A fun thriller with a type A lead protagonist and the sorts of friends that make enemies redundant!

Premise - an ex-Olympic skier turned trophy wife finds herself unexpectedly penniless after the suicide of her businessman husband, who secretly depleted their accounts before ending his life. She flees the shame, retreating to her origins at a Canadian ski resort. But her new life follows her, lies start stacking up, and then the bodies start to drop…

The Canadian mountain setting was a surprising draw for me - it leant a cool atmosphere to the story (moms can make dad jokes, too). The twists were twisty, the characters so fun to get to know (even if I wouldn’t want to know any of them in real life), and the voice was overall engaging and bingeable. It had slight White Lotus-but-frozen vibes.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Selah Victor, Erin Moon, Jess Nahikian, and Braden Wright. This full-cast read was a delight! They’re all incredibly talented and their reads were well matched - there wasn’t anyone I wanted to 2x through. For a movie experience without the blue light, I recommend this audiobook - definitely a good pick for a long plane ride or a day packed with errands and busywork.

Thanks, NetGalley and Brilliance Audio, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The synopsis is a bit misleading here; Julie doesn't really start hiding from the police until around 60% of the way through. Because I knew what was coming, it made the first half a little boring.

Aside from that, I just wasn't really a fan of the book in general. I'm not a fan of characters that can do no wrong and are worshipped by everyone, and that's exactly what Julie was. The amount of times someone would say "<i>the</i> Julie Adler!" made me want to vomit. I spent most of the book rooting against her just because of this, so it wasn't really fun for me.

There was also something that kept happening at the end of chapters that was <i>so</i> annoying. The only way I can try to describe it is obvious foreshadowing? A chapter would end with "but I had no idea this wouldn't be the last time I had to blah blah blah". This happened multiple times and it was almost like the book was spoiling itself; it was super weird and kind of ruined the chapters for me.

After all of this, I could have forgiven it for a good mystery, but no. It was pretty obvious from the beginning. Maybe it was obvious so it would be believable that <i>the</i> Julie Adler could single handedly solve it!

Whoa! I really felt like I was in this ski town as Julie tried to dodge the police to find the killer. This book had my heart pounding - it was narrated excellently on audio. With multiple POVs and short chapters, this thriller ticks all the boxes.

RUNNING COLD by Susan Walter

Narration by Selah Victor, Erin Moon, Jess Nahikian, and Braden Wright was good, but I think for me, reading the book may have been a better choice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing | Brilliance Audio for the ARC audiobook.

3.5 stars
If looking for a light and easy read with murder, deception, and survival, then Running Cold is a good book for you. Julie Adler, a former Olympian, finds her husband after he has committed suicide. Secrets her husband had leaves Julie penniless and her lux life style is over. She decides to go where she feels the most comfortable and at home, in Banff, where she use to train for the Olympics. She takes a job as a housekeeper at a luxury resort and then a guest turns up dead, and Julie was the last person seen in the room. Evidence is stacked against her and Julie needs to evade the police until she can find the truth behind this murder. With an encroaching blizzard tensions start to rise. Will Julie be able to survive the storm? Will the real killer be found or will the killer find her first?

The story is told from several POV’s. I enjoyed the second half of book more with the setting in Banff, Canada, in the wintry blizzard where the tension was a bit more pronounced. All in all, it had its moments throughout that piqued my interest. Please read other reviews for this, as many enjoyed this book more than I did. This is my first book by Susan Walter and I may try some of her other books.

Running Cold is a chilling (literally) and gripping thriller that had me hooked straight from the start. I was absolutely engrossed in the storyline, I needed to know where it was headed, who was doing it and why ! I loved that we did get to see who the suspect was quite a bit before the ending, it gave for such a good cat & mouse chase. It built the suspense even more in my opinion. The writing absolutely grabbed me, the vivacity of the descriptions, the settings it was truly playing out as a movie in my head.

So many secrets, lies, deception, murder and it was all woven with masterful skills. The way everything came together. I enjoyed the characters, loved digging into each of them more and more as the story went on. The story had a great pace and kept me on the edge of my seat.

This is a solid thriller that I really enjoyed and I believe it's perfect for the upcoming winter months !

🎧 The narration by Selah Victor, Erin Moon, Jess Nahikian & Braden Wright was great, I always love a full cast and I thought it was easy to know which character was speaking. I loved the multiple POV’s from all of them and they truly brought the atmosphere and chills to their performances.

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @brillianceaudio & @susanwalter for my gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh this one had me hooked from the start! I will definitely be reading some more Susan Walter!

Set in Banff, Canada which is my absolute #1 bucket list destination which was incredible. Freezing & snowy, the perfect winter read!

Told in multiple POV - Julie is a former pro athlete who is recently widowed. She sets out to Banff to get away. There are four parts to the book and each ends on a cliffhanger. You get it all: police procedural, murder mystery, secrets between friends, suspense.

I loved it! Definitely add to your list! Pub date 10.08.24

Thanks so much to Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse, Brilliance Audio, and NetGalley for my ALC!