A fast-paced supernatural western with a strong female lead and plenty of action. Kelley Armstrong blends paranormal elements and classic Wild West tropes in a way that feels fresh. The world-building was rich, and I loved the sister dynamic. I did find the pacing a little uneven at times, but overall, it’s a unique and entertaining start to a promising series.

"Cold as Hell" by Kelley Armstrong is the third in the series and a wonderful addition. It just helps the story get better. The characters are well developed the town is a fully built by Armstrong. She has really hit her stride as an author. Each one solid.

First time reading this author and this is part of a series which I have not read the previous books and could follow but reading the previous books would provide additional details to invest in the plot line. Hidden away deep in the Yukon Wilderness of Canada is a secluded town called Haven's Rock - a sanctuary for those seeking a place to disappear off the grid while leaving their pasts behind. After applying for residency, each person coming in is carefully researched before being approved, leading to a small community of people safe within the borders. The secluded setting and mother nature combine to create a highly atmospheric, locked room style thriller that's guaranteed to keep readers up late at night to finish those last few pages. Detective Casey Duncan and Sheriff Eric Dalton are called out to help with a woman who was drugged and almost attacked, they are on edge. Soon thereafter, another woman goes missing, with more drastic outcomes. A killer is on the loose and a winter storm is pushing in, sure to cover all evidence under a pile of snow. The characters are likeable and interesting. The momentum is propelled with numerous happenings in a great setting, providing something that lurks in the background for something to derail. Definitely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley, Kelley Armstrong, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity and introducing me to another new author.

The following review was published on Goodreads on 4.16.25:

Although it's grittier than my usual fare (and this installment is especially so), Armstrong's Rockton/Haven's Rock series is a favorite of mine. I love the power couple at its center, both as individuals and as a pair. Casey and Eric are brave, compassionate, smart, and capable. They listen to each other and support each other in every way. They're funny as well. It's enjoyable to watch them interact as they run the town they've created together.

In this installment, Casey and Eric discover they're unintentionally harboring a killer in Haven's Rock. With Casey about to give birth and a winter storm on the horizon, it's exceptionally bad timing. This setup makes for a tense, exciting plot with lots of action and suspense. The killer's methods are especially sadistic, which means COLD AS HELL is more disturbing than some of the other installments in the series. Still, the book kept me riveted, just as all of Armstrong's books do. The murderer wasn't a complete surprise, but their identity wasn't obvious either.

Not surprisingly since this is a favorite series of mine, I enjoyed COLD AS HELL. I always listen to these books on audio because Therese Plummer narrates them to perfection. Even though I had two paper copies of this book, I still waited in a long library line to get the book on audio. I'm glad I did.

If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language, violence, blood/gore, disturbing subject matter, and scenes of peril

WE HAVE A BABY! Ok, getting ahead of myself here. Casey is uber pregnant in this book and it’s not going as smoothly as she or Eric would’ve hoped. While going south to civilization and a real hospital is definitely in the cards, they have a problem in Haven’s Rock. Someone has drugged one of the residents and was seen leading them out into the woods. Luckily another resident saw them and managed to save her. Then during a huge snowstorm, another resident appears to have gone missing. A case of getting lost in white out conditions or something more sinister? As the mystery heats up, Casey starts having more complications with the pregnancy and intends to go South. After her and Eric leave, she starts piecing together more of the puzzle and realizes they both need to go back to Haven’s Rock. ASAP. When they return to find yet another resident missing and presumably in danger, she must fight through more than she could ever imagine before getting the culprit under control.
I thought the ending was very fitting and loved how one of my favorite characters managed to mete out justice in the end. I’ll be interested to see how things will change there going forward and definitely think this is one of the best Haven’s Rock books thus far!

I always love reading a Kelley Armstrong book. This is the third book in her spinoff rockton series, and I really enjoyed it! Trapped in a snowstorm and trying to find the person who savagely tortured and killed on of the community members? I couldn’t stop reading to figure it out! I also really enjoyed seeing Casey come into being a mother (with the baby’s birth coming in the most epic way ever!) highly recommend this series!

I always enjoy the Rockton/Haven’s Rock books and this is no exception. There is humor as Casey and over-protective Dalton deal with investigating while Casey is eight-months pregnant. I did not see the end coming in the twisty mystery. I like that the setting is such a strong element in these books and the storm adds tension and urgency to the mystery and the issues with Casey’s pregnancy. Highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a new series for me, despite this one being the third book along. I did a little research on my own to get some background for the story, but it could easily be read as a standalone.

Detective Casey Duncan and her husband Sheriff Eric Dalton are in control of who enters Haven’s Rock, or that’s the way it was set up since it’s a sanctuary town for people who need to disappear from the real world for awhile (or longer). Casey and Eric are starting a family and their first baby is due pretty soon.

The cardinal rule for residents is “don’t go near the forest!” One of the women is attacked and dragged into the woods after being drugged. Thankfully she’s saved, but the residents (especially the women) are justifiably alarmed. The subsequent investigation leads them to find a frozen naked body in the snow, and rest of the story is a saga about who they can (and who they can’t). Therapy entrance requirements for Have’s Rock are stringent, but *somebody* got in that’s undesirable, obviously!

I really liked the book, and I’m interested in reading the previous books in the series. This one is a winner for sure! 4.5 stars, rounded up!

I received a copy of the digital ARC via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

I absolutely love this series, and Cold as Hell was yet another great addition! Kelley Armstrong delivers another thrilling mystery in the Haven's Rock series. The only slight problem with this one and my reason for 4 stars instead of 5 was because Casey's stubborness kind of drove me a little crazy this time around.

Casey is now eight months pregnant, and she has had some complications, but that hasn't stopped her from investigating a murder once again. There were times during this book that I thought she should have slowed down a bit, and that was frustrating. Besides that, though, this was an excellent mystery. The plot was fast-paced and kept me engrossed all the way through.This story has just about
everything you could want in a great
mystery novel, suspense, tons of tension, and plenty of twists and turns. The characters were entertaining, and the writing was great. I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment in this series!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Cold As Hell by Kelley Armstrong is book three in the Haven’s Rock series. If you like mystery, whodunit, romantic, crime thrillers then you will love this book.

This is my first book by Kelley and definitely not the last. She did an amazing job with the storyline and plot. Casey is a detective in Haven Rock, who happens to be eight months pregnant. She is married to the towns sheriff Eric. During a snow storm they learn there is someone killing the women in town. Imagine looking for a killer during a snowstorm, due any day now. This book kept you hooked from page one with so many twists and turns, and a husband who wants his detective wife to take it easy. Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

As Casey Duncan and her husband continue to try to make Haven's Rock what Rockton was supposed to be - a haven for people whom others cannot help - even her pregnancy cannot stop her from trying to help others. In a blizzard, investigating a woman's disappearance is even more difficult without all the modern methods. I love the way Casey is fierce about helping people and how she has surrounded herself with all the right people to help her. I also appreciate that she has not let herself become numb to emotions even when it is difficult. These books continue to enthrall and I love seeing the way the mysteries unspool. 4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. The beginning sucked me in immediately. I love a good hunt for a killer. I wasn’t bored and I was on the edge of my seat some chapters. The ending was great. This is the 3rd book in a series so be sure to read them in Order.

✨ Publication date: February 18, 2025✨

Cold as Hell is the third instalment of the Haven’s Rock series by Kelley Armstrong. This is a spin off series from her Rockton series and is a crime/mystery series.

Haven’s Rock is a small settlement in the Yukon (Northern Canada), way off the grid. Haven’s Rock is a safe place to be for people who need to leave their old lives behind. Sometimes that means taking in former criminals, people in the witness protection program. Etc. There is a rigorous review process before anyone is allowed in to ensure the safety and security of the small settlement.

This book picks up several months from the last book, Casey is 8 months pregnant and limited on what she can do as one of the official police investigators and law makers for Haven’s Rock.

After one of the female councillors is found drugged and nearly raped, Haven’s Rock goes on lockdown while Casey and Eric investigate. As they begin to close in on the truth, another person goes missing.

After a pregnancy scare, Eric and Casey need to fly to a minor city to seek medical care. While they are a way, they realize one of the settlers is not who they thought he was. As they race against time keep Haven’s Rock safe, Casey puts herself and her unborn child at risk.

When false labour turns into reality, Casey has to do everything in her power to keep herself and her baby alive in the deep cold of the Yukon wilderness.

This was another great instalment of the series. I love this author, she never disappoints! This was a four star read for me and I’m looking forward to the next one!

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

#NetGalley #kelleyarmstrong #coldashell

Like many readers of Kelley Armstrong’s Rockton series, I was so glad when she created a spin-off series featuring all the same characters in a new settlement. Cold as Hell is the latest in the Haven’s Rock series and I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down. Seriously. It’s been so long since a book had captured my attention quite like this one and all I wanted to do was curl up with the novel and find out what really happened in town.

Here’s the book’s description:

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.

A lot of the unputdownableness (yes, I’m gonna make up words) of this one was really due to *waves arms around* you know, the general state of the world. It was MUCH preferable to spend time in a town in Middle of Nowhere, Yukon where there was potentially a murderer on the loose than contemplate what’s happening in real life. But even setting aside the fact that I wanted to ignore reality, Armstrong created a really riveting story with Cold as Hell. I was so invested in the mystery and was on edge for the entire book. I was totally lost and had no idea who the murderer was or if there even WAS a murderer.

Armstrong’s created such a great cast of characters in this series. Casey and Dalton are the focus, of course, but I love checking in with all the secondary characters and seeing how they’re doing. There are a lot of them to keep track of and I imagine anyone coming into this series late in the game might get confused. Back stories are really important to these characters so do yourself a favour and start right back at the beginning with City of the Lost (full disclosure: I jumped into Rockton at book four so take that as you will.)

A note on trigger warnings: Casey is eight months pregnant at the start of the novel. She mentions a few past pregnancy scares - nothing in too much detail, but there was clearly a mental toll on both her and Dalton. She has false labour at one point in the book and the birth is described on the page.

If you’re a fan of mysteries, especially really thrilling ones, you’re going to want to read Cold as Hell. Even with all the murder and suspicion and worry, I had such a great time reading Kelley Armstrong’s latest book. I already cannot wait to get back to Haven’s Rock!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Minotaur, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

This was a ride! I had no idea where I was going or what was coming, but it was fun! I really enjoyed this book and I really want to read more by this author.

Cold As Hell is the third in Kelley Armstrong's Haven Rock series. Haven Rock is a town built as a refuge for those who want to escape something from their past, and its very location in the cold north of the Yukon make random visitors unlikely. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband Sheriff Eric Dalton have built their life in this new town, and they are now expecting their first child. Haven Rock should be a place of calm and refuge, as everyone is vetted before they are allowed to move there. But the attack on a woman leaving a bar, who manages to escape, lets Casey and Eric know that someone in Haven Rock is not who they seem.

This was my first book I've read in this series. To be honest, at the very beginning I felt slightly disadvantaged by this, as the town has a rich cast of characters, and Casey and Eric obviously had a backstory of which I was unaware. But the author was good at giving the reader lots of information, and within a couple of chapters I felt I was up to speed. Then I began to get drawn into the interesting town of Haven Rock and its quirky inhabitants. By the end of the book, I knew I needed to go back and read the rest of the series.

My favorite things about Cold As Hell:
1. The setting was great and was an essential part of the story. I don't know what the author's experience is in extreme cold climates, but she wrote about it very convincingly and made me feel as if I was there.
2. Interesting characters abounded in this book, and they all felt very three dimensional. In particular I liked Casey.
3. The author used humor, often with the relationship between Casey and her sister April, who is a doctor in the town. Some of the dialogue was very funny, always a welcome addition in a book.

My very favorite thing in this book, though, was the ending. I would have rated this a very strong 4 stars, which is a good rating from me, but I thought the ending was so exciting (especially when listening on the audio) that it bumped this up to a 5 star for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kelley Armstrong, and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great addition to the Haven's Rock series! I have enjoyed this series from the first book. We finally get to see what happens if the background check of all the residents does not go as planned. This book is fast paced, and concludes just as fast. This would have been 5 stars, but some research was needed as to the pregnancy and delivery. Even with this, it is still a great book!

Thérèse Plummer does a fantastic job of bringing this book to life. The emotion and infection of voice keeps the listener involved.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for an advanced reading and listening copies of this book.

In this 3rd in the series, the fact that Casey is pregnant and near her due date does not stop her from getting in on all the action. A female resident is drugged in the bar and dragged into the woods. She fought back and escaped, but who did it?

A blizzard hits the area just as Eric and Casey investigate. Another resident goes missing and their search uncovers her naked, frozen corpse in the woods.

Their search intensifies just as Casey's labor begins. The plot escalates to a violent crescendo as a serial killer targets Casey - and she gives birth to Rory, on very thin ice.

Loved it. Really good and twisty! My first book by her but will definitely be getting more!!! Really good book!

Like many others, I watched my fair share of episodes of the popular TV mystery series “Murder, She Wrote” when it aired. While it was gratifying to note that justice was always served and Jessica Fletcher caught the killer in every episode, one question puzzled me. About half the episodes occurred in the small town of Cabot Cove, ME, with a population of roughly 3,500. So, this town had at least a dozen murders a year (not counting any barroom brawls or domestic disturbances that didn’t require Jessica’s smarts to solve). Why didn’t they run out of people? Why didn’t the town become infamous as the “Murder Capital of America”? I had the same thought when reading Kelley Armstrong’s latest mystery, “Cold As Hell.” This book takes place in Haven’s Rock, in the remote Canadian Yukon territory. This “town” is a handful of buildings that make Cabot Cove look like the Big Apple. Haven’s Rock has only 70 inhabitants, but the town is plagued with murders for its resident police Detective Casey Duncan to solve. (Casey’s husband is the town sheriff.) In “Cold As Hell,” she must also deal with treacherous winter weather and a near full-term pregnancy. The result is an enjoyable page-turner for mystery and suspense fans.

“Cold As Hell” is the third in the author’s series set in Haven’s Rock. The town doesn’t officially exist on any map; it was constructed from scratch in the remote wilds as a refuge for people who needed to disappear from their previous lives in warmer climes. I haven’t read any earlier books in the series (or in a predecessor series featuring Casey that was set in a similar locale). However, I gather that earlier books in both series explored the background and politics of these towns in greater depth. That lack of backstory in “Cold As Hell” isn’t a problem for readers; the book is self-contained. Also, by streamlining the storyline, the author keeps readers from getting bogged down in needless details.

Haven’s Rock comprises a few stores and dwellings and one bar where the residents often socialize. All the buildings are fairly close together, a safety precaution that comes in handy when the multiple blizzards in “Cold As Hell” strike. Unfortunately, those safety precautions don’t help one resident, Kendra. Her drink is spiked in the bar one night, and when she gets lost while trying to go home, she is almost raped. Fortunately, the assault was halted by the fortuitous arrival of a passerby. The next day, Casey begins her investigation, which proves tricky. Although the town has few residents, many of them were in the bar that night, and they all could have spiked Kendra’s drink.

At least Kendra fares better than Lynn, another resident of Haven’s Rock. While Casey is still investigating Kendra’s assault, Lynn disappears. After several hours, a search party finds her dead body in the woods. While the cause of death first appears to be accidental hypothermia, Casey determines Lynn was tied down and left to die. Now, Casey has a murder to solve besides an assault, both probably committed by the same person.

“Cold As Hell” is a relatively good mystery. It’s an interesting riff on classic detective stories in which a murder takes place on a remote island or similar isolated locale, where there are only a few possible killers. Haven’s Rock has 70 residents. However, the author streamlines the suspect list considerably, since the killer would have had to be in the bar that night to spike Kendra’s drink. Readers follow Casey’s interrogation of the various witnesses, which goes on a bit too long and drags. The story’s repetitious pace is especially noticeable before Lynn’s disappearance, when Kendra’s assault is the only crime Casey is investigating. Still, the author does a good job of using Casey’s interrogations and observations of the witnesses to create multi-dimensional characters that feel real. Mystery fans will also appreciate that the author plays fair in “Cold As Hell.” Kelley Armstrong reveals (but doesn’t call undue attention to) the significant clues that allow Casey to guess the killer’s identity.

Discovering Lynn’s killer isn’t the end of the mystery in “Cold As Hell.” Casey researches the killer’s past and discovers an extremely twisted motive for the murder. Some people may not like this type of plotting, but I found this complexity refreshing in a story I thought would have a more straightforward motive. Once Casey learns the killer’s identity, the novel still has another 20% to go. Since Haven’s Rock is a blip in the middle of a vast wilderness, the killer has plenty of places to hide, and they take another woman hostage to make the track down more treacherous. The author brings the harsh environment into the storyline multiple times during the book. At one point, Casey has to fend off an attack from a ravenous wolverine. (You won’t find that in the big city.) The author has thoroughly researched the scientific details surrounding Haven’s Rock, which makes “Cold As Hell” even more entertaining.

One issue I had with the book was the treatment of Casey’s pregnancy. It doesn’t take much imagination to guess that the pregnancy will figure in the storyline. I felt the book had enough going for it without inserting a needless and very predictable complication to what should have been a suspenseful conclusion. Far from building tension, the pregnancy is a distracting complication.

Overall, “Cold As Hell” is an entertaining mystery in a most unusual setting. The book mixes traditional mystery elements with an outdoor adventure thriller. The author’s attention to environmental details is impressive. I didn’t fully understand how easy it was for people to get hopelessly lost in a major blizzard, even if they’re only a few feet from safety. (I also didn’t understand how vicious wolverines are. Hugh Jackman’s Marvel character name makes more sense now.) The author throws in some needless third-act complications involving Casey’s pregnancy when the hunt for the killer at large is ongoing and suspenseful. Still, “Cold As Hell” merits a solid recommendation for mystery and suspense fans.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.