The setting of this was so real it was scary! I felt like I was there too which made it all that scarier!

This very talented writing team has conjured another thriller that will haunt your dreams. Racing from Alaska to the Everglades and back again, agents of the National Park Service are tasked with tracking down a man-made scientific anomaly that is going to bring the world to the edge of extinction. There is a multi-pronged attack and if anything there is almost too much going on to keep track and continuity, but with strong characters and fluid writing it all hangs together in a heart attack kind of way. Each chapter hangs you off another cliff until we are dropped into what felt a lot like Custer’s last stand. Brilliant all the way around

Applause to Jon Land and Jeff Ayer’s writing as a team known as A.J. Landau for shining a light on the native peoples of Alaska and their mistreatment by just about everyone. Their history and all it encompasses is integral to this story. Many thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy.

Finished Reading
DNF @ 11%

Pre-Read notes

Honestly, I came for the scary snow.

Final Review

Review summary and recommendations

This author makes a lot of stylistic choices that are not my cup of tea, like changing the font for any number of reasons. DNF @ 11%. I just know if I keep going with this one I won't enjoy it.

I do love stories set in really cold places, especially thrillers and horror books. The cold just really scares the 🌬️ out of me! If you like this one, check out Trophy Kill by R.J. Norguard.

In wilderness is the preservation of the world. —HENRY DAVID THOREAU p5

Reading Notes

One thing I loved:

1. The concept here is pretty great: a legal case involving people smuggling artifacts out of Alaska on cruise ships.

Three quibbles:

1. Jargon doesn't make a scene more realistic unless it's actually necessary to the story. Dozens of lines of dialog about bubbles and rudders is not necessary. I can't even say if the use of all the jargon is accurately used because it means nothing to me.

2. “Sh-t, sh-t, sh-t!” Massick screeched, suddenly feeling nauseous. Which was pretty much what he was covered in. p16 The jargon might be meant to hide the bad writing, but it doesn't work.

3. The onomatopoeia for the gun shots reminds me unavoidably of little boys pointing sticks at each other and shouting, "Pew! Pew!"

4. This author makes a lot of stylistic choices that are not my cup of tea, like changing the font for any number of reasons. DNF @ 11%. I just know if I keep going with this one I won't enjoy it.

Notes

1. Great concept, but I'm not getting along with the execution.

Rating: DNF @ 11%
Recommend? for sure, for readers who aren't as sensitive to style as I am
Finished: May 3, '25
Format: accessible digital arc, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
🔎 mystery thrillers
👨🏻‍✈️ political thrillers
❄️ icey setting
🌊 stories containing natural science

Thank you to the author A.J. Landau, publishers Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of COLD BURN. All views are mine.
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I loved the first book in the series. Although there was a little that was over the top. In this book, there was a lot over the top, and I felt that not all the pieces really came together. The whole main premise is an organism, but I felt like it conveniently was devastating in one area. But not in another area, somehow, it helped, and yet didn't take over, and possibly it was the amount of exposure which they tried to explain at the end, but it just didn't jibe for me. It's like they knew it needed some correction and just tied it in a little bow at the end to deal with it. Alex Cole was a caricature in general, a super villain. Don't worry, you know this immediately. I love the characters of Michael and Gina, but I feel like they were wasted. They would be wonderful in a less drastic matter with murders and mystery to solve without a possible extinction event all the time.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for providing an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

If you enjoy thrillers with global disasters set in national parks, this is the story for you. A geological survey team in Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park discovers a frozen woolly mammoth. The entire team is then found dead. ☠️ In the Everglades 26 year-old James Bidwell is found dead. He was a young intern who figured out how to lower the ocean temperature by a half a degree. Another geological team conducting experiments on the ecosystem is found dead in their submarine. Everyone has frozen from the inside out starting with their respiratory system. Special agent, Michael Walker from the National Park service will work with FBI agent Gina Delgado to link the events, solve the crimes, and stop the potential global disaster. There is a lot going on in this story and it took me a while to get through it. Thank you @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the ARC.

National Parks ISB investigator Michael Walker is investigating a series of mysterious deaths in Glacier Bay, Alaska. On the opposite end of the county, in the Florida Everglades, FBI special investigator Gina Delgado is looking into the murder of an environmental scientist working with a US Geological Survey team Things get complicated when they discover a link in their investigations. They find themselves in a race against time to stop an attack that could lay waste to life as we know it.

I really like that each chapter leads off with interesting facts about the Glacier Bay, about the Everglades, about climate change complementing the action occurring in the chapter. The authors offer insight into tribal history, beliefs and mythology, made a part of the story as the native tribe assists Michael in his investigations. It all begins to tie together and helps move the story forward.

If you like interesting settings, high powered action and a well constructed mystery, this is the book for you. The story starts strong on page one and increases in pace and intensity from there. Short chapters keep it moving, bouncing between Florida and Alaska to build the the thread of connections between the incidents. A tense, suspense filled novel that leads to a conclusion that's frightening in its possibility. Michael and Gina are a perfectly matched pair. Each brings their own set of skills and a contrasting point of view. Bouncing information and ideas off of each other helps bring the picture into focus, leading them both to the same inevitable, conclusion.

Wonderfully written, building on the strong working relationship between Michael and Gina, this thriller is not to be missed.

Cold Burn is the 2nd National Parks Thriller I've enjoyed by AJ Landau. I really love the concept of these books, mysteries and adventure set in National Parks investigated by a national park ranger along with the FBI. They are definitely full of action and suspense and should appeal to both men and women. My issue with this one is the sheer amount of information, mainly the science. It just seemed to weigh down the actual story to the point that it felt like I was trudging through quicksand. Maybe my mind was just not in the mood to have so much thrown at it lol. Still enjoyable, and if you are a real science geek you might just love it so I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it even though it was a bit cumbersome for me. My thanks to St Martin's Press for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Love high-octane thrillers? Check out #ColdBurn in which Nat'l Parks Service investigator, Michael Walker, and FBI Agent, Gina Delgado, face a global catastrophe in the form of a mysterious microbe, a rogue billionaire, and a Russian strongman

This is the second book in the National Park Séries. The first one is Leave No Trace which was an excellent read.

Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaurbooks for the ebook.

#coldburn #ajlandau #minotaurbooks #februarypublishing #newbook #newpost #mbbookies🦬 #homegrownterrorism #nationalparks #nationalparkusa #fbithriller #murder #mystery #thriller #conspiracytheories #terrorism #bookseriestoread #bookseries
#action #suspense

Not sure about action packed, definitely information packed though! The action was sprinkled throughout and thick at the end.

About 5 different storylines from numerous characters at each location must come together to make sense. It does but was a struggle for me to keep up with each geographical location plus the character there.

I loved that it wasn’t super scenery descriptive. Enjoyed it but was a lot of information to take in and work through. Had to read in shorter bursts or i became overwhelmed. Definitely not a binge read for me.

Thanks to netgalley and Minotaur books for my electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Real Rating: 3.5* of five

Urgent, uneasy story about things James Rollins would have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Rollins#Sigma_Force_series" target="_blank">Sigma Force</a> out to resolve. Propulsive, intense action scenes that do not exist to decorate the plot. A very fun read.

That sounds more like a four-plus star review. Would've been if we'd had more pages or fewer PoV switches. Also, maybe this is made clear in book one (<i>Leave No Trace</i>), but why are these two working together exactly?

Minotaur Books requires $14.99 for you to legally possess the ebook. You don't want Walker and Delgado on your butt, looking into your trashcan, so procure legally.

This is a fascinating and frightening story since it is something that could possibly happen in real life: a bacteria or virus that had been frozen and inactive for thousands of years is suddenly thawing, due to global warming. Something brand new that our science has no defense against. This book was initially a little hard for me to follow, since there were two sets of investigations going on - one in Alaska, and one in the Florida Everglades, with two sets of characters.. Eventually the two investigations converged and that is when the story really took off for me.

I received an e-arc from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books, and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

What an adventure! It goes from Alaska to Florida. There are a series of happenings occurring in different parts of the country, can they be linked? Michael is trying to find out who is smuggling artifacts from different museums in Alaska. A submarine has an accident and then all of a sudden everyone on board is dead. A group on a glacier are caught in an avalanche and make it to safety, but then they die in the cave where they took refuge. The bodies have disappeared. On one of the Alaskan islands, thousands of fish are dead. They have frozen to death. Then FBI agent Gina Delgado is in the Everglades investigating the death of a man who worked for the USGS. Are they connected? Gina and Michael think so, but how? Will they find the answers?

If you're craving a high-octane eco-thriller with big stakes and a chilling premise, Cold Burn absolutely delivers. National Park Service investigator Michael Walker is back, and this time he's called to Glacier Bay after a team of scientists vanishes, marking the beginning of a potential global catastrophe.

Meanwhile, FBI special investigator Gina Delgado is chasing down a murder in the Florida Everglades that leads to shocking connections: a sunken nuclear sub, secret experiments, and an ancient organism thawed by climate change. What unfolds is a multi-agency race across the country as Walker and Delgado fight to contain a prehistoric threat with deadly consequences.

Part scientific thriller, part political chess match, and packed with suspense, Cold Burn blends environmental urgency with edge-of-your-seat pacing. If you like smart, globe-spanning thrillers with a biohazard twist, this one should be on your radar.

This was a great read! It caught my attention from the very beginning and kept me intrigued the full way through. Immediately decided to go read the first book in this series and be on the lookout for more works by this author in the future.

Cold Burn is the second book in the National Parks Thriller series by A.J Landau. This can be enjoyed as a standalone mystery or as part of the series.

This was an amazing follow up to Leave No Trace! I loved getting to see National Park Service ISB Special Agent Michal Walker and FBI special investigator Gina Delgado again. I love these characters, separately and how they interact together!

Wow! This book was fascinating! It was intense from the start and just kept going! I loved how things unraveled. The more I read, the more hooked I was!

I definitely recommend reading Cold Burn! If you love Michael Crichton books, you will love this one!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Cold Burn (A National Parks Thriller #2) by A. J. Landau; Jeff Ayers; Jon Land
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers
Published: April 29, 2025

I thought that this was a good read. I liked the character development and felt that they were well written. The plot kept me hooked and it was a good follow up to the previous book.

Thanks to #Netgalley for the ARC ebook.

I had a really hard time with this book. I felt like I was sitting through a lecture on climate politics and then econ and politics. I wanted to like this more because I appreciate the informative side of things regarding global warming and science, but it just felt dry like a text book.

Agents Michael Walker and Gina Delgado are back on the job again, at different ends of the country. Walker is investigating an artifact smuggling case in Alaska. Delgado is in the Florida Everglades looking into the mysterious death of a scientist. Nothing is as it appears to be. Each case has twists that eventually indicate there may be a linkage. Time is an enemy since a deadly outcome needs to be stopped if Delgado and Walker can fit the pieces together. The reader gets a dual mystery, stolen artifacts, a “trip” to two diverse national parks, political intrigue, global warming, nefarious villains, Tlingit culture and myth, scientific exploration, military secrets, and some characters from previous outings. Whew! There is a lot to like and enjoy here. Recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

This is the first I've read in the National Parks Thriller series. Cold Burn takes us to Alaska and New Orleans as cases intersect that could ravish the world. The authors immerse the readers in its various locations, often educating them on the ecosystem that is so important to the area.

Give this book time for the threads to connect. Its a tension filled global implication thriller!

Thank you, St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books

This is an exciting and thrilling novel. The plot is intricate and interesting. The characters are well thought out and relatable. There are many moving parts and the action does not let up. A great read!