid in both their beliefs and forms of discipline. Its was little wonder that Theo left them behind as soon as she was able to do so and has worked hard to create a new existence for herself. When after a whirlwind romance she finds herself in love with and engaged to wealthy Connor Dalton it seems like a dream come true, and she has told him as little about her. past as possible. They are headed to Idlewood, the Dalton family's estate on a mountain in New England (which they for all accounts and purposes own in its entirety), to spend the Christmas holidays as is the family's tradition. It will be the first time that Theo has met Connor's family apart from a brief encounter with his sister Alexis, and she is more than a little worried. She doesn't have the money, family or connections that the Daltons would expect in a fiancée, and is in fact hiding more than a few dark secrets. Coupled with the fact that she and Connor have only known one another for a few months, it is only natural that the family is less than convinced that Connor has made a good choice. His formidable grandmother for one is not impressed....and then there are the anonymous text warnings (threats?) that Theo has been receiving. Once ensconced in their cabin, Theo also starts having more vivid nightmares. Why do these surroundings seem so familiar to her, when she grew up on the other coast? What secrets are the Daltons hiding both from her and from one another? A tragic suicide, an extramarital affair, and more come to light....but someone clearly wants Theo gone and will do whatever is necessary to make that happen.
A gripping thriller set in a remote area in the dead of winter, A Killing Cold features a female protagonist who survived a brutal upbringing and seems to have found her happily ever after. Life isn't like fairy tales, however, and as much as she has longed to be part of a large and loving family her reception with the Daltons is not of the welcomed-with-open-arms variety. Nor are they as a family straight out of a Norman Rockwell family portrait, Theo is far from an innocent ingenue, but she is less interested in Connor's bank account than she is in the power and safety that it brings to his, and by extension her, life. As she struggles to be accepted by the Daltons she senses that there are things happening around her to which she isn't privvy (she's correct), and the questions she has had about her earliest years may be on the verge of being answered. Connor has scars from his past that become more obvious when he is with his family, and there isn't a soul whom Theo thinks she can trust except him. The ne'er do well younger brother, the angry uncle, the tightly wound sister, and the feared matriarch....all have secrets they want to keep hidden and each might have reason to want Theo out of the picture. As the plot takes numerous twists and information about events from years ago is revealed as the story unfolds, this is a story that is hard to put down once started. There are plenty of potential villains from which to chose, but even veteran suspense readers will find at least a few surprises await in the final chapters. Fans of author Kate Alice Marshall's earlier books as well as readers of authors like Lisa Unger, Riley Sager and Frieda McFadden will likely enjoy this taut thriller as well, My thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for allowing me early access to A Killing Cold in exchange for my honest review.

Lies, secrets, twists, turns, and a shocking reveal that I never saw coming!

When Connor and Theodora Scott met in California, six months ago, they fell head over heels in love with one another. Now that Christmas is around the corner, Conner has brought Theo to Idlewood. His family's east coast winter retreat. There is the main house and several large cottages for guests to stay. Connor is excited to introduce Theo to his family.

Theo is met with cold shoulders and a barrage of questions from Connors’ grandmother and Uncle. As Connor shows Theo around the grounds, he can’t help to feel that Theo has been here some time ago. What Theo doesn’t tell him, is she has the same feeling.

We know that something terrible happened at the winter retreat years ago which added to the mystery, the tension, mounting sense of danger and kept my interest piqued throughout the book. It was gripping and had me fully invested from the second chapter. Who could we trust, what would happen next and who really hold the truth to all the mysteries? I loved the setting of the book as well. The snowed in isolated winter retreat gives the reader that locked room feel. For all of the mystery thriller lovers, this needs to go on the top of your list!

Thank you to Flatiron Books, NetGalley and the author, Kate Alice Marshall for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader's copy of this e-book.

Due to a traumatic incident, Theo doesn’t recall her early childhood or even who she is…so why is her fiancée’s remote family compound triggering alarming memories? 🏔️

This one was just okay for me, but take that with a grain of salt as the rich people behaving badly trope isn’t my favorite. I found myself pretty bored for most of the book and couldn’t really get past how much of a stretch everything was and how reliant the author was on coincidences and conveniences to move the story forward. By the end, everyone was unlikeable, so it didn’t really matter “who did it” because the whole time you’re thinking it could have been any of them.

My thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for a complimentary advance copy of this eBook, out 2/4/2025.

Kate Alice Marshall's "A Killing Cold" is a masterclass in atmospheric tension. From the first page, you're plunged into a world where the biting cold is as much a character as the people themselves. The setting is so vividly painted that you can almost feel the chill seeping through the pages.

At the heart of this wintry nightmare is Theo, a protagonist whose apparent nervousness about meeting his partner's family masks deeper, more intriguing secrets. Marshall's deft handling of memory as a plot device is truly impressive. As the story unfolds, the unreliability of recollection becomes a haunting presence, leading to a grand reveal that's both shocking and deliciously twisted.

The pacing is relentless, with not a single page wasted on superfluous detail. This economy of storytelling, coupled with Marshall's gift for sustaining unbearable tension, makes it nearly impossible to put down. The twists and turns will keep you guessing until the very end, with a denouement that's as satisfying as it is unexpected.

For mystery enthusiasts who appreciate a well-crafted, atmospheric thriller, "A Killing Cold" is an absolute must-read.

Thank you, Flat Iron Books and NetGalley, for my free book for review.

4.5 stars

Many thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the early release copy of A Killing Cold. I throughly enjoyed this thriller! It had everything I love in it - a twisted family with decades of secrets, an unreliable narrator, and a mystery just dying to be solved.

Newly engaged Theo is brought to her fiancé Connor's family retreat to meet her soon to be in-laws. After arriving Theo realizes that this family has many things to hide and will stop at nothing to keep their family secrets at bay. Theo feels a connection to the retreat location almost as if she has been there before - which is impossible since this is the first time being brought here by Connor. While exploring the family's land Theo stumbles across a photo of a young girl on Connor's family's grounds. This photo isn't just any girl it is in fact a photo of Theo herself as a child. Now confirming her sudden deja vu Theo will stop at nothing to uncover the truth behind this diabolical family and what her as a child has anything to do with them.

This book was incredibly fast paced and easily a bingeable read. I had many theories throughout and was kept captivated the entire time while reading. I enjoyed the characters and found myself really rooting for the good ones. The author Katie Alice Marshall's descriptive writing had me feeling like I was right in the story with the characters. I felt anxiety when they did and felt the cold winter chill of the setting. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

If you enjoy an isolation thriller, this one is for you! Set at a remote family retreat during the height of winter, this story has lots of layers. It's a fun whodunit, but there's also the intrigue of trying to figure out exactly whodunwhat.

This one takes a while to slot together, and I really liked that. While there is a relatively small cast of characters, I was left guessing right until the end, which is definitely something I'm always looking for in a thriller.

Overall, this was a fun, quick read and I enjoyed it! Definitely one to pick up for a weekend when you're snowed in and just wanting to curl up and relax with an easy book!

Theodora Scott was adopted. She doesn't know much about her birth parents or her early years. The childhood she can remember with her adoptive parents, was traumatic and dysfunctional. When Theo meets Connor, she is smitten. Connor is part of the wealthy and well known Dalton family. When Connor invites Theo to meet his family and spend the holidays at their families winter retreat in Idlewood, Theo is excited. Until she starts getting threatening messages from an unknown number. "Stay away from Connor Dalton." Once at Idlewood, Theo cannot ignore the sinking feeling that she has been there before. When she finds a picture of herself as a young child in one of the abandoned cabins, Theo cannot ignore that feeling anymore. She has been there, but how? And why? What secrets are the Dalton's trying to hide? And at what cost will they try to keep those secrets buried?
Review:
This is definitely a read for anyone that enjoys family drama. It is packed full and I really enjoyed trying to put the pieces together (I did not!). As soon as I thought I had it figured out or knew where it was going, it changed up and I was completely wrong. Lots of whiplash! The suspense was absolutely top notch and well written. It did take me a little bit to get into, but once it picked up, it does not slow down at all. I loved the family property, cabin, and lodge vibes. The setting is described in a way that I could clearly picture and was its own character all in itself. You should also pick this one up if you enjoy morally gray characters. I found the ending to be satisfying, but not satisfying at the same time. You won't understand that unless you read it!
A Killing Cold publishes on 2/4 and I highly recommend adding this one to your TBR.
Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Alice Marshall, and Flatiron Books for this ARC of A Killing Cold in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 - The best Kate Alice Marshall title so far, in my opinion! I’ve been struggling with the thrillers currently being published, but this one definitely breaks in terms of actual suspense. I was hooked and pretty much devoured this in 24 hours!

The very start made me think I’d read this before and I actually got on here to double check. I think it was very reminiscent of a Rachel Hawkins title, but after the first few pages this broke free.

I love a dysfunctional family with secrets. Theo’s history added a lot to the narrative as well. I thought this was super well done and it just might have restored my faith in the thrillers being published today!

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve really enjoyed Kate Alice Marshall’s books, especially What Lies in the Woods and No One Can Know, so she’s become an auto-read author for me. Her ability to build suspense, develop intricate storylines, and craft vivid descriptions always pulls me in. A Killing Cold delivered on those strengths, with interwoven plot lines and surprise character connections that kept me hooked. The suspense was solid, and I loved seeing how everything unfolded. That said, a few moments felt a little predictable, and I wished some of the characters had been fleshed out more. Still, it was an engaging read, and I’ll always be excited for whatever she writes next!

A Killing Cold was the perfect wintery, snowed in secluded destination thriller. I read this book basically at the speed of light because I couldn’t put it down.

Theo has been invited to spend the Christmas holiday with her fiancé, Connor, and his family at their private winter retreat. She’s anxious to be meeting her future in laws for the first time, but even more so because she keeps receiving anonymous, threatening texts telling her to stay away from Connor, not to go with him, and after they arrive, to leave. Deciding instead to get to the bottom of these curious warnings, Theo begins to unravel not only the Dalton family secrets, but her own as well.

There are so many layered secrets, lies, and betrayals, that kept me guessing until the very end. I feel like I got trickle truthed, but in a good way. We kept inching towards everything being revealed, but there was always something held back, which made for a great read.
The snowy, secluded mountainside made for the best, creepy atmosphere, especially with Theo being stuck with this strange, potentially dangerous family.
We meet each, close knit character, and everyone is hiding something, including Theo, and we slowly begin to see why this family is so exclusive, never allowing anyone who isn’t family to visit.
Through several tense moments and terrifying encounters Theo uncovers all the secrets the Dalton family have worked so hard to hide, even from each other, and I was riveted the whole way through. The ending was both not what I was expecting, and also very on brand for the types of characters we met.

I thought this was a fantastic, gripping thriller. I read it in two sittings and enjoyed every moment of it. It’s really the perfect icy winter read to snuggle under blankets with inside while the weather matches the setting.

Thank you to the author, Flatiron Books, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to review.
Publication date 2/4/25

Theodora Scott meets wealthy Connor Dalton and he seems eerily familiar. They go to his family’s secluded retreat and she starts having disturbing memories.
The family is totally dysfunctional and she gets texts warning her to leave. A snow storm sweeps in trapping them there as dark secrets come to light and they fight to survive.
This was another fantastic story by Kate Alice Marshal full of
twists and turns that had me reading late into the night.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read this eARC that will be released
February 4, 2025!

I really enjoyed this one. I binged it, couldn't put it down. So many secrets, lies, twists and definitely a shocking ending. Even though the characters are unlikeable, I loved them all. General premise - something terrible happened at the winter camp years ago which is brought up to present time -- lots of tension in this one. The mystery of everything just keeps building --- making it very bingeworthy -because you dont want to put it down. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Connor and Theo are on a trip to visit Connor's family and share their engagement news. But Theo is nervous because she's been getting text messages telling her to "stay away" and "leave Connor alone". When she meets the family, they are less than welcoming. They think she is after Connor's money, especially since Theo is an orphan with no memory of her childhood.

While at the family compound, Theo keeps getting the feeling she was there before. When she finds a photo of herself as a child, her suspicions are confirmed. She begins hunting for other clues as to who she really is, where she really came from, and how she is connected to this place. Then she finds out Connor sought HER out for a date, but didn't tell her, and she begins to fear that his attempts to marry her are more nefarious than originally thought.

I was invested from the beginning but I also really thought it was going to be like something I’ve read time and again. A traumatized girl who falls for a rich man with a horrible family and from there every thing would go wrong and she would be too messed up for redemption. Now I’m not saying she gets her redemption necessarily but I could not have predicted the twists. Don’t get me wrong I thought I did at every turn but was surprised every time. I think some may be put off by the ending but it was what I wanted and needed. I think that in itself sets it apart. There are definitely aspects that felt like I read it before but then there would be another twist. An unreliable FMC who I found I felt like I could trust and that I even liked. Getting a shelf trophy of this for sure.

Meeting your fiancée’s wealthy family for the first time shouldn’t be as scary as it feels, but the closer Theo gets to the hunting lodge, dread begins for her. Will they like her? Will they think she is after Conner’s money? Whatever Theo thinks, nothing could prepare her for the long held secrets, lies, manipulation, deja vu and murder that lurk within that lodge. I received an arc of this excellent, twisted and addictive thriller from Netgalley and Flatiron Books. This review is my honest opinion.

Twist after twist after twist! You’ll never guess all of them.

Theo is engaged to Connor after only six months, a fact that concerns his mega-rich family. Going to the family’s mountain lodge during Christmas is supposed to be her chance to impress her soon-to-be relatives, and she does impress them—just not in the way she means to.

Half-formed memories plague her dreams, and the mountain seems *really* familiar.

Has she been here before?


Four stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron books for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.