This was such a fast paced thriller that I read it in 2 days. The crew at @thrillerbookloversthepulse were throwing out high ratings and I've joined the club. The story starts out with a suspected suicide and continues on with murder after murder. There were multiple POVs which I love in a thriller! The backdrop is a blizzard in Canada and I learned alot about skiing which I enjoyed. There were a few key characters in the plot, and just as many twists that kept me reading until late into the night. There was alot of mystery, a ton of suspense and an ending that I definitely didn't see coming. Overall I really enjoyed this one and will definitely recommend!

Thank you to @susanwalterauthor, Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC.

In ‘Running Cold’ by Susan Walter, we meet Julie, a former Olympian and wife to recently deceased Jeff. In the wake of his death, Julie decides to flee to the mountains of Banff, Canada for clarity. She not only realizes he left her penniless, but he’s also been withholding details that would have ruined their marriage had he not died first. While unfolding the truth about Jeff’s startup tech company and his infidelities, Julie begins and ends her grieving era in Canada where she feels most at home, abandoning her friends in L.A. the process.

Did this book have moments of thrill and leave you questioning which character to believe? Yes. Did it have the energy to keep you lying awake wondering whodunnit? No. While I can appreciate the story Walter was attempting to tell, this book was kind of hard to get through. I just really wasn’t invested in any of the plot, none of the characters were really that interesting. It could’ve been better had the writer tried to develop the characters and their relationships more, but with it only being 200 something pages, there wasn’t enough detail to keep me invested. I didn’t hate it, but it just wasn’t that good.

This was a twisty thriller and the book is filled with mystery, secrets, lies, deception and suspense. It kept me guessing till the end. The characters were mysterious and multifaceted. They are not what they appears to be. The setting and the beginning felt a bit creepy.

Julie’s husband is found dead and it seems like a suicide but it feels strange. It’s been since a month, he wanted to talk to Julie because something was bothering him. Izzie is harbouring a secret. She knows something. It all feels like a puzzle. Though Julie starts working as a housekeeper at a luxury resort. But a guest turns up dead and she becomes a suspect. Her life turns upside down once again. She thought she was starting fresh but then she must get to the bottom of the unfortunate happenings. That’s where the book takes a suspenseful turn. The twists and turns were unpredictable. The truth was shocking. The ending was so twisted. This was such a good suspenseful thriller.


Thanks to the Publisher and Author

Setting is everything in this novel of intrigue about an Olympic Biathlon winner and the fallout from her husband's death. Banff is like its own character as the description of snow covered terrain offsets at police chase. The main character, Julie is smart and athletic and a good person. Likable and easy to root for. The denouement comes abruptly and early and takes away from the overall pace. The second half was really a better book. I liked I and would read more from this author.

Copy provided by the publisher and Netgalley

Running Cold is a twisty, fast-paced thriller combined with a family drama that will make you read past your bedtime and taunt you to read…just one more chapter!

This storyline is super suspenseful that only lets up few hints along the way. Told in multiple POVs, I enjoyed seeing the mystery unfold through the eyes of each character. The atmospheric setting in Banff, Canada, truly brought this storyline to life. This is the second book I’ve read by this author and look forward to reading more of her work! 4.5 rounded up

DNF @30%
There’s just not enough story here. The writing is kind of simplistic, but I can look past that if there’s intrigue. The problem was every chapter was boring, really centered on one event or thought/concept (from grief to cleaning rooms), then ended with some version of “if only the reader knew the truth” or “if only the reader and I knew [insert super vague foreshadowing sentence here].

I skipped ahead and it was the same formula, and worse, I was able to keep up with the story, that’s how little had happened since.

Either it should have been a novella, is unfinished, or it’s just not for me.

Format: Advance Reader’s Copy from Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley

I absolutely loved this book. Susan Walter is such a good story teller. This was a fun murder mystery. I loved the outdoor snowy vibe. The MC is a strong female Olympian. Action packed. I couldn’t put this book down! I also loved Susan Walter’s book, Lie By The Pool.

This book grabbed me from the start and didn’t let up I really enjoyed it and look forward for more from this author.

Susan Walter is a win for me! I found this to be suspenseful and gripping, and I had a hard time putting it down. I would definitely recommend this one.

This book grabbed my attention and I didn’t want it to end. It is told in a few POV and the world setting is so real I felt as if I was in Canada’s snow. Julie is a former Olympian who needs an escape after her husband’s death. Julie was my favorite character because she is so real. Her reactions and actions to things are relatable and I was rooting for her the entire story. A great story that kept me guessing until the end!

Julie Adler’s perfect facade is shattered by grief when her husband commits suicide. His death reveals that their luxurious California life was a house of cards, and his secret business dealings have left Julie penniless.

As she strikes out on her own, Julie feels drawn to her old stomping grounds in Banff, a charming and isolated ski town where she once trained for the Olympics. She finds work as a housekeeper at a luxury resort, but just as she starts to piece together a new life, an eccentric guest turns up dead. And Julie, the last person seen in her hotel room, is the prime suspect.

The evidence is stacked against her, but even in the encroaching blizzard, Julie knows her way around these mountains. She just needs to evade the police long enough to find the truth behind the murder…and before the real killer finds her first.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.
I usually love Susan Walter’s books and this one was no exception. Great storyline, description of the beautiful scenery, would definitely recommend

This was the first book I've read by this author and although I didn't totally love it, I did get sucked in to the story! It's twisty and I love the adventure component of it as the protagonist travels trying to unravel the mystery. There were a few parts that felt too cliche to me but it's a great quick read.

After Julie loses her husband to suicide, she realizes that he has drained their accounts. She had no clue they their finances were null.

She ends up back int eh town of Banff, were she trained in the Olympics. She has left her posh lifestyle in California and needs a fresh start.
She ends up getting a job as a housekeeper and a resort. One of the guests turns up dead and Julie becomes the suspect. Her past and present collide. Will she find out what truly happened?

Another chilling novel by Walter. This engaging novel had me glued to the page’s way too late.

She is now an auto-buy for me. Thank you Thriller Book Lovers-The Pulse and author Walter for the gifted e-copy.

Running cold is a thriller set in Banff following a former Olympian, Julie, who is searching for answers in the wake of her husband's suicide. She returns from California to her native Canada where things unravel even further when a fellow hotel guest is found dead and it appears that Julie is the prime suspect.

This was an easy read with lots of suspense from the story alone. The killer is revealed approx. 50% of the way through the book, and I actually enjoyed this at it allowed time to speculate motives etc.

The main issue with this book is that at the end of every chapter is a leading sentence hinting that "things are not as they seem". I think the book would be so much better without all of that as it feels very forced and a lazy way to keep the reader intrigued.

Overall, 2.5 stars.

Running Cold starts with a memorable protagonist: a former Olympian put to the ultimate test in the wake of her husband's death. What begins as a fight for answers turns into a fight for survival -- but through it all, she's tough as nails, easy to believe in, and fun to cheer for. Susan Walter delivers a satisfying race to the finish.

This was a pretty good story, but there was a little too much ski terminology for me. I enjoyed how it was written with short chapters and multiple POVs. This was my first book by Susan Walter, but I want to read her others now. Would recommend.

In a recent review of one of her older books (Over Her Dead Body) I commented that I follow US author Susan Walter on social media, having loved a book of hers I read in 2023, Lie by the Pool. I noted a week or two ago she mentioned that an October 2024 release was available for early readers on review site, NetGalley, so I jumped on and requested it. At the time I had nothing awaiting my reading attention that's being published in the next few weeks so started Running Cold on a Friday night after some work travel. And I was again hooked and kept reading until I finished the book.

This book unfolds from several points of view. Initially it's Julie and her friend Izzy, but later we're hosted by an old friend of Julie's Remy as well as Detective Monique Montepelier.

Thankfully Walter wastes no time in getting to the life-changing event that precipitates everything that comes after... the death of Julie's husband by suicide. Their life wasn't as perfect it seemed but Julie is shocked by her husband's actions nonetheless. Until she finds all of their bank accounts drained. Rather than share the bad news with her friends and those that knew the pair, she heads to the resort that Remy manages and takes a job as a cleaner. Things then move very quickly as a guest is murdered - coincidentally with links to Julie's husband's business. Julie is arrested but a car accident on her way to a watch house allows her to escape and try to work out who is behind the murder.

Walter paces this well and times the reveals so readers are learning of secrets and motivations as Julie's uncovering them.

I enjoyed this read and its resolution. There aren't a lot of red herrings on offer so it's pretty easy to guess whodunnit though the why was a big surprise. The only other thing I pondered was whether Julie needed her posse of three friends as two featured minimally and I was slightly distracted, waiting for them to emerge from the wings to play a bigger role. That aside this is another great book from Walter. I'm conscious she was (maybe still is) a screen-writer, so knows how to keep the action coming, and I can certainly imagine her books on a big or small screen.

I have been lucky enough to visit Banff and it is indeed a beautiful place.
 
A thriller set in the World of biathlon does not necessarily sound gripping but trust me, give this a read.
 
I’m not really a fan of chapters being written from different characters points of view but it works so well here.
 
The plot bombs along at pace, has many twists and plot revelations, my only quibble is that I thought the killer was revealed too early.
 
The ending was still satisfactory however and I was completely engrossed in the novel as a whole.
 
I’m not sure I will ever be able to watch biathlon in the same light.
Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC.
This book sends one on an incredible ride, it's very tense and had me holding my breath at times.
A former Olympic gold medal winner in California finds her husband dead of a bullet wound. She's also shocked to find their bank accounts are empty. Heartbroken, she returns to Banff Canada, whence she came and takes a job as a hotel house maid.
When she's arrested for murder, things can't get any worse!
A gripping story set in a beautiful area, I definitely recommend it!

First of all, I loved how this book was thrilling right from the get go! Julie, an ex Olympian, decides to get away after her husband commits suicide. She returns to Canada, to start over and even takes a job as a chamber maid.. This was fast paced and told in multiple POVs, which is something I always. Definitely a must add to your TBR!!

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advanced reader copy!!