What a fun, dark thrill ride! If you are anti-Valentine’s day, get this on release day as a dark and twisty gift for yourself. Our heroine, Bea, is a hardworking perfectionist con woman who is determined to marry into one of the wealthiest families in New York City. The main problem? Gale, her boyfriend’s (female) best friend who happens to have been in love with him forever. The two high achieving women square off in a delightful cat and mouse game. There is room for a sequel and I hope it comes to fruition!

Thank you to Berkley Books and Netgalley for the electronic advanced copy of this book. It publishes tomorrow, February 14, and it's already buzzy. It's going to be popular and polarizing, but what good thriller isn't? Stone Cold Fox is a solid debut that kept me guessing and wanting more. Bea is accomplished, sexy, and she is a con artist with one goal: marry rich. Her sight is set on "old money" Collin Case, but she's up against his disapproving family and his childhood best friend. If that weren't hard enough, she has a secret past that she will do anything not to expose. It's fun and devious. I liked getting little bits and pieces over the course of the story.

4.5/5!

Stone Cold Fox is an outstanding debut featuring one of the most fun con artist stories I’ve read recently. Our main character Bea is downright devious and extremely motivated to get what she wants out of life. At the core of this story is an entertaining cat-and-mouse game between Bea and her soon-to-be husband’s bestie, Gale. The inner monologues that Bea has about Gale kept me laughing as I waited on the edge of my seat for what wild shenanigan would come next. I loved the juicy bird’s eye view that readers were given into the lives of the mega-rich. Stone Cold Fox is a fantastic escapist read filled with turns and twists.

3.5 stars rounded up

Thank you, Berkley Publishing and Penguin Random House Audio, for the advanced copies of this one. I alternated between the ebook and audio and would recommend either format.

This is definitely a bingeable book for lovers of the narcissistic, social climber main character. Bea was a character that I hated to root for, but there was just enough backstory to understand her and want her to find her happy. Quite frankly, I didn't like many of the characters in this one, but it worked for the purposes of the story, and I didn't find myself bothered by the unlikable characters as I often am.

There was maybe just a little too much going on and an ending that seemed like there was so much build-up in the book, and then bam, it was over too quick.

An impressive debut!

Bea was raised by a gold digging mom who would do anything to live among the wealthy. The apple didn't fall from the tree but over time, Bea wants to settle down and stop the game. She sets her sights on Collin.

The story is told in present tense with flashbacks to Bea's youth. I am a sucker for dual timelines and I thought this was perfectly done.

I would recommend going in blind on this one. My review is not a spoiler, nor is the synopsis on Goodreads, but I made the mistakes of reading some reviews which changed my expectations and made me a bit disappointed.

I will definitely be here waiting for her next book as she is a a great storyteller.

Truly one of the most deviously fun books ive read in a while. I love a good anti-hero scammer and Croft to managers build out a luxurious world anyone would want to find a way into. I probably related to Bea a little too much but she is an icon and I love a darkly funny book about getting what you think you deserve. I cannot recommend this sexy. fun, devious book enough.
Thank you to Berkley for the arc

5 Thrilling Stars!!!

As a reader, there’s nothing better than reading a debut book by an author and getting sucked into a story that is filled with venom, cat-fights, grifting and suspense as to how it will all resolve itself by the end of the book.

Bea is a woman that is looking to marry into a wealthy and socially elite family and her sights are set on Collin Case. Bea is stunningly gorgeous and has learned her wiles from her psycho mother… that in and of itself is a startingly terrifying story which resonates throughout the book. Collin can’t resist Bea and as their relationship becomes more and more, there’s definite push-back from people in his life, most importantly his female best friend Gale. Their platonic relationship is multi-faceted and there are things that Gale keeps from her bestie which results in a cat-fight that brings me back to the days of Crystal and Alexis in Dynasty… totally aging myself with this comparison!

There are moments in this book that are truly twisted and I’m truly impressed with how Ms. Croft built this story. I followed along for each and every moment because I was fascinated by the machinations of each character and what their ultimate goals were. The fact that Bea is a functioning adult after what she went through as a child in and of itself is amazing.

Overall, this is hands down one of my favorite debut novels that I’ve read in a very long time and I for one will be faithfully following Ms. Croft’s journey as she gives us more of her amazing words!

After being raised by a mother who had no limits when it came to swindling men, Bea is now in it for the long haul. She’ll do anything it takes to leave thoughts of her mother behind, while securing a filthy rich husband for life.

STONE COLD FOX by Rachel Koller Croft is a long con suspense novel that will have you rooting for the swindler!

Bea is self-centered and loves having all eyes on her, and I somehow absolutely loved her for it! Her character should be unlikable in every single way, but her determination to feel taken care of for life somehow had me cheering for her to take everyone around her down a notch.

This one is a slow burn, so you’ve really got to settle in for the long haul, but the chaos of the ending makes it all the more worth it!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: February 14, 2023

Stone Cold Fox is a suspenseful thriller that‘s impossible to put down. Rachel Koller Croft creates tons of tension and has the reader rooting for devious characters every step of the way.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bea was raised by her con artist mother, and doesn’t see why she should completely abandon her skills while trying to create a different life for herself. She meets wealthy yet boring Collin, and is determined to marry him. But his best friend Gale doesn’t trust her, and the two end up engaging in an entertaining game of cat and mouse. But what will happen if Gale discovers the truth about Bea’s duplicitous past?

To say more about the plot would spoil the fun of this book. This immensely entertaining thriller sucks the reader in and is tough to put down; I had other things to do, but I absolutely had to know what happened. Bea is devious yet likable, and I found myself becoming extremely anxious for her as the stakes increased. It’s clear her past relationship with her dysfunctional mother overshadows everything in her life. And her competition with Gale was one of the most interesting relationships in the book.

Stone Cold Fox isn’t my my usual genre/book but I enjoyed the change of pace. It offers up a suspenseful story with intriguing women at its center. While it wasn’t a relaxing read—I was way too invested for that!—I’d definitely recommend it if you like thrillers and suspense.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

LOVED this book! If you’re intrigued by con artists like the Anna Devney, then you will like this book! The book was juicy and soapy and I was here for it! I love reading about mother / daughter relationships and dynamics and this book was chock full of it! I wasn’t expecting mental health to be a part of the book but as mental health is important to me, it was a pleasant surprise.

I would describe this book as an amalgamation of The Lies I Tell, Cover Story, and the movie Heartbreakers (I’m probably aging myself here!)🤣 STONE COLD FOX is about a con mother and daughter duo and the lengths they would go to con unsuspecting men and to protect each other. The book is told in told in two timelines; one is current day where the daughter, Bea, is now an adult and is orchestrating a long game con. The other timeline progresses from when Bea is a small child to when she is a teenager.

The mom was set on grooming Bea to be a conwoman the moment she was born. It was sad though because even though the mom did love Bea, she was very critical and was emotionally and verbally abusive. Bea spent her whole childhood trying to make prove her worth / make her mother proud but it was never enough.

Observing their dynamic was very interesting. On one hand, the mom wanted to groom Bea to be the best conwoman out there, but as Bea got older, the mom began to resent. She was jealous of her youth and beauty and felt the need to compete against her.

In the present day, Bea, is trying to leave her sordid past behind including her abusive mother. But as she is trying to pull off the biggest con of her life, by infiltrating a prominent family, her past comes roaring its ugly head and threatens to destroy everything she’s worked for.

Although the book wasn’t very climactic, it was well-written and kept me captivated the whole entire time. I love Bea and even though she’s supposed to be a “bad guy,” was she really? She obviously was the product of the environment in which she was raised in. It was interesting to hear her internal dialogue and see her inner turmoil; as every day was a delicate balance. As much as she wanted to leave her past behind, is she her mother’s daughter after all?

Rating: 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5).

Thanks so much, @berkleypub, for the eARC and generous finished copy; and to @prhaudio, for the complimentary audiobook. Carlotta Brenton is one of my fave narrators (she narrated one of my fave books Woman On Fire) and did a phenomenal job!❤️

4.5 stars, rounded up. Just try putting this down at any point once you start- you won't be able to. Twisty and clever, Bea is the true antihero readers need, haunted by her past (a past that she's not responsible for, and trigger warnings abound for the things Bea experienced) but unable to fully set aside the lessons she learned from her mother.

Every year, there's a debut that surprises me with how much I love it, and, even though it's early in 2023, Stone Cold Fox might be it. The plot is perfectly paced, with a supporting cast of characters that has just the right balance of enough to provide context to the story without being too many to keep track of. This first-person narrative of a gold digger who wants it all and is willing to do whatever she needs to in order to get it is addictive and fun. Even though Bea has few, if any, redeeming personality traits, she's still, for some inexplicable reason, likable, possibly because Rachel Keller Croft has provided a backstory that lets us, if not like her, at least understand her. Thanks so much for the opportunity to review, and I will be anxiously awaiting whatever comes next from Rachel!

“Beatrice” has been a con artist since birth: her mother molded her into the perfect accessory as she seduced a string of wealthy men. She finally got out from under her mother's thumb, though, and set out to land an affluent husband of her own. Collin Case is perfect: pliable, reliable, smitten, and absurdly rich. His old money friends and family are less than delighted, and that's just with her persona of driven career woman. Bea is willing to be utterly ruthless to seal the deal, but little does she suspect the full extent of the danger she's in. Quite twisted but undeniably fun.

I received a gifted galley of STONE COLD FOX by Rachel Koller Croft for an honest review. Thank you to PRH Audio, Berkley Publishing Group, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

STONE COLD FOX follows Bea, a young woman on a mission. Raised by a con-woman and groomed to be the same, what Bea really wants is to be outside of her mother’s shadow and be set up for the life she really deserves. She puts her training on how to con men to work to hook Collin. Collin is the son of a wealthy, old money family who don’t exactly welcome Bea with open arms, but Collin is smitten and willing to stand up to them to bring Bea in.

The biggest hurdle to the life Bea wants is Collin’s best friend Gale, a woman who is secretly in love with Collin and who doesn’t trust Bea at all. This sets off a cat and mouse game between the two as Bea tries to win over Collin’s family while keeping her true family origins in the past. Bea is sure she will come out on top, but there are surprises she doesn’t expect.

This is one of those books where you know there is disaster coming, but you just can’t look away. Bea was a really interesting character. She isn’t exactly someone you want to sign on as your new buddy, but as unlikeable as she can sometimes be, she is a very compelling character to read about. I was frustrated with her at times for underestimating people or getting hung up on the wrong things, but I stayed hooked on her story throughout.

We are following two timelines in this book, the present day story with Bea and Collin and also the past with Bea being raised by her mother. The past timeline brings out Bea’s past and how she went from a cute, somewhat innocent young child to what we see in the present. Her mother really was the worst! She had an incredible (not in a good way) ability to manipulate and hurt her daughter while getting exactly what she wanted. There are definitely trigger warnings with this storyline in particular, so do check those.

STONE COLD FOX was a fun ride overall!

Summary: After growing up living the short-con life, Bea has set her sights on the target of her longest con yet. But when the affluent Colin proposes, his family and friends are less than thrilled by Bea and her intentions. At the forefront is Colin’s friend Gale who is determined to figure out who Bea really is, thus setting off a cat and mouse game with deadly consequences.

Thoughts: What a debut! I had a feeling I was going to enjoy this one from the moment I saw the gorgeous cover. Twisty and fun, Koller Croft had me rooting for the bad guy and I loved every minute of it. Forget cat and mouse - this book was like cats and mice. Throughout the book, I continually had to question who was conning whom? And why? Who am I rooting for? And why?

Bea is a really interesting MC, and as you learn more about her backstory and her previous relationships and their consequences, she becomes that much more intriguing. I could not help feeling a connection with her at times, regardless of her innate deviousness.

I listened to this on audio, and while I think the book is really well done (again, I can’t believe it’s a debut) the narration on audio hindered my enjoyment just a bit for me. The narrator wasn’t bad so much as monotone and at times it was a bit hard to tell the characters apart as they didn’t really have a distinct sound to them. With that said, I still really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone. I have a sneaking suspicion this one will be a hit.

Read if you like:
•domestic suspense
•psychological thrillers
•dual time lines
•cat and mouse
•morally grey characters

Thank you to Berkley Pub and NetGalley for the ARC and PRH Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review

Thank you for the copy! Totally enjoyable con book. Protagonist was completely arrogant and self centered but fun watching her plot and play the long con. Somehow I was still cheering for her to succeed. Great idea. Thanks !

Just when you think you know what's going to happen, like Bea, you're surprised. Bea is so close, so close, to the dream of marrying into an immensely wealthy family but she's got a nagging secret. She isn't who she says she is. How much does her fiance Collin's BFF Gale know? She's remade her life so that she's financially independent thanks to her smarts and hard work, she's beautiful, and she's driven. Collin has fallen so hard that he's proposed but his family is skeptical and Gale is downright horrible. This intersperses Bea's voice with flashbacks to a girl whose mother preys on men, and uses Bea as a tool as she gets older. It's a tricky novel that has some serious twists I won't spoil. Croft's a great storyteller who roped me in early on (when I was sure I know how this would go) and kept me turning the pages because, well, despite the fact that Bea isn't really likable, I was, oddly, fascinated by and rooting for her. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A terrific read.

Stone Cold Fox is honestly one of the best books I’ve ever read. Is it a literary masterpiece? Not quite. But it ticked every single one of my boxes. It’s extremely well-written, with a fast-moving plot that kept me devouring every word until the wee hours of the morning. There’s plenty of juicy drama, delicious backstabbing, and characters you love to hate. And a surprisingly likable protagonist you can’t help but root for. I loved this book SO much and I can’t wait to see what the author writes next.

Now that's what I'm talking about, 2023!

I could not put this book down. This was an unexpected read for me considering I mostly read romance and fantasy, but I flew through this thriller - and it's a debut!

Bea was a fascinating character to have as our narrator and seeing the world through her view for the duration of this story was wild. The way she is constantly thinking about what she's expected to say or do, and always trying to be two steps ahead of everyone else was interesting to read. And I liked that her character is very morally gray, leaning more towards villain than hero. As the reader I found myself not rooting for her success as I normally would for the protagonist, but I was simply enjoying the ride!

Though this was a stand alone, I could see the author continuing this as a series and writing another book with these characters, and I would love to read that!

Thank you to the publisher for giving me a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

DNFed this one fairly quickly. I found the main character very unlikeable right off the bat. The description of the plot seemed fairly interesting, but after finding the main character so unlikeable so fast, I wasn't really interested anymore.