4.5 - The best Kate Alice Marshall title so far, in my opinion! I’ve been struggling with the thrillers currently being published, but this one definitely breaks in terms of actual suspense. I was hooked and pretty much devoured this in 24 hours!

The very start made me think I’d read this before and I actually got on here to double check. I think it was very reminiscent of a Rachel Hawkins title, but after the first few pages this broke free.

I love a dysfunctional family with secrets. Theo’s history added a lot to the narrative as well. I thought this was super well done and it just might have restored my faith in the thrillers being published today!

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve really enjoyed Kate Alice Marshall’s books, especially What Lies in the Woods and No One Can Know, so she’s become an auto-read author for me. Her ability to build suspense, develop intricate storylines, and craft vivid descriptions always pulls me in. A Killing Cold delivered on those strengths, with interwoven plot lines and surprise character connections that kept me hooked. The suspense was solid, and I loved seeing how everything unfolded. That said, a few moments felt a little predictable, and I wished some of the characters had been fleshed out more. Still, it was an engaging read, and I’ll always be excited for whatever she writes next!

A Killing Cold was the perfect wintery, snowed in secluded destination thriller. I read this book basically at the speed of light because I couldn’t put it down.

Theo has been invited to spend the Christmas holiday with her fiancé, Connor, and his family at their private winter retreat. She’s anxious to be meeting her future in laws for the first time, but even more so because she keeps receiving anonymous, threatening texts telling her to stay away from Connor, not to go with him, and after they arrive, to leave. Deciding instead to get to the bottom of these curious warnings, Theo begins to unravel not only the Dalton family secrets, but her own as well.

There are so many layered secrets, lies, and betrayals, that kept me guessing until the very end. I feel like I got trickle truthed, but in a good way. We kept inching towards everything being revealed, but there was always something held back, which made for a great read.
The snowy, secluded mountainside made for the best, creepy atmosphere, especially with Theo being stuck with this strange, potentially dangerous family.
We meet each, close knit character, and everyone is hiding something, including Theo, and we slowly begin to see why this family is so exclusive, never allowing anyone who isn’t family to visit.
Through several tense moments and terrifying encounters Theo uncovers all the secrets the Dalton family have worked so hard to hide, even from each other, and I was riveted the whole way through. The ending was both not what I was expecting, and also very on brand for the types of characters we met.

I thought this was a fantastic, gripping thriller. I read it in two sittings and enjoyed every moment of it. It’s really the perfect icy winter read to snuggle under blankets with inside while the weather matches the setting.

Thank you to the author, Flatiron Books, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to review.
Publication date 2/4/25

Theodora Scott meets wealthy Connor Dalton and he seems eerily familiar. They go to his family’s secluded retreat and she starts having disturbing memories.
The family is totally dysfunctional and she gets texts warning her to leave. A snow storm sweeps in trapping them there as dark secrets come to light and they fight to survive.
This was another fantastic story by Kate Alice Marshal full of
twists and turns that had me reading late into the night.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read this eARC that will be released
February 4, 2025!

I really enjoyed this one. I binged it, couldn't put it down. So many secrets, lies, twists and definitely a shocking ending. Even though the characters are unlikeable, I loved them all. General premise - something terrible happened at the winter camp years ago which is brought up to present time -- lots of tension in this one. The mystery of everything just keeps building --- making it very bingeworthy -because you dont want to put it down. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Connor and Theo are on a trip to visit Connor's family and share their engagement news. But Theo is nervous because she's been getting text messages telling her to "stay away" and "leave Connor alone". When she meets the family, they are less than welcoming. They think she is after Connor's money, especially since Theo is an orphan with no memory of her childhood.

While at the family compound, Theo keeps getting the feeling she was there before. When she finds a photo of herself as a child, her suspicions are confirmed. She begins hunting for other clues as to who she really is, where she really came from, and how she is connected to this place. Then she finds out Connor sought HER out for a date, but didn't tell her, and she begins to fear that his attempts to marry her are more nefarious than originally thought.

I was invested from the beginning but I also really thought it was going to be like something I’ve read time and again. A traumatized girl who falls for a rich man with a horrible family and from there every thing would go wrong and she would be too messed up for redemption. Now I’m not saying she gets her redemption necessarily but I could not have predicted the twists. Don’t get me wrong I thought I did at every turn but was surprised every time. I think some may be put off by the ending but it was what I wanted and needed. I think that in itself sets it apart. There are definitely aspects that felt like I read it before but then there would be another twist. An unreliable FMC who I found I felt like I could trust and that I even liked. Getting a shelf trophy of this for sure.

Meeting your fiancée’s wealthy family for the first time shouldn’t be as scary as it feels, but the closer Theo gets to the hunting lodge, dread begins for her. Will they like her? Will they think she is after Conner’s money? Whatever Theo thinks, nothing could prepare her for the long held secrets, lies, manipulation, deja vu and murder that lurk within that lodge. I received an arc of this excellent, twisted and addictive thriller from Netgalley and Flatiron Books. This review is my honest opinion.

Twist after twist after twist! You’ll never guess all of them.

Theo is engaged to Connor after only six months, a fact that concerns his mega-rich family. Going to the family’s mountain lodge during Christmas is supposed to be her chance to impress her soon-to-be relatives, and she does impress them—just not in the way she means to.

Half-formed memories plague her dreams, and the mountain seems *really* familiar.

Has she been here before?


Four stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron books for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

If you enjoy winter thrillers and books where families will do anything to protect one another (at any cost) then you may enjoy this one. I liked it but it didn’t WOW me as the twist is so obvious early on. I also didn’t care for many of the characters, including the FMC because we’re led to believe she has this incredibly big secret when in reality she doesn’t. I get hiding her past from a family of strangers but even her fiancé? That was a little strange to me. Other than that, it’s a solid thriller with some good suspense and it definitely fits well in the winter thrillers genre.

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐

My first time reading this author only to discover that she is a great writer! This book has secrets, lies, lot of twists and turns plus a shocking reveal. The character building is amazing and the reader knows something terrible is going to happen.

Theo and Connor met, fell in love and were engaged within six months. Now it's time for her to meet his family. They are all meeting at a secluded winter compound. What could go wrong? As layers of secrets and lies are revealed, the tension increases. This is a cat-and-mouse game that readers will enjoy.

Gripping, Unexpected Twists and Suspenseful! 3.5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book will be released 2/4/25.

This is such a great winter thriller! It is action packed, fast paced, and keeps you guessing. I flew through this book, it was so good! It has a romantic element to the book, but it doesn’t overpower the thriller aspect. I probably made 14 guesses of who did what, how and why; wrong every time.

If you enjoy an isolated, stuck in a snowstorm, dynamic family drama/trauma who-dun-it, then this is your book. Literally everyone is unreliable, I was guessing who we could trust the whole book, but it made it so great.

I stayed up until 1:30AM (which is late for this full-time working mom of 2 crazy kids) because I had to know what happened.

So, pre-order this, add it to the TBR, or request it from the library because it is worth it!

Thank you NetGalley , Flatiron Books, and Kate Alice Marshall for allowing me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review. I’m sure this one will be on my top 25 this year!

4/5 stars

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of Kate Alice Marshall’s newest release (publishing 2/4/25). I liked this one, much like I liked Marshall’s previous works. This one follows Theo who is meeting her fiancé’s family for the first time, but starts remembering things about her shadowy past when she reaches their wintery mountainside lodge. There were quite a few red herrings in this one and a lot of unreliable characters. Despite all of that, the book was still more of a slow burn than an explosive thriller. Entertaining, and recommended if you enjoyed any of Marshall’s previous books!

I really enjoyed this one. A sort of locked door mystery set at a secluded mountain retreat that belongs to a super wealthy and powerful family. Our main character, Theo, is meeting her finance's rich family for the first time. Although she has no memory before the age of 5, she can't shake the feeling that she's been to this place before.

Several times I thought I had it all figured out, but was hit with twist after twist that left me wondering which characters could be trusted. There were a few plot points that seemed kind of far fetched, but that's the best part of reading fiction in my opinion.

I highly recommend this one to anyone that loves a good domestic, locked door mystery, thriller.

Theodora is an orphan. She doesn’t remember much from her four childhood years before foster care— including her own given name.

Years later in her twenties, she meets and falls quickly for rich, charming Connor. They get engaged in six months and he brings her to his family’s isolated mountain property they call “Idlewood.” At Idlewood, some memories start coming back to Theo in fragments of another lifetime. One where she’s been at Idlewood before….? As Connor’s family acts cold and bizarre things begin to happen around Idlewood.. Theo explores the property and begins to uncover the truth about her past and Dalton family they’ve kept hidden at this snowy mountain escape for 20 years.

I love me some Kate Alice Marshall!!!! The minute I saw this one up for request on NetGalley (even before it had a cover) I jumped on it SO FAST! Although I found the whole plot of this book to be incredibly unrealistic to happen irl, I was still absolutely enthralled with it, could not put it down and could not guess how it would all come together in the end! Which is honestly all we can ever ask for in a good thriller book!! It gives Freida McFadden.

I alternated between eyeball reading and audio. I enjoyed the narrator (Karissa Vacker) and believe she was cast perfectly as Theo.

⚠️ CW: hunting and death/disembowelment of animal (on page), murder and death of humans (on page), domestic violence (mention of, no description), suicide and adultery (mentions, no description)

Thank you to Kate, Flatiron, and NetGalley for the advanced physical and digital copies and MacMillan for the advance audiobook!

Something traumatic took away Theos name. Before her adoption at 4 years old, her memory is a void. Her nightmare may be giving her clues to her missing pieces, but nothing makes sense.

But. Conner does. Agreeing to marrying this beautiful man is one thing she’s doing right in her life. Their whirlwind romance is coming under the microscope during their holiday away to the mountain that his family owns. Theodora is meeting his mom, sisters’ wife and son, brother, uncle, grandmother and grandfather and a few members of staff. To say she’s stressed is an understatement. So stressed, she’s having the nightmare more frequently.

Strangely, she starts remembering bits of her forgotten years. This trip could be the key to finding her past. Hopefully, it still leads to a future with Conner.

This was a huge puzzle with so many moving pieces and characters involved. Thankfully, they were still easy to keep straight because of their standout personalities.

Thank you to Kate Alice Marshall, NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. I can’t wait to talk about this with other readers!

This mysterious domestic thriller is the perfect entertainment for a winter evening.

The revelations unroll slowly, building tension as the main character learns more about her fiance's wealthy family, but there's plenty of action, too.

This is my favorite book from Kate Alice Marshall, by far!

Connor and Theo are hopelessly in love. Connor brings Theo to Idlewood a winter retreat to intrigue her to his family. Theo doesn’t get a warm welcome and she feels like she has been there before. Then she starts to get message to stay away from Conner. We all know something happ Ned years ago at this rest rest. But who and what is was was the mystery. Loved it down to the last page. So juicy.

I've really enjoyed previous books by Kate Alice Marshall and was looking forward to this one. However, the many twists and convenient plot points just don't quite all hang together. It seems many people disagree and enjoyed reading it, but for me this one wasn't very entertaining.

A Killing Cold is the first book I read by Kate Alice Marshall. It gave me the creeps, and there were times when I was too scared to read it before going to bed. This psychological thriller will have you thinking that everyone is a killer. It was a great winter book because it occurred in the snowy mountains, and Theo stayed in Conner's family cabin.

Conner is a wealthy man from a mighty family. Theo has only been dating Conner for months, and they are already engaged. However, the family wants to meet Theo to see if they approve of the marriage. Upon arrival, Theo receives a threatening text message to leave the cabin. Instead, she investigates who sent her the message and starts to snoop around the cabins. Once Theo began snooping, she realized she had been there before, but her mind was still fussy. You must read this book to know what Theo learned about Conner's family and her childhood.

The only thing I disliked was that the book was a bit slow for me, and I had to push through. I do promise that the book has a great ending.