If you haven't read this author yet, you are missing some incredible plots, devious characters, and mind-blowing twists. I'm so proud to promote Thriller Book Lovers: The Pulse and this author! This one was so good!!! I read it in 1.5 days

Thanks to #NetGalley and #LakeUnionPublishing for the book #RunningCold by #SusanWalter. This chilling book lis about an ex Olympian whose husband has committed suicide and left them broke. She goes back to Canada, where she was before, to get a job and back on her feet. She then gets arrested for murder, and then keeps getting worse. Who is behind all this and why? Can she figure it all out before it’s too late? I read this book in one sitting and it’s amazing!

I've become a big Susan Walter fan! And this book does not disappoint! I love thrillers with multiple POV's. It was absolutely bone chilling and I found myself wanting to bite my nails as I got close to the end. This will definitely be all the rage this fall!

This is a very unusual thriller, which grabs the reader from page one, and doesn’t let go till the end.
The story centres around Julie, an ex Olympic biathlon champion, who is living a great life in California, till her husband takes his own life. Her world comes tumbling down and Julie discovers the desperate state of his business affairs which have left her penniless.
Julie flees immediately after the funeral, to Canada, her old stamping ground as an Olympian. Very soon after her arrival, she finds herself a suspect in the murder of a hotel guest.
As Julie desperately tries to unravel her late husband’s business affairs, while evading arrest by the RCMP, the action steps up several notches.
Throughout this part of the story, Julie is located in Banff, Canada, with mentions of Calgary and Lake Louise, close to the beautiful Rocky mountains in Canada. I was fascinated by this aspect of the book, having visited Canada a few years ago from UK, when we stayed in those three towns. Banff, in particular, made a huge impression on me, and I can understand why the author set her novel there after visiting herself.
We stayed in the Banff hotel featured, we took the cable car/ gondola up the Sulphur mountain, and had a lovely lunch in the restaurant at the top of the mountain. The author’s stunning descriptions brought back such happy memories for me, as well as this being an unusual and gripping thriller.
The pace never flags, and kept me reading late into the night to find out what happened to Julie. Altogether a tightly plotted and very well written novel, with many twists and turns along the way. I will look out for more of this author’s work for sure.
My thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

I don't typically read thrillers, but this sounded so good so I picked it up. Former Olympian? Banff? Sign me up!

This story wasn't what I expected. It started off strong and I was hooked after the first chapter. But the story took a turn once Julie arrived in Banff and even before the halfway mark, I already knew who the villain was. The last half of the book was typical procedural drama (not necessarily thrilling) and I found myself rushing through just trying to get to the ending since I already knew whodunnit.

It's a quick read, but didn't keep my attention once I knew how it would end.

Also, the side story with Izzy really bothered me, It was not necessary and the way Julie and Izzy reconciled seemed way too mild. Julie wasn't upset at all? Izzy could just go back to normal life like nothing happened? It didn't really add much to the story except me being frustrated at how it was handled lol.

Julie Adler is an Olympic athlete, trained in her native Canada, she gives up her sniw-filled days for true love. Now, married and living in Southern California, Julie lives a charmed life in a beautiful home with friends and everything she could ever need. When she arrives home after a lunch with friends unable to find her husband, she searches the house. After prying open a bathroom door, she discovers her husband has taken his own life. Julie is confused and grief stricken but manages the funeral with the support of her close friends. Now, unable to return to her shattered home, Julie decides to return to her native Canada. When she discovers their joint bank accounts are empty, Julie begins to wonder if this explains the suicide. Pulling what funds she has, she relies on a close friend and former training partner Remy to provide her with a housekeeping job at one of the premier resorts he manages. But when one of the hotels guests is found shot to death in the penthouse suite, all investigators turn to Julie - the last person seen cleaning her room and, coincidentally, fresh off the death of her own husband. Is Julie really guilty of murder or is someone trying to frame Julie for the crime?

Reading about the wintery atmosphere, the snow, and the small town, I was immediately transported to this beautiful and quaint town outside Calgary. There were a few unlikeable male characters, but I found the strength of the female in this book riveting. I’d love to read this again with a warm cup of cocoa and a cozy blanket. Get ready for a thrill-ride!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my e-ARC of Running Cold!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
👀 enjoy multiple POVs
🎿 are a world class skier
📖 love short chapters
🧽 have ever worked as a maid

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

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.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

Another great thriller from the best! Running Cold holds a lot of suspense, action, and mystery! I loved the opening of the story - we really fell into a mystery straightaway. I loved Julie’s POV the most, but I was glad to also have other POVs because it made me wonder if Julie wasn’t a reliable narrator. I kept questioning her which added to the overall suspense. The imagery was intense - I felt like I was there with her in the freezing cold Canadian mountains! I loved the overall storyline as it went in a direction I just never could have imagined. I can’t wait to see what Susan comes up with next!

Julie, a former Olympian biathlete from Canada, is working as a physical therapist in California and is haunted by past trauma as she tries to make her marriage successful. Her wealthy tech entrepreneur husband's (Jeff) death, apparently by suicide, rocks her world. She flees to the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, where she first met Jeff and where she spent good times while training. Once there, she tries to unravel the mystery of Jeff's death and the secrets he kept from her. But the Banff Springs Hotel, where she starts working, is filled with its own intriguing characters and people from her past, and she soon finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. Luckily, Julie is armed with superior toughness (she was an Olympic biathlete after all), she has the support of her group of girlfriends, and an intrepid (and funny) Detective Monique Montpelier is on the case. But will she be able to solve the mysteries before it's too late?

Running Cold was a compelling mix of mystery and thriller that never took itself too seriously. Some of the characters, such as Julie's friend, Izzy, and Detective Monique Montpelier revealed their quirky, down-to-earth personalities as a counterpoint to Julie's perfectionism, and I found them to be funny and relatable. The setting of Banff was rendered deftly; now I must visit the Banff Springs Hotel (Fairmont Banff Springs), and I want to learn more about the the Olympic biathlon.

The strengths of Running Cold were its setting, its pacing, and it's ultimate homage to friendship. The weaknesses were that some of the characters were thinly rendered, and I found their motives scattered and slightly unbelievable. Also, there were some overdone descriptive metaphors, and the foreshadowing was too blunt in places.

I really enjoyed reading Running Cold, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a thriller that is actually funny in places, that has a terrific setting, and that resolves nicely.

I feel like this started out really strong for me!! The murder mystery had me guessing and I was blowing through the first half. I also felt like the setting was so atmospheric, it was giving Stanley Hotel vibes from The Shining and I loved it. However, I feel like the killer was revealed WAY early without giving the reader a true opportunity to start really piecing things together themself, which in turn made the last ~40% of the book kind of anticlimactic for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Running Cold by new to me author S. Walter is a full length, stand alone, published by Lake Union Publishing.
Julie's perfect life changes in the blink of an eye when her husband dies - revealing they were living in a house of cards on borrowed time and money. She has to start over, but karma/drama follows her and soon she's accused of murder and has to find the truth in a race against time.
Fast paced, complex and full of unexpected twists and turns that kept me in suspense til the last chapter.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy of Running Cold. Great mystery of a young former Olympic biathlete whose green tech husband commits suicide leaving her penniless. Unsure what to do, she returns to her Candian home to restart, and the mystery deepens.

Running cold. I read this book in less than 24 hours, I couldn’t put it down. The suspense was real! I was not expecting the ending at all, but I loved it. I did figure it out before the story revealed itself, but I was still on the edge of my seat till the end. I loved the main character, she’s a strong woman. I love seeing strong women characters. The book was perfectly descriptive. It was easy to picture the scenes in my head, as if I was there watching. I absolutely loved this one.

Julie Adler is devastated when she finds her husband dead. As if that isn’t enough for her to handle, she is alsoleft penniless. She flees California and returns to the place that was once home, when she was an Olympichopeful. Her old friend Remy is now the manager of the Banff Hotel, and he gives her a job as a housekeeper. While she hopes to overcome her grief and figure out what to do, life has other plans.
A guest is murdered, and all signs point to Julie. Seems to be quite a coincidence, the death of her husband, and now a guest. Could they possibly be related? She will have to be strong to clear her name and maybe even start a new life.
The weather was brutal, but the authors descriptions of the scenery made me feel the below freezing temperatures along with the beauty of this gorgeous place. I won’t dip my toes into a frozen spoiler filled lake, but I will say that everything came together nicely. I loved the background and kept my fingers crossed as I fiercely flipped pages that Julie would emerge a winner.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing and Susan Walter for the gifted digital ARC!

The Pulse Pals are once again super excited about a buzzy upcoming thriller, and this one DELIVERED. I absolutely could not put it down, and the twists and turns were nonstop and excellent. I didn't predict anything!

As a North Dakotan I could definitely resonate with the blizzard/squall/subzero temperature portions of the book. I could almost feel the cold while I was reading.

Suffice to say this was another winner for Susan Walter! Running Cold pub date is October 8.

The fast paced thriller, Running Cold, by Susan Walter is fabulous. The book is set in Banff Canada, a magical and beautiful town in Alberta. The setting is like a character itself. The mystery is good too! Former Olympic biathlon gold medalist Julie Adler escapes from California to the Banff Springs hotel after her husband’s suicide. As she tries to pick up the pieces after her husband’s death, she starts a job at the hotel and is soon embroiled in a murder mystery. I finished this in just a couple days.

Such an enjoyable read! I've enjoyed all of Susan Walter's thrillers, and this one is no exception. I particularly loved the setting, a beautiful hotel in Banff, and I also loved the descriptions of the world of Olympic-class skiing. The heroine, Julie, is brave, clever and kind, so you'll be rooting for her the whole way. I also thought the descriptions of the dynamics of her friendships felt very real. This book is fast-paced and exciting--a great beach (or ski resort) read.

In this heart-pounding story of deception, murder, and survival, a former Olympian retreats to the Canadian wilderness for a fresh start, only to find out that the past will always catch up to her.! Great read!! This book went a few different directions at first I wasn’t to sure about it but it ended up being a fantastic book! It had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, double crossing, a great who done it and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and had me glued to my kindle! I highly recommend reading this one! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Julie is a retired Olympic skier who is struggling to find purpose in her life. When she finds her husband dead by suicide, her grief is compounded by the guilt she feels of not being a good wife. She flees the home they shared to live and work in Banff, a picturesque mountain town in the Canadian Rockies.
Julie just wants to disappear, and working as a chambermaid seems the perfect opportunity to be invisible. Except to Ceci Rousseau, the prickly guest who is determined to make Julie feel small and insignificant. After they have an altercation in the lobby, Ceci is found dead, and Julie is arrested for her murder.
Despite the high-concept plot, the novel's strength is the characters. Julie is richly drawn and super sympathetic, as are the other POV characters (best friend, former flame, detective) who take an interest in her. I found myself deeply invested in all of them, but rooting for Julie above all else.
The plot takes some fantastic turns that kept me flipping pages deep into the night. The final showdown is supremely satisfying, which earns it five full stars.

What a wild ride of murder, mountains, and a bit of solving the mystery.

Super easy read, not heavy, but keeps you wanting to read more.

From the start this book grabbed my attention, and then it just kept getting more intense. In a good way.

This would be perfect for a rainy day, or a snow day.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I finished this book in a single day and loved every minute of it! It was exciting and engrossing with a couple of good plot twists, but I also loved that the characters were imperfect, but in a way that still had me cheering for them.

There was so much detail about the specifics of different types of skiing that could have easily been boring to someone not interested in that subject, but it wasn’t boring at all and added to story in a necessary way. It made what the main character was able to do and survive much more believable.

I’m not familiar with this author but would definitely read her again.