I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

I love a psychological thriller that features a villainous lead, and STONE COLD FOX delivered that and more!

Bea works as an executive at an advertising agency in NYC. Bea is beautiful, wealthy, and talented—but she isn’t doing all of this work to rise the corporate ranks… She is putting in the work to make herself a desirable trophy wife for a rich husband. Bea feels that the way to obtain financial security for life is to find her way into the generational wealth that only a select few families have.

Bea learned the art of the swindle from her own mother, but she has risen far above her mother’s skills. She has firmly closed the door on her past and moved on to bigger and better things. Which is when she meets the dull but nice Colin Case. Colin is that old blue-blooded wasp-y money that Bea dreams of. He’s the perfect target to become her husband.

Bea may be an expert in deception and have her hooks in Colin, but she may have met her match with Colin’s best friend from childhood, Gale. Gale is in love with Colin and she has her sights set on exposing Bea. Will Bea be able to keep her past buried and get the life she always wanted, or will Gale expose her for the fraud she is?

Narrated entirely from Bea’s perspective, it’s hard not to secretly root for her though she isn’t exactly a beacon of morality. The more we learn about Bea’s past, the more complicated our feelings about her become. She has a really sad backstory that made me empathize with her. At the same time, it’s hard to truly feel badly for Colin’s family and social circle. These people will never understand what it means to barely be able to afford to survive. If they knew who Bea was, they would snub her. As a result, it’s hard to not feel at times that they deserve a small comeuppance served to them by the wily Bea.

Absorbing and fun!

This book made me root for our anti-villain character. Bea is an intelligent gold digger who knows how to play men and loves to compete. It was a joy to read. I did feel sorry for her. Her mother shaped her so that Bea's whole life and mind were used to lure men. She could have ruled the world if she wanted to. Still enjoyable to read about her playing with rich people. After all, eat the rich.

My big problem with the book is that there were flashbacks to her childhood. I feel that there was no need for parts to cut away from the exciting present-day to the past. The writer could have found other ways to weave what the reader needs to know from the past into the present-day text.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

Bea is a woman who knows what she wants… and she wants to marry rich. She has set her sights on Colin, but she needs to win over his family and best friend, Gale.

Stone Cold Fox is told from Bea’s point of view. She is a sexy, manipulative con artist. Her mother was also a con artist, so it’s the only life Bea has ever known. Bea thinks maybe she can change her ways when she meets Colin. Unfortunately, winning over Colin’s family and friends, especially his best friend, is more challenging than Bea was expecting.

A wickedly devious read with characters that are fun to hate. This was a debut novel, and I look forward to reading more by this author.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This deliciously dark and funny story about Bea, who is determined to break from her past and break into the life she deserves, is square in my wheelhouse. Bea’s inner monologue is everything — wicked, funny and darkly humorous. She’s my kind of main character energy!

Raised by the queen of the con, Bea spent her childhood moving from place to place as her mom targeted one man after another. And she was always happy to use Bea as bit of bait, and to cut her down to keep her in line.

Now free from her mom, Bea knows she’s destined for way more — and she knows exactly where to find it.

Collin Case is heir to an uber wealthy Manhattan family & while earning his affection is easy, getting his family’s approval is the hard part. But Bea’s biggest challenge lies in Gale, Collin’s childhood best friend who is nothing short of suspicious of Bea. And she’ll stop at nothing to prove to Collin that Bea is not who she pretends to be.

I loved this book so much and Bea's voice is so on point. She reminds me of Chloe from Never Saw Me Coming and Paloma in My Sweet Girl. Fantastic read and I'll have my eyes out for more from this author in the future!

Great character development. I enjoy books with unlikeable characters and this book delivered! I could not put the book down because I needed to know what happened next.

A highly entertaining character study of a very twisted woman who is striving to make something of her life. The character development is intense and the plot interesting. For fans of Samantha Downing.

Read if you liked: The Lies I Tell or Cover Story

Bea knows what she’s worth and she’s determined to get what she deserves – and she knows that she will stop at nothing until she’s gotten it. When she begins dating Collin, she know its time to pull out all the tricks to get his family's approval.But his childhood friend Gale seems to see right through Bea’s act. They go toe to toe in a game of cat and mouse as the truth of Bea’s past threatens to come out. But can she prove herself before it's too late?

Stone Cold Fox is an absolute knockout of a debut – from the cover to the last page, I loved it all! This book has a little bit of everything - rich people behaving badly, snarky manipulation, and a good ole fashioned game of cat and mouse that takes you for a WILD ride. Bea is a character you love to hate and even though I strongly disliked her, this story was fantastic because of her. The plot was so good and the characters were so well developed throughout the book. This book was fast-paced, delivered with well placed twists, and an ending that had me saying “WHAAAT?!?” I am already anticipating the next book by the author!

This book had potential but I feel it fell flat. The ending was unbelievable. I really love fraudsters and con-artist but for some reason this one did not work for me.

i loved the premise and i loved the narcissistic and enigmatic narrator. the narrative was quick and snappy, which is exactly what makes a thriller so enticing and fast paced. i really loved the flashbacks as well, and how it built up more and more of a background for our narrator (who literally hides everything in the present day narrative). i literally could not put this book down and finished it in a day.

but i just thought the payoff was just a bit too anticlimactic and rushed at times. i feel like this could have been a five star and now i'm a tiny bit sad.

Thank you to Netgalley, Berkley Publishing, and Rachel Koller Croft for an advance copy of Stone Cold Fox in exchange for an honest review. Ok, I completely respect that the author created a character who I equally hated but also rooted for! Watching Bea swindle and con her way into the lives of the wealthy was so interesting and so slimy. I loved how the storyline played out and it featured some twists I definitely was NOT expecting. The ending was extremely satisfying for me and I feel like it left room for maybe more Bea & mother in the future?! I look forward to seeing what this author writes next. You can pick this one up now! 4.5 stars

I can't resist a con artist story and this is a fun one! Bea is marrying into a rich family who doesn't know about her sketchy past so when a frenemy discovers her deception, all bets are off.

Stone Cold Fox is a cat and mouse thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The writing is fantastic, the characters are complicated and compelling and the twists just keep coming. Such a dazzling debut - I can't wait to read what Croft writes next!

4.5 stars

Thanks to Berkley for the copy to review.

This was a very quick read because I was hooked and could not put it down. It is an amazing debut! I loved the main character and her flawed candor. The other characters also drew me in too. I really enjoyed Koller Croft's writing style.Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK. Hooked from the first line and could not stop listening to this one! And this is a debut! I wish Bea did besties, cause I would chase her down to be her bestie. I love reading books about smart women and this was just the right spot for me~!

just go read it- it matters not what the rest of my review should say- read the dang book!

5 big old stars- and would give more if I could.

There is so much to gush about in this book - a deliciously honest main character who is doing her best to find safety and security in the only ways she knows, jabs at the truly wealthy and their often bizarre behavior, plenty of psychological warfare, and incisive commentary on the absurd expectations of women at every age. I am very impressed with this book, even more so because it’s a debut. The only reason I gave it four stars is because I loathe endings that are that ambiguous. Look forward to more from this author.

From the get-go, we learn that Bea is not who she is. Between snarky observations and interactions with insufferable rich people, Bea reveals that she is trying to lock down a rich husband, Collin Case. The novel alternates between the present day and her childhood, where Bea learned the ropes from her conniving mother. She had a tough upbringing, always moving around to follow her mother's love affairs. Bea hoped not to turn into her mother, yet it is what she knows best...

This book was fun and over the top. Although Bea was quite into herself and not at all genuine to those around her, I enjoyed following her attempt to become a wealthy wife. Her mother was portrayed as an awful person, and I felt bad for Bea's struggles. Her commentary was pretty hilarious, and I couldn't get over her talking about Collin's large teeth. The end was a bit all over the place, but I flew through this one!

Stone Cold Fox is intriguing and riveting thriller with con artist drama that revolves around Bea and Gale’s cat-and-mouse game.

Like any normal psych thriller, all characters were unlikable, super despicable. I also didn’t like the innocent ones here but oh what a fun drama and thrill they all gave. Most of the story is written in present from Bea’s perspective but we get intermittent past chapters that take us back to Bea’s childhood and her life with her mother and how she came to where she is now.

Past chapters made me feel sorry for her. It was horrible what little Bea has to go through, how deprived of love and affection she was. I could get her desperation to please her mother to make her happy and get her love. And what her mother did to her was unthinkable. It put me in the dilemma of who I hated most, Bea or her mother.

Looking at her past one would think Bea would want a different life when she has to walk the path of life on her own, without her mother she might choose better but nope she was her mother’s daughter. She sure wanted to be different than her but at the same time better than her. It was interesting to see if she manages to get what wants and be what she wants.

The mystery and suspense is amazing. First half of the book is full of chase, I could see where it was going but the second half caught me off guard. Twists in this part are surprising. I didn’t expect the game will be extended this long. I knew what happened between Bea and her mother and how that will affect her present and still it was surprising to see it coming to bite her ass. I couldn’t at all say where this will end and what end it was!

Bea surprised me most in the end, I didn’t expect her to go in this direction and I’m surprised to say it actually made me like her. Some readers felt the end was rushed but I found it clever. It left me wishing to have another game between characters.

Overall, Stone Cold Fox is a clever, thrilling, and wicked page-turning con artist thriller with an amazing cat-and-mouse chase that kept me on the edge till the end.

This was fine. It was a slow burn and not action packed at all, but definitely rich people doing messed up things. I just wish there had been more thrilling aspects of it. So it was fine, but I don't think I'll remember much about it down the road.

If you’re in desperate need of a binge book, look no further. Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft is easily one of the most fun and entertaining books I’ve read in a long time.

Rating: 5/5⭐️

Read if you:
-want the most savage protagonist, Bea’s inner dialogue made me cackle
-like domestic suspense
-enjoy books set amongst the uber wealthy

Thoughts:
I have been recommending this book left and right. It’s the perfect mix of dark humor and domestic suspense, and you won’t be able to put it down. I find that some con stories are hard to believe, but Bea’s storyline is easy to follow and she was such a multi dimensional character, that it didn’t seem all that unrealistic. Her inner dialogue also made me actually laugh out loud, which made her all the more likeable despite her many unlikeable qualities. I thought the plot was fresh and unique, with characters described so vividly that I have a whole cast in my head already. The dual storylines also worked well together, and both were relevant to the story. Just do yourself a favor and read this!!

Wow wow wow! What a filthy, delicious, sinful novel! I love books about rich families who get everything they could ever want and still act like they are bigger and better than you! What a true delight of a debut novel. There was a Lifetime movie like this but it was mother and son! Ohhhh I had to read till the very last page. I hardly ever finish books in one day but I did it! Wow it was so so so good and I gobbled up every word and phrase. I loved Bea and HATED Gale but I think that was the whole point. I cannot wait to see what Rachel has up her sleeve next. She's definitely a force to be reckoned with.