Former Olympic biathlete Julie Adler seems to have it all - she's a world-class athlete married to a successful tech entrepreneur with a beautiful home in a California suburb. When her husband Jeff commits suicide, she learns that he has drained their finances and left her with nothing. Not knowing what to do or where to go, Julie decides to return to where she grew up in the ski town Banff in Canada. She actually returns to the resort where she met Jeff, but this time as a housekeeper instead of a guest. When a difficult guest is murdered at the hotel, Julie becomes the prime suspect as the last person who was seen in her room. Julie has to figure out who is setting her up and why so she can redeem herself. But the real killer wants Julie out of the way and will do anything to stop her. This was my first Susan Walter book and I enjoyed it. Thanks to #Netgalley #RunningCold and #LakeUnionPublishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review,

Running Cold by Susan Walter
Release Date: 10/8/24
Format: ebook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Running Cold is a new release by thriller author Susan Walter and it definitely pulled me in from the start! A former Olympian finds her husband dead and flees to the Canadian wilderness for a fresh start? Sign me up. I love a snowy thriller!

Towards the middle of the second act, this book unfortunately lost me a bit. I felt like it was trying to do too much at once and got a bit messy! I did really like our FMC but some of the decisions she made (like forgiving that friend iykyk) left me scratching my head.

I would definitely read more by this author, but I’m not sure if I’d be quick to recommend this book. It was a quick read, but just didn’t fully work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

I enjoyed my first book by Susan Walter here! In it, she shows her talent with words to craft an engaging thriller. The setting plays a big part in creating the atmosphere at the center of the tension. Told through multiple points of view adds to the action that makes this book move at a fast pace with brilliant narration by Selah Victor, Erin Moon, Jess Nahikian, & Braden Wright. Running Cold piqued my interest from the beginning to the satisfying end!

Thank you, Susan Walter, Lake Union, Brilliance Publishing, Netgalley, & #thrillerbookloversthepulse, for my #gifted early copy & audiobook & including me! All opinions are my own.

If you are craving an edge of your seat wintery whodunnit that look no further than Susan Walter’s Running Cold. Set in the beautiful blizzardy mountains of Banff Canada, it is a story of grief, female friendships, murder survival and redemption.
Read this if you like:
-wintery cozy, mountain town settings with luxurious old castle like hotel
-strong female protagonists
-multiple POVs that enhanced depth of characters
-complicated female friendships
-fighting for survival in terrible weather conditions
-weather which plays a key role in the storyline because it brings such tension and intensity to the story
-the world of elite athletes particularly Olympians in the biathlon and what it takes to be of that calibre
-people who are hiding secrets/lies and hidden lives
-faced paced thrillers

My rating 4 1/2 stars out of 5

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this eARC that will be published Oct 8 2024.

📚 PUBLICATION MONTH BOOK REVIEW 📚

Running Cold By Susan Walter
Publication Date: October 8, 2024
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded Up To 5⭐)

📚MY REVIEW:

Running Cold really surprised me with its captivating, edge-of-my-seat storyline and suspenseful whodunnit plot. At this book's center was a whodunnit mystery, but there were even more mysteries in its pages that I didn't even know were mysteries until the twists started twisting.

This fast-paced thrill ride of secrets and suspense was a really fast read because I couldn't stop turning its pages. This was a dark horse of a thriller...Because I didn't realize how good it was going to be until I was neck-deep in it. Each chapter was told from a different POV, which created a much greater depth to the characters within the book. The female protagonist, Julie (good name, by the way 😉), was a lovable badass with a strong sense of pride and a commitment to survival. The majority of this book takes place in the beautiful and bitter-cold Canadian resort town of Banff, in the mountains of Alberta. The weather played such a role in this book that it was its own unhinged character in the story. I don't know that I've read many thrillers (if any) where the frigid weather created so much additional tension and suspense for our characters, and this was done brilliantly by the author.

My fellow thriller lovers at Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse have been raving about this book for a while, and I totally get it. This was a fun and mysterious thriller, with unexpected twists and turns that left me shocked multiple times throughout the read. This one's winter setting brought a different twist to the story, which was a refreshing and enjoyable change of pace -- I highly recommend it! A big thank you to Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse, NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and the author herself for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

#RunningCold #SusanWalter #LakeUnionPublishing #thrillerbookloversthepulse #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrecommendations

What a greatly described setting in this one. I felt like I was there in Canada with the characters.

The main character is Julie, a former Olympian. I'm an avid Olympic watcher so I really enjoyed the inclusion of that in the book. Julie gave up her Olympic career to follow her husband to America.

This one kept me gripped throughout. The so called "bad guy" was easy to guess but I enjoyed the ride anyway.

I would recommend this one for sure.

Thanks to netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc.

Julie Adler, a former Olympic gold medalist in the biathlon (a combination of cross country skiing and precision rifle marksmanship), now living in California, is shattered by grief when her husband commits suicide. His death reveals that their luxurious life was a house of cards, and his secret business dealings have left Julie penniless. She feels drawn to her old stomping grounds in Banff, Canada where she once trained. She obtains work as a housekeeper at a luxury resort, but when an eccentric guest turns up dead, Julie is the prime suspect.

I really loved the setting for this novel. I'm a proud Canadian, and I've been to Banff twice. The scenery and weather in that area are absolutely jaw-dropping. It's well described and provides the perfect backdrop for this novel of suspense. It's a good story, told from the points of view of various characters, but it wasn't all that difficult to determine what the outcome would be. I still enjoyed the book with its nice short chapters.

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: October 8, 2024

A perfect addition to my My List of Chilling Winter Mysteries!

Also a perfect plane read! This fast paced story about a former Olympian whose husband dies mysteriously kept me gripped throughout a very unpleasant day of travel :(

The most fun part of the book was its focus on Olympic biathalon, a sport that combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. It's a civilian adaptation of military training that was conducted in Scandinavia and then Canada.

This felt like a quasi-cozy, with a police procedural element and a group of wacky friends of the main character. The character development was lacking, but the fun plot made up for it.

I'd read Susan Walter's grocery list tbh. Everything she writes is so twisty and fun. I can spend an afternoon doing nothing but reading one of her books and it'll be the best day.

I'm always a sucker for a thriller with an Olympic subplot and this was no exception. Perfect for these chilly months, you'll want to add this to your fall/winter TBR asap!

This was a solid thriller, but no much mystery.

Running Cold follows Julie Adler, a former Olympian, as her life is turned upside down following her husband's suicide. Julie had been living a life of luxury in California but she's left with nothing following her husband's death and she retreats to Banff, where she once trained for the Olympics, Julie wants to start a new life but when a prominent hotel guest is murdered at the resort Julie is staying at she's forced to fight for her life as she becomes the prime suspect.

This thriller kept me turning the pages! The story includes multiple POVs but was easy enough to follow. I really liked the setting descriptions in Banff, Canada and learning a bit about skiing and the Olympic biathlon. There just wasn't quite enough mystery for me and it was pretty clear what the end result was going to be. However, this didn't deter me from finishing and overall I liked the book.

I started Running Cold while sitting in the sun by the beach/pool in Fort Lauderdale last week. However, the book transported me to its setting of Banff, which I visited last summer. Banff is such a beautiful location, and I could visualize the lobby, stores, and restaurants of the Banff Springs Hotel, as well as the gondola up Sulphur Mountain 😍 I am not the best with heights, but I surprisingly enjoyed this gondola. A few days before I rode it last August, the gondola had lost power and some people were stranded overnight at the top! I'm very glad that didn't happen to me.
Running Cold is a fast paced thriller which I didn't want to set down. Julie, the female main character, is a former Olympian (in the biathlon) and her husband is found dead near the beginning of the book. They had met and married in Banff, and Julie returned after her husband’s funeral. The author gives the reader enough additional information that they know more than any of the individual characters, and it is entertaining to see how it all plays out.
Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for early access to Running Cold in exchange for my honest opinion. I especially think readers who've been to Banff will enjoy this one!

his new release from Susan Walter is aptly named. Set in the charming ski town of Banff, this one just might give you frostbite. I know some hot chocolate was sounding pretty darn good as I read the snowy mountain scenes today. Here are some things I loved about this chiller:

⛷ Julie Adler Weston is a former gold medal winner in the Olympic biathlon. That sport takes tremendous strength, discipline, and agility. She has been training for this crisis all of her life!
📚 Short, punchy chapters from multiple viewpoints (Julie, friend Izzy, wannabe beau Remy, CRMP detective Monique).
👮 The author's great respect for the work of the Canadian Royal Mounted Police made my heart happy as a wife and mom of US police department members.
🥰 Reconciliation among friends is demonstrated throughout. Julie gets a little much needed help from her friends and learns not to be so self-reliant.
💎 This was such a gem of a read that I will be sure to check out other books by this author.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

For Julie Adler, former Olympian now living in luxury with her husband in California, the sick of Jeff's suicide is barely fading when she discovers that he left her penniless. Ashamed to tell her friends, Julie is drawn back to the comfort and familiarity of the mountains in Banff where she trained. She finds lodging and a housekeeping position in a nearby resort run by an old friend. When a difficult guest is found dead and Julie becomes the number one suspect, she must rely on her knowledge of the area to evade the police until she can find the truth.
There were plenty of thrills and surprises in this book that read more like a movie. The beautiful yet harsh setting in Banff and the impending blizzard just added to the tension. I was flipping pages, unable to put the book down until the exciting and satisfying conclusion. This was my first book by this author, but I plan on picking up more!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Winter Olympics, Christmas, small town, snow storm AND a murder mystery? Yes, f*cking please!

This book was love at first synopsis and I was not disappointed.
If you love the Olympics and a fun fast-paced thriller (with lots of nature & wintery/christmass vibes) sounds like a good call, this book is for you.

Let me tell you why.

"Running Cold" follows the events of Julie Adler's life who has her life thrown upside down when her husband is found dead in their sunny Californian mansion leaving her penniless and heartbroken in the aftermath of his suicide. Feeling so lost and uncomfortable with the truth of her situation & what her friends were going to think of her/her husband, she turns to the only thing that feels remotely right: going back to the only place she truly belonged to, her mountain town in Canada.

From there, a story that first carried whiffs of healing & getting back to one's feet quickly turns into a cat-mouse run followed by multiple deaths where she is never safe and she has to use all her will, strength & instincts cultivated in her Olympian years to survive and clear her husband's name.

Did I mention that all this happens in a very snowy town dressed for Christmas in Canada?

Yep, this book has all the vibes and I absolutely loved following this story. This is the perfect Christmasy read if you love thrillers/murder mysteries & have a soft spot for the Olymypics.

There were a few ways this story was weaved together that made it extremely satisfying for me. let me point out a few:

1. Down-to-Earth Main Character:
Even though Julie lived in luxury for the last few years of her life, she is no stranger to a hard life and working hard to make ends meet. It's so nice to see how comfortable she is in this new position and how it helps her process her grief. She is a gorgeous woman and a talented one who could easily have fallen into egoic behaviors but who remains grounded in reality.

2. Olympics
I would ADORE having more books exploring this theme as there are so many amazing plot lines that can grow from here. I love the way trauma was weaved into it & how her excellence made it actually feasible for some actions to have taken place. Some very extreme actions felt realistic & I loved how the author explored it. Also, I love the grit, will and strength that working towards an Olympic medal can embed in someone.

3. Cozy Christmasy/Wintery vibes
Self-explanatory.

4. Nature, Nature & Nature
I love when books connect deeply with the forces of nature and the way the character was so in tune with it was so satisfying. The weather & nature felt like a character of their own, setting the tone to every single new scene setup.


This book was extremely fun and I devoured it faster than I normally do.
There were a few points that I wasn't a fan of (mainly how some chapters ended with an ominous sentence that became old and annoying very fast) but overall I recommend it. A solid murder mystery with refreshing themes.

Add this to your Christmas reading list, you will not regret it.



Thank you Netgalley & Lake Union Publishing for offering me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Another fabulous book by Susan Walter; 4.5 stars! Running Cold is a crazy, wild, entertaining, puzzling soap opera right from the beginning. It’s serious with drama and mystery, but there are also some comical bits too.

Julie Adler’s husband has just committed suicide, but in her quest to figure out how to move on, Julie discovers secrets that have her questioning just how well she actually knew her husband. She returns to Banff, Alberta, where she once trained for the Olympics, in hopes of getting her feet on the ground, but misfortune follows her there. The story is told in the first person by Julie, her best friend Izzy, her friend and hotel manager Remy and police detective Monique. Running Cold is a quick, gripping, unputdownable read! Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the digital ARC.

Running Cold by Susan Walter started out at a quick pace and I had trouble putting it down, always a good sign!!
This book kept me guessing all the way until the end.
This was a very suspensful read overall, it had me hooked straight away. The twists and turns definitely kept me reading!

This was one of those books that you can't put down. It was Thrilling, fast-paced and with a heroine that you root for. Julie's life was ripped apart when she found her husband dead in their bathroom, from an apparent suicide. After his death Julie returns to her past life and get's a job as a hotel housekeeper. One of the hotel guest was also found dead and that changes everything for Julie. She is now the prime suspect. She made shocking discoveries, secrets were revealed and she was on the journey to save herself. This story will keep you entertained until the very end. Highly recommend.

3.5 stars

Thanks NetGalley for the free advanced copy. This was an excellent read.

This is the second book I’ve read from this author and she’s quickly becoming a favorite! I loved the setting, characters and storyline. This book kept me guessing and there are twists and turns the whole way through. The setting in the mountains makes this a perfect fall/winter read. This one will hook you from the very first chapter and keep you guessing until the end. I definitely recommend checking this one out.

It was still a hot and humid summer when I read this thriller taking place in a ski town in Canada. It was the perfect immersive read to make me forget about everything. From the start I could feel there was more to what was happening to Julie and boy was I right.

Her husband commits suicide and she realizes he blew all their money and that is just the start to her problems. Dead bodies seem to follow her from CA to Canada.

It’s gripping and pulse pounding and kept me guessing. I connected with Julie and wanted to know what was causing her bad luck.

Toxic friends and an old friend/potential new beau povs gave me plenty to think about as I tried to guess what would happen next.

This played out like a movie in my head. The rich atmosphere. The polarizing characters. I enjoyed this one from start to finish.

With a full cast of narrators, the audiobook is a great listen. Selah Victor, Erin Moon, Jess Nahikian, and Braden Wright bring the story to life and make it easy to follow. There was never any doubt who was narrating the chapter and is one of the reasons this seemed so movie like.

It’s the perfect popcorn thriller to read this spooky season.

I picked up Running Cold because I really was looking forward to the premise of the story, and the setting of Banff in Canada. But it didn't work for me at all. I struggled with the writing style from minute one - overegged similes shoe horned into page one turned me off instantly - "her cheeks shone shiny red like Christmas tree ornaments" and "Izzy's eyebrows merged like fuzzy skis in snowplough" are two that gave me the instant ick.

After that I struggled to connect at all to the story sadly. I became easily distracted, the characters lacked depth and the plot felt contrived. It felt like there was too little story for the page length given and with everything else going against it I skim read a lot and skipped sections and didn't feel like I'd missed out.

Sadly lacking the atmosphere, thrills and intrigue that I'd hoped for, this one was a big miss for me and I probably won't try other works by the author based on the writing style.

1.5*

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a digital review copy of "Running Cold" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.