Sadly this book just was not for me. This sat on my kindle for quite some time - twice I have attempted to read and twice I did not finish.

Thankyou for the opportunity but I will not be providing feedback on any commercial sites for this book.

I would especially like to thank Crooked Lane Books and the Netgalley website for allowing me to read this book.

It all begins when a teenage girl brutally kills herself on icy Lake Maria. But this murder quickly turns into a medical transaction with high stakes and heartbreaking consequences.

Eight years earlier, Nicole was fleeing her job as a homicide detective in Denver in an attempt to save her son and herself. After answering a recruitment ad, she is elected sheriff six years later. Except that the famous Benjamin Kris reappears in her life.

He is her son's father, and he is waiting for a large payment and may well be the ideal suspect in her investigation.

A book read in one sitting, so much so that I was hooked on the story, so gripping, addictive, captivating, full of suspense and twists and turns and endearing characters.

In this new series, we meet the first female sheriff of Toole Co. in Montana, Nicole Cobain. After making a name for herself as a police detective in Denver, Nicole decided to take her son and move to a small town for a slower pace and to get away from her son's father, an abusive criminal named Benjamin. As Nicole and her team are investigating the murder of a young girl, Benjamin shows up with the intention of making Nicole suffer for everything she did to him. The many twists and turns of the mystery keep you guessing, and the suspense will have your heart racing. It's a good start to the series, and I look forward to seeing what comes next for Nicole.

A good police procedural where the investigation was led by the Sheriff in a Montana Resort town. A teenage girl was found murdered and it would take all their combined efforts to ID her. Many suspects and few good twists did add to the plot. Nicole and her team worked hard. But the characters seemed a bit shallow, but I didn't mind that as I just wanted to get to the killer. Maybe the next book would be far spicier.

Cold To The Bone by Emery Hayes

The brutal murder of a teenager and a deadly medical drama plunge a small town sheriff into a dilemma of treachery and greed in this novel. First female sheriff of Toole County, Nicole Cobain, earned the position through mental and physical grit and is tested when a young girl is found murdered in Lake Maria.

This book was divided into two. Solving the murder and keeping the sheriff’s ex from, harming her soon. The plot was good although most of the characters were unfriendly. It had a very strong ending.

Thank you Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for review.

This was a very good “whodunit” with several possible suspects. The plot was very well written with lots of action. Nicole is a very strong character and I look forward to reading more about her.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

As a fan of female detective books, Cold to the Bone is right up my alley. Set in a small Montana town with a low crime rate- a murder wasn't something expected. A dead teenage girl and the search for her killer sets Cold to the Bone on a path to find out who and why was this 14 year old girl murdered. The pace was good, the case intriguing and suspenseful. I can't wait for more in this new series

FIrst in a new series about Sheriff Nicole Cobain, a former Chicago detective who left her old life for a small Montana town, Cold to the Bone starts with the discovery of a murdered young girl on a frozen lake. The battle to preserve evidence in the icy cold is Nicole’s first challenge, and then she must deal with the girl’s family, wealthy tourists who don’t seem to want Nicole to actually find the murderer.

This is one of those stories that gets really complicated, really quickly. A figure from Nicole’s past has actually started off the whole chain of events, but this doesn’t become apparent until much later; it looks from the beginning that there are two different things happening. It’s a biotech thriller and a domestic violence thriller rolled into one, and I actually really enjoyed the way the author slowly but inexorably pulled the two apparently disparate threads together.

Nicole is an intriguing character; a single mother, she’s revealed at the beginning of the book to have some sort of romantic relationship with a physician/ME, but he never appears again in the story, which I found a bit disappointing. I actually wondered if it was a later book in a series from the background given of the relationship, but I think it would have been better to start it off with the two of them just striking sparks and to have the ME appear later on, more than once, to start a progression towards a romantic relationship… if that’s where the author wants to take things. It surprised me he wasn’t in the book more, actually; I would have thought Nicole might have wanted to consult him on some of the fairly dense medical terminology which came up later on. Now I’m not saying a lady sheriff might not understand such terminology, but it seemed like a waste of a character with a specialty that could have been useful, AND should have been present for a romance arc which had already been hinted at.

I liked this; it felt very realistic in the ruthless portrayals of Big Pharma and the characters were well-drawn in. Nicole’s uber-competent and an excellent heroine, but did get slightly robbed at the end of the story when someone else got to play saviour; I thought she deserved more than just to be a witness at the climax. A good story but fell down a little bit in the end and in the failure of the author to properly explore a romantic interest introduced early and then dropped. Four stars, and I would like to read more in the series.

Could not get into this. It's a weird pace and the characters are wooden. Nothing really gripped me.

The premise of this book really intrigued me and others who like female-led detective series may want to give this a try. I felt the pacing was off and just couldn't get into it; I didn't end up finishing it.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Emery Hayes has laid the foundation of her new series with a character you will cheer for. The writing is stellar. It starts out with a bang and the action just keeps ramping up until the explosive end. Can't wait for book two if this is an indication of what is in store. Absolutely a must read. Happy reading!

Nicole Cobain is the first ever sheriff in a Montana resort town. Most people visit for the skiing. Crime is usually minor ... but not today.

A teenage girl is found in an icy lake ... murdered. Much searching locates a purse with her identification... but no one has reported her missing. She has parents, an older brother, an younger sisters ... yet no one seemed to be concerned that she did not come home.

Nicole and her team are diligent and resourceful. Learning that the girl's father is an Oncologist leads them in a whole new direction.

A side story is that of Benjamin, father of Nicole's son. Nicole distanced herself to get away from him and raise her son in a smaller, quieter, safer town. But Benjamin has found her. He says he has changed his ways ... but has he?

Benjamin is only one suspect ... the girl's father and brother are also suspect ... an older 'boyfriend' that no one knew anything about .... business partners of her father .... or maybe it was someone unknown ... a random killing.

The procedural portion of this intricate plot is well written. Character development was okay, but I hope that improves with the next book. There's lots of action and twists and turns along the way. Suspects are many and varied, making it a little more difficult to pick out the bad guy until the surprising ending.

Many thanks to the author / Crooked Lane Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

When a young girl is found murdered, her death opens up a major case for Sheriff Nicole Cobain. After leaving Denver, with her young son, Nicole has risen through the ranks to become the sheriff. Nicole questions the girl’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. Esparza, and knows that they are hiding something about their daughters’ death. Dr. Esparza has been working on a new drug that may change the world. Was this the reason his daughter was killed? And if so, why? In addition to the investigation, Nicole is concerned with the sudden appearance of the father of her son. With his past history of selling drugs, he must be involved somehow. I enjoy a police procedural story, especially with a female law enforcement lead, but the extensive amount of dialog in the questioning of the family seemed to slow the story down. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

Why didn't 14 year old Beatrice's family report her missing? She's found in the snow on Christmas Day. Turns out, her father was using her as a test subject for what he hopes will be a cure for cancer. Sheriff Nicole Cobain, who left Denver and moved to Montana to escape her ex, finds she's got a mess on her hands. Especially when the ex- Bemjamin- shows up. He was a low level drug dealer but now he's somehow moved into brokering deals for big pharma. Nicole's worked hard to hide her past (and keep her son safe) so his appearance now (or anytime) is most unwelcome. This combines some familiar themes with a good lead character in Nicole. Hayes has a nice storytelling style. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I thought this was an entertaining read - it's a good start to a new series. It's a good police procedural with a strong female lead. Even though the story is a little farfetched, I thought it was well-written and very easy to read.

This first book in the Nicole Cobain series begins with the murder of a teenager who is vacationing in the Montana mountains. Sheriff Cobain is the first female sheriff but her big city experience in Denver makes her a good fit for the job. She left Denver in order to get away from a man and to raise her son in a safer environment.

However, the man she left has finally come to find her and he has revenge on his mind. Benjamin has improved himself from a low-level drug dealer to a broker in much more lucrative and high-powered deals. The victim's father is in negotiations to sell his important medical discovery in an auction which has drawn the attention of the biggest pharmaceutical companies. Some of them want his discovery in order to suppress it and others want it for personal reasons.

While Nicole and her officers are trying to discover who murdered Beatrice Esparza and discovering quite a few suspects, Benjamin is getting closer and closer to making his dreams of revenge come true.

The story was tense and fast-paced. I liked that Nicole had something of a questionable background herself. I liked the interesting connections between the various drug companies and all the politics around a discovery that could change medicine.

Fans of medical thrillers would be a good audience for this one.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this exciting new book

i love a story that has snow in it...and i wasnt disappointed...this is about a village somewhere in america with snow and skiing and family resort

but a young girl is found dead...murdered in the snow by the lake amongst the trees..on christmas day....
her family dont report her missing ....

and so the investigation begins...

there is also another story with the sheriff and her son which hints at domestic violence and child abuse

on the whole though this story i found to be very interesting and kept my attention right to the end...and i will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors works

The first book in a new series introduces us to the main characters and shares their background, setting up the basis for a continuing story. Emery Hayes has introduced us to a strong lead character. A young mother who has settled into a community, becoming the sheriff, only to have her son's abusive father come to complicate their lives. The death of a teenager serves as the main focus in the Cold to the Bone story. As our young sheriff works through clues to solve the girl's death, she will face criminal activities from unexpected sources that will test her skills while protecting her son from the danger of too much contact with his father. A great start to what I hope will be a long series.

I will not be reviewing this book. I could not get into it. I really tried.
I will not be reviewing this book. I could not get into it. I really tried.
I will not be reviewing this book. I could not get into it. I really tried.
I will not be reviewing this book. I could not get into it. I really tried.
I will not be reviewing this book. I could not get into it. I really tried.

This was the first book in a new series featuring the first female sheriff of Toole County, Montana Nicole Cobain. She has to investigate the murder of a young girl and soon nothing is as it seems. Recommended.
TB