A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall unfortunately didn't quite hold up to her previous thrillers in terms of quality. While Marshall's writing remains strong and she is great at setting atmosphere (who doesn't love an isolated winter mountain for a thiller?), the plot felt slightly uninspired and there wasn't the intrigue I needed to want to finish the book. I really had to push to get to the end of this. On top of the lack of intrigue, there were simply too many characters. Two of the male characters I kept getting mixed up, which made the ending reveal not hit like it may have otherwise. I think some of the characters just felt too similar to distinguish from each other.

I look forward to Marshall's next novel.

C: 4
A: 3
W: 5
P: 3
I: 4
L: 3
E: 2
2 stars (1.75)

Before I say anything, this is solely my opinion, and you should read the book for yourself. I felt like I wasted my time because when you think about the story in its entirety, not much happened. Like other reviewers exclaimed, I was also in the mood for a winter thriller during February, and Marshall delivered said book just in time. I had similar issues with her last novel, "No One Can Know," which felt bland, and all of the twists were predictable AND unbelievable (I didn't think that was possible). Maybe this author's work is just not for me, so judge the work for yourself, and if you love it, that's great! I don't think I will ever love her books (and I tried).

The amount of twists on "whodunit" at the end was ridiculous. What's even wilder was I could guess that the author would do that because there was so much inaction going on throughout a story that is supposed to be "thrilling and suspenseful." I don't remember any of the characters being remotely likable; our protagonist's choices were simply daft, and towards the last 30-40 pages, I was ready to read something else. It's annoying to feel annoyed while reading a book, and I came so far that I couldn't just DNF it at that point.

This book was like zebra fruit stripe gum to me; I feel like I don't have to delve into that further.

I do love this author so much, but nothing will beat how I felt reading What Lies In the Woods.

This one was good! Perfect for the snowy weather we’ve been having in Chicago and a good binge but also got a bit too much in the end. The twist/killer was once again very predictable and I had zero shock value which is the main thing that was missing for me from this book.

Overall the setting was great and the drama was even better. Definitely recommend!

Putting it out there that this isn’t spicy per se, but definitely includes sexually charged scenes, so just a heads up!

A Killing Cold was a fantastic audiobook! I have never read nor listened to a Kate Alice Marshall book and it did not dissapoint, I am ready looking to read her other ones!

Theodora Scott goes with her new wealthy fiancee to his family's secluded home in the snowy wildnerness where she begins to uncover hard and confusing truths about her past and the connection to her fiancee's family.

The narrator was perfect, great at the voices and nice to listen to!

Kate Alice Marshall's books are always a solid four star read for me and here, I think it would be 4.25. It has been a long while since I have read what is essentially a locked room mystery but with parts of it outside. I am not a big fan of locked room mysteries, I think because psychologically, I feel like they are too limited in terms of setting. Here, the characters are all on an estate, for a large family event, and the protagonist was brought by her fiance but she soon figures out something sinister is going on. She has her own problems, including her troubled past of being adopted by people that are not nice and not being able to remember her early life at all. But as she is here, with people who have their own secrets but don't feel that she is good enough for their son, she starts to remember things. As Celine Dion says, it is all coming back to me not.
The hard part is that the mystery and all of the details here strain common sense and one has to suspend disbelief, but then again, that is true in most mysteries, whether in book or movie form.
The main thing is that there was a mystery that kept me reading and I stayed up way too late last night to find out what happened. You will too.
I read parts of it and also listened to the narrator, who I have heard before on other books. Her voice was well suited to the book. Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for providing me with the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Theodora (Theo) and her fiancé, Connor, visit his family’s retreat so she can meet her future in-laws. While snowed in, Theo has flashbacks to her childhood that makes her question her past. She feels that the family is sending mixed messages and does not feel welcome. There is something familiar about this place but she doesn’t know why. Theo also questions why Connor, sought after her when they first met. This is a great mystery with some chilling moments as Theo’s flashbacks dredge up long buried memories of her family.

I really want to like an adult thriller from Kate Alice Marshall but i can’t seem to find one that works as well as her YA works for me 🤷🏻‍♀️ some things right off the bat that don’t work for me is the most unbelievable coincidence that leads to the relationship (& let’s face it plot). That was strike one for me. Then, there’s so many characters that I just couldn’t keep up with who was who, who was bad, who was okay? And they all felt the same so it was hard to care who was actually the bad guy. And the last straw for me? The I can’t remember my past turns into I remember everything. Nope. Not for me! That’s one of my least favorite tropes!

I’m sure this is just a me problem so maybe you’ll enjoy if you like:

-wintery vibes, isolated area, rich family
-a full cast of unlikable characters
-being along for the ride

I’m not sure if I’ll pick up another adult thriller by KAM in the future but I’ll be keeping my eyes on her to see what she does next!

A whirlwind romance between a wealthy man and a not so wealthy woman leads to him inviting her to the family cabins to meet the family. While there she is struck by a feeling of deja vu. Of feeling like she had been there before. And his family? Well most are welcoming but some are just creepy or downright rude. As memories come flooding back she has to determine if she was lured up here or if her fiancé really has no clue as to her real identity.

Fast paced this family has a lot of secrets and some strange things going on. Set in a remote camp with multiple family cabins and no cell service or wifi you aren't sure who to trust, who is hiding what and where this will all lead.

I've read books like this before and the who premise felt very a little too familiar but it was a good listen. I think I started to have deja vu feelings while listening to it. It had just the right level of suspense and believability to keep me listening and the narration was excellent. A great read for a cold blustery night.

I loved this book! It was twisty and I loved the family drama aspect to it. The narrator was fantastic and I am definitely going to be listening to more books from this author!

My NetGalley shelf app wasn’t working right so i had to uninstall it and I lost all my saved audiobooks so I didn’t get to listen to it before it was archived :( I’m so irritated with my app such a bummer UGH! but I’m gonna buy the book because I’ve only heard great things about this one!

I have enjoyed Kate Alice Marshall’s previous thrillers but her most recent, A Killing Cold, is far and away her best. Lucky me, I was gifted an audiobook of it by @macmillan.audio and @netgalley and it was so well done that it added immensely to my enjoyment.

This book has everything you could want in a thriller. A new fiancée, harboring secrets from her past, a remote mountain estate, a wealthy family (they have secrets too) a snowstorm and a murder, all the elements are present for an enjoyable whodunnit.

This book checked all the boxes for what I love in a thriller. A great setting- the remoteness of the estate creates a locked room mystery and the sense of isolation and suffocation was palpable. Almost everyone is hiding some kind of secret and this makes for some great twists and turns and I was kept deliciously off balance for where it would go next. There is nothing groundbreaking here, but it plays with all the usual tropes and orchestrates them all with great precision.

I’m so happy I listened to this one on audio. I binged it in a day because it was so well done. Karissa Vacker is the narrator and her performance is one of the best I’ve listened to in a while. She does an excellent job of bringing the characters to life and creating a sense of pathos and suspense that made it unable to turn this one off. A day very well spent!

This is one of those stories when you can just sense the tension from the start and you know trouble is brewing. The set up of Theo meeting her fiance's rich family for the first time in a secluded mountain retreat for two weeks in the dead of winter just screams "turn around and get out now" before she's even gotten out of the car. Someone is hiding something, enough that they will kill to keep it a secret. Theo is keeping secrets of her own. After receiving threatening texts from an unknown number telling her to leave Connor, she still shows up and is completely on edge because everyone is a suspect to her. Family secrets start to become uncovered and somehow she could be involved.
Listening to this story added to the suspense. Worse than not being able to put the phone down, I had to listen at any chance I could. Multitasking at it's best.

This was a very middle-of-the-road thriller. I loved the snowy atmosphere, but the plot had way too much going on. The main character gets engaged (very quickly) to a man from a rich and powerful family, and when she agrees to stay with them at their family-owned cabins, things start to get weird.

Strange coincidences occur, and memories begin resurfacing—especially unsettling since the main character doesn’t even know her real name or who her biological parents were. What are the odds that the man she loves is connected to her mysterious childhood? Was there an ulterior motive behind their seemingly fated meeting?

The story was cool but forgettable. I doubt I’ll remember much of the plot a month from now, and I don’t think this was Marshall’s strongest book. I loved her previous releases, but this one didn’t give me much. It was full of twists and unique in its own way, but it wasn’t particularly special and didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat. At times, it was confusing and overloaded with characters. There was a lot of buildup for a mostly unexciting ending. I liked it, but it definitely isn’t a new favorite.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for this ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This mystery/thriller was a fun listen during a snowy cold snap in my neck of the woods. It’s about a woman with a past who meets her fiancé’s family for the first time, and all kinds of secrets emerge. Set at a remote mountain compound owned by the fiancé’s wealthy family, it kept me guessing who I could trust. It’s full of entertaining twists and turns and snowy ambiance, but I felt like it came together a bit hastily at the end. Over all a ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 read for me.

This book was okay. Thrillers are my favorite genre and this was not the best locked door mystery. I didn't like how her memory conveniently came back. The book started out strong with an interesting premise. I loved the idea of a rich family letting an outsider in. The narrator is so slow. I had to speed up to 2.5 which I've never done before. I really wanted to like this book, but it just fell flat.

A thriller and a romance set on a snowy mountaintop was the perfect audiobook for me to listen to this winter.
Theo Scott hasn’t had the best upbringing. She was adopted into a family that didn’t treat her very well. She falls in love with Connor Dalton, a rich trust-fund kid. He takes Theo to his family’s winter lodge for a holiday that turns deadly.
While there, Theo realizes she’s been there before. Secrets start to come out that may damage Connor’s picture perfect family’s reputation and business forever. Theo may finally learn who she is and where she came from though.
With so many twists and turns, this audiobook had me hooked from the beginning. Karissa Vacker does a wonderful job narrating the book. She was the perfect fit for these complex characters.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of the Audio Book in exchange for an honest review.

A Killing Cold is a shocking jaw dropper from the beginning. Readers are instantly vested in a gripping tale that unfolds. What makes this great for the reader is all the twists and turns, uncertainty as who can be trusted, what will happen next, and the occurrences for the past.

The setting of the isolated winter retreat with cabins really sets the scene and allows for the awkwardness and suspense of meeting the family for the first time. Although it seems picturesque one moment and then you have the feeling for being trapped. The characters are lovable even the ones you don't trust or like. Karissa Vacker's narration is brilliant.

This thriller is a great read! I recommend to anyone whole enjoys being on the seat of your chair through an entire novel.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC (audiobook). This was my third book by Kate Alice Marshall, but not my favorite. I can’t put a finger on exactly why I did not love it, except for the fact that I never really got drawn into the story. I wasn’t enthralled by the characters either, and found the plot twists predictable. Maybe I was not in the right mood to read this book, because there was nothing inherently wrong with it, but it missed the mark for me. It is still a good middle-of-the-ground thriller and I can see how others would really enjoy it.

Great read. Lots of twists. I actually enjoyed this book very much. The characters were well developed and the narrator was engaging.

Audiobook Review
Story: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Narration: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This is my third Kate Alice Marshall book and she has quickly become an automatic read for me. A Killing Cold left me questioning every single character as the story unfolds. My favorite type of thriller is one that keeps me on my toes until the very end and this book did not disappoint.

A Killing Cold is a single POV thriller/mystery that switches back and forth between the current time-line and the past as recovered memories of Theo's childhood. There are multiple twists and turns that point to one family member being a potential suspect, yet as we learn more details of said suspect we start to second guess.

Karissa Vacker's performance was very good - of course if she is narrating a thriller audiobook it's guaranteed that I will be listening.

I highly recommend this book for any reader that loves to honestly suspect all characters and still be left surprised in the end.