I’ve been excited about finally getting around to this new installment. The Haven’s Rock (HR) gang, Erik, Casey, Will, April, and the rest of the staff and residents of this secret sanctuary, in the Yukon, are all back for the latest mystery and drama that comes from living off the grid like they do. HR was specifically established for folks who need to “disappear” and unlike the former compound, Rockton, HR allows couples and families with children, which creates a whole new level of challenges for Sheriff Eric and lead detective, Casey, and the rest of the folks that make up the small staff that run HR.

The book summary introduces the primary storyline that picks up several months after the last one because Casey is now eight months pregnant and is experiencing a mixture of excitement and anxiety about the impending birth. Casey has never gotten this far along before and is trying not to worry about all the things that “might/could” happen. She misses her ankles and is sooo over hubby Erik’s over protectiveness and coddling. So, when HR resident/staffer, Kendra, is drugged, attacked, and dragged out into the forest, in the dead of night, Casey wants to go all in to investigate who attacked her and bring them to justice. Fortunately, a fellow resident, Sebastian, heard her screaming and came to her rescue and scared off the attacker. Or did he? Hmmm…

Most of the story revolves around the investigation of the Kendra’s attack and Erik, Casey and Will, the other detective, focus on the HR men, assuming that Kendra’s attacker is a man who wanted to rape her. It’s not long before another resident, Lynn, goes missing and is found the next day in the forest, not far from HR; she was naked and frozen to death. Or was she? Hmmm…

There is also the secondary storyline of Casey’s impending childbirth that is complicated with a bout of false labor concerns. Because of the complications that could arise and her doctor’s concern for her and the baby’s health, Casey and Erik are going to fly into Whitehorse (where the closest medical facility is), but are grounded because of a huge blizzard that has blown in. This also makes it more difficult to investigate the case.

The end comes fast and in a wild and crazy flurry of freaking scary and intense scenes and passages. It had me both on the edge of my seat as well as cracking up. OMG!!! All #%!! breaks loose and Casey is a total bad@$$!!! LOVED the final ending too!!!

The continuing character development of Casey and Erik along with a couple of other staff members was well done. I like how Armstrong revealed more about the backgrounds of some of the staff members and residents. The pace was steady to fast with a very interesting storyline. The writing was on par for the series, which is to say that there are still the comparisons of HR to Rockton. Three installments in and those comparisons should be getting less and less. HR is its own location and is different than Rockton. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.4 that I will be rounding down to a 4star review. I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #MacmillanAudio #ColdAsHell

*1/31/24- Updating for the audiobook release. I’m bumping the rating up to 4.5 because Thérèse Plummer’s narration makes every book better!!

8/8/24- I’m ever so glad that the Rockton series continues! It’s a challenging series to write at this point because the new community is small enough that pulling off a surprise mystery becomes harder with each book. I guessed the “baddie” early enough, if only by process of elimination. I had issues with some of Casey’s decisions at the end, but I’m looking forward to what’s next for the gang. I hope we see more of the core group in the next one!
*Thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ebook copy

These books are perfect for all my crime junkies who love a good CSI crime or detective book. I started with Murder at Haven’s Rock (the first book), and I loved the Alaskan wilderness setting. It was so fun to see all of the mysteries unravel. I also enjoyed the audiobook narrator on these as well. Definitely recommend!

This was a bit of my mistake not realizing that this was book 3 of a series and maybe I would have felt more of a connection to the characters having read the first two books. A good crime novel and I enjoyed the narrator. It was okay as a stand alone but may go back and read the first two sometime. Its was a quick and it kept me engaged.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this audiobook.
3.5 star

OH. MY. GOSH! This book about sent my anxiety through the roof!! I’ve read all of the Havens Rock series books, and while I enjoyed the others, this one ramped up the intensity in a big way.

I find the whole concept of a hidden town off the grid so intriguing, and Armstrong has done a great job setting up the atmosphere through each book as the town grows and mysteries surround each one. With Casey being 8 months pregnant (with a high risk pregnancy to boot!) in this third book, it just really escalated the danger and intensity. I was fully invested in seeing where the story went and Wow, it did not disappoint! Can not wait to see where the series goes from here!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my ALC in exchange for my honest feedback!

4.5 stars! I am a new fan of Casey Butler and her investigative skills! Although I have never read any of this author’s books, The audiobook narrator was phenomenal. She made the story so immersive and very enjoyable. Not only that, but I appreciated how the characters were written. They were diverse and received well by myself as a woman of color. The book also had queer representation which is always a positive in my books. Although I know Casey has solved investigations in previous books, I didn’t feel like I couldn’t follow the story as the character development was concerned.

I will absolutely be listening to more audiobooks from this author, but only if the narrator is the same. Because she did amazing.

Thanks to netgalley for my first ALC!

I love this series, it definitely needs to be read in order or you will not understand anything, I don't know why this one just didn't work like the others did for me. It was good suspenseful and fast paced, but there was just something that was missing that I got from the others that I didn't get from this one. The story had some inconsistencies and things that just did not make sense. I will still continue this series, but it just wasn't my favorite.

I didn't realize when I requested this ARC book that it was part of a series, so I will have to go back and read books one and two. Even without reading them, though, I was able to enjoy this book immensely. This novel is perfect for thriller and murder mystery fans!

Imagine living in a town hidden deep in the Yukon wilderness where no one knows where you are. That is Haven's Rock—a safe place for people looking to escape trauma and life. Life seems ideal with a profoundly in-depth intake process and only 70 residents. Everyone works and contributes to the town until one day, a woman is drugged and almost abducted. A few days later, another is found murdered; now, 8-month-pregnant detective Casey and her sheriff husband must work to solve the case before the birth of their baby. But how could this have happened? Everyone goes through extensive background checks before being brought to Haven. In a town the size of Haven's Rock, it should be easy to figure it out, but with a blizzard pushing in on the town it is anything but. The misdirection in this book was beautiful, and it kept you guessing until the end who the murderer was.

The narrator did a great job of inflicting tone and emotion into their reading, and I was hooked from the beginning. The fast pace keeps you engaged and waiting with bated breath to discover what happens next.

This one definitely kept me guessing throughout the book. A place for anyone looking to start over and you don’t have to share your past….. what could possibly go wrong!?!? Very good story building, I felt like I was watching it first hand!!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because this is just the perfect winter thriller read that features Casey and the Haven's Rock crew as they deal with a blizzard, a dead body and Casey's impending delivery. Twisty, atmospheric and full of suspense. This just might be my favorite of the series so far! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy that was excellently narrated by Therese Plummer.

This book was really good. I enjoyed it. A police procedural with a pregnant female lead and an exciting mystery: yes please!
Well written and I didn't even figure out the bad guy. Total win.

I enjoy the Haven's Rock series, although they all seem to be variations on the same theme--someone gets lost in the woods and there's a race to find them, dead or alive. I like the narrator and the characters, so I keep coming back.

Thank you to: Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, NetGalley for this ARC audiobook by Kelley Armstrong
Release date is set for: February 18th, 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - A woman drugged, a dead body found, a small town deep in the woods, in the middle of nowhere, during a major snowstorm, has the making of the perfect Kelley Armstrong murder mystery/suspense/who done it book.

The main characters Casey & Eric who investigate this are extremely likeable & with Casey being 1 month away from having their first baby just adds to the excitement.

This is book #3 of the Haven's Rock series but it could easily be read as a stand alone.

Once again, thank you @NetGalley! Macmillan Audio & St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to listen this advanced audio copy. 

#MacmillanAudio #StMartinsPress  #NetGalley #ColdAsHell #HavensRockSeries

This was another fantastic entry in this addictive thriller series. It was the perfect escapist read I needed this week. I enjoyed the snowstorm setting. I found the pregnancy stuff quite triggering so be warned if anyone else has labour and delivery trauma.

I really hold this spin off series to continue so I already want another book. I recommend starting at the beginning of this series. I personally don't feel the original series needs to be read first.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Someone drugs and attacks a resident of Haven’s Rock but they are able to escape and let people know. There is evidence that it is someone from town. Shortly after a snowstorm comes and they find a frozen body in the forest. From there it is a race to figure out if it was a murder and if so who was involved all while worried about Casey's pregnancy and the residents of Haven’s Rock. Casey is eight months pregnant at the start of this book and this is the first heavy investigation in months.

Wow. These books just keep getting better and better. Till the last moment I was even second guessing and praying that people I love were not involved. Casey manages to walk the line between being too stubborn and making practical sense in terms of working the case while pregnant. Kelley Armstrong is so good at plotting these mysteries and making us love and question characters we think we totally trust. I think this one left me the most on the edge.

Once again Thérèse Plummer is such a great narrator. I felt every emotion she conveyed and her top notch narration just brought the story to life all over again. This crime was darker than most from this series and every chapter was more tense and you really feel that in the audiobook as well. You don't technically have to read these in order but it really helps if you do just to see how far they have come in terms of this new community and the residents we have come to care for.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books| Macmillan Audio for sharing this book with me in exchange for my honest review.

When I requested and was given the chance to review this book ahead of release, I neglected to realize it was part of a series. I don't usually read things out of order, so this was a departure from the norm for me. After getting just a little way into the story, I quickly realized that my out of order faux pas was not going to be a problem. The author does a great job with backstory and details that can absolutely allow you to read this as a stand alone novel, although I have now added the previous books to my TBR list!
Haven's Rock sounds... well, amazing! I mean, outside of the whole being in the middle of the Yukon, pregnant, whiteout snow storms, and trying to find a killer. The story has elements of mystery, suspense, compassion, hardship, friendship, love, rebuilding, isolation, sanctuary, and more. The heroine, Casey, is a real badass and a character I feel in love with pretty quickly. I hope this isn't the last time we see her, because I think her character has a long and adventurous future ahead of her.

Casey is a bad ass. If you’ve read any of the other books, you probably already know that, but by the end of this one she has earned a whopper of a story to tell and no one would be able to argue - she’s a bad ass!

Murder in the Yukon? Havens Rock is a sanctuary town that specializes in people that need a fresh start. The benefactor of the town has a very  thorough admission process. Only she knows the secrets of tge residents. Casey is an eight months pregnant police detective, when a resident didnt return to her residence during a blizzard, must lead the search. The body is discovered on the edge of town. As Casey and her crew track down who is responsible, discover something more sinister. 

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC, the narrator Therese Plummer was great. She was able to do the different characters perfectly.

Loved it! After reading the second Haven's Rock novel I thought I would continue with this one and I am SO GLAD I DID. This book was absolutely phenomenal. I still haven't read the first book, but I definitely need to because there is no way I'm not continuing this series now. This is part of a series and the backstory really helps, but I think it could be read as a standalone as well. Great book, so enthralling and the narrator was fantastic.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author Kelley Armstrong, and Macmillan audio for my advance copy of this audiobook.

I really need to start paying more attention when requesting books. I get so excited when I read a great synopsis that I slam that request button without researching. Cold as Hell is the second book that I've requested this month without realizing it's part of a series that I haven't read yet. It's worked out in my favor both times and ended in me discovering two series I really enjoy, so...actually, scratch that. I'll keep doing what I'm doing, even though my analytical side *hates* reading a series out of order.

Anyway, to the book! Cold as Hell is an atmospheric thriller that plunges readers into the isolated world of a Yukon town called Haven’s Rock. Detective Casey Duncan is hunting down a killer during a deadly blizzard, while at the tail end of a complicated pregnancy.

I absolutely loved the setting. Haven’s Rock is a wholly unique town, as it's both a sanctuary and a cage, due to it's difficult-to-access remote location. I'm missing a lot of the backstory about what the town was built to do, which made me even more intrigued about its unique premise and guarantees that I'll be buying the first book in the series asap. The mystery at the heart of the story didn't feel fully fleshed out, but I enjoyed the cast of characters and the setting so much that it didn't affect my enjoyment of the story too much. I really appreciated the dynamics between Casey and Eric and the way they navigated their relationship during a high-stakes pregnancy in such a remote location.

Some of the twists did feel a little predictable, and there were moments where I wished for a bit more complexity in the secondary characters, but I could also be missing some subtext from the first few books in the series. That said, the overall atmosphere and suspense kept me hooked, making this a solid 4-star read. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!