3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because this is just the perfect winter thriller read that features Casey and the Haven's Rock crew as they deal with a blizzard, a dead body and Casey's impending delivery. Twisty, atmospheric and full of suspense. This just might be my favorite of the series so far! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy that was excellently narrated by Therese Plummer.

This book was really good. I enjoyed it. A police procedural with a pregnant female lead and an exciting mystery: yes please!
Well written and I didn't even figure out the bad guy. Total win.

I enjoy the Haven's Rock series, although they all seem to be variations on the same theme--someone gets lost in the woods and there's a race to find them, dead or alive. I like the narrator and the characters, so I keep coming back.

Thank you to: Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, NetGalley for this ARC audiobook by Kelley Armstrong
Release date is set for: February 18th, 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - A woman drugged, a dead body found, a small town deep in the woods, in the middle of nowhere, during a major snowstorm, has the making of the perfect Kelley Armstrong murder mystery/suspense/who done it book.

The main characters Casey & Eric who investigate this are extremely likeable & with Casey being 1 month away from having their first baby just adds to the excitement.

This is book #3 of the Haven's Rock series but it could easily be read as a stand alone.

Once again, thank you @NetGalley! Macmillan Audio & St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to listen this advanced audio copy. 

#MacmillanAudio #StMartinsPress  #NetGalley #ColdAsHell #HavensRockSeries

This was another fantastic entry in this addictive thriller series. It was the perfect escapist read I needed this week. I enjoyed the snowstorm setting. I found the pregnancy stuff quite triggering so be warned if anyone else has labour and delivery trauma.

I really hold this spin off series to continue so I already want another book. I recommend starting at the beginning of this series. I personally don't feel the original series needs to be read first.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Someone drugs and attacks a resident of Haven’s Rock but they are able to escape and let people know. There is evidence that it is someone from town. Shortly after a snowstorm comes and they find a frozen body in the forest. From there it is a race to figure out if it was a murder and if so who was involved all while worried about Casey's pregnancy and the residents of Haven’s Rock. Casey is eight months pregnant at the start of this book and this is the first heavy investigation in months.

Wow. These books just keep getting better and better. Till the last moment I was even second guessing and praying that people I love were not involved. Casey manages to walk the line between being too stubborn and making practical sense in terms of working the case while pregnant. Kelley Armstrong is so good at plotting these mysteries and making us love and question characters we think we totally trust. I think this one left me the most on the edge.

Once again Thérèse Plummer is such a great narrator. I felt every emotion she conveyed and her top notch narration just brought the story to life all over again. This crime was darker than most from this series and every chapter was more tense and you really feel that in the audiobook as well. You don't technically have to read these in order but it really helps if you do just to see how far they have come in terms of this new community and the residents we have come to care for.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books| Macmillan Audio for sharing this book with me in exchange for my honest review.

When I requested and was given the chance to review this book ahead of release, I neglected to realize it was part of a series. I don't usually read things out of order, so this was a departure from the norm for me. After getting just a little way into the story, I quickly realized that my out of order faux pas was not going to be a problem. The author does a great job with backstory and details that can absolutely allow you to read this as a stand alone novel, although I have now added the previous books to my TBR list!
Haven's Rock sounds... well, amazing! I mean, outside of the whole being in the middle of the Yukon, pregnant, whiteout snow storms, and trying to find a killer. The story has elements of mystery, suspense, compassion, hardship, friendship, love, rebuilding, isolation, sanctuary, and more. The heroine, Casey, is a real badass and a character I feel in love with pretty quickly. I hope this isn't the last time we see her, because I think her character has a long and adventurous future ahead of her.

Casey is a bad ass. If you’ve read any of the other books, you probably already know that, but by the end of this one she has earned a whopper of a story to tell and no one would be able to argue - she’s a bad ass!

Murder in the Yukon? Havens Rock is a sanctuary town that specializes in people that need a fresh start. The benefactor of the town has a very  thorough admission process. Only she knows the secrets of tge residents. Casey is an eight months pregnant police detective, when a resident didnt return to her residence during a blizzard, must lead the search. The body is discovered on the edge of town. As Casey and her crew track down who is responsible, discover something more sinister. 

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC, the narrator Therese Plummer was great. She was able to do the different characters perfectly.

Loved it! After reading the second Haven's Rock novel I thought I would continue with this one and I am SO GLAD I DID. This book was absolutely phenomenal. I still haven't read the first book, but I definitely need to because there is no way I'm not continuing this series now. This is part of a series and the backstory really helps, but I think it could be read as a standalone as well. Great book, so enthralling and the narrator was fantastic.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author Kelley Armstrong, and Macmillan audio for my advance copy of this audiobook.

I really need to start paying more attention when requesting books. I get so excited when I read a great synopsis that I slam that request button without researching. Cold as Hell is the second book that I've requested this month without realizing it's part of a series that I haven't read yet. It's worked out in my favor both times and ended in me discovering two series I really enjoy, so...actually, scratch that. I'll keep doing what I'm doing, even though my analytical side *hates* reading a series out of order.

Anyway, to the book! Cold as Hell is an atmospheric thriller that plunges readers into the isolated world of a Yukon town called Haven’s Rock. Detective Casey Duncan is hunting down a killer during a deadly blizzard, while at the tail end of a complicated pregnancy.

I absolutely loved the setting. Haven’s Rock is a wholly unique town, as it's both a sanctuary and a cage, due to it's difficult-to-access remote location. I'm missing a lot of the backstory about what the town was built to do, which made me even more intrigued about its unique premise and guarantees that I'll be buying the first book in the series asap. The mystery at the heart of the story didn't feel fully fleshed out, but I enjoyed the cast of characters and the setting so much that it didn't affect my enjoyment of the story too much. I really appreciated the dynamics between Casey and Eric and the way they navigated their relationship during a high-stakes pregnancy in such a remote location.

Some of the twists did feel a little predictable, and there were moments where I wished for a bit more complexity in the secondary characters, but I could also be missing some subtext from the first few books in the series. That said, the overall atmosphere and suspense kept me hooked, making this a solid 4-star read. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

I loved this book! I didn't know it was a part of a series, but it made sense as a stand alone. Had I realized there were 2 other books before it I would have read them, this author is amazing. Action packed and always on my toes, this is a book I wish I could read again for the first time.

*3.8-ish rounded up*
As for the story & the characters - really great! I loved the scene setting & how well I got to know everyone, even the side characters. There was just enough description to help me perfectly imagine the setting, and even feel a little cold, but not so much that it would mess up the pacing, which was a huge positive. I felt the story was extremely well paced & I never once got bored.

There were a couple of downsides, which put it slightly below 4-stars for me. This was not the first book in a series that I've read as a standalone, but the only one that truly confused the crap out of me & made me feel like I needed to start from book #1. It took me a while to understand what Haven's Rock was & why it didn't seem like the real world. I still don't think I fully have that answer, which probably would've taken only 1-2 very appreciated paragraphs to explain.

Also, interchangeable names can make an audio book confusing, depending on how they're used. For example, Casey's husband is Eric Dalton. If she called him Eric, then he was referred to at other times as "Sheriff Dalton," that would make sense, but simply referring to him as "Eric" in one sentence, then "Dalton" the next was confusing.

One other tiny frustration I had was, during some of the intense, serious moments (e.g. when they're hurrying to track down someone in the woods & have only minutes/seconds to MAYBE find a person alive, with their own lives possibly in danger), there was flirty or silly joking/banter. It just felt unserious & out of place. It took me out of the "edge of my seat" mindset & made me feel like I had just read a snippet from a cheesy rom com.

All things said, I really liked this book. I will have to go back and read the first two of the series & more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this eaudiobook.

Haven's Rock is somewhat of a sanctuary town hidden off the beaten path and requires specific steps for entrance for those who need to disappear. Casey is an investigator who is starting a life with Eric the sheriff, but she is not letting her pregnancy get in her way of investigation during this novel.

A town resident is drugged and goes too far towards the edge of town, she's taken further into the woods. This alarms everyone in the town, and a snowstorm hits Haven's Rock blanketing the forest in white. This novel will keep you guessing about who you can and cannot trust as a woman's body is discovered.

Great title for those who enjoy a good mystery.

Intriguing, slow story the first half building the story line but then the last few chapters moved pretty quick and keep you on edge. The narrator Thérèse Plummer did a good job adding emotion and suspense in her voice when reading from Detective Casey Duncan point of view.

“Cold as Hell” by Kelly Armstrong is book 3 of the Haven Rock series, however you can read it as a stand alone which is what I did. I will definitely be going back and reading book 1 (‘Murder at Haven Rock’) and book 2 (‘The Boy Who Cried Bear’).

**Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Kelly Armstrong for an eARC of “Cold as Hell”.

Title: Cols As Cold
Series: Haven’s Rock #3
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Therese Plummer
Publisher: Macmillian Audio – Minotaur Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: February 18, 2025
My Rating: 2.6 Stars
Pages: 352

Haven's Rock is a haven/sanctuary deep in the Yukon. It is a place for people to disappear and start over. It is beautiful but also very isolated.
Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are dedicated to their jobs and do everything they can to keep the residence of Haven’s Rock safe.

Casey and Eric are excited about starting a family. As Casey nears the end of her pregnancy, she lets nothing, including an overprotective worried husband; stop her from investigating what happens in the forbidden forest outside the town of Haven’s Rock.

During a snowstorm, they find themselves searching for a sinister and vicious killer who has been taking women into the snow filled woods to kill them. Making things more difficult is that Casey is nearing the end of her pregnancy and trudging through the snow is not as easy as it once was.
I have read other Kelley Armstrong stories as well others in this series. There is background information in the earlier books – they are a fast read so I suggest reading at least one of the earlier stories,

I was disappointed with the amount of foul language- I like both Casey and Eric but I guess the blizzard and fearing things wouldn’t go well with the baby’s delivery had them on edge.
On the positive side narrator Therese Plummer is one of my favorite audio performers.
~I just wish I had a bleep out function! ~

Author, Kelley Armstrong is without a doubt a very interesting writer. I have read at least ten of her stories and loved most and other times I have said to myself – This must have been written by Kelley Armstrong’s evil twin!!!
Okay NOT THAT bad but some stories were very different. Usually I like an author’s style – in this Ms. Armstrong is a truly a diverse, multi-talented writer!

Want to thank NetGalley and Macmillian Audio ~ Minotaur Books for this early uncorrected eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for February 18, 2025.

I genuinely love this author and frankly don't understand how she isn't more popular--such a gift! My first time doing an audiobook with this narrator (I think) and she did a fine job as well!!

After reading books two and three (I still haven't read the first), Haven's Rock has rapidly become one of my favorite mystery series. With a secluded Yukon setting, the weather is often a character in itself, and the murders are practically locked room.

Casey's experienced a couple of scares during her unexpected, complicated pregnancy, but she's made it to her eighth month. She and sheriff husband Eric are choosing names and excited to become parents. And then a woman is attacked. She narrowly escapes, but didn't see her attacker. The next woman isn't as lucky. With a murderer on the loose in Haven's Rock (population around 70), Casey and Eric have their work cut out for them. The safety of Haven's Rock and its residents is their first priority.

As with the last novel in this series, I didn't guess the identity of the culprit. All my suspicions were incorrect. The last 20% of the novel is so gripping, I think I held my breath for most of it. While tracking the murderer, the characters battle the elements and lack of tech (snowstorm, iced over river, sat phones missing) and Casey is dealing with additional stress. All I can say is that she's a badass, and my hat's off to her. Shoutout to Storm for being the best tracking dog/protector ever.

Perfectly paced, red herrings to throw readers off track, nail-biting scenes - mystery/thriller fans can't go wrong with this series. Each book can be read as a standalone. Recommended to readers who enjoy secluded settings, locked room-type mysteries, and well-crafted characters.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Cold as Hell is an atmospheric thriller that immerses you in the icy isolation of Haven’s Rock, a small, off-the-grid Yukon sanctuary.

Detective Casey Duncan, eight months pregnant, races to solve chilling crimes—including an assault and a frozen body in the woods—while navigating the harsh wilderness and town secrets.

Interesting points: atmospheric Yukon winter, unique sanctuary-town concept, strong female lead, pregnancy challenges, excellent narration

Though starting with book three in this series left me slightly disoriented, I quickly caught up. Kelley Armstrong’s suspenseful writing kept me hooked, and Thérèse Plummer’s narration was outstanding.

Overall: A gripping, character-driven mystery with a unique backdrop.

Thanks to @macmillan.audio for the e-ARC

Detective Casey Butler returns February 18th for her third mission in Haven’s Rock, but this time, she’s 37 weeks pregnant and racing against the clock to stop a serial killer in their remote Yukon town. I had no idea this was part of a series when I requested it, but I had no trouble piecing things together as a standalone.

The narration, story line, and action completely hooked me. The suspense kept me guessing, and just when I thought I had things figured out—I was proven wrong. It was refreshing to be truly blindsided for once! Now, I can’t wait to go back and read the first three books in the series.

If you’re looking for a gripping thriller to keep you on edge while embracing the winter vibes, this one is a perfect choice. The icy Yukon setting makes it an especially fitting read while we’re battling the winter blues!