"Running Cold" follows the events of Julie Adler's life who has her life thrown upside down when her husband is found dead in their sunny Californian mansion leaving her penniless and heartbroken in the aftermath of his suicide. Feeling so lost and uncomfortable with the truth of her situation & what her friends were going to think of her/her husband, she turns to the only thing that feels remotely right: going back to the only place she truly belonged to, her mountain town in Canada.

From there, a story that first carried whiffs of healing & getting back to one's feet quickly turns into a cat-mouse run followed by multiple deaths where she is never safe and she has to use all her will, strength & instincts cultivated in her Olympian years to survive and clear her husband's name.

Did I mention that all this happens in a very snowy town dressed for Christmas in Canada?

Yep, this book has all the vibes and I absolutely loved following this story. This is the perfect Christmasy read if you love thrillers/murder mysteries & have a soft spot for the Olymypics.

There were a few ways this story was weaved together that made it extremely satisfying for me. let me point out a few:

1. Down-to-Earth Main Character:
Even though Julie lived in luxury for the last few years of her life, she is no stranger to a hard life and working hard to make ends meet. It's so nice to see how comfortable she is in this new position and how it helps her process her grief. She is a gorgeous woman and a talented one who could easily have fallen into egoic behaviors but who remains grounded in reality.

2. Olympics
I would ADORE having more books exploring this theme as there are so many amazing plot lines that can grow from here. I love the way trauma was weaved into it & how her excellence made it actually feasible for some actions to have taken place. Some very extreme actions felt realistic & I loved how the author explored it. Also, I love the grit, will and strength that working towards an Olympic medal can embed in someone.

3. Cozy Christmasy/Wintery vibes
Self-explanatory.

4. Nature, Nature & Nature
I love when books connect deeply with the forces of nature and the way the character was so in tune with it was so satisfying. The weather & nature felt like a character of their own, setting the tone to every single new scene setup.


This book was extremely fun and I devoured it faster than I normally do.
There were a few points that I wasn't a fan of (mainly how some chapters ended with an ominous sentence that became old and annoying very fast) but overall I recommend it. A solid murder mystery with refreshing themes.

Add this to your Christmas reading list, you will not regret it.



Thank you Netgalley & Lake Union Publishing for offering me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Bestselling author Susan Walter (a favorite author) returns following Lie By the Pool with her latest RUNNING COLD —a former Olympian escapes to the Canadian wilderness for a new start in this intense and entertaining action-packed murder mystery thriller.

About...

Julie Adler, a former Olympic gold medalist, learns her perfect life is now imperfect. Her world begins to crumble when her husband commits suicide and reveals his dark secrets. Their luxurious California life is a lie, and now she is penniless.

She leaves alone and is embarrassed to tell her close friends how she could have been so clueless. She retreats to a place she knew from the past in Banff, an isolated ski town where she once trained for the Olympics.

Her friend helps her land a housekeeping job at a luxury resort, keeping her head down until a guest winds up dead. Julie is the last person to see her alive in the hotel room. Who is setting her up and why?

In the meantime, her friends came for a surprise visit, thinking she was on vacation at this luxury resort and not working there as a housekeeper. Nothing is as it seems.

The evidence does not look good, and Julie decides to escape again until she discovers the truth about what happened. Now, out in the vast mountains with an incoming blizzard. Will the real killer find her before she has proof of what happened to clear her name?

My thoughts...

RUNNING COLD is a spellbinding, action-packed, twisty, well-written murder mystery thriller full of suspense and tension! Atmospheric and chilling, it delves into the dark secrets of the past and leads to a shocking murder.

Susan Walter is a master storyteller, and in RUNNING COLD, she draws you into Julie's world with rich detail and a stunning setting. The protagonist's fight for survival is a gripping journey that keeps readers glued to the heart-pounding narrative from the beginning to the satisfying ending. Exploring complex female friendships adds depth to the story, and I loved the short cliffhanger chapters!

I enjoyed the Epilogue, the author's notes, acknowledgments, and the background of Banff Springs Hotel and its alluring, mysterious past.

Recs...

RUNNING COLD is for fans of the author and those who enjoy books by Hannah Mary McKinnon, Robyn Harding, Wendy Walker, Kaira Rouda, and Samantha M. Bailey. If you're a fan of these authors' suspenseful and thrilling storytelling, you'll find similar elements in RUNNING COLD.

Thanks...

I want to express my sincere thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a gifted advance reading copy of RUNNING COLD for an honest opinion of this thrilling tale.

blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins |#JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Oct 8, 2024
Oct 2024 Must-Read Books
Oct Newsletter

Excellent book, loved it! Looking forward to more from this author! Apologies for the lateness of my review

Running Cold is the story of Julie Adler, a former Olympic biathlete whose life is turned upside down when her husband commits suicide. After his funeral she realizes that the fortune she thought they had is gone. She goes to Banff, a town in Calgary where she once trained for the Olympics. She finds a job working at a local hotel as a housekeeper and settles into her new life until a guest of the hotel turns up dead. Julie becomes the prime suspect because she was the last person seen leaving the guest's room before the murder. She goes on the run in the bitter cold of Calgary, trying to figure out what happened before the police catch up to her. Susan Walter does a good job of using the setting as a character. You can almost feel the cold coming from the pages. The writing keeps the reader engaged until the climactic ending. I will look out for the next Susan Walter book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Who doesn’t love a good mystery in the Canadian Rockies!

The suspense was palpable and I couldn’t stop reading.

Fast paced, exciting murder mystery set in freezing cold Banff, Canada..

I enjoyed the writing but could have done with some more character depth. I normally don't like multiple POVs but these made the story more sense. Lots of little twists with Julie and her friends and they all helped the story along. Keep the humour going Ms Walter.

Thanks to Net Galley and Lake Direction for the chance to read and review.

<b>Actual Rating: 3.5⭐</b>

If you’re looking for a simple, quick and easy-to-read murder mystery then this one is perfect for you!
the writing style made me feel like I was there with Julie in the cold Canadian Mountains.

The plot started out a bit slow at first, since the murder mystery doesn’t kick in until the second part of the story. But once it started, especially with the addition of a new POV from the detective, the story becomes much more engaging and gripping.

Although, I figured out the mystery pretty early on, I still enjoyed the journey and the big reveal at the end.
I also admire Julie’s character growth as she navigated several painful events from childhood until present day.

Overall, Running Cold is a highly atmospheric read with a gripping storyline and relatable characters.
I will definitely be on the lookout for more books by this author in the future!

I received an advanced review copy for free through Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Huge thank you to the author and publisher!

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: Suicide, cursing, death, grief, murder

Oh just wow! You blew me away Susan Walter! Kudos to this Canadian author! 🇨🇦

Julie Adler is a former Canadian Olympian. She has won the gold medal in the biathlon twice. It's a rigorous sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. She has since retired and is now married and lives in sunny California. After having some dinner and drinks she goes home to find her husband dead in the bathroom. It's an apparent suicide. Julie is beside herself. She also finds out all their money is gone and she is basically penniless. Grieving and longing for home she decides to go back to Canada and more specifically Banff, Alberta where she trained for the Olympics. There her old friend Remy is now the manager of the majestic Banff Springs Hotel. She desperately needs money so she takes a job as a maid. Unfortunately things only get worse as one of the guests is found dead in her room and Julie is the prime suspect. Things then begin to ramp up! Lots of breathtaking action!

The chapters are short and cliff-hanging which I love. They are told through the eyes of Julie, Izzy (one of her best friends), Remy (the manager of the hotel) and Monique (a police officer from the Banff Police Department.)

First off that setting!! Banff, is one of the jewels of Canada and is so beautifully described in the story. Such heart-pounding suspense set against a beautiful atmospheric setting! Add the winter cold and it was just perfect! I also loved the strong female characters in the story. You go Julie!!! 💪

This is one you won't want to miss. It will go down as one of my favourites of the year. I highly recommend this murder-mystery ❄️⛷️🥶 Pick it up in the winter. You won't regret it!

This is my first book by Susan Walter and I will continue reading whatever she writes. Running Cold was a very good thriller told through multiple viewpoints. I especially loved the great female friendships.
Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Susan Walter for this ARC. The opinions are my own.

#LakeUnionPublishing, #Susan Walter

This book starts out like typical girlfriend ( wives club type of read… I thought this was what it was going to be all the way til the end.. boy was I wrong… so many twist it keeps you guessing .. Don’t want to give anything away .. You need to get your own copy and fast.. Great time of year to read this one …

Julie Adler is a former Canadian Olympic biathlete, who now resides in California with her husband, a successful businessman. The couple share a beautiful home, plenty of money and by all accounts, a healthy marriage. That perfect facade is shattered though the day that Julie's husband commits suicide. Left to pick up the pieces, Julie is reeling and as it turns out, he wasn't quite as successful as he put on. Julie is left with essentially nothing.

Julie is heartbroken. She's embarrassed. She doesn't know what to do next. She can't come clean to her friends, admit they've been living a lie, so she does what many of us would do, she runs away, returning home to Canada. Back in Banff, where she once trained for the Olympics, Julie finds work as a housekeeper at a luxury resort. Just as she starts to feel she is getting some stability, a high profile guest is discovered dead in her room; murdered.

Julie was the last person seen, via hotel cameras, exiting the guest's room. This makes her the number one suspect, but what motive could Julie possible have?

Meanwhile, Julie's Californian girlfriends miss her. They think she's gone to Canada to lick her wounds. They have no idea how dire Julie's circumstances actually are. Wanting to support Julie, they travel to Banff and end up checking into the hotel where Julie works. They think Julie is a guest there and she doesn't correct their assumptions.

There's so much is happening with this story. It is a complete whirlwind of action and well developed characters that gripped me from the start. I listened to it via the 'read aloud' option on the Netgalley app, mostly on a solo road trip, and I gotta say, that 5-hours of windshield time flew by. I was so invested in this story.

You get a few perspectives, including the local cop investigating the hotel murder, Detective Monique Montpelier, who was a nice contrast compared with Julie, Remy, the hotel manager, and Izzy, Julie's closest friend from California. I loved all the perspectives and what they each contributed to the narrative. It was a detailed story and each perspective switch helped to put all the vast pieces into place. I felt it was very well executed by Walter.

I love stories that follow professional athletes, so loved hearing about Julie's time as a biathlete. I totally understood her reasons for returning to her old stomping grounds after her husband's death and really felt like Julie's whole background contributed so much to this story. I also loved getting Monique's perspective. The local detective, with not a ton of murder investigation experience, being thrown into this high powered world. It felt honest, and so captivating.

This is the first novel I have ever read from Susan Walter and I loved the way she delivered this story. It was so readable, from start to finish, pulling me in and keeping me on my toes. I loved the balance between action and mystery.

Towards the end, it got crazy. I'll admit to not being as completely wild about the way it went in the end, as compared with the build-up, but it's still a super solid 4-star action-packed Thriller that I would 100% recommend. Particularly, with the Winter months closing in. I feel like this is the perfect cold weather Thriller. The Banff setting will transport you to that isolated ski town. Be sure to have your hot beverage at the ready.

Thank you to the publisher, Lake Union Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This has been a standout Thriller for me in 2024. I urge y'all to check it out!

Thank you so much for this ARC! I hadn't heard of this author before I started this book, so I had no expectations, but it was so good! Very short chapters, which I love and multiple POVs, which I also love! The only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars, was because the plot was a bit predictable, but I still really enjoyed reading it

Former Olympic biathlete Julie Adler seems to have it all - she's a world-class athlete married to a successful tech entrepreneur with a beautiful home in a California suburb. When her husband Jeff commits suicide, she learns that he has drained their finances and left her with nothing. Not knowing what to do or where to go, Julie decides to return to where she grew up in the ski town Banff in Canada. She actually returns to the resort where she met Jeff, but this time as a housekeeper instead of a guest. When a difficult guest is murdered at the hotel, Julie becomes the prime suspect as the last person who was seen in her room. Julie has to figure out who is setting her up and why so she can redeem herself. But the real killer wants Julie out of the way and will do anything to stop her. This was my first Susan Walter book and I enjoyed it. Thanks to #Netgalley #RunningCold and #LakeUnionPublishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review,

Running Cold by Susan Walter
Release Date: 10/8/24
Format: ebook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Running Cold is a new release by thriller author Susan Walter and it definitely pulled me in from the start! A former Olympian finds her husband dead and flees to the Canadian wilderness for a fresh start? Sign me up. I love a snowy thriller!

Towards the middle of the second act, this book unfortunately lost me a bit. I felt like it was trying to do too much at once and got a bit messy! I did really like our FMC but some of the decisions she made (like forgiving that friend iykyk) left me scratching my head.

I would definitely read more by this author, but I’m not sure if I’d be quick to recommend this book. It was a quick read, but just didn’t fully work for me.

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

I enjoyed my first book by Susan Walter here! In it, she shows her talent with words to craft an engaging thriller. The setting plays a big part in creating the atmosphere at the center of the tension. Told through multiple points of view adds to the action that makes this book move at a fast pace with brilliant narration by Selah Victor, Erin Moon, Jess Nahikian, & Braden Wright. Running Cold piqued my interest from the beginning to the satisfying end!

Thank you, Susan Walter, Lake Union, Brilliance Publishing, Netgalley, & #thrillerbookloversthepulse, for my #gifted early copy & audiobook & including me! All opinions are my own.

If you are craving an edge of your seat wintery whodunnit that look no further than Susan Walter’s Running Cold. Set in the beautiful blizzardy mountains of Banff Canada, it is a story of grief, female friendships, murder survival and redemption.
Read this if you like:
-wintery cozy, mountain town settings with luxurious old castle like hotel
-strong female protagonists
-multiple POVs that enhanced depth of characters
-complicated female friendships
-fighting for survival in terrible weather conditions
-weather which plays a key role in the storyline because it brings such tension and intensity to the story
-the world of elite athletes particularly Olympians in the biathlon and what it takes to be of that calibre
-people who are hiding secrets/lies and hidden lives
-faced paced thrillers

My rating 4 1/2 stars out of 5

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this eARC that will be published Oct 8 2024.

📚 PUBLICATION MONTH BOOK REVIEW 📚

Running Cold By Susan Walter
Publication Date: October 8, 2024
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded Up To 5⭐)

📚MY REVIEW:

Running Cold really surprised me with its captivating, edge-of-my-seat storyline and suspenseful whodunnit plot. At this book's center was a whodunnit mystery, but there were even more mysteries in its pages that I didn't even know were mysteries until the twists started twisting.

This fast-paced thrill ride of secrets and suspense was a really fast read because I couldn't stop turning its pages. This was a dark horse of a thriller...Because I didn't realize how good it was going to be until I was neck-deep in it. Each chapter was told from a different POV, which created a much greater depth to the characters within the book. The female protagonist, Julie (good name, by the way 😉), was a lovable badass with a strong sense of pride and a commitment to survival. The majority of this book takes place in the beautiful and bitter-cold Canadian resort town of Banff, in the mountains of Alberta. The weather played such a role in this book that it was its own unhinged character in the story. I don't know that I've read many thrillers (if any) where the frigid weather created so much additional tension and suspense for our characters, and this was done brilliantly by the author.

My fellow thriller lovers at Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse have been raving about this book for a while, and I totally get it. This was a fun and mysterious thriller, with unexpected twists and turns that left me shocked multiple times throughout the read. This one's winter setting brought a different twist to the story, which was a refreshing and enjoyable change of pace -- I highly recommend it! A big thank you to Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse, NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and the author herself for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

#RunningCold #SusanWalter #LakeUnionPublishing #thrillerbookloversthepulse #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrecommendations

What a greatly described setting in this one. I felt like I was there in Canada with the characters.

The main character is Julie, a former Olympian. I'm an avid Olympic watcher so I really enjoyed the inclusion of that in the book. Julie gave up her Olympic career to follow her husband to America.

This one kept me gripped throughout. The so called "bad guy" was easy to guess but I enjoyed the ride anyway.

I would recommend this one for sure.

Thanks to netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc.

Julie Adler, a former Olympic gold medalist in the biathlon (a combination of cross country skiing and precision rifle marksmanship), now living in California, is shattered by grief when her husband commits suicide. His death reveals that their luxurious life was a house of cards, and his secret business dealings have left Julie penniless. She feels drawn to her old stomping grounds in Banff, Canada where she once trained. She obtains work as a housekeeper at a luxury resort, but when an eccentric guest turns up dead, Julie is the prime suspect.

I really loved the setting for this novel. I'm a proud Canadian, and I've been to Banff twice. The scenery and weather in that area are absolutely jaw-dropping. It's well described and provides the perfect backdrop for this novel of suspense. It's a good story, told from the points of view of various characters, but it wasn't all that difficult to determine what the outcome would be. I still enjoyed the book with its nice short chapters.

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: October 8, 2024

A perfect addition to my My List of Chilling Winter Mysteries!

Also a perfect plane read! This fast paced story about a former Olympian whose husband dies mysteriously kept me gripped throughout a very unpleasant day of travel :(

The most fun part of the book was its focus on Olympic biathalon, a sport that combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. It's a civilian adaptation of military training that was conducted in Scandinavia and then Canada.

This felt like a quasi-cozy, with a police procedural element and a group of wacky friends of the main character. The character development was lacking, but the fun plot made up for it.