4.5 stars rounded up!

WOOOOAHHHHH this was absolutely wild! Kate Alice Marshall, as usual, absolutely killed it!

A Killing Cold sunk its hooks in me immediately and didn’t let up until the very end. I was desperate to know everything about Theo and what her past had to do with what was happening in the present with the quite questionable Dalton family. Even know that I’m done with the story I’m still so shook with how everything played out.

This is a definite recommend from me!

A Killing Cold was a gripping thriller with a slow start but a suspenseful payoff. The tension builds as Theodora Scott uncovers the chilling truth behind her past, and once the story hit its climax, I couldn’t stop listening.

However, the book contained enough swearing and sexual material that I wouldn’t personally recommend it to my usual audience. Also, I felt that the book’s description gave away too much, which made the beginning feel sluggish—there were reveals I already anticipated, which took away some of the mystery early on.

That said, it was still a well-written and engaging thriller. If you enjoy dark family secrets, an eerie winter setting, and a protagonist uncovering long-buried truths, this might be worth checking out.

📚Review: A Killing Cold ❄️
This book was my January pick for BOTM. I had never even heard of it, but when I saw this was the same author as No One Can Know and What Lies In The Woods (both of which I really enjoyed) I knew my chances of liking it were pretty good. So I chose it and I was right. I really liked this book. It was a lot of fun to me. I wasn’t sure at first how I was feeling about it. But then the last half, things got real exciting for me. It had me hooked to the end of the book.
But I actually ended up listening to this because I saw it as an audio on @netgalley and saw that @karissavacker was the narrator and I knew right then that I wanted to listen to it rather than read it. I love so many books she narrates and she did a fantastic job as usual.
But about this book, you meet Theodora (Theo) who is recently involved with Connor Dalton. Connor wants Theo to meet his rich , skeptical, powerful family at the family’s winter retreat called Idlewood. Only when Theo gets there she starts seeing strange things. She starts receiving messages on her phone telling her to stay away from Connor Dalton. She also notices fresh footsteps in the snow outside her rooms window. Theo begins to realize she may be in danger, but she also feels like she’s been to this place before, but how could that be possible? The Dalton family has many secrets and they will do anything to protect their family’s legacy and Theo will do anything to remember her connection to this place and this family. When I tell you that when you keep thinking you have this figured out, you won’t. There are twists upon twists upon twists. Just crazy. I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a lot of fun. This was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars for me! I recommend you give this one a try.

Have you read this book or any books by this author? What were your thoughts?

I somehow learned both a lot about this family and nothing about this family over the course of this book. The ending did not fully make sense to me and the person who did it seemed almost too probable. At least the narrator was good

I love the way Marshall maps together a story. Her storytelling abilities are *chef's kiss.* Add twists and turns and you have a book you cannot put down. Just when I thought I figured everything out, I realize just how wrong I could be. So, thanks for that. Am already recommending this one!

A Killing Cold was a fantastic read! It kept me engaged from the beginning, and had a mysterious and atmospheric tone that further added to the suspense of the novel.

The story follows Theo, as she meets her wealthy fiancé’s family for the first time. Already in a nervous state, she navigates through the 2 weeks set to spend with them trying to make a good impression. Suddenly things about the place begin to seem familiar to her, and she is unsure if these are real memories and flashbacks, or part of her wild imagination.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this novel and plan to read more from Kate Alice Marshall! The narrator did an excellent job in this audiobook

Thank you MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A Killing Cold is a fast paced thriller that takes you on a journey of twists and turns that you never expected. Wealthy people isolated on a private mountain retreat with lots and lots of very dark secrets try to nip a young whirlwind romance of their son Connor to his new fiancé, Theo. But Theo is tough, smart and fearless and as she starts to have some dejavu moments the real questions begin to pop up and the story gets quite interesting. The narrator of the audio book I listened to was great. Recommended. 4 stars.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for a chance to read an ARC audio of this soon to be published book.

I received this as an audio from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I think it was a decent read. I guess I’m phasing out of my “thriller” era because this felt like many of the others I have read. The audio was entertaining and I liked the persistence of the main character.

✨ ARC REVIEW ✨

A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re looking for the perfect book to curl up with on a cold, snowy day… look no further because this is the one!

After a whirlwind romance, Theo is invited to meet her fiancé’s family at their remote winter retreat. Turns out that this wealthy family has PLENTY of secrets to hide and a connection to Theo that will begin to unravel everything…

Completely immersive and atmospheric, A KILLING COLD had me on the edge of my seat from the first few chapters! Filled with so many twists and turns, this book is a genius “whodunnit” mystery!

Thanks to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review! A KILLING COLD is out February 4th, 2025! ✨

A Killing Cold
By Kate Alice Marshall
🩸 🩸 🩸 🩸 🩸/5

Wow!! I was immediately hooked on this audiobook from the first chapter!

Theo is in love with Connor they have a whirlwind romance and Connor invites Theo to his families’ winter holiday retreat. Once there things get really intense! There are family secrets, murder, flashbacks and wealth - there are a ton of twist and turns that kept my interest throughout the book! This is my first Kate Alice Marshall book and it won’t be my last! It is a great winter read!The narrator Karissa Vacker also fantastic!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the digital advanced listeners copy!!! This novel will be published February 4, 2025! Add it to your TBR!!

One Line Review: When a whirlwind romance brings Theo on a snowy mountain vacation to meet her fiancée’s family, she quickly realizes that the horrifying secrets they keep are a little closer to home than she ever could’ve expected…

Synopsis: Theo falls in love and get engaged within months of meeting Connor. She feels like she’s known him for a lifetime, he’s changed her perception of what she wants for her future…now, she has to jump that final hurdle… meeting the family.

Just as you would expect, the extraordinarily wealthy family gives anything but a warm welcome, leading Theo to question who they are and why some of the compound they own is beginning to feel eerily familiar. When someone starts sending Theo mysterious messages, and long suppressed memories begin to surface, she has nowhere to turn and no longer certain of who she can trust.

My Thoughts: Rich people behaving badly, family secrets with a dark history, and a snowy mountain retreat isolating them all from society… Check, check and check! Sign me up because this book had me enthralled from start to finish. Kate Alice Marshall did an exceptional job making me hate certain members of this family, really helping to drive the plot while wishing them the absolute worst!

"Thank you to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for providing this book exchange for my honest thoughts."

This story was great!

The mystery surrounding the Dalton’s and their whole mountain was truly a fun and heartbreaking one to unravel. There were SO MANY STRINGS! The grand twists and reveals were unexpected.

I loved how strong Theo was to stay true to who she’s grown into regardless of her history. She was an awesome MC to get inside the head of.

Have you ever met someone and felt like you've known them your entire life? That's how Theo feels when she meets Connor, the heir to a wealthy family. Theo is adopted and comes from humble roots so she's nervous to go to his family's estate to meet them. It's isolated, snowy, creepy, and the company isn't great. She's fielding a lot of weird questions.

Theo isn't exactly who she says she is and she suspects a family with so much wealth and power could figure this out but at the same time, things here feel so familiar. Did she end up at this place in her life by happenstance or was it orchestrated by something or someone?

I always get the books from this author on audio because I love Karissa Vacker. The author is great at weaving twisty tales, sometimes a little too twisty. I thought we found everything out around 60% but it just keeps coming! There were a few extra male characters that I got confused at times. That tends to happen when there are a lot of characters in close proximity.

This book talks about dreams a lot and as a general rule, no one wants to hear about your stupid dream. Your dream could mean xyz or it could mean absolutely nothing. In this case, her dreams at least ended up being important.

One thing is for sure, it is a killing cold but that won't be the reason for the blood in the snow.

I think the winter trapped on a mountain story is getting a little old. That wasn't even the main part of this thriller, and the fact that it got added in just irritated me. There was already enough suspense and questions going on, The pacing of this seemed a little off as well. However the underlying plot was intriguing and not what I thought was going to happen. By far not my favorite by this author, but I will continue reading.

A speedy, sexy, fast-paced thriller following FMC Thea meeting her fiancée’s family for the first time. I loved the isolation trope, the way it was a perfectly paced puzzle. Thank you for my gifted ALC!

If you’re looking for a fast-paced wintertime thriller to read this year, this is a great one to add to your TBR! It comes out next week!

I really enjoyed how this story all came together! It was a quick read that keep my attention the whole time, with lots of sketchy characters and interesting twists. While the twists didn’t completely blow me away, I definitely still recommend it! The audiobook was so great and sucked me right in!

Thank you to Kate Alice Marshall, MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the gifted audiobook!

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review. all the major plot twists were pretty predictable for me however they may not be predictable for a lot of people since i usually take my time to root out the clues and piece them together but this was still very entertaining nevertheless. i would highly recommend it to friends who read the mystery thriller genre.

Kate Alice Marshall does it again! I absoltely loved this edge of your seat thriller. Thank you NetGalley.

3.5 rounded up for a good audio listen

I loved What Lies in the Woods by this author. It was excellent. I also enjoyed this story but just not as much. It was a good premise, great setting and the characters were interesting but the pace staggered in the middle and never really picked back up until the absolute end.

The twists come in abundance to the point that I lost interest in who the killer was I just wanted to see how the situation was going to play out. It was entertaining and I will look forward to the next by this author.

Theodora (Theo) and Connor have had a whirlwind romance, and Connor has brought Theo to his family estate, Idlewood, to meet the family. Theo's reception by the family is icy at best, leaving Theo disconcerted, especially as she is receiving threatening messages telling her to leave. But Theo feels a connection to Idlewood that she can't explain, like it is familiar somehow, and against all odds, she finds a picture of herself at Idlewood as a child in an abandoned cabin.

This was fast-paced and kept me engaged as I worked to try to figure out the mystery of Theo and her past and how Idlewood may or may not play a role in his history. The narrator was excellent, and the suspense of the book kept me engaged to the very last minute.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing the Advanced Listening Copy for review.