Marshall set the scene for the perfect winter thriller, and I loved every single twisted second of it! I kept thinking I knew exactly how it was going to play out, and then another layer of the story would be peeled away, leaving me reeling. The narrator did a fantastic job, and I never felt like the story lagged. This book was just what I needed out of a good thriller!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my ALC in exchange for my honest feedback!

Thanks netgalley and publishers for the chance to read this book for free in return for my honest opinion.

I love Kate Alice Marshall’s books, this one is a second favorite of mine. The audiobook was hard to put down, I finished it within a few days.

Theo meets Connor and falls in love. Within 6 months, he’s bringing her home to meet his wealthy family.

Theo starts getting threatening text messages and she’s wondering who is sending them and why they would want her to stay away from Connor and his family.

This book had me hooked from the start and I wanted to see how it was going to end. I highly recommend giving this book a read, especially if you love Kate Alice Marshall’s books.

A GREAT audiobook!! The narrator did a wonderful job and really brought the story to life. It was a very good suspenseful story with an ending I never saw coming. I especially loved the setting and feeling she weaved into her writing I just felt like I was there.

3.75
This is my first time reading anything by this author. At first, I found the story a bit confusing, but as it unfolded and the mysteries began to reveal themselves, it became much more enjoyable to read. I really appreciated the isolated winter cabin setting and how every character seemed unreliable until the big twists at the end.

This story hooked me from the first page and I could not stop until everything was revealed. I loved the wintery, woodsy atmosphere. I also liked the way this story smoothly weaved in and out of two timelines. This is a fantastic, chilling read for October. Kate Alice Marshall is killing it! 4 STARS!

Theo has gotten engaged to her boyfriend and is going to meet the whole family during a stay at their mountain compound over Christmas. What she imagined would be a stressful visit quickly becomes more complicated and then dangerous as her past and present collide.

I really enjoyed ‘What Lies in the Woods’ and was excited to get a chance to read Kate Alice Marshall’s latest book prior to its publication. I was somewhat disappointed by ‘No One Can Know’ and was thrilled to see a return to all the things I had loved about ‘What Lies in the Woods’ in ‘A Killing Cold.’ Atmospheric, suspenseful, and fast-paced ‘A Killing Cold’ combines the eeriness of a locked room mystery with a masterful execution of recovered memories and trauma. At multiple points, I thought I had it figured out, but then there were new twists. The ending may frustrate some readers but I found the conclusion satisfying and more realistic than what I often see in similar thriller novels. I can’t wait to see what stories Kate Alice Marshall comes up with next!

Another hit for Kate Alice Marshall, A Killing Cold has so many elements which kept me listening. A wealthy family, a vacation at their elaborate and isolated lodge, a new fiancee thrown in the mix.....the lives of rich people always entertains.

Even before arriving on this "delightful" two week vacation in the woods with virtual strangers, Theodora receives a series of messages to stay away from her intended. Who sent them? Why? How much of her secret past is already known? Great set up for suspense and mystery with a, chef's kiss, ending.

Karissa Vacker provides great narration and is able to voice men, women, excitement, intrigue - she's just a great reader.

Happy to recommend this February 2025 release.

Let’s set the stage…wealthy family, secluded retreat, blizzard conditions.
All the ingredients for a crafty thriller.

Theodora (Theo) and Connor met, fell in love and were engaged all within six months. Now it’s time for her to meet his family. What better way than to join his family at their secluded winter compound. Strange though... no one seems overly welcoming. Hmmm.

Theo has a few questions that keep nagging her:
1. Who’s texting her messages warning her to stay away from Connor, and why?
2. Why does this compound feel oddly familiar? Is it possible she’s been here before?

Turns out this isn’t the winter wonder-land getaway Theo was hoping for. And soon she’ll be fearing for her life before the vacation is over!

As the layers of secrets and lies unraveled, the tension increased giving readers a very suspenseful read (audio.)

🎧 Review: Narration provided by Karissa Vacker. Need I say more? She was as amazing as always, once again breathing life into every single character, young and old.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

This newest novel from Kate Alice Marshall is so full of twists that days after finishing it my head is still spinning. The cold isolated mountain setting and family drama made this an absolutely perfect winter read. Then throw in was our main characters amnesia and slow piecing together of her childhood to make this a completely engrossing read. This is definitely my favorite of the three books I’ve read by Marshall!

I started reading the digital version of this and then switched to audio which is narrated by Karissa Vacker. She did a phenomenal job and I would highly recommend the audio route!

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the alc via Netgalley and Flatiron Books for the arc via Netgalley!

Eating: 4.5/5⭐️
Pub day: February 4, 2025

A Killing Cold

I did a little happy dance when I received an advanced listening copy of A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall, from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, narrated by Karissa Vacker.

The blurb for A Killing Cold intrigued me, having just listened to No One Can Know in November.

What I enjoyed:
• loved the tension buildup as this carefully constructed, complex story developed
• Marshall set the scene for a great sensory experience with her description of the retreat
• I enjoyed getting to know some of the actors while others provided the counter in a love-to-hate character relationship

What I struggled with a bit:
• with high intensity pushing in near the end, I found the audio a bit confusing
• the story flips from 1st person POV present tense to 2nd person POV past tense, for some of the reveals (I haven’t seen this in print yet, so maybe it’s more clearly delineated by a font change)
• I listened to the last few chapters again to confirm what happened

Overall, I loved the story and I recommend this locked-room style, atmospheric adventure of a domestic thriller.

With thanks to #NetGalley, #MacmillanAudio and Kate Alice Marshall for the opportunity to experience and early audio copy!

I'm in the minority here, but I could not stand any of these characters, and that made me disengage from the story. Plus the narrator's "little girl" voice was so grating I was tempted to stop reading.

This was a weird one for me personally. Did it deliver of the twisty, chock full of details, and a love of great writing? Absolutely! So why did so have a hard time staying with it?

I’m glad i did as the last 25% of the book was non stop mind blowing (albeit far fetched) drama that even surprised me but I would be remiss in not mentioning that I kept starting and stopping the first 30% as I kept getting sidetracked but that’s a me problem!

I think folks will really enjoy the ride and love to hate the Dalton Family. It reminded me of Dynasty and Dallas level distinction and backstabbing so if that’s your jam, get this on your TBR.

The narrator did a good job with the read. I did speed it up to 1.75x as that was a comfortable rate for me to listen.
I am thankful to have gotten the ALC for free from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley to enjoy which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Theo finds her dream guy and goes to meet his family who by the way....is rich and she gets the normal questions. Who are you? What do you want? How’d you get engaged so fast, but she doesn’t remember where she comes from. She knows she was adopted at a young age by a very religious family. But she doesn’t know who her birth parents are and then when she’s with her fiancé’s family, she finds a picture that looks a lot like what she would’ve looked like as a child with her fiancé’s father does she have a connection to this family already? And if she does what happened to her mother?
This book had me hooked from the beginning. Such a good thriller with some twisty parts that I do love and did NOT see coming.

A Killing Cold

The Daltons do not lose, and what happened at Idlewood may cost Theo everything.

To be honest I did not have high hopes for this book at first. I have been burned in the past by rich family thrillers but when I read the description I was intrigued, and the cover caught my attention, so I gave it a chance. This book had so many twists it gave me whip lash in the best way. I did not know you to trust and the more the story got uncovered the more unreliable everyone became. Theo’s memories from her childhood and the Daltons secrets slowly start coming out/back one by one and we get to see the mystery unfold. If you think you figured out the killer guess again this book keeps you on the edge of your seat. I enjoyed the setting of the families in isolated winter cabins, and I think this is the perfect winter read! The narrator did a great job!

Thank you, Net Galley, the author, and the publisher, for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"A Killing Cold" by Kate Alice Marshall (audiobook) was an adventure, to say the least! I appreciated how the main character, Theodora Scott, continued to evolve and morph as the narrative progressed. The twists and turns were almost overwhelming, as each time I thought I knew what was happening next, I was completely wrong! This book will keep you guessing until the very end. While I admire Kate Alice Marshall for her surprise plot twists, this book was almost confusing. However, if you can endure the ride, it is worth it! Solid 4 stars! Well done!
As always, if Karissa Vacker narrates it, it is going to be exceptional. She did an excellent job, very intense! No one could have done a better job with this audiobook! Great choice!
Thank you, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, for the ARC audiobook!

3.5 rounded up.

Thank you, Netgalley and Flat Iron Punlishing, for this audiobook.

I'm all about a Kate Alice Marshall thriller. What Lies In the Woods and No One Can Know where great reads for me. A Killing Cold didn't live up to the previous books, but the story kept me engaged. First, I'm not the biggest fan of the narrator. Her tone makes me think she should read romance books. I'm not looking for a sexy voice in my thrillers. Doesn't work for my tastes.

Theo is a young woman who has terrible nightmares about from a time in her childhood that she can't quite remember. She has a whirlwind romance with Connor and is headed to meet his uber rich family at their mountain retreat. Once she arrives, she starts to feel like she's been their before. I found Theo didn't operate from a place of common sense. " I shouldn't be here. I'm in danger, I should leave." She says this several times, yet not only does she stay, her "habit" puts her in precarious situations where dangerous could very well get her. She was frustrating to me, and her back story with her adopted parents served no purpose, IMO. Connor was more like an accent table, cute but just there for show mainly. Would've loved more backstory on Liam and Theo's mom. Kate Alice Marshall will continue to be an auto buy for me. This one just didn't do it for me.

Theo is invited by her fiance Conner to his family retreat in the mountains. When she gets there she realizes that they have secrets and that she has been there before.

This winter thriller is full of twists, secrets, lies and murder. Theo doesn’t remember the first years of the childhood or her biological family. There was also an incident with her adopted family. Connor’s family are wealthy and do not see her as appropriate for him.

The audiobook is narrated by the amazing Karissa Vacker that managed to make me feel all that Theo went through. There is only one perspective and she managed to narrate the different characters very well (female and male).

The suspense is high and the story kept me involved. As it is the first book I read from this author I did not expect to like it so much, but it made me want to read more.
I recomend this to all thriller lovers.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ALC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

If Karissa Vacker narrates it, I will listen to it. I always enjoy her narration and this one was no exception!

A Killing Cold was my favorite Kate Alice Marshall book so far. It had a few things that didn't work for me, but overall it was still a fun, fast paced listen. Theo is on her way to her extremely wealthy fiancé's familys' remote winter retreat. Something about her fiancé has always seemed familiar and so is this winter retreat. She's starting to have flashbacks of her traumatic childhood that she thought she couldn't remember and now she feels like she may be in danger.

The beginning was fast paced and I was instantly hooked. The things that didn't work for me were just the convenient timing of the memories coming back. This all happened as a child, twenty years have passed and Theo has remembered nothing. Suddenly someone asks her a question and the flashback with the answer comes back perfectly every time? Or every time she confronted someone, she would actually remember the correct answer? It was just all too perfect and so unrealistic. It also really started to drag at the end as the author tried out EVERY single wrong answer before finding out what actually happened. I was ready for it to wrap up by the end.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC!

About the book: Theodora Scott is invited to Connor Dalton's family estate for a retreat. Before she goes, she receives a text to stay away from Connor, and when she's there, mysterious footprints show up outside her cabin window. Nightmares and flashbacks become more vivid and Theodora is left wondering if her relationship with Connor isn't the first connection she has with the Dalton family.

My review: I have absolutely loved Kate Alice Marshall's thrillers over the last few years, but this one takes the cake! I was hooked from the first chapter and binged it in one day. It was particularly good on audio, narrated by Karissa Vacker, who is my favorite thriller narrator! A KILLING COLD had just the right makings for a perfect thriller: the shady, rich Dalton family, the setting of their remote camp in the winter, the amnesia due to childhood trauma leaving some gaps that were revealed throughout the book, and a subtle love storyline. This book is a total winner - make sure it's on your list!

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator is one of my top tier narrators, I actively look for her when I’m choosing books. This one took until about 25% to really get interesting, and from there it just gets better and better. Excellent twists and turns! I’ve read books by this author before and have enjoyed them, highly recommend this one and especially the author in general.