Member Reviews

Another excellent entry in the Haven’s Rock series. Armstrong’s character development and depth really soar, making this a mystery/thriller series which is fun to come back to again and again, even knowing the twists and turns. Truly an auto-buy author, and I hope this series has many more books to come following Casey and the Haven’s Rock family.

Was this review helpful?

I loved this book! I love this series, & hope it has a long run. The characters are well developed & rounded, I feel like I know them. Each book is distinct so you never feel like you’re reading the same story over & over, despite the limited setting. Can wait to see what happens next, especially with a baby now. #ColdasHell #NetGalley

Was this review helpful?

Cold as Hell is the third book in the Haven's Rock series and it does not disappoint. The book had me turning pages until the end and will keep you guessing. This one is about Casey Butler and how she has to find a dangerous killer but the catch is that it happens all in a deadly blizzard. All of the characters in this are great and I loved the dog in this. The author wrote this so well and will have you captivated. This was a chilling read full of suspense, tension and so much more. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press/Minotaur Books for this amazing read in exchange of my honest review of Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong.

Was this review helpful?

4.5 stars, rounded up

I am always so happy and excited when I pick up a new Kelley Armstrong book, and this one did not disappoint! This is book 3 in the Haven's Rock series, a spin-off of the Rockton series. While you don't need to read Rockton first, it'll give you all the context, history, and introduce important characters, making for a much more enjoyable and informed read.

The action immediately starts on page one, making for a fast paced story. I had so many theories as I was reading and my heart was racing when I got to the ending.

One of my favourite thing about this series is the characters, and I loved getting to catch up with all of them throughout the book.

I devoured this book and already can't wait for the next one. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I love this series!

You can always depend on Kelley Armstrong for intriguing well developed characters, a well plotted story and an excellent backdrop upon which the story can unfold!

I love how all the characters are complex and interesting, some more likeable than others. The setting is great too, a hidden town in the Yukon which is a sanctuary for those who the law can’t protect.

In this book, Casey is initially investigating the case of a woman who someone tried to drag into the woods, who was saved by timely intervention. Was it someone from Havens Rock? Or an unknown person from the woods? The stakes quickly escalate with a blizzard, and a dead body. Despite her late term pregnancy Casey is determined to solve the case, and protect the women of Havens Rock.

I highly recommend this series, as well as everything else this author has written!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with an eARC of this book to read and review.

Was this review helpful?

Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC of this book. I chose to review it and this in no way impacts my opinion of it.

This novel is book 3 in the Haven's Rock series which is a spin-off series of the Rockton series by Kelley Armstrong. While it is not entirely necessary to read the Rockton series first, it is recommended as the Haven's Rock series will refer back to things from the original series.

The novel opens up with one of the towns residents being drugged and dragged into the woods. While kicking and screaming, she draws the attention of a passing resident who comes to her rescue. When another resident goes missing during a storm, Casey and Eric begin the hunt to find her and the person who is intent on harming women, in their secret town.

As is usual for a Kelley Armstrong novel, this book wastes no time in getting to the action. I was hooked from the very first sentence and could barely put the book down. I have been a huge fan of Casey and Eric since the very first novel in the Rockton series came out as a weekly serial online.

I wasn't sure how I felt about the accidental baby trope being played in the second book in the series, Murder at Haven's Rock but the nearing arrival of the baby was well down in this novel and I am excited to see how Casey and Eric will deal with the newest addition to their secret town.

I found this novel to have the perfect amount of suspense and thrills I've come to love in both the Rockton and Haven's Rock series. I will forever be highly recommending these series to all my thrill loving friends.

Was this review helpful?

I read this book without reading the first two in the series, but it's Kelly Armstrong so tI knew it would be good. I REALLY enjoyed it, and will be buying the other books in this series. It hooked me from the first chapter, and had me shocked. I thought I had everything figured out, and was wrong. I highly recommend!!

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

Was this review helpful?

This is edge of your seat suspense. With a predator about everyone seems suspect. The culprit is not the one I suspected which I liked. The manner of death shocking and disturbing. All in all a riveting story.

Was this review helpful?

Reviewed for NetGalley:

The third novel in the Haven's Rock saga, with an 8th months pregnant Detective Casey of a missing women in the small, isolated town.

I picked this up without reading the two prior books in the series, so although I was only mildly lost, the mystery/thriller kept me on the edge of my seat.

Looking forward to going back and reading the first two.

Was this review helpful?

This is definitely a series that should be read in order, so I’m going to try to tiptoe a bit on reviewing what is basically book 10 of an ongoing series. I find that a number of mystery series set in small places get repetitive and a little ridiculous, as a small town with that many murders would not be a place people would live in long! That’s why I like this series—Armstrong keeps the stories fresh and varied despite setting them in a small place. I really liked the story of this particular book and how Casey’s current situation impacts the investigation. And given said situation, I’m interested to see where the series goes next. Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I am a fan of the Rockton series and have enjoyed this spinoff series as well. This book continued in the same vein. Sticking with a formula that works, the main character has a mystery/murder to solve and does!
It helps having a slight explanation about characters as I don't always remember who they are.

This author is almost always a guarantee for an enjoyable book. I recommend this book. While this book could be read without the others, it would help provide a better foundation if you read the series in order.

Was this review helpful?

As per usual, I devoured this newest installment of the Haven's Rock series. Catching up with Casey, Eric, Will, and the rest of the crew was... well, I don't want to say 'fun', but I enjoyed my armchair visit to the Great White North. I really like the concept of a small, off-the-grid sanctuary town where everyone chips in. If only they could keep the murder-y drama at bay. But then, we wouldn't have much of a story, would we?

This time around, someone appears to be targeting female residents of Haven's Rock and abducting them. The first attempt is thwarted, but the second one is successful, and gruesome. There are a few suspects, but none that seem straightforward enough to take swift, strong action. Plus, Casey's in the final few weeks of her pregnancy and the decision is made for her and Eric to head to civilization for a bit while the town goes on lockdown to prevent any more abductions.

Except, once the couple is away from town, Casey starts to investigate a niggling thought that leads to a major breakthrough. When they can't reach anyone in town by satellite phone to warn them, they decide to fly back to ensure the culprit doesn't escape. But it turns out they may be too late... and be putting themselves and their unborn child at risk.

Was this review helpful?

I love this series! Another hit from Kelley Armstrong and her Haven’s Rock series!

Casey, Eric and Storm are back, with a baby on the way! When the couple should be preparing for their new arrival someone else has plans of their own. A blizzard has hit Haven’s Rock causing everyone to head indoors for shelter. When the storm lets up enough to go out they are informed that one of their residents is missing. When the woman is found dead, Casey and Eric fear that an outsider has wandered too close and taken advantage. Or worse, there may be a killer among them. With less than 70 people living at Haven’s Rock, most of whom they thought they could trust, they will have to put their feelings aside and find the person responsible. Easier said than done when it’s freezing cold and you have to go trekking through the deep snow…and you are about to give birth!!

Cold As Hell’s fast-pacing and endless suspense combined with characters you can’t help but love will have you putting everything on hold until you’ve turned the last page. This is book #3 of the Haven’s Rock series which is a spin off from the Rockton series. To get the best reading experience I would start there with City of the Lost where you will learn the back story of Haven’s Rock and its residents. You will not be disappointed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely adore Kelley Armstrong! I've enjoyed every book of hers, and I've read many of them.
This is the third book in the Havens Rock series, and it was excellent.
The world building is great, and the mystery solving is well done.
Im giving it a solid 4 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

Was this review helpful?

I have loved this series since the very first Rockton book, City of the Lost. Actually, since before it was even a book & Kelley Armstrong was releasing them in parts! I've been hooked ever since. I was a little wary when Rockton closed & Haven's Rock opened. I wasn't sure the magic of Rockton would still be there. But Kelley doesn't disappoint. There's always a good mystery whenever Casey & Eric are around. And while I never figure it out before Casey does, I always have fun trying to unravel the mystery. Cold as Hell was no different. I didn't figure it out until it was revealed to the reader. I love that though. Also, there was a scene that had me so stressed out. I was physically freaking out as my heart was racing! Kelley nailed the writing of that scene. I'm eager for the next book, as always!

Was this review helpful?

This is the third book in the author’s Haven’s Rock trilogy. The series is set in the Yukon and the small community is off the grid. Its residents all needed to find a safe haven, and after a rigorous and thorough vetting process, were invited to join other people in similar circumstances in Haven’s Rock. There is a small police force to ensure the residents’ safety and to enforce the rules regarding their residency in town. When someone starts attacking the women of the town, the police force, including the lead detective, who is late-term pregnant, begin their search for the resident who slipped through their vetting process.

This thriller, like Armstrong’s other books, is hard to put down. The author is a skilled writer and ramps up the tension in her story one page at a time. There will be times when readers will undoubtedly set the book down in order to reduce the tension they are feeling, but won’t stay away from the book for long.

The characters are well drawn and likable. You need not have read the first two books in this series because Armstrong takes care to introduce her characters and the town to new readers, but it is a good bet that you’ll put the first two books somewhere near the top of your TBR list. The author is also skilled at describing the environment the town is set in - even if you read this book in the heat of the summer, you’ll be wondering where your favorite sweater is because you can feel the cold seeping into your bones.

If you love thrillers and the tension searching for the bad guy gives you, this is the book for you. If you’re not sure you like thrillers, read this book to enjoy Armstrong’s writing.

My thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for an eARC.

Was this review helpful?

As the third installment in a spin-off series, I was a little skeptical. I needn't have worried. Kelley Armstrong has once again delivered a mystery that keeps us guessing. The writing is excellent, as always, and the mystery presented is intriguing. I really like that, even after spending more than one series with some of these characters, the reader is left to wonder if we really know them the way we think we do. I especially like that the characters are still evolving, still giving us stories we can really dig into as fictional detectives. I am looking forward to the way this series pans out in the long run.

Was this review helpful?

Kelley Armstrong has done it again! This is such an excellent addition to the overall series and is a must read for fans of the series.

I would recommend reading the series in order, and I think this one you need both Rockton and Haven's Rock to truly understand all the throwbacks and nuances that Casey is reflecting on throughout the book, and how it impacts the actions of her and others. I feel like this is Casey at her peak level of performance and survival, and that this book is hyperfocused on her and her growth. This story does get a bit dark, but there is also so much hope for the characters overall -- I think Armstrong played a really delicate balance really artfully here. I know sometimes the plots of Rockton/Haven's Rock can be a bit extreme, but I love them and I think this one was done really well. Armstrong had me on the edge of my seat all the way through the end.

I also like how Armstrong is acknowledging Haven's Rock isn't perfect and there are still loopholes to be closed around old Rockton practices, that, while imperfect, were generally functional. There is a definite shift in acknowledging, yeah, everyone at Rockton could have done this, vs hey, at Haven's Rock, if someone is doing this we have a much, much larger issue. Armstrong's plots so far this series have shown us mysteries like this novel, the dangers of nature, the issues of being discovered by outsiders/facing wanderers -- and I think she still has a lot of space for Casey and Eric to investigate in the future with their growing family, which will be its own adventure to read through.

Was this review helpful?

This is the third book in the Haven’s Rock Mystery series. It’s a spinoff of the Rockton/Casey Duncan series that follows a police detective who moves to an isolated haven community off the grid in the Yukon. This story picks up with Casey 8 months pregnant as a woman in the community is rescued during a suspected roofie/assault situation. This leads the women and men in the new town to consider situations that they hadn’t planned on before, but a lot of the women unfortunately have experience with from their prior lives down south.

When another woman in the community goes missing, Casey and company must figure out if the situation is related to the prior assault, simply a woman trying to avoid her own domestic situation or possibly a connection to what she was running from when she came to Haven’s Rock. To add more complication to the matter, Casey’s pregnancy has not been smooth sailing with various snags and scares along the way.

I really enjoyed the mystery in this one. I had wished for more Sebastian in my last review, and I was rewarded in this one as well as given a side of the creepy Mathias that I love. With so many beloved characters now in this town, it’s hard to keep all of them prominent in each mystery storyline, so I appreciate that the author is rotating them through in an equal manner. As with a few of the Rockton mysteries, the crimes in this one were quite jaw-dropping. I admit that I had my suspicions as to the culprit though I loved the way the details were revealed. While I’m not a fan of the pregnancy storyline, it certainly made for an exciting climax.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

The publisher sent me the widget and I normally love her books so I loaded it. Totally my fault to not check, but it was part of a series and I haven't read the others. I think I definitely would have enjoyed this more if I read the others. It was still well written but I felt a bit lost with the backstory. I want to start the first one in the series now because I have heard such great things. I'll still be picking up her book in the future as I love her stories.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?