I greatly enjoyed this third book in the Haven’s Rock series. I love the characters in this series! As always, there’s a lot of suspense and the pacing is spot on. As mentioned, this is the third book in the series, and I recommend reading the first two ahead of this one, as the author does not really provide much backstory moving in to set the scene. I believe this is meant to be the final installment, so will be looking forward to the next series!

Reading this during a couple of chilly days really made this story feel real and I was sucked into the town of Haven's Rock as a storm hits, women are being attacked and going missing, and Casey is coming up on her due date which has its own joys and fears. Haven's Rock may be small and hidden in the Yukon but so many things continue to happen, which is understandable when the residents are on the run and need protection. I love the duo of Casey and Eric, they work so well together and it is easy to see how strongly they love each other. The other long term residents, like Gunnar, Kendra, Yolanda, Will, and April who make up the core and help solve these cases are also mostly easy to like and I keep holding my breath so that nothing bad happens to them.

So, this is another great book in the Haven's Rock series, full of twists, thrills, and so much cold weather! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to dive back into the town of Haven's Rock and have another thrilling read!

I've been a fan of this series, as well as of the Rockton series from which it was spun so know that I did not have the issues with this that new readers likely will-namely that Armstrong doesn't give backstory for anyone and just thumps you down in the middle of a blizzard hitting Haven's Rock. And that was actually an issue even for me because it would be nice to be reminded sometimes of how people got there especially if, as happens once, one character says that another just learned the back story of a third. Just give us a sentence- what was that back story? This installment sees Casey, now 8 months pregnant, and Dalton hunting for a missing resident and then for the person who murdered her. They interview various residents (we are reminded repeatedly of Sebastian's back story). And all along the way, Casey is having contractions, first because the baby is in breech and then.....I like Casey and, as always, her sister April is a treat as is Eric. This would be a better book had it been edited by someone who had not read the preceding books so that gaps could have been filled and (minor quibble) the naming Mae consistent (sometimes he's Eric, sometimes Dalton, sometimes Will, sometimes Anders). All of that said, I enjoyed spending time in the Yukon and look forward to the next installment. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Nicely atmospheric (cold!) and twisty.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of Cold As Hell by Kelley Armstrong, published by St Martin's Press
Excellent series and I think I enjoyed this last book as much if not more than the first. Great characters and plot, excellent setting and descriptions. I listened to the first 2 1/2 books on audiobook, and really enjoyed reading this 3rd and last novel. There was plenty of drama, well established characters and some great who dunnit and investigative work. This can be read as a stand alone, but reading the whole series makes it that much better. A great and thrilling read.

There is plenty of action and suspense in this story. Casey and Eric are expecting their baby soon and they may have to leave town for a while so she can be closer to a hospital. Just as they are getting ready to leave, someone is almost kidnapped. As they are investigating, a huge storm blows in and then another woman goes missing. Casey really doesn't want to go away with this going on, but she doesn't have much of a choice. Then they find the woman dead. Eric knows that she really can't leave it, but she has to go. The more she investigates, the murkier it gets. It had to be an outsider, right? Casey and Eric will have quite the story to tell their child when she is older. Good story.

In the third Haven's Rock novel, Casey is at the end of her pregnancy, and she & her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton are preparing to welcome the baby into the settlement. Then, one of the women in the settlement is drugged when she is out having a drink with friends, and someone tries to drag her off into the forest. She manages to escape, but then another woman isn't so lucky. Soon, all of the men become suspects, and it is up to Casey & Eric to figure out who is doing this to the women of Haven's Rock, and bring peace back to their safe haven.

I love this series. Casey & Eric make up an awesome partnership & they never fail to find their perpetrator, and keep Haven's Rock safe for everyone in it. I love the backdrop of the wilderness, deep in the Yukon, and all of the additional challenges that brings to solving crimes, as well as living off the grid. If you are a mystery lover then you should definitely check this series out. Each book could be read as a stand-alone, although they are like M&M's.... you won't be able to stop with just one. I highly recommend them!

Cold as Hell
by Kelley Armstrong
Pub Date: Feb 18 2025

Cold as Hell is the 3rd book in the Haven's Rock series, but can be read as a stand a lone. I did not read the first two books but after finishing this book I plan on reading them! It was full of suspense, at times I could feel my heart pounding, it definitely kept me turning the pages!

Synopsis: 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.

Many thanks to #NetGalley #StMartin'sPress for providing me and E-ARC of this 5 star book!

Kelley Armstrong returns to her secluded town in the Canadian North, Haven's Rock, for another, tense instalment in this offshoot series of her Rockton stories.

Casey and Dalton are trying to create the town they really wanted after experiencing various failures at Rockton. And things do seem to be going well. Except….this novel opens with Kendra stumbling about after a couple of drinks at the Rock, and wondering how she can keep losing time when all she had were two drinks. Then, she's grabbed and dragged into the forest. Thankfully, Sebastian was walking his dog at the time, and gets to her in time.

This puts Casey and Dalton on alert: who would do this? Why, when it's not clear exactly clear what the intent was, despite sexual assault being a possible cause.

Casey is constrained in her investigating by her 8-month along pregnancy, which has various risks, and a need to very carefully manage her energy and actions. She and Dalton begin questioning people, but have to halt things temporarily because of a blizzard. The next day, they discover another woman is missing, and begin searching as soon as conditions are clear. They eventually find the woman, dead, seemingly from exposure. Not only is something bugging Casey about the dead woman's condition, but Casey's body is complaining, and she has genuine fears for her baby. A trip to a larger centre for medical care is necessary, even during this second investigation, and a realization that even with the changes they've made at Haven's Rock, more care and rules will be necessary in the future, once they can figure out what is really happening and who the culprit is.

Wow. I could not put this book down. Having read some of the Rockton series as well as the two previous entries in this series, I was familiar with the setup of the isolated towns and the reasons behind them, and how people end up there. It's not at all critical knowledge, as Kelley Armstrong easily conveys necessary backstory in her confident and economical way. Armstrong never lets up on the tension that just keeps building till the reveal of the perpetrator, and their twisted aims. And then, she ratchets things up further, and though I'm used to Casey in danger from previous stories, this time I felt even more concerned, what with her compromised mobility. But Casey's greatest strength is her ability to keep thinking even when faced with dangerous situations, and she shows, again, why she's such a great character, and why I keep returning to this author's work: it's tautly written, with great characters at its centre, with the action and emotional moments well balanced.

I switched back and forth between the text and the audio, and Thérèse Plummer again does a great job with voicing all the characters. I love Casey's confident tones, as well as how Plummer takes us through Casey's thought processes. I also have a particular fondness for her prickly Yolanda and the wonderful Anders.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for these ARCs in exchange for my review.

I’ve been with this series since it was Rockton and I’m pretty sure every review I leave mentions how I’m surprised it manages to come up with stories in such an isolated location with a limited cast of characters. And this is no expedition.

The downside is you can usually suss out the killer bc it’s a small pool to pick from and it can’t be one of the regulars. So I’m curious to see how it will handle the next one but I’ll be there for it and probably write a similar review how I was once again surprised.

Welcome back to Havens Rock. Casey and her husband Eric are about to have a baby when a strong storm hits their private Yukon community of Haven's rock. An attempted kidnapping of one of their residents leaves the women in the community worried, then another woman goes missing. Trying to solve this case while close to delivery, a blizzard and also needing to leave to get to a hospital is making this case harder and more difficult to solve.

I love this series and this was a great installment. I'm interested to see how raising a baby is going to change life for the residents and for Casey and Eric who run Haven's Rock. Since there are two sociopaths who live in the community they are always the first suspects people look at. I appreciate the way the author handles these two individuals giving them personalities and their own moral compass. This book really focuses on trying to locate a predator in an enclosed community, where everyone "knows" everyone and neighbors become suspect.

I was a fan of this series from the start when it was the Rockton series and this series has brought new and different issues which I really appreciate.

I enjoy how elements of the isolated setting in Northern Canada, where Haven's Rock is located, play a big role in this series. Nature is an extra character, creating obstacles and altering events. I also like the cast of characters, and the concept of Haven's Rock offering refuge to those facing danger, only for them to find danger there. The main character of the series, Detective Casey Duncan, is back working alongside her husband Sheriff Eric Dalton, and this time Casey is dealing with the added complication of being very pregnant while trying to find a killer. This one is a slower burn that took a while to get going, but I liked how it all played out in the end.

Kelley Armstrong delivers another gripping thriller with Cold as Hell, a novel that masterfully blends mystery, suspense, and an eerie sense of isolation. Set in a town unlike any other, the story introduces a unique community where entry is strictly controlled, and survival depends on collective effort. Despite these safeguards, a murderer has infiltrated their ranks, setting off a tense and unpredictable chain of events.

Armstrong excels in crafting an atmosphere thick with secrets, where the unknown looms large. The novel’s strength lies in its intricate world-building and the unsettling realization that, even in a carefully structured society, danger can still find a way in. The suspense is expertly maintained, keeping readers engaged as layers of mystery unfold.

With compelling characters, a tightly woven plot, and a setting that feels both immersive and chilling, Cold as Hell stands out as a unique and thrilling read. Armstrong’s ability to balance psychological depth with page-turning action makes this a must-read for fans of atmospheric crime fiction.

Kelley Armstrong raised the bar with this one.
I was worried about the pregnancy storyline. I feel like the addition of pregnancy/parenting often ends up reducing women to a mother stereotype that is so frustrating to read. I clearly should have had faith in Armstrong. It added the perfect sort of fun complication that keeps long-running mysteries fresh. The new interview style made things both easier and more complicated and I really enjoyed the change in pace. I hope we’ll get more newness from “solving mysteries with a newborn” as well.

I guessed the killer very early on, which is usually a bad sign in a mystery novel. But the story was so well-crafted that by the second act I was convinced my early guess was a red herring and I was second-guessing certain beloved characters. The payoff of learning in the end my initial hunch was right and also everything was far more complex than I could have guessed was so satisfying.

This book was captivating and I cannot wait for the next one! 5/5 stars.

Cold as Hell is a interesting storyline that flows smoothly with a plot that is intense and full of twists keeping you entertained from start to finish as the author leads us on a merry chase to discover the identity of the killer.
I received a advance reader's copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review

Cold as Hell is book 3 in the Haven's Rock series which is a spin-off from Rockton. We pick up where we left off in The Boy Who Cried Bear and Casey and Eric are close to being parents at this time. The setting in the frosty Yukon is perfect like always and I finished as fast as I could so I could find out who did it! The side characters are all great...Anders is one of my favorites and of course Casey's dog Storm is such a wonderful helper too. I love this series so much ....well I love all of Kelley Armstrong's books but this was fast-paced and fun to read/listen to.

Therese Plummer is one of my all-time favorite narrators and she did a wonderful job as usual!

Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 18 February 2025

Kelley Armstrong does not disappoint. Cold as Hell is part of the Haven's Rock series, which is a spin-off of her Rockton series. I recommend every book Armstrong writes. She is very good at world building and character development. Her writing is so good, each book immediately sucks you in, and the rest of the world disappears. You don't have to have read her previous books in the series in order to appreciate this book, but why wouldn't you read them? It is lovely to watch these characters grow. This series falls into the thriller/suspense genre, and Cold as Hell becomes heart pounding as you race to finish the book. Armstrong does a good job of getting into the mind of the killer, and [tiny spoiler] his thought processes; they will stick with you long after you finish the novel.

As this is book 3 in the Haven's Rock series, I would highly suggest reading the other 2 before reading this book. I didn't realize it was in a series when I started it. I couldn't figure out what I was missing for a good part of the book. There's so much back and forth and talking about other things that may be were discussed in previous books, I don't know. Due to the fact that there are murder investigations going on in this small town there is a lot, a lot and a lot of talking back and forth. While It's full of mystery and suspense and some great characters, I do have to say all the back and forth talking was so tiring that I got to a point where I was ready for the book to be done.

If you enjoy a cold and snowy location (Yukon) and lots of suspense while trying to solve a mystery that ends with surprise, you will for sure enjoy this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

When a resident of Haven's Rock is seemingly drugged and almost assaulted, Casey and Dalton are concerned that the safe haven they've cultivated so carefully has been broken. An eight-month pregnant Casey is investigating when a blizzard comes through and another woman has gone missing. What's going on in their settlement? Finding the missing woman becomes the priority, even after Casey has a pregnancy scare. When the missing woman's body is found, Casey and Dalton's fears escalate. Can they solve the murder before Casey goes into labor? And who would have possibly done this? Gathering together their militia, they go into lockdown to keep everyone safe. But if the killer is one of their own, how safe are they?

This was another great installment in the series. The book brings you right into the action, which is always a plus. With only so many people as suspects, it's hard to tell who you can really trust and there are definite red herrings. The relationship between Casey and Dalton is always relationship goals, and with them expecting their first child, there's going to be some stress and conflict. When Casey does go into labor, it will be a miracle if everything happens smoothly.

Trigger warnings for possible drugging of a drink, attempted assault, pregnancy scare, murder, and labor.

All in all, a fast-paced murder mystery with great relationships and a twisty ending. If you enjoyed the Rockton books, the other Haven's Rock novels, or just Kelley Armstrong's books in general, then you will enjoy this one! A strong female detective is always a plus.

Thank you to @Minotaur_Books and @NetGalley for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

(4.25 stars)
Cold As Hell is the third book in the Haven's Rock series, which is a spinoff from/continuation of Kelley Armstrong’s excellent Rockton series. This could be read as a standalone, although as with any good series, you would have a richer reading experience if you’ve read the previous books. Armstrong provides some backstory without weighing down the current story.

As with the other books, the story is narrated by the female main character, Casey. Casey is a detective and her husband Eric serves as the sheriff of their new town, set in the midst of the Yukon wilderness in Canada. The location is purposeful, as they are trying to be a sanctuary of sorts for people who really need sanctuary. Currently there are fewer than 100 residents, so it’s quite small. Armstrong writes such great suspense stories, with very individual and interesting characters. The townspeople all have different capabilities and personalities and it’s not hard at all to keep them straight. One of my favorite recurring characters is Casey’s sister April, who is the town’s doctor and is “on the spectrum.” Another favorite is Will, Eric’s deputy. Both of those characters can be found in the Rockton series. Among the new to Haven’s Rock characters (they are in the previous HR books) are Yolanda and Gunnar and they are both fascinating people. I love the diversity in the Haven's Rock population.

Specific to this book, Casey is almost at the end of her pregnancy, which, for various reasons, is a precarious one. She is trying to continue being an active detective but is naturally hampered physically, as she nears term. Of course, things can’t stay quiet in Haven’s Rock, just for Casey’s convenience! One of the residents, Kendra, is drugged and dragged off into the forest right outside of town. Luckily she is rescued before anything horrible can happen, but the whole town is on edge, especially the women. During a late winter/early spring snowstorm, Casey and Eric find another resident dead in unusual circumstances and the investigation moves into even higher gear.

I was really intrigued by the story and tried hard to figure out who the culprit would be! And I was so nervous for Casey and her soon-to-be-born baby!

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient and helped me speed through this book in just two days. The audiobook was beautifully narrated by Thérèse Plummer, as for past books in this series.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book and to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to a review copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorite authors! I was so excited to be back in the world of Haven’s Rock. I love Casey, Eric and the town residents. The mystery was well done as always. I love the isolated setting and the blizzard added extra tension. I look forward to the next in the series!

I highly recommend starting with the Rockton series first. Haven’s Rock is a spinoff that involves the same characters and there will be relationship spoilers.