*Narrator: Karissa Vacker
ISBN: 9781250381316
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Flatiron Books
Duration: 9 Hours, 48 Minutes
Publication Date: 02/04/2025
Format: Audio
My Rating: 5 Stars (ALC)
A woman invited to her wealthy fiance’s family retreat realizes they are hiding a terrible secret—and that she’s been there before, by the bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods.
A whirlwind romance.
When Theodora Scott met Connor—wealthy, charming, and a member of the powerful Dalton family—she fell in love in an instant. Six months later, he’s brought her to Idlewood, his family’s isolated winter retreat, to win over his skeptical relatives.
Stay away from Connor Dalton.
Theo has tried to ignore the threatening messages on her phone, but she can’t ignore the footprints in the snow outside the cabin window or the strange sense of familiarity she has about this place. Then, in a disused cabin, Theo finds something impossible: a photo of herself as a child. A photo taken at Idlewood.
I’ve been here before.
Theo has almost no recollection of her earliest years, but now she begins to piece together the fragments of her memories. Someone here has a shocking secret that they will do anything to keep hidden, and Theo is in terrible danger. Because the Daltons do not lose, and discovering what happened at Idlewood may cost Theo everything.
My Review
Kate Alice Marshall returns following No One Can Knowand What Lies in the Woods with her latest, A KILLING COLD, a twisty thriller with gothic vibes —a snowed-in compound, a wealthy family, and dark secrets they will do anything to protect.
A woman invited to her wealthy fiance’s family retreat realizes they are hiding a terrible secret—mysteriously, she’s been here before.
About...
Theodora (Theo) Scott and Connor Dalton are dating and are now engaged. He is from a rich and powerful family. Six months later, he brings her to Idlewood, the isolated family winter retreat, to meet his relatives.
The place is eerie and familiar to Theo. She has tried to ignore the threatening message to stay away from Connor on her phone, and now footprints in the snow outside the cabin window. Shockingly, she finds a photo of herself as a child at Idlewood!
While she has no memory of her early years, she slowly pieces together fragments. Someone has a shocked secret and will do anything to keep them hidden. The situation becomes increasingly sinister, and Theo knows she is in grave danger, but how will she escape these monsters?
How is the past connected?
My thoughts...
A KILLING COLD is chilling and terrifying. The atmospheric cold, wintery mountain locked-room whodunit thriller with a wealthy, ruthless, and twisted family with long-held secrets, murder, and lies that rise to the surface, and twisted sinister motivations are revealed.
TRUST NO ONE! You are dying to know if Connor knows the family secrets and how this will turn out.
With mind-blowing twists, the author keeps you in suspense, with darkness lurking with each page-turn. The intrigue deepens as readers try to solve the intense tension-filled mystery of the past and this twisted, evil family.
Creepy and spine-chilling with unexpected twists set against wintery snowed-in isolation. These twists will keep you on the edge of your seat, surprised at every turn. I enjoyed Theo's character. My favorite book from the author.
*Audiobook...*
I listened to the audiobook narrated by the fabulous Karissa Vacker (a favorite), delivering an epic and engaging performance with FINESSE— elevating the whodunit thriller with suspense and tension against the wintry isolated setting with shocks and twists. Her narration brings the story and characters to life for a genuinely IMMERSIVE listening experience. I highly recommend the audiobook.
Recs...
A KILLING COLD is for fans of the author and those who enjoy works by J. T. Ellison, Alice Feeney, Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley, Stacy Willingham, Carol Goodman, and No Road Home by John Fram.
Thanks to Macmillan Audio for gifting an advanced listening review copy via NetGalley for my honest thoughts.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Feb 04, 2025
Praise
“A Killing Cold is a gripping tale, full of dizzying twists and turns! It is packed with suspense and kept me frantically turning pages until the very end!”
–Freida McFadden, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Housemaid
“A Killing Cold is a tightly wound thriller perfect for fans of Stacy Willingham and Gillian Flynn. Readers will flock to this outstanding story. The suspense is palpable, the danger obvious but obscured, and the isolation creepy enough to raise the hair on the back of your neck. Theodora Scott is a fascinating and complex character, and the entire Dalton clan is everything you’d expect from a family who spends two weeks every winter locked away at their Grand Lodge. Secrets and coverups abound. Marshall has created a feral and alluring gothic that you won’t be able to put down.”
―J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of A Very Bad Thing
“Tense, layered, and gripping from start to finish, A Killing Cold is a masterfully suspenseful, character-rich thriller of the first order. With the harsh winter landscape, isolated family compound, and buried memories come back to haunt, Marshall deftly creates an atmosphere of dread that will keep you up past your bedtime and chill you to the bone.”
―Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of The New Couple in 5B
“I love it when a novel keeps me guessing, and Kate Alice Marshall’s A Killing Cold did exactly that the whole way through. Atmospheric, twisty, and full of dark family secrets…Marshall is at the top of her game in this expertly crafted thriller. I read this in one sitting and it was chilling from start to finish. An absolute must-read for suspense fans.”
―Jennifer Hillier, USA Today bestselling author of Things We Do in the Dark and Little Secrets
“Terrific―and terrifying. . . This delicious setup is promisingly sinister. . . Marshall’s chilling new novel pushes all the right buttons when it comes to inexorable suspense and psychological frights.”
―Kirkus, starred review
“Listeners will find it challenging to hit pause. . . Perfect for listeners who enjoy intricately-plotted suspense thrillers full of family secrets, deception, and isolated settings. Recommend this to listeners who enjoyed Lucy Foley's The Guest List or Freida McFadden's The Housemaid.”
―Booklist, starred review, audio
“[A] taut psychological thriller. . . Fans of Riley Sager will enjoy this.”
–Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Kate Alice Marshall is the bestselling author of thrillers and horror for kids and adults. Her middle grade books include the Secrets of Eden Eld trilogy and Extra Normal. In YA, she’s written the survival thriller I Am Still Alive, as well as supernatural suspense including Rules for Vanishing and The Narrow. She made her adult thriller debut with What Lies in the Woods, followed by the USA Today bestseller No One Can Know.
She lives outside Seattle with her family, two very friendly (but not very smart) golden retrievers, and a growing collection of fancy pens. WEBSITE
About the Narrator
Karissa Vacker is an award-winning audiobook narrator, having recorded over 300 titles. She narrates mostly mystery/thrillers, literary fiction and romance genres.
She is also the host of the Sleep Wave podcast and works with the Sleepiest App where she records meditations to help you sleep.
She is passionate about storytelling and finding ways to live a better, less stressful life, so she loves both of these jobs immensely and is very grateful for them.
Her background was in theatre, TV and film acting before finding that voice over was the spot for her! She loves travel, cooking, yoga and meditation.
Her favorite thing of all though, is being a mama to her son and a wife to her acupuncturist and yoga/meditation teacher husband, who also happens to write the Sleep Wave meditations she narrates.
You will find her most recent updates on Instagram. Follow her @karissavacker. WEBSITE
