Finished Reading

DNF @ 19%

Pre-Read notes

I picked this book because I'm a huge fan of a cold weather setting, especially in thrillers and horror. It can really ratchet up the tension!

I'm 60 pages in and it's not going well. Why are so many writers of thrillers so relentlessly ableist?

Final Review (partial):

Reading Notes

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. This book has a really interesting setting. Sort of an old west town in Yukon Territory but that doesn't officially exist. It's cool and interesting. I feel like I need more information about this setting though, given how different it is from ordinary towns.


Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. I am really not a fan of the numerous rhetorical questions the narrator asks. They only mean something if they inform something and they don't.

2. A construction company whose payroll is 75% female. That seems so unrealistic to me, but It's because it's introduced so off-handedly, when such a business would be a really special thing.

3. I do not appreciate the narrator's treatment of tough topics like SA and violence against women.

4. The book is repetitious. Two pages after the opening scene, there are several paragraphs dedicated to describing this scene. This is only helpful or interesting if sufficient time elapses between the first and second iterations.

5. Hero mom narratives are not my cup of tea. Sometimes I don't mind subjects like miscarriage, pregnancy complications, or birth. They can work well into plots containing pregnant characters. But when pregnancy and related topics are written into the character's development and identity, I often find the amount of this material overwhelming.

6.“I’m pregnant,” I say. “Not an invalid." p53 Yeah, but she's ableist. There is nothing wrong with being "an invalid" except the anochrism and viciousness of that term. Also, pregnancy can for sure be a qualifying condition for taking disability. This author really needs to educate herself about disability.

Rating: DNF @ 19%
Recommend? no
Finished: Feb 7 '25
Format: digital arc, NetGalley

Thank you to the author Kelley Armstrong, publishers St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of COLD AS HELL. All views are mine.
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Reading Journal Details
Book: Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong
Format Read: Kindle eBook (343 pages)
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

Quick Take Review
Cold as Hell is a masterfully crafted mystery set in Haven's Rock, combining an immersive, chilling atmosphere with a twist-laden narrative that keeps you guessing until the very end. With richly developed characters and thoughtful Easter eggs nodding to Rockton, Kelley Armstrong has once again delivered a must-read thriller!


Full Review
Cold as Hell is a phenomenal mystery that masterfully blends heart-stopping suspense with an immersive, chilling atmosphere set in an isolated portion of the Yukon wilderness. Kelley Armstrong delivers an unexpected whodunit filled with countless twists and turns, keeping you on your toes from start to finish.

What truly elevates the novel is its standout character work. Core figures like Casey and Eric have distinctive voices and layered personalities—each with their own strengths and vulnerabilities that unfold authentically over the course of the narrative while simultaneously building upon previous installments' history and character development. Armstrong also treats longtime readers to delightful Easter eggs—a blip or two of Casey's past and several nods to Rockton—adding extra depth to the narrative.

The structure of the story feels like an open-world video game, in the sense that there are multiple narrative paths that explore both promising clues and red herrings shrouded in deception. Even as a frequent consumer of twisty, creepy, and gruesome reads, I found myself genuinely stumped by the outcome—a testament to Armstrong's flawless plotting.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and the talented Kelley Armstrong for providing me with a free advanced reader's copy (ARC). I am voluntarily leaving my review; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm so excited to return to the Yukon and Havens Rock. This is the third book in this series which is a spin-off of Armstong's Rockton series where we first meet Casey, Eric, and some of the residents we know from this series. You don't have to read Rockton to enjoy this one, but I would at least start with bk 1 in this series to get all the background information you need to know about the town and the people who live there.

Kelley Armstong does an amazing job of bringing Haven's Rock and its residents to life. The characters are complex and the mystery will keep you guessing until the moment Casey puts all the pieces together. I love the slow build-up of tension going from nothing happening to an attempted abduction to a missing person all while a storm is blowing in. I loved every moment and can't wait to see where this series is going to go next!

Wilderness, warning, and weathered.

This is Kelley Armstrong’s third installment of the Haven’s Rock mystery series. I need to thank NetGalley, because I received this ARC, and went back and read the first two, before this one. I have found an author that I enjoy, especially reading about the elements in the Yukon forest, mixed with mystery. Haven’s Rock is an interesting working community, unlike anything I have experienced and read before.
Thérèse Plumber has completed 3 excellent audio books. Although there is a thriller/mystery to them, they almost feel cozy with the way she represents each character. I was also gifted the electronic ARC as well, this was such a treat to have both versions! I loved reading while at home, and listening while driving and cooking.
Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for this opportunity, in exchange for my honest review. I hope and look forward to book 4!

Absolutely love this world that Kelley Armstrong has created! The research seems impressive and the complexity of the characters is top- notch!
The sinister nature of a serial killer is heightened in a setting like Haven’s Rock. An extremely well written story to keep you coming back for more, having formed attachments to the characters through out the series. Excited to see where Rory’s story comes into play!

This captivating series follows characters who yearn to live off the grid. I’ve read all three books, and each one surpasses the last in terms of storytelling. This particular book was an absolute page-turner, hard to put down. The plot was enthralling, and the author skillfully maintained a fast-paced pace, weaving in action and mystery. While I highly recommend reading the preceding two books to fully grasp the characters and the town’s background, this one stands alone as a thrilling read.

This review is entirely voluntary, and all opinions expressed reflect my personal views.

This book is the third book in a spin-off series called Haven’s Rock. While it’s not required for you to read the original series, it’s helpful in knowing some of the character’s history. As this series has gone on, its storylines have continued to grow along with getting to know the characters more in depth.

In this book, we start off with a mystery right away, just like the last book. This is all happening while Casey and Eric are expecting their first child. Of course, with knowing Casey, she doesn’t let the pregnancy stop her from her work and keeping the town and its residents safe.

The mystery revolves around Kendra, who has been drugged and dragged a but into the woods. From there, things continue to get complicated, with everyone being a possible suspect. Casey and Eric, along with Will, have to figure out what’s going on before things get much worse.

In true Kelley Armstrong fashion, there are twists and turns you don’t see coming, and I was left flying through the chapters because I had to know what was going to happen! I can’t wait for the next installment - it’s going to be hard to wait!

Thank you to Kelley Armstrong, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.2 Stars
One Liner: Too much heropanti by the FMC

Haven’s Rock is a sanctuary deep inside Yukon for those who need a safe place away from the rest of the world. Detective Casey and her husband Eric, along with a few others, do their best to keep the place running smoothly.
However, when one of the residents is drugged and dragged into the forest on a cold night, Casey realizes they have a potential threat on their hands. As they investigate, a snowstorm hits the place and a dead body turns up. Casey and Eric need to find the killer and end this soon.
The story comes in Casey’s first-person POV in the present tense.

My Thoughts:
So, I read my reviews for the previous three books before I wrote this review. Sadly, I don’t remember much but the inability to connect with Casey continues.
The premise is cool – an abduction/ assault foiled only for another to happen during a snowstorm. Also, with the FMC being eight months pregnant, there are more limitations to the already restricted setting.
Sadly, this time around, I didn’t feel the charm of the place. Winter is my favorite season, so I should have loved the setting. A few scenes searching in the woods with Storm were great. For the rest, the charm seems to have worn off.
Storm is a darling, my constant and only favorite in the series. A wee kid appears for half a page and creates a mini-storm, lol.
This time around, only the prologue is a different character’s third-person POV. The rest was Casey, which, unfortunately, didn’t do her any favor. Being in her head wasn’t entertaining, TBH. She sounded borderline whiny at times and would overthink issues that didn’t need so much ‘moral dilemma’.
I know idealism appeals to us. It helps to an extent and encourages discussions. However, letting the main character veer into naïve and stupid territory isn’t a good idea, especially when she has experience in dealing with the worst kind of people.
The mystery is actually good. I like most of it and the arguments around it. Sebastian turns out to be another favorite character!
However, what I didn’t want had happened in the climax. I kept an eye on the % and pretty much knew how things would develop. Nope, not happy with that. I can see the appeal. It’ll keep readers on the edge of the seat; all that tension! But… for me, it was unnecessary and made the FMC appear as someone who likes to play a hero irrespective of the cost. I don’t look for realism in thrillers (or even in cozy mysteries) but maybe this one time, a toned-down version might have had a greater appeal.
At least the ending is good. There’s proper closure and a happy (cute) development with some lighthearted scenes.

To summarize, Cold as Hell has a great premise and will appeal to a lot of readers, though I’m a bit of an outliner. I recommend reading the books in order as this won’t be good as a standalone (if I say this, then you have to take it seriously).
Thank you, NetGalley and St Martin’s (Minotaur Books), for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This is my first time reading anything by this author and although it was a little hard to get into in the beginning, I ended up enjoying this book. The tension is sharp, the mystery keeps you guessing, and the setting adds a chilling edge (literally). Throw in a very pregnant detective and isolation and the suspense has been amped up. If you love atmospheric thrillers with strong characters and plenty of twists, this one’s a must-read!

This is the third book in the Haven's Rock series. Full disclosure while I have read the initial series starter, I have not yet read book two.

Set in the Yukon wilderness, Haven's Rock is a secret sanctuary town for those seeking to disappear from their previous lives (often due to some form of danger) and start over. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband Eric Dalton oversee law enforcement in this 70-person community.

On this particular outing, a young woman is drugged and dragged into the surrounding forest at what is assumed to be an attempted rape. As a blizzard threatens, an investigation is instigated. But when the body of a local woman is found in a bizarre tableau, Casey and Eric must begin to view things in a different light. Is their villain a rapist or a psychopath? And who, in their closed community could be capable of such violence? Complicating the investigation is both the blizzard and Casey's advanced complication-laden first pregnancy.

I have mixed feelings about this series. While it is exciting, and I am getting to know the ensemble cast, I'm having a hard time relating to the dynamics of the set-up of Haven's Rock itself. There are aspects that are too far-fetched to overlook and things that I feel would not have been overlooked in setting up such a sanctuary. I found myself shaking my head at times with some of the neglected infrastructure that should have been a basic tenet.

I am willing to read more in this series (largely due to the characters), but I'm also hoping to have at least some of my doubts assuaged.

My thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press / Minotaur Books for providing the early arc of Cold as Hell for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

I have enjoyed Kelley Armstrong's books for years, from her paranormal series to her YA books. I read the Rockton books and the prior two Haven's Rock books . It was interesting to see Casey and Duncan a little more vulnerable in Cold as Hell. The book begins with the two imminently expecting their 1st child, while there is a blizzard and a murderer on the loose. While you could pick this book up "cold" (wink), I think that to really understand the backgrounds of these characters, you would need to have read the 1st Rockton book that introduces Casey and Duncan and the general idea of these off grid communities. I thought this book was a little slower than the previous ones, but the writing is great as usual and the mystery stays fresh.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.

Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong is another gripping thriller in the Haven’s Rock series. Detective Casey Butler and her husband, Eric Dalton, have the help of long-time friends and new residents as they pursue a sadistic serial killer in remote Haven’s Rock.

As always, Armstrong is a storyteller extraordinaire as characters manipulate, support, and try to live together in a very small place, hiding from the world, in a challenging climate. I can never put down her stories once I start; although this novel seemed a touch more graphically violent than usual, I was glued to every second. As each new story takes place, various other permanent residents take more or less of the spotlight which keeps everything fresh and allows us to get to know more about the supporting cast.

In particular, I enjoy the relationship between Casey and Eric, two broken people who are doing their best to be open and vulnerable with each other as they build their family and widen their circle of friends.

My one tiny complaint in this one is that although the climax is very exciting and unexpected, it strains credulity. That isn’t necessarily unusual in a thriller, but this really pushes the envelope. Nonetheless, it had me holding my breath and was fun and dramatic.

I’d recommend starting with the other Haven’s Rock books to get a better grasp of the background and characters. Ideally, dive into the Rockton series from which it originated. Still, it can likely work as a standalone.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC.

I never really warmed to Yukon cold😬❄

3-3.5🌟stars
This struck me as a Yukon cold winter wilderness version of an Agatha Christie house party murder mystery. An isolated community of individuals brought there by a need to escape their old lives and hide out, when suddenly women are being attacked, presumably by a member of said community. The attacker mystery was fine, but there were so many side tracks, largely thanks to narrator Casey's advanced state of pregnancy. I just did not connect with her or the other characters.

I did not know when I selected this novel that it was part of an already established series that was an offshoot of a previous series. There's a lot of backstory, most of it unexplained when alluded to, and that just made it harder to follow. I think this one might have been better for me had I read the preceding books in the series. But, frankly, I am not interested enough in this group of characters to do that. The writings fine, just maybe too focused on the principal character.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Review shared 2/6/25 on Waterstones, Goodreads, Bookbub and with Barnes & Noble. To be shared on kobo and Google Play upon publication.

I am bias I know because the Rockton series is one of my favourites but the newest novel in the Havens Rock series did not disappoint.
Like all the other books in both series this is a perfectly executed “locked room” mystery that unfolds in the “Great White North”.
With all the key players from the Rockton series making appearances reading this book felt like watching a new season of your favourite show.
Kelley always finds a way to depict such unique and intriguing murders/ mysteries and I found myself as confused as Casey with each chapter.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Minotaur books for the ARC e-book. And for introducing me to my next favourite series. I cannot wait for what’s next for my favourite crime solving duo, their family and friends and of course the best furry sidekick as this series unfolds!

Another gripping thriller set in Haven's Rock, Alaska, a private sanctuary town. The author provided even more atmosphere and suspense than usual. Although, I thought the main characters made some uncharacteristically dumb decisions in this one that reduced my enjoyment a bit.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

"New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong returns to Haven's Rock in Cold as Hell as Casey Duncan hunts down a dangerous killer during a deadly blizzard.

Haven's Rock is a sanctuary town hidden deep in the Yukon for those who need to disappear from the regular world. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are starting a family now that they've settled into their life here. As Casey nears the end of her pregnancy, she lets nothing, including her worried husband, stop her from investigating what happens in the forbidden forest outside the town of Haven's Rock.

When one of the town's residents is drugged and wanders too close to the edge of town, she's dragged into the woods kicking and screaming. She's saved in the nick of time, but the women of the town are alarmed. Casey and Eric investigate the assault just as a snowstorm hits Haven's Rock, covering the forest. It's there they find a frozen body, naked in the snow. With mixed accounts of the woman's last movements, the two begin to question who they can trust - and who they can't - in their seemingly safe haven."

Basically a locked-room but encompassing a snowbound town. I love it, it's like deadly Northern Exposure!

Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong is the continuing story of Eric and Casey in Haven's Rock. Sometimes when I finish a book I hate that it's over. I want to stay in the story and in the location. Some books I would even love to find somewhere similar that really exists and move there. Haven's rock is not one of those places. Not to say this is not a great book. It most definitely is! And every story about Havens Rock that Armstrong writes I will be the first in line to read it. And I will thoroughly enjoy it! But, by the time I have finished reading one of these books, I am sore from being so tense. All my muscles are just knotted up. Kelly Armstrong has a gift of not having a down time in a book. There is literally no part of the story where you can just enjoy the dialogue, enjoy the description of the surroundings, Haven's Rock is a place where your nerves are always on edge and you have to turn the page because there's no place to stop and put the book down. In Cold as Hell we have the added stress of Casey being pregnant. And just from her Rockton series you know Armstrong is not going to make it easy. Throw in a killer targeting women and a complicated pregnancy and Eric and Casey are on edge through the entire story. I have to say I seem to be enjoying the Haven's Rock series better than the Rockton series simply because the type of people in Rockton came from sketchy backgrounds. Haven's Rock is different so when there is evil in the community it's surprising. But of course it's going to happen because it's Kelly Armstrong! I voluntarily received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

The Rockton books are one of my favourite ongoing thriller series, and Cold as Hell was no different.

Cold as Hell freaked me out enough when I home alone at night that I had to stop reading! It had all Kelley Armstrong’s flair for twists and turns, and an extra spooky mystery to solve after a woman is found dead, seemingly from exposure.

I’m excited to see where the story goes next, and look forward to the next book!

This was a fun thriller that was bogged down a little by all the backstory on the townspeople. There was a fairly large cast of characters and while it was interesting learning all their sordid stories, it did take away from the main case and slowed the story down a lot. I think it could have been edited down to make a more focused story, and less characters to keep track of for the reader. That being said, I enjoyed the story, it's well written and would definitely read this author again!

So I before I get into it I do want to say I had no idea this was part of a series. I feel it is definitely best to read in order as it was difficult to not have the backstories or events that happened beforehand. So I will DEFINITELY be reading the first two and then reading this one again.
It was still engaging from beginning to end and suspenseful. Very intriguing mystery and I’m looking forward to starting this series from the beginning!