DI John Barton is just being released from hospital at the start of this, the third in the series set in Peterborough. He suffered injuries at the hands of The Soul Killer but after a further six weeks recovery at home he is raring to go, and his first task is to assume responsibility as acting DCI to cover DCI Cox's maternity leave. His two loyal sergeants, DS Zander and DS Strange, may have to step up a bit sooner than expected. It’s straight down to business with a sad case of an ex-serviceman who has struggled to cope, abandoned by his wife and who is now holding a post worker hostage in an effort to avoid eviction. Once again Barton’s common sense attitude and empathy with people gives a quick and calm solution to the problem. Following hot on the heels of this is the discovery of three bodies in a squalid house. Pathologist Mortis (what a great nickname!) states that they died around three days previously and Crime Scene Manager Sirena has a forensics nightmare on her hands to sift through the rubbish to find evidence for Barton to follow. The men are all identified and have been stabbed or bludgeoned to death.
The story told from two sides. One is by Ellen, The Ice Killer as she becomes, and the other is an account of DI (acting DCI) Barton and his team’s movements and investigations. 
Ellen is already a very damaged person with only one close friend, Scarlett whom she has known since school. She has been badly abused by various men in the past, has mental health problems and has done a lot of things she regrets. Feeling lonely but good about herself when she receives a random act of kindness, she runs into a former boyfriend and his two friends. She soon realises just how unsavoury they still are. Waking broken and bloody in the morning after a horrific attack, something in Ellen snaps and she resolves that she will no longer be a victim. This is going to be the turning point for her. These three men become the first to pay. She spends the next few days terrified that the police will come for her but in fact it is three days before the bodies are even discovered. In such a pigsty of a crime scene, it is hard for the detectives to even know what has happened and whether they are looking for a separate killer or not. Then Ellen receives an unexpected visitor who literally turns upside down everything she thought she knew about her past and herself, and will definitely colour her future. Dark times are to come.
I love the way we see the story unfolding from both sides. It is always interesting being better informed than the detectives, knowing the truth and waiting to see if they can make all the connections themselves. They are a great team, with an undoubted closeness and loyalty which supersedes ambition and personal glory. It is nice to see a lead detective with a pretty normal and happy life outside of work. All the characters are very well drawn, and although she is responsible for some terrible deeds, it was impossible not to have some degree of sympathy for Ellen and the life that had brought her to this point. This is an excellent story, a little slow to start but full of twists and shocks once it gets up to speed and I found it very hard to put down until I reached the brilliant and quite inspired ending! It is such great news also that this is not to be last in the series. I am already looking forward to number four. 5*

DI Barton is dealing with his hardest case to date. After being temporarily promoted to DCI, he's finding it hard to stay at his desk when there's nothing more he wants than to be out on the streets again. He may come to regret those thoughts.

Ellen Toole is a woman literally on the edge. Suffering from mental illness, she has just lost her mother, discovered her mother and older sister have been lying to her about her father who's been missing from her life since she was a young age.

It starts with a kidnapping, followed by two dead bodies ... then 3 more dead bodies .... There's a murderer on the loose ... how many more will die before being stopped?

This is DI Barton's last act .... no more books to follow that feature Barton and his team. This was an intricate plot filled with well-known characters, unless you're new to the series. I enjoyed the mix of personal and professional of the team. There are some shockers along the way ... a few twists and turns ... and a surprising conclusion.

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

Strong conclusion to the DI Barton trilogy.. As in the past books this book rotates chapters between the viewpoint of the killer and the police. This killer is interesting and they bring in a lot about mental  health issues. Despite being a killer you might even find sympathy for the Ice Killer.

Enjoyable read
I was given a copy from Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

'The Ice Killer' is the third book in Ross Greenwood’s DI Barton trilogy. Even though it is possible to read this as a standalone novel, I recommend reading book one, 'The Snow Killer', and book two, 'The Soul Killer', in the correct order. This will help with understanding the different characters within the investigation team.

Following on from where 'The Soul Killer' ends, DI Barton is now acting as a DCI. This changes the dynamics of the team and allows some of the other characters to take on more significant roles. In this instalment, they face their most difficult case so far.

In the same style as in the previous two novels, the reader follows the viewpoints of Acting DCI Barton and The Ice Killer. We learn more about the personal lives of the detectives as they deal with the twists and turns in the investigation.

Ellen’s point of view is told through a first-person narrative which provides an insight into her motives. It also adds to the tension as the reader is left questioning how Acting DCI Barton and the team are ever going to catch the perpetrator.

This book delves into police procedures and the criminal justice system in a way that highlights how complicated some investigations can be. 'The Ice Killer' certainly does not fit into the category of ‘cosy crime’. It has a hard-hitting plot in which Ross Greenwood explores complex themes that merge together as the investigation races towards the dramatic conclusion.

If you are a fan of the first two books in the trilogy, I recommend reading this final instalment.

This was such a great read, enjoyed it thoroughly, i was hooked from the first page, great storyline and loads of twists and turns , highly recommend this book x

There I was thinking this was going to be the last book in a trilogy. Until the author signs a contract for another two books…woo hoo. I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am about this.

I have read all of the authors books This series is definitely the best.

The story starts off slowly has the author draws you in to the mind of The Ice Killer which is told from first person. Building the character up.

Then alternates between the characters. An Ice Killer with a dark and twisted mind. When we learn why, has the story unfolds. The book explores mental health issues and you cannot help but sympathise with Ellen. The characterisation is brilliant and of course plenty of dark humour. The banter is brilliant.

The Ice Killer is a gripping read with each chapter leaving you wanting more. Just one more chapter I kept telling myself and before I knew it I had devoured it. The Ice Killer is a well written clever story. Which I highly recommend. Fans of SweetPea by C.J. Skuse will love this book.

Thank you to Bold wood for a copy and to Rachel Gilby for the blog tour invite.

This is the third book in the DI Barton series. There are hints of the previous books noted throughout but I found that I was able to read it without reading the first two.

DI Barton is still recovering from his last case when he becomes the acting DCI and a triple homicide is called in. After seeing the carnage of the murder scene, it is thought that no one person could do it: however, evidence points to only one suspect.
 
Ellen is a victim. A victim of abuse, drugs, and the mental health system. Her mother kept her on her meds, and on the straight narrow path, but when her mother dies, Ellen begins to become unhinged.  What makes someone a murder? Are they victims of crimes themselves? Are they trying to protect themselves? Are they predisposed to becoming a killer?

Told from the POV of the Ice Killer and DI Barton, the story was slow-moving but did have parts where I could not put it down. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Ross Greenwood and Boldwood Books for allowing me to read this ARC.

The Ice Killer was a brilliant, page turning read! I have not read the previous books in the DI Barton series and truth be told I fit right into the characters and felt that the back stories was enough to keep me in the loop.

DI John Barton has been recovering from an injury from the previous book, and it isn’t long before he is thrust back into a new position of acting DCI to cover maternity leave and also help his inspectors become more independent in their roles.

When a triple homicide of three drug addicts is discovered Barton finds it hard to stick with the desk job for too long and soon he is in the fray doing both jobs! I loved watching it all unfold as the police and Barton piece the puzzle together and link everything to our killer.

This was a 5 star read for me and I am definitely going to check out more from Ross Greenwood

I  didn't realise this was the last in a series. It was not a book where if you miss the rest in a series you can catch up easily. I requested it because of the title and suspense.And because, although I have seen some TV programmes with police procedurals and enjoyed those, I don't have too many from this genre and I wanted to try a new genre. 

It had enough suspense in some parts but not in others. I'm not sure yet if I would like to complete the series.

Thanks to Ross Greenwood, Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. 

3.5 stars.

‘The Ice Killer’ is the third book in the series featuring Detective Inspector Barton.  I read and loved reading the first two books in the series, so I had huge hopes for ‘The Ice Killer’.  I wasn’t to be disappointed either because I flipping well loved reading ‘The Ice Killer’ but more about that in a bit.
What can I say about Detective Inspector Andrew Barton?  Well for a start, ‘The Ice Killer’ sees him being promoted to the rank of Detective Chief Inspector, as his current DCI goes on maternity leave as the story begins.  I really liked Barton and I took to him from the start.  In fact it didn’t take me long to feel as though I had reunited with old friends in Barton and his team.  Barton leads from the front and he doesn’t ask anybody to do anything that he wouldn’t be willing to do himself.  Barton certainly takes on his share of the workload.  Barton seems to have a settled personal life, which I find rare with fictional lead male detectives.  Barton was injured in the line of duty, whilst he was investigating another case and ‘The Ice Killer’ sees his return to work.  I love the relationship that Barton seems to have with his team.  For the most part they are like family with Barton being the ‘father’ of the group.   
Oh my flipping word, I was drawn to this book from the striking cover alone.  The synopsis grabbed my attention and the story between the covers of the book sealed the deal as it were.  I found reading ‘The Ice Killer’ to be hugely addictive and I was extremely reluctant to put this book down at all.  I became so wrapped up in the story that I lost all track of time and just how quickly I was getting through the story.  The first time I looked up to check of my progress I was staggered to realise that I had read over a third of the book in one go.  From then on I seemed to fly through the rest of the book.  I reached the end of ‘The Ice Killer’ far quicker than I had anticipated and I had to bid farewell to Barton and his team.  I soon cheered up when I realised that it won’t be long until the next book in the series is released.
‘The Ice Killer’ is superbly written but then I have thought that to be true of the series in general.  Ross has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with.  He certainly knows how to start a story in a memorable way that instantly grabs your attention and then he draws you in.  Once Ross has your attention, he will not let you have it back until the moment you read the last word on the last page.  The story is told from two perspectives- that of The Ice Killer and that of DI Barton.  This way of telling the tale works really well and the story flows seamlessly as a result.  Reading ‘The Ice Killer’ was much like being on one hell of a fast paced, scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way.  I found ‘The Ice Killer’ to be a gripping read, which had me on the edge of my seat throughout.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Ice Killer’ and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers.  I will certainly be reading more from this author in the future.  The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Ross Greenwood’s DI Barton returns with another dark, gritty and gripping page-turner: The Ice Killer. Shocking, chilling and completely unputdownable, fans of Peter James and Mark Billingham will not want to miss this heart-pounding thriller.

Ellen has had extensive therapy in order to put her tumultuous past behind her. Her therapist has told her time and time again that she needs to move on with her life and not dwell on past shadows and old sins. Yet, Ellen’s mind involuntarily continues to remember memories she has tried her hardest to suppress. Ellen knows that she should concentrate on the here and now. But her new life is boring and sedate and as the long winter nights stretch endlessly ahead of her, the prospect of being all by herself terrifies her. Although she would love nothing more than to be happy and normal, she feels restless, alone and listless.

Protecting Ellen had been of paramount importance to her mother and she had gone to great lengths to protect her daughter. However, the truth will always find you regardless of how far you go to keep it hidden and when Ellen uncovers the secrets of the past, she is flabbergasted as it transpires that her history is even darker and more twisted than she had ever even considered. As she realises that her mother had lied to her all her life, Ellen strips away the distorted layers of her life and discovers that everything she thought she knew about herself is a vicious lie.

Ellen simply cannot move forward with her life if she is unable to separate truth from fiction. She needs to find answers to the questions that plague her. But her quest for the truth is going to take her down some dark and dangerous avenues where vengeance will be uppermost on her mind. Ellen’s quest to avenge the past brings her into proximity with DI Barton who finds himself entangled in a perplexing and terrifying case where the truth is shrouded in secrecy and mystery and all the witnesses are dead…

Can Barton solve the most challenging case of his career? Or will Ellen’s cruel vendetta end up putting paid to any hope he might have had of ensuring that justice is served?

Ross Greenwood’s crime novels featuring DI Barton exquisitely blend relentless suspense, shocking twists and turns and spine-tingling thrills and spills that keep readers on the edge of their seats from beginning to end. The Ice Killer is the latest nail-biting instalment in his series featuring DI Barton which will keep readers completely mesmerized and gripped until the final breath-taking twist.

A cracking crime thriller that made me jump out of my skin on plenty of occasions, Ross Greenwood’s The Ice Killer is not to be missed!

I really enjoyed this book. It grips you from the very beginning. I haven't read any others in the series but after reading this I have certainly downloaded the others. It can get quiet graphic in parts but I really enjoyed finding out about the killer and how her past has helped mould her into what she is today. And also how di Barton makes the progression to dci while helping his team to work on a murder inquiry. Really good crime novel. Loved it.

Acting DCI Barton is still recovering from his latest injury he received in his last case when the call comes in of three dead bodies. Three man in the same location yet killed in different ways leaves Barton and his team puzzling over the scenario. Then more bodies are found and the team must try to unravel the evidence they collect which seems at odds with the scenarios they are facing. What if anything links the victims and who is the mysterious person seen leaving the first scene. A woman seems to be the key to the deaths but who is she and what connects her to the mounting deaths.

Using the different POVs throughout the book added a depth and flavouring that i found compelling reading. Poor Ellen a woman with a haunted past whose voice we hear as the story unfolds and the third person POV that gives us the overview throughout. The two complement each other and help to keep the tension building right to the unveiling of the killer. Having read the previous books in the series i knew what to expect. Thrills, deaths and a case that will keep you enthralled and locked into the book. With characters that are believable and well written whose interactions have created a tight unit . A unit that works well together and looks after each other in the face of fear and adversity, a family . The book delivers a fast paced thriller with a few twists along the way to keep your interest . So put your feet up with a hot drink and inhale the book as i did.

The Ice Killer begins with our serial killer going on a date on Valentine’s Day. She has always been unlucky in love, but hopes this time it might be different. Her best friend, Scarlett Star, helps her to get ready. But after the date turns into another one night stand, our killer looks into her past to try and figure out where things went wrong.

Earlier this year I read (and loved) the first two books in this series, The Snow Killer and The Soul Killer. The Ice Killer kicks off where the previous book ended, and launches us straight back into the action. It certainly didn’t disappoint!

I really enjoy the writing style of this series. Half the book is written from the serial killer’s perspective and half from DI Barton’s. This made me really empathise with the killer. At one point, she says to her best friend Scarlett: “It’s crazy, but I kept thinking that once I sorted a man out, you know, got married, then the rest would come. I’d build my social life around us as a couple. With that mad thought in mind, I desperately threw myself into destructive relationships and ditched anyone who was boring, even if they were kind. I should have built my life around myself and my friends. Then the men could come to me. I’ve been a fool.” I felt huge sympathy for her and I’m sure this is a regret that many others can relate to.

DI Barton is also a great character and very easy to relate to. At the end of the previous book, his superior announced her maternity leave and Barton is promoted to cover her. Throughout the book, he struggles with this new role and the added responsibility, and whether he wants to take on the more desk-based management position. It’s also great to read the scenes between he and Holly, who have a loving, happy relationship.

This is an incredibly gripping story that’s full of suspense with excellent characters. I was hooked from start to finish! The themes around how vulnerable people fall through the cracks in the support system and how easy it is to fall into self-destructive behaviour without that support are brilliant and very well handled. I also love that Ross Greenwood is able to make you sympathise with a serial killer, with an ending that leaves mixed feelings. This is a book that will stick with me for a while, and I really hope that Ross will write further books in this series!

The Ice Killer is the final book in the DI John Barton trilogy. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two, and remembered DI Barton and his team in Peterborough with fondness. It was great to meet up with them again. 
This book can easily be read as a standalone, but the previous two are so good that I highly recommend starting at the beginning with The Snow Killer, and then reading The Soul Killer, before embarking on this one. All three are fast-paced, gripping crime thrillers, cram-packed with murders. 
DI Barton is a thoroughly decent policeman. He’s honest, supportive and dependable and, unusually perhaps for crime fiction, he’s in a committed, loving marriage. He is now acting DCI, but unsure if he’s comfortable in this new, admin-intensive role. He’s finding it difficult not to muck in and get his hands dirty, instead of delegating to his team. 
I loved the team’s banter and the humour. Even as Barton lies critically injured in hospital, Strange and Zander can’t help joking—making Barton laugh and gasp in agony.  
We know from early on who the Ice Killer is, and the story is told from that point of view as well as from that of Barton. We gradually learn about the killer’s past, and how this has shaped the person they’ve become. During the killing spree, both the reader and the killer learn even more about the latter’s horrific past. 
The killer is highly disturbed with little self-insight. Their emotions are also seriously off kilter:  “I know murder is wrong, but it’s like I don’t particularly feel that way.”
While I didn’t exactly empathise or sympathise  with the Ice Killer, I did feel that perhaps their actions were in some way inevitable, given their genes, history of abuse and recent traumatic events. The victims are not exactly pillars of society, either. 
All this meant I had very mixed feelings reading this book and wasn’t sure quite how I hoped it would all pan out. 
I can recommend this series if you enjoy your crime thrillers bursting with gruesome murders, troubled killers, a genuinely likeable bunch of police and fascinating investigations.

The Ice Killer by Ross Greenwood is the third book in a trilogy. I have been privileged enough to have read all three of these books and I have to say that in my opinion this book is the best yet! That is not to say the first two books aren't excellent at all, far from it! They are able to be read as standalones also  although, as always with a series you gain a fuller picture if you have read them all.
This story is told in alternating points of view of Ellen and DI Barton who has found himself  temporarily promotes to DCI due to DCI Cox, his boss being on maternity leave. He isn't altogether pleased with this as it means he is stuck behind his desk...not a favourite thing to do for him. He does decide to escape at times, along with Zander and Strange, who are the Bees Knees for want of a better description. 
As the story unfolds we learn about Ellen and, to be honest although this is slightly odd, I leaned a little towards feeling a bit sorry for her. She has spent her life being abused, used and thrown to the side like a dish rag. Even people with a solid mental health would get to a stage that they thought about exacting some kind of revenge but they would be able to understand it wasn't the right way to go about it. Someone who has mental health issues can find the lines blurring for them, especially if they suffer some sort of breakdown or (as I know well), stop taking their medications for one reason or another. The question I asked myself who is in the wrong here, me for feeling sorry for a murderer? Or Ellen for manipulating me? I know from previous experience how easy it is to be manipulated by someone with serious mental health issues. Do we blame the illness or the person? 
A story that gives us both perspectives that can cause your inner dialogue to start and not shut up, but a thrilling one that I couldn't put down again. Barton and the team are on the case and we, again see a bit of the lighter side with Bartons home life popping in too. I enjoy getting to see both sides of Barton and revel in his teams investigations everytime.
With thanks to Rachels.'s Random Resources, NetGalley, and Boldwood Books for my copy of the book for my review today.

This book was interesting. I have not read the other books in this series. I did not feel lost at all because I didn't read them. I did like how the book went back and forth between DI Barton and The Ice Killer. This book does shed a light on how we treat mental health cases. I did agree with what happens at the end with The Ice Killer. This book isn't a who-done-it but it's still interesting to follow both the killer and the DI to get to the end of this who mess.

*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily giving my honest opinion*

It’s a rare police procedural which finds me rooting for the killer to get away with their crimes, but The Ice Killer definitely got close. I think it’s partly because half the book is told in the first person perspective of Ellen, who by the end of the story has killed at least seven men… all of whom had it coming. Three gang rapists, two drug dealers, one child molester and a police officer with a penchant for domestic violence against his girlfriends? None of them were much of a loss to society.

Acting DCI John Barton is the (third-person) protagonist of the other side of the story, as he tries to figure out just who is on a murderous rampage through Peterborough, and why. Surely, a woman couldn’t have done all this. DNA shows there was definitely one present… but was she alone?

Ellen is a sociopath, and there are some interesting questions asked here about whether certain mental conditions are more likely to be inherited, as he father was also a killer who could become dangerous when off his psychoactive medication. Ellen has had a difficult life; child of a single-parent family, her mother was agoraphobic and Ellen displayed mental instabilities from an early age. There’s a subtle indictment of the failure of the UK authorities to provide any meaningful help or regulation to those with serious mental illnesses, particularly to a child who should have been diagnosed much earlier than she was. Instead, Ellen falls through the cracks and in with a bad crowd, ending up being sexually abused, hooked on drugs and pimped out by her dealer before she spends some time in a psychiatric hospital getting the help she needs.

Now years later, Ellen is trying to live a relatively normal life, working in a call centre and wistfully trying to date, looking for love in all the wrong places. Her mother passes away suddenly, and it’s not until later in the story that I realised that was actually the catalyst for disaster, because it was Ellen’s mother who reminded her daily to take her medications, the meds which kept Bad Ellen under wraps.

As I noted before, it’s an unusual tactic for a police procedural to give us a first-person perspective of a sympathetic protagonist. Honestly, I was way more invested in Ellen’s story than in Barton’s; he was just… a bit of a dull plod in comparison. I found myself rushing through his parts of the story because I wanted to get back into Ellen’s head and figure out what the heck she was going to do next. Which is not, I think, ideal when Barton is supposedly the title character of the entire series.

Overall a strong and rather unique story; I’ll give it four stars.

It’s unlike me to force myself to stay awake to finish a book but it was definitely worth it. This book follows on from book 2 The Soul Killer with DI Barton coming out of hospital after his injuries. It then delves into numerous murders and an investigation with the original team. I absolutely love this series and getting to know the police squad more. Strange and zanders friendship progresses in this story and I hope it leads to a romance. But also there is so many things happening it just keeps you reading and wanting to know more. I would definitely watch this if the series got made into a tv show.

Having thoroughly enjoyed the second book in Ross Greenwood's D.I. Barton trilogy, The Soul Killer I've been looking forward to reading The Ice Killer. I haven't yet managed to read the first novel, The Snow Killer but this does at least mean that I'm able to confirm that it is possible to read each book as separate standalones - although as always with a series, returning readers will appreciate the development of the recurring characters.
While much of the novel follows D.I. John Barton, there are many chapters which are told from Ellen's perspective and I can honestly say I'm not sure I've ever come across a more complex, morally ambiguous character. At first she appears to be a rather timid, downtrodden woman but after drunken night out ends horrifically we see a different side to her. It gradually transpires that she has a dark history but even she doesn't seem to know quite what she is capable of.
Barton and his team are called out to a strange triple murder but though the men obviously died violently, the evidence isn't initially clear enough for the police to determine whether somebody else was involved. As the body count in Peterborough rises, Barton becomes convinced that the deaths are somehow linked, but he is also trying to learn the ropes in his new position as Acting D.C.I. and is torn between supporting his officers at the scene or trusting them enough to do the job he knows they are capable of, while he remains at his desk. It's a fine line for him to tread and I enjoyed following his thought processes as he weighs up the pros and cons of his possible promotion.
The Ice Killer puts readers in the position of knowing exactly how each murder happens and why but that's not to say there aren't any surprises. Some of the shocks come from the suddenness of the attacks inflicted on the victims - I won't say unfortunate because these are not innocent men and though their deaths are crimes, it is hard to feel too much sorrow for them. Ellen, however, is a far more intriguing character. As we learn about her mental health issues and her troubled life, it's impossible not to feel some empathy for her. That said, her cold, detached demeanour is often utterly chilling and although she is a conflicted figure, there is no doubt as to how dangerous she really is.
While it's inevitable that Barton will eventually piece this gruesome jigsaw together and realise who is responsible for the outbreak of deaths in the city, it's not at all obvious how the unpredictable Ellen will respond to the tightening net around her. By the end of the novel, it's hard to imagine that this intelligent, cunning killer is the same woman we met at the start but I always believed in the transformation and actually found myself unable to fully condemn her despite everything that occurs here.
This is a dark, often violent novel that doesn't flinch from exploring the very worst of human behaviour but it's written with a perceptive acknowledgment of the often sad reality that many of those who end up facing prison sentences often have mental health issues and have been let down by a system which frequently is only able to paper over the cracks. Although undoubtedly not cosy crime, much of the dialogue is refreshingly light-hearted and I enjoyed the clear distinction between the third person chapters following Barton and his team and Ellen's more conversational first person narrative.
The Ice Killer is an addictive thriller with a well-paced rollercoaster of a plot and excellent characterisation. Though currently the final book in the D.I. Barton series, I'm sure I won't be the only reader crossing my fingers for more please!