When Theo joins her wealthy fiancé Connor at his family’s secluded winter estate, strange things start happening—threatening messages, eerie footprints, and a photo of herself as a child taken at this very retreat. She has no memory of ever being there, but the powerful Dalton family clearly does—and they’ll do anything to keep their secrets buried.

I’m an absolute sucker for a snowy, secluded setting in a thriller — and when you throw in a wealthy, dysfunctional family full of dark secrets, I’m all in. A Killing Cold starts off with so much atmosphere and suspense, pulling me right into the icy grip of Idlewood and the mystery surrounding the powerful Dalton family.

From the moment Theo and Connor walked through the door, I needed to know what the Daltons were hiding, and just when I thought I had it figured out, the story took an unexpected turn. There were moments I wanted to yell at Theo to run, but like her, I was too desperate for answers to look away. While the second half required some suspension of disbelief, the tension and twists kept me hooked. If you’re into locked-room mysteries with chilling vibes and family drama, this one’s worth the read.

If you’re thinking about picking up the audiobook, I highly recommend it. Karissa Vacker’s narration is phenomenal — she captures Theo’s emotions and growing fear so vividly, building tension in a way that makes the story even more immersive. Her voice brings the eerie atmosphere of Idlewood to life, making every twist and revelation hit that much harder. If you can listen to this one, do it — you won’t regret it.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an advanced listeners copy in exchange for my honest review.

This story was good. The narrator did a great job too. Unreliable main character, Theo for Theodora. She didn't know who she was. Part of why she was secretive. She had fragments of memories through dreams, but she couldn't remember who's who because the occurrence happened when she was a child. When her new fiancé invited her to spend Christmas break with his family up in the mountains, she started receiving messages warning her to stay away. But upon arrival at the mountain and stumbled into an abandoned cabin the family said it was not in use, Theo started to connect the dots to her missing life from before. Her fiancé and his family all have secrets. They would do anything to hide it even allowing their young granddaughter to grow up believing that she had killed someone and kept it a secret all this time because she was told to by the adults in her family.

I normally don't like unreliable narrator because the story changes a lot since she's unsure what had happened and little by little the truth are being revealed and backtracked and revealed.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read, listen, and review.

I've been reading this author's books since her debut. She has a writing style that I find inviting and up front. From the moment I started listening to this audiobook, I was pulled into the narrative.

The characters grew on me, especially the MC. They were carved out well, and the narrator did a wonderful job of bringing them to life.

Theo and Connor are recently engaged after only knowing each other for a short time. When Theo is invited to meet Connor's family, she realizes they are a tough crowd with many secrets. With her own secrets and scandalous upbringing, she's worried about fitting in. However, Connor's family has some dark history. His father was discovered keeping a young woman and her child at the family hunting estate which led to his suicide. Connor's mother has never forgiven his father for cheating on her despite his death. While at the estate, Theo starts poking around, trying to better understand what happened to Connor's dad.. As she probes deeper into the family's secrets, she starts to realize that she may be in danger.

The ending was pretty twisty. Just when you think you know, then you're proven wrong. I think this was one of my favorite books by this author.

Thank you #NetGalley and #MacMillanAudio for an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a twisty and interesting mystery. Though parts of it felt very similar to other books I’ve read these last few years, I did like the ending.

I rounded my rating up to 4 stars, but I would say it’s more of a 3.5.

I always enjoy this narrator’s voice in audiobooks so that was an added plus for this one.

✨ A Killing Cold ✨

What a wild ride!! I normally read romance and liked that this thriller still included a touch of romance in it. There were twists and turns and I was constantly changing my opinions on who could be trusted and who couldn't. In the end, the reveal had me completely floored!

I listened to the audiobook version of this book. I enjoyed listening to the narrator and would definitely recommend it!

📚 Book: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved the rich people behaving badly plot to this chilly winter thriller (perfect to cozy up with)!! The audio was well paced and the narrator was easy to listen to and kept me engaged. I loved the ending of this book; it was unexpected and very satisfying.

I listened to this book over a few days and the entire book just flew by! Such a great audio and the narrator kept my attention the entire time. Will be recommending this one to friends!

From the outset, this book felt wayyy too similar to another one I listened to just days ago (The Family Inside by Katie Garner). A woman with a mysterious past goes with her fiance' to meet his wealthy, dysfunctional family at their sprawling estate and she could swear she's been there before and that these people know her.

This is a great read if you like lots of twists and turns. For me, though, it got almost too confusing for me to keep up. Maybe it would have helped if I had read this one instead of listened, so it would be easier to flip back and get my bearings. I kept losing track of who was who. It just seemed like there was an unnecessary amount of plot twists.

The narration was pretty good, but like I said, I would recommend reading this one instead.

Theodora is invited to her new fiance Connor's wealthy family's cabins in the woods. She's been getting text messages warning her to stay away.

I would say this is your average, atmospheric, twisty thriller. Nothing blew me away about it. But the chapters went down quick!

Audio was a great format for this one. The narrator was great, and it was well produced.

A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall is a must read thriller! The plot is intricately woven with the main character’s story, delivering a book that’s intriguing, emotional, and propulsive.

Without giving away what happens, this book includes elements of family secrets, a forgotten past, lies, family drama, risk of death in a “closed room” setting, and love. And I do love a romantic thread in a thriller!

Kate Alice Marshall is an auto-read author for me. But this book…this book is sooooo good!

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, which was incredibly well done by Karissa Vacker. I’m always impressed by her narration skills, so I was quite happy to hear she was narrating this one. It’s a must listen if you love audiobooks. I listened at 1.5x speed (my normal is 1.75x speed).

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this listening copy.

The pacing of the book was appropriately engaging without being rushed. Ms. Marshall did a great job of developing the characters to be realistic and to have depth. This book has prompted me to read more by Kate Alice Marshall.

I listened to this one on audio and I thought it was so well done. It was atmospheric, with great narrators and sound effects that added to the story. You didn't know who to trust and I thought I had figured out the twist, until I reached the end and there was another twist I wasn't expecting! I also loved that the unreliable narrator this time was a male - a welcome change in my opinion. Definitely a good thriller read!

A Killing Cold did not work well for me on audio and I ended up waiting to get the book from my library in order to finish reading the book. '

I didn't like the narration of the story as the narration made the main character seem whiney.

Overall, I found the plot to not be anything new or special but it had a good atmosphere.

I really enjoyed this audio! My first book by this author. I plan to check out other titles by this author. I loved the build up of the story and found the characters suspicious and needed to find out more as the story unfolded.
Will be recommending this book to all my reader friends!

Suspenseful! Kept turning those pages from start to finish.
The narrator was terrific! The only small issue I had was that the ending was a bit convoluted.

GREAT story with so many twists and turns! Really emoted the slow progression of getting to know Theo and how everything goes together in the end! Highly recommend as a fun suspense thriller you will never see coming!

Another great book by this author! Loved it and enjoyed listening to the audio version as well. Great story that had me hooked!

This was a perfect atmospheric read for the dead of winter (no pun intended!). It's set in a set of family cabins in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. This was excellent on audio - the narration keept me very engaged and I had a hard time breaking away. I figured out bits and pieces of the story, but not every single element. The parts I didn't know, I barely had a guess about and had to fully wait for the big reveals. The ending left me partly satisfied, but partly disappointed otherwise I think this could have been a 5 star book for me.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I liked the pacing of the book and the multiple red herrings. This kept my interest til the end, the ending wasn't my favorite.

Unfortunately, I just found this derivative... or, as the kids would say, “mid”. While it was an enjoyable read, and I looked forward to listening to it (the audio was good), it was just a whatever book. It feels like I’ve heard various aspects of this book over and over in other thrillers, and to have to believe them all in this one... when they were all happening concurrently? Eh. Here are some tropes that come into play here... memory loss (with it all coming back at just the right time) and rich people without consciences, and several last two chapters twists. It just felt... passable. Wish I could say more.

Some “If you liked” style comparisons: The Family Game by Catherine Steadman - Just think rich people being rich and doing bad things...