A great story about family and secrets, with a moody, ominous setting that really put you into the story. Karissa Vacker adds a lot to it with her reading, and at this point I'm pretty convinced I would read Kate Alice Marshall's grocery list if she published it... In this tale of Theo and the Daltons you're never quite sure who to trust and who the villain really is, which feels true to the story and not so much like unnecessary subterfuge. A Killing Cold may be my favorite Kate Alice Marshall yet.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Theo joins her fiance at his family's winter retreat in the mountains, only to realize she's been there before and the family is hiding a secret.

This was an entertaining one and perfect to read in the winter. Connor loves his fiance Theo, but they need to convince his family she's worthy of joining the family and she's not just with him for his money. It starts a little slow as you get to know the characters and family relationships, but the second half picks up as we realize everyone is keeping secrets. I enjoyed trying to piece together the mystery and the heightened tension of being trapped on this mountain in the snow not knowing who could be trusted.

I recommend picking it up, and especially loved the audiobook narration from Karissa Vacker. She's one of my favorite thriller narrators and brings the mystery and sense of dread to life.

Thanks Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Narration: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

A Killing Cold is an atmospheric, chilling winter thriller. A woman invited to her wealthy fiance’s family retreat realizes they are hiding a terrible secret—and that she’s been there before.

Karissa Vacker brought this story to life. The setting was great and perfectly claustrophobic. I could not stop listening. An entertaining thriller.

ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Theodora is engaged to Connor, who is quite wealthy and a member of the elite Dalton family. They instantly fell in love and six months later, he's brought her back to his family's isolated winter retreat to win over his skeptical relatives. Theo starts receiving threatening messages to stay away from Connor and has the sense she's been at this cabin before.

I have read the author's previous two books and this is by far my favorite of her recent books.
I love a good locked room mystery and the remote cabin setting in the middle of winter was perfect right now. This is very bingeable with some really good family drama, lots of hidden secrets, and some fun red herrings to keep you guessing up until the end.

Highly recommend on audio - narrated by Karissa Vacker who is one of my favorite thriller narrators. The story is single POV but she uses different voices to narrate for the large cast. .


Recommend if you enjoy:
Locked room mysteries
Rich people behaving badly
Remote winter cabin setting
Winter thrillers
Family secrets

A Killing Cold is an atmospheric psychological thriller set at a wealthy family’s estate in the dead of winter. The protagonist is there with her fiancé to meet his family. After she arrives, she has strange flashbacks that indicate that she might’ve been there before. Strange things happen and mysterious circumstances are slowly revealing until the intensely riveting conclusion. Vacker does an excellent job narrating and conveying the mystery and urgency of the situation. The winter setting drew me in. For fans of Lisa Unger and Mindy Mejia.

Okay, seriously, I devoured this book! A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall is one of those mysteries where you just have to know what happens next. It's set in a secluded cabin during a snowstorm, and the wealthy Dalton family, with all their secrets, is gathered there. You get this sense of dread right away, and it only gets thicker as the story unfolds.

Connor brings his new fiancée Theo, and things go south fast. I won't spoil anything, but let's just say the family dynamics are seriously messed up. This book is a twisty turny ride, and I was constantly trying to figure out who was lying and why. Marshall keeps you guessing until the very end, which I absolutely loved.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator, Karissa Vacker, was amazing. She gave each character a distinct voice, and it really brought the story to life. Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this book. I voluntarily listened to it and gave an honest review.

This was a great mystery read. I really liked it. I didn’t see the twists coming. It kept me on my toes and wanting to keep reading.

I was a big fan of last year’s “No One Can Know” by Kate Alice Marshall, so I was excited to dive into her latest, “A Killing Cold.” Unfortunately, this one didn’t fully work for me. While I really enjoyed the characters Theo and Connor, I found that the large cast made it difficult to connect with the story as deeply as I’d hoped.

That said, Marshall’s talent as a writer is undeniable, and I’ll definitely keep picking up her books in the future.

As for Karissa Vacker—she can do no wrong in my eyes. Her crisp, sweet voice and captivating narration style always leave me enthralled.

Thank you to Kate Alice Marshall, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Now, I love a good rich people behaving badly thriller...however, this one just went on and on. Even the poor character wasn't likeable.

The narration was good though, I will give it that.

Thank you to netgalley for the audio arc.

I really enjoy Kate Alice Marshall's style of writing: it always catches my attention. Her stories are well-planned and well thought out. This is the 3rd book of this author that I listened to and it's my 2nd favorite. The top spot belongs to 'What Lies in the Woods' - I still think of that book often even though it's been almost 2 years since I listened to it.
A Killing Cold is atmospheric and full of drama. For some reason it reminded me a lot about another book. I think it was The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins. But at any rate, I really enjoyed it. It is full of twists. The narrator did a fabulous job as well.

Gut wrenching memories of a past threaten one’s future. This one gave me all the feels and wanted so badly to protect our protagonist. A couple from very different backgrounds try to move forward.Triggers: abuse

I could not get into this book, it dragged and I was bored. I kept waiting for it to get better but the reveals were not believable to me. Would not recommend.

💙I’ve loved this author’s previous two thriller books so I was super excited to get an early copy of her next one!

📘Family drama, devastating secrets, sinister plots, and a claustrophobic setting all combine to make this a page-turner. You never quite know who to trust in this one. The audiobook was done really well. I liked the narrator and had no problems following along with the story.

❄️A perfect winter thriller read and the audio is done really well. Definitely recommend it if you like a thriller that is heavier on the family drama and mystery.

*Thank you to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the gifted ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review*

OKAY KATE ALICE MARSHALL!! This is a fabulous winter thriller. An amnesiac's visit to her fiance's family's cabins reveals more than anyone could've predicted. This book is chilling in more ways than you'd expect: the cold, the terrible crimes that occur(red), and the constant sense that one of Thea's memories is on the cusp of returning. And the narration really helped build the tension of the story!

I love a thriller where you can't know who to trust, especially when the characters are rich people behaving badly. We constantly ping-pong between comfort and stress, I swear this book took a year off my life. The scarf visuals alone? Oh my god. The ending/epilogue was a bit abrupt, but I really enjoyed this quick read.

A Killing Cold was an entertaining thriller with a remote setting that only added to the tension and suspense. My only two drawbacks that make this book a 4 star instead of 5 are that there were times the plot was a little hard to follow - there were a lot of secondary characters that did help to move the plot along but otherwise were a bit one-dimensional. The protagonist, Theo, seemed to take a little too long to piece together her past, although I did love how the author brought us down a couple paths only to have to turn around and start over. This book was not predictable by any means! Overall, I really enjoyed Kate Alice Marshall's latest, and can't wait for her next one!

This is my 3rd book by this author and I adored it. I love a locked room thriller, which is what the weather does here, and the huge cast of suspects makes this hard to pin down.
The lost memories of Theo tell a chilling story, even more chilling when they start appearing in real life as opposed to staying in her dreams. The imagery of the dragonfly being danger and salvation was very powerful!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author Kate Alice Marshall, and Macmillan audio for my advance copy of this audiobook.

Kate Alice Marshall's books always hit for me! Not my favorite of hers, but still an excellent winter-time read that kept me up far too late at night because I needed to know what was going on!

A Killing Cold follows Theodora, an orphaned woman estranged from her adoptive parents, traveling to meet her fiancee's wealthy family for the first time over the holidays. They spend the season on a large, remote estate with several cabins in snow-covered woods. She's in love, but his family doesn't seem to like her much. And things about the estate seem strangely familiar...could it be tied to the first years of her life she can't remember?

Honestly I wasn't sure what direction this was going to go, and I found a couple of the twists to be surprising. But maybe they wouldn't be as much to someone who reads a ton in this genre. I was thoroughly invested in the story and it kept me hooked to the end! The audio narration was great and only added to the suspense of the story. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

4.5 Stars This is a great mystery/thriller that is perfect to read in the Winter. The atmosphere is set on a family's land far from others during the holidays. This is one where I loved the various points of views and I didn't know who to trust and what to believe. This is one to just go in blind and enjoy the story as it unfolds! I listened to the audiobook and it was read by Karissa Backer and I LOVE her narration! This book is out Feb 4th 2025! Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the early audiobook.

In the first chapter, I thought I knew what this book was going to be. A couple rushing into marriage, and meeting the crazy wealthy soon-to-be in-laws on their elaborate, isolated turf. It sounded like the start of several books I've read, and my expectations were immediately low. I was wrong; this was not your typical story. The audiobook narrator NAILED it, and the twists made the story compelling. I guessed a pretty big twist pretty early, but there was always enough going on to keep my interest. I didn't want to stop reading!

Thanks to NetGalley for early access.

Kate Alice Marshall’s A Killing Cold delivers a chilling winter read that masterfully blends atmospheric suspense with deep family drama and a touch of psychological thriller. Theodora Scott, a woman with a fragmented past, steps into the world of her wealthy fiancé, Connor Dalton, only to find herself confronting secrets that could shatter everything she knows about herself and the life she’s building.

The pacing is deliberate, unraveling Theo’s past and the Daltons' secrets through an intriguing drip-feed of clues. While some might find the buildup slower compared to Marshall’s other works, the payoff is well worth it. The twists are unexpected, and the tension is palpable, making the snowy, isolated setting feel as much a character in the story as the humans inhabiting it.

Theo’s struggle with her lost childhood memories adds depth to her character, and her journey of self-discovery is as compelling as the dark revelations about the Dalton family. The flashbacks and themes of religious trauma are particularly resonant, adding layers to the story and making it feel intensely personal.

Fans of Kate Alice Marshall will find plenty to love here, though it’s a slight departure from her usual fast-paced thrillers. This is a story that asks readers to suspend disbelief and embrace the eerie coincidences and high-stakes drama. For those who enjoy rich atmosphere, family intrigue, and a protagonist you can root for, A Killing Cold is a must-read. Highly recommend curling up with this one on a snowy night!