This was a fairly standard suspense novel for the majority of the story. The main character was great, but a few of the side characters were a little one-dimensional. The ending of the story, however, made the whole book worth it. I could see the ending making some people mad, but I thought it was the best part.

Thank you to NetGalley and Midnight Ink for this reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Well, shoot. One of my reading goals this year is to finish up or catch up on series and here I go adding another series to my TBR with the reading of this title. I really liked this title, I think I really like Redmond. One of the things I like so much about Redmond is the expertise and experience she brings to her stories and characters. A former cold case detective herself, she knows what she's writing about.

Redmond's Detective Lauren Riley flips the script in this story of murder. Unaccustomed to sitting behind the defense team during a trial, Riley finds herself doing just that in this tale of present and past murder. Walking the balance beam between her job as a cold case detective and her side hustle as a private investigator, Riley finds herself investigating two cases. One cold and one hot. Her day job presents her with a cold case that she and her partner, Reese, steadily work the leads on to bring justice to another person whose case has sat cold for so long. Once she clocks out from the Buffalo PD she pursues truth in a very real, very present-day case. Normally she wouldn't think twice about aligning herself with defense attorney Frank Violanti but what he brings her is so compelling she has to see it through, hopefully to a not guilty verdict. It doesn't hurt that the arresting officer is an abusive ex and she would love to get one over on him for once. Unfortunately, that abusive ex has the same thing in mind for her. As Riley juggles justice for both sides of the courtroom she also finds herself with a couple of extra balls in the air due to her personal life. She's so tired, so very tired, but needs to see it all through to the end.

I really liked this story and I really like Detective Riley. Redmond has crafted a character, I'm assuming in a somewhat biographical vein, that is relatable, flawed, smart, and edgy. Redmond's 22 years as a police officer lend credibility to the procedures and processes in this story. She exposes the humanity of law enforcement instead of placing them on a pedestal they are certain to fall off of.

I loved Lisa Marie Redmond’s title “A Cold Day in Hell”. She did a great job creating characters centered around a thrilling mystery that kept me guessing with every page turn! Loved it!

I love a good cold case mystery. I enjoyed this book and had to see how it ended. This is the first book that I have read by this author

I read this quite some time ago, but I can still remember it which shows that it's a great book! A great cold case story, and a strong female lead, I liked Lauren and I enjoyed this a lot.

I tried with this book, but perhaps it's because I work in criminal defense, in Buffalo, that I had too much trouble suspending disbelief to make this work for me. It's alright but that's about it.

What a terrific debut book! The story was an addictive read as we follow Lauren Riley who is a very complicated and diverse character as she becomes entrenched in the case of an eighteen year old boy, David Spencer the godson of Lauren's supposed enemy, Frank Violanti, who is David's godfather.

The strength of the book lies in the development of the character, Lauren, whose personal life has been somewhat of a mess. The complex story line is made all the better by the fine writing of Ms Redmond.

Recommended to those who enjoy a police procedural.

Great story by Lissa Marie Redmond. Really fabulous story, that kept me turning the pages!! A thrilling plot, and characters.

Really enjoyed this one. It was a well written police/ legal thriller! The characters were engaging and I couldn’t stop turning the pages to find out what happens. I will definitely be reading the next two in this trilogy.

4 stars from me

I really enjoyed A Cold Day in Hell, I don't think I've read anything by Lisa Marie Redmond before so it feels extra special to have found another author whose work I would like to follow.

Lauren and her partner Reese make for a great team and I enjoyed their relationship throughout the book. The moral conflict hovering just beneath the surface virtually the whole way through was excellent and there were many occasions where I found myself wondering what I would do in Lauren's situation.

I'm a sucker for a cold case (love New Tricks and Silent Witness etc) and I will definitely be looking out for more books by Lissa Marie Redmond.

The 'men can't resist Lauren' thing I found a little bit unnecessary... Maybe it was just overegged a little?

Synopsis: Lauren Riley is an accomplished detective who has always been on the opposite side of the courtroom from her nemesis, slick defense attorney Frank Violanti. But now he's begging to hire her as a private investigator to help clear his client of murder. At first Lauren refuses, wanting nothing to do with the media circus surrounding that case—until she meets the eighteen-year-old suspect.

To keep an innocent teen from life in prison, Lauren must unravel the conflicting evidence and changing stories to get at the buried facts. But the more she digs, the more she discovers that nothing is what it first appears to be. As Lauren puts her career and life in danger, doubt starts to lurk on every corner . . . and so does her stalker.

When cold case homicide detective Lauren Riley is on the case, she digs into the facts to solve murders no one has been able to solve in years. And she’s good at her job.

Always on the opposite side of a case from defense attorney Frank Violanti, she turns down his overtures to act as a private investigator for him. The case he wants her to work will be a media circus, and Lauren neither wants nor needs that kind of publicity. But Frank convinces her he needs her help to prevent a teen accused of a terrible crime from spending his life in prison. She accedes and starts to dig. But is everything what it seems to be?

Lauren’s past complicates her life, even as the case becomes more challenging. Will she be able to figure out who the real murderer is before time runs out in this courtroom drama?

Author Lissa Marie Redmond is a retired cop who brings authenticity and reality to this gritty crime novel.

A great, well paced debut crime novel. It is wel paced and has the perfect length — it’s not a novel that drags throughout. It’s well written and the character development is really good. I’d recommend to those readers who love police procedural novels.

This is a cold case procedural with a bit of courtroom thrown in. As the first in the series we have some scene setting and a lot of introductions of characters who will be around for a while.

Anyone who reads a lot of this kind of book will recognize similarities with another famous book that has been made into a movie. This lowered my rating.

But I think that cold case stories are particularly interesting and I think many people will like this book.

I could not put this book down. Had me hooked from the first chapter to the last. I loved the court and drama and working cold cases and this book has it all rolled up in one. This is the first book I have read by this author but will not be the last. Very well written and kept me wanting more.

I received this book for free from #netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a crime debut novel. I don't normally do a lot of crime novels but the story of this book intrigued me so I had to request it. It is a very fast pace read. It kept me intrigued from one page to another. It was a very fast read.

We follow the story of a mother that works closely with the police and investigators on cold cases.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

A Cold Day in Hell: A Cold Case Investigation (book 1)
By Lissa Marie Redmond

February 2018

I received this digital ARC from Midnight Ink via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Lauren Riley is a cold case detective working with her partner Reese. Divorced with a daughter away at Penn State, she takes on cases as a private investigator on the side. She likes to keep busy to avoid seeing her ex husband, Mark.

Her life becomes more complicated when she takes on a case for an attorney Violanti with whom she has been adversaries on many cases. She also learns that a prior relationship with another player in this high profile case will provide unexpected chaos in her life. Lauren ends up seeking assistance from unlikely sources to assist her investigation. She soon discovers there is far more to the story than once believed.

The story was well-written with clear intention for a sequel. The cast were nicely displayed with just enough story to provide a glimpse into their character. While there appears to be two story lines being told, it’s clear that one overshadowed the other. It was interesting to see how the characters developed with hints of what may lie ahead for them.

Overall, the cold case the detectives solved seemed secondary to the active investigation that was being conducted on the side.

LAUREN’S JOB AS A COLD CASE HOMICIDE DETECTIVE IS HER LIFE. AND LIFE JUST GOT COMPLICATED.
LAUREN RILEY IS AN ACCOMPLISHED DETECTIVE WHO HAS ALWAYS BEEN ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE COURTROOM FROM SLICK DEFENSE ATTORNEY FRANK VIOLANTI. BUT NOW HE’S BEGGING TO HIRE HER AS A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR TO HELP CLEAR HIS CLIENT OF MURDER. AT FIRST LAUREN REFUSES, WANTING NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MEDIA CIRCUS SURROUNDING THE CASE―UNTIL SHE MEETS THE EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD SUSPECT.
TO KEEP AN INNOCENT TEEN FROM LIFE IN PRISON, LAUREN MUST UNRAVEL THE CONFLICTING EVIDENCE AND CHANGING STORIES TO GET AT THE BURIED FACTS. BUT THE MORE SHE DIGS, THE MORE SHE DISCOVERS THAT NOTHING IS WHAT IT FIRST APPEARS TO BE. AS LAUREN PUTS HER CAREER AND LIFE IN DANGER, DOUBT LURKS ON EVERY CORNER . . . AND SO DOES HER STALKER.
A perfectly paced and intensely satisfying story!! With a suspense building plot and a mysterious cast of characters, Lissa keeps you guessing until the very end! As a matter of fact, I thought I figured it out… until the LAST PAGE!! Nicely done!

We immediately became connected to the characters and felt drawn to Lauren and Reece right away. Lissa did a great job casting certain characters as seemingly innocent or guilty. We changed our minds several times throughout the story as to who might have been guilty. We love a story that throws in a surprise ending and brings all of the events of the story together! Loved it!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ highly recommend

This debut novel was such an agreeable surprise. I enjoy a lot cold case stories, so i was looking forward to discovering this one and although it was not exactly what i expected, it still turned out to be interesting.

Lauren Riley, a cold case detective, found herself working as a private investigator for her sworn enemy defence attorney Frank Violanti in a rather sensational case. His godson, an 18 years old boy, accused of raping and murdering Katherine Vine, a married woman and a mother of two.
Riley's life got more complicated with her abusive ex-boyfriend working on the prosecution side, her handsome and still charming ex-husband on the defense side and two cold cases suddenly turning hot.

I liked following these different investigations from the perspective of the different players, it was kind of presenting the various sides of law in one case. The trial part of the story was the most intesresting for me and how it affected everyone differently. The end was amazing, and although i started suspecting something of the sort halfway through, still i loved it. It made this whole book seem like just the prologue for what is coming next.
The characters were an interesting mix; i admit i didn't really like Lauren Riley that much but i enjoyed the dynamic of her relationship with her partner in the cold case department.

My only problem with this book is that for a book supposedly about cold case investigations, it dealt much more with Riley's work as a private investigator on the current case of the murder than on investigating cold cases. In the course of the story, three different cold cases were mentioned briefly, but i was hoping for a more elaborated investigation. I hope this would change in the next books of the series.

Very accomplished and enjoyable first novel. Not surprised to find that the author is a recently retired homicide detective as both the plot and the characters had an air of verisimilitude from the outset. The main protagonists are well drawn, rounded characters and our heroine has a winning combination of drive and determination but , fortunately, a certain vulnerability.
The whole book is well put together and although the surprise ending came as no great surprise to me it did not detract from a very enjoyable read. Highly recommended.

WOW! Talk about twisty and turning through a plot to get to the beginning of the end. This is a great book and will give a serious insight into this main character of Riley, a cold case detective and PI on the side, and the surrounding characters.

When Lauren Riley is asked by her arch rival, Frank Violante, to come over and work for him in this one case she couldn't be more surprised. When she meets the client her instinct is telling her he's innocent. But will it stay that way? Can they really keep a truce especially when it will make an stink with DA's office? And put her right back in the cross hairs of her abusive ex?

You'll have to read to find out! I did and it was really good.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.