A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A Killing Cold is tense and fast-paced. It’s also the epitome of a Winter Thriller. I loved the setting and atmosphere most of all. It felt cold and claustrophobic the entire time.
Theo is trapped at her new fiance’s family retreat and it’s clear someone doesn’t want her there. When she discovers a clue to her past at the property, she’s flabbergasted.
How can this be? Has she been here before?
I liked following along with Theo as she was thrust into the lion’s den that is her fiance, Connor’s, family. They’ve had a whirlwind romance, so Theo hasn’t had much opportunity to meet them and she’s nervous as heck.
As she should be…
It’s clear from the start Theo isn’t being completely transparent with them about her past, and as the story progresses, you learn a lot more about that.
Regardless of where she came from though, her upbringing was very different from Theo’s and his siblings. Their family is extremely wealthy, and as with most wealthy families, they’re used to getting away with a certain amount of things.
While I was reading this, the dynamics amongst Connor and his brother and sister, kept reminding me of the sibling relationships in Succession. If you are a fan of that show, I definitely recommend you check this one out. I think you’ll understand pretty quickly what I mean.
I also loved and appreciated how much the weather and landscape was made a part of this story. It felt dark and very cold. Also, due to inclement weather, they do get literally trapped at the estate.
This gave it an air of desperation and suffocation it may not have had otherwise. Atmosphere is my number one want in any book, and it was definitely delivered here.
Marshall kept me on my toes with this one and successfully kept me guessing. While I thought the ending had some moments where it veered into convoluted territory, overall, I think it was a fun and intriguing story.
I would highly recommend the audiobook, as well, should you have that format available to you. It’s narrated by one of my all-time faves, Karissa Vacker, and I feel like she did a fantastic job bringing Theo’s perspective to life!
Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to whatever KAM writes next!!