Sisters Lily and Rose are looking for a way out of their abusive home, escaping into the cold snowy woods in order to do so. Waking up the next morning, 14 year old Rose has vanished without a trace.
Now, 25 years later, social care worker Lily has to face her traumatic past when a child she is working with is found frozen to death.

It takes a minute to get used to the multiple POVs and dual timeline, I felt like it was pulling me in so many directions and the pacing never really regulated.
All in all, an OK read!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of A Cold Whisper.

Another new to me author (I love that with ARC opportunities). I loved the setting of this story - nothing good happens in a blizzard lol. There were definitely some great aspects of this story, it had a great flow although it took me a bit to get into the different perspectives.

There was a good mystery behind it, and overall a decent read.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it won’t be my last. Fast-paced and brimming with suspense, this book kept me on the edge of my seat., Great plot and great character development. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, Casey Dunn, and Severn House for the eARC! This was a wild, fast-paced thriller that kept me flipping pages way past bedtime. Totally gripping and full of twists.

A Cold Whisper by Casey Dunn, whom is a new author for me. For me this was an interesting read, even though not a great one. I really didn't like any of the characters in the story line. What happens as a child, can change your whole life going forward. I would still recommend this book, because not everyone enjoys the same books.

I received and ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Thank you Netgalley and Severn House for the chance to read A cold whisper by Casey Dunn. The story of Lily and Rose started off good, but I am afraid it became bogged down with multiple POV's, and a look into foster care that was a bit depressing. It was an ok read, but a twist at the end improved my rating.

I enjoyed reading A Cold Whisper; it was chilling. I felt the characters' raw emotions as they tried to overcome the hand they were dealt. A social worker trying to help kids so they could have a better chance at life, her sister turned to self-medicate. The way the story was told it was hard not to feel for them. How it ended, was shocking. The characters were believable.

Spoiler alert: you will find it hard to put down. It's a bingeable book.

A huge thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read A Cold Whisper early in exchange for my honest thoughts.

As a fan of murder thrillers, I went into this book with high hopes. The premise promised suspense and psychological depth, and while there were moments that hinted at both, the execution unfortunately didn’t land for me. One of the book’s stronger points was its raw depiction of trauma within the foster care system—an important and often overlooked subject that added a layer of emotional gravity.

However, the novel struggled with pacing and cohesion. The multiple POVs, while ambitious, ended up pulling the story in too many directions. Plotlines like Rose’s history with the original club, her relationship with Hunter, and Lilly’s descent into violence felt underdeveloped and disjointed. For such a short book, it surprisingly dragged in places, making it difficult to stay fully engaged.

In the end, while I appreciated the themes the author attempted to explore, the lack of narrative focus and emotional payoff left me disappointed. A Cold Whisper had potential, but ultimately didn’t deliver the gripping thriller experience I was hoping for.

"Catch your breath, it might be your last..."

A Cold Whisper by Casey Dunn is an atmospheric, chilling and twisted thriller about two sisters and the secrets that are hidden underneath the snow.

A blizzard is raging outside but 14 year old Rose and 7 year old Lily will do anything to escape the abuse that is inside their own home. With a plan in mind, Rose and Lily take off into the snowy woods. But when little Lily wakes up the next morning, Rose has vanished. Now twenty five years later Lily has never stopped looking for Rose. As a social worker she uses her own trauma to reach out to even the toughest kids in the system. When a child Lily works with is found frozen to death, Lily is faced once again with the traumatic memories of waking up that bitter cold morning alone all those years ago. Will she ever find out what happened to Rose? Why did she leave Lily terrified and lonely in the freezing cold?

This was a pretty well thought out and written read and I enjoyed it!! It takes a little bit to get used to the multiple POVs and dual timeline but once I got into it the pacing was steady. I would definitely check out the content warnings, abuse is prevalent throughout and could be triggering as could the theme of the foster care system. The ending was not what I saw coming!! When I thought that I had something figured out, another twist was thrown in! Overall I would recommend A Cold Whisper to fans of dark, twisty and atmospheric thrillers that will have you questioning everything and everyone!

Thank you to NetGalley, Casey Dunn, and Severn House for this ARC!! Publication date is May 6th 2025.

A Cold Whisper is a thriller that begins when a fourteen year old Rose, and her seven year old sister, Lily, escape from the abusive home of their mother and her most recent flame. It wasn’t the best formed escape plan and didn’t turn out as they hoped. Lily was left alone in the snowy woods. The story then fast forwards to Lily’s adult life and her role as a social worker. Lily is desperate to figure out why her sister left her alone and where her sister now is - if she’s even alive. In her efforts to find her sister, she developed a reputation at work of being the superstar social worker who can find anyone. More details of her childhood trauma and fears come to light when one of the children she knows is found frozen in the woods. Enter Daniel and his older brother Hunter who are homicide detectives. Like Lily, Daniel has something to prove to his older sibling as he begins working in the homicide unit. The story was a bit slow to start and figuring out the characters seemed confusing at first. In each story, you try to determine which characters may be important at the end of the story. In this book, each character holds more weight than may seem apparent when they first enter the scene. The action and details pick up in the last third of the book. This is the part of the book where you are on the edge of your seat and don’t want to put the book down. The twists and turns at the end make the slow beginning of the story worth it. When the pieces start clicking together, another twist is thrown into the mix. This book is definitely worth the time and sure to make you question everything you thought you knew at the end!

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this before publication. A Cold Whisper is a mystery that certainly kept me guessing.
The story begins with fourteen year old Rose taking her younger sister Lily out to the woods during a snowstorm so they can escape their abusive home. Lily remembers being given a drink and then falling asleep as they hid under a tree. When she wakes up she is alone.
Decades later Lily is a social worker, doing her best to help those children at risk of falling through the system. She has no idea what happened to her sister, but she has never stopped looking for her.
Alongside Lily’s story we also follow Rose, now known as Betty, as she goes about her job in a local strip bar. She has her doubts about what the bar is used as a front for, but is unsure how she can get to the truth.
It takes a while to stabling the links between the two perspectives. There is the expected twist late on, but I’m not sure there was much to prepare us for this.

A Cold Whisper by Casey Dunn is an atmospheric mystery.

Lily and Rose are sisters who grow up in a dysfunctional family. When fourteen-year-old Rose decides to leave their toxic household, she takes seven-year-old Lily with her. Her plan does not go as expected as they escape during a massive snow storm.

Twenty-five years later, Lily and Rose’s lives have gone in different directions. Lily is a social worker whose attempts to help teenagers adjust to foster situations are not always successful. Rose has lived life on the run but after a tragedy, she returns home to try to find answers.

Veteran homicide detective Hunter Kepp is paired with rookie detective Daniel Wilder. Kepp is months away from retirement and does not want to get involved in any situation outside of murder investigations. Daniel is driven to tease out the truth when his path crosses Lily and a foster teenager.

A Cold Whisper is a multi-layered mystery that has intriguing twists and turns. The characters are well-developed with interesting backstories. The winter storms are oppressive and add suspense to the novel. The storyline is compelling and steeped in heartache and tragedy. With a shocking revelation, Casey Dunn brings this mystery to an unanticipated conclusion.

I liked the premise of foster care system, don’t get many books involving that side of things. I just have been struggling to read this. There a several POV and even though I am down for multiple POV, have more then 2 in my opinion can get confusing on who is what. It is a slow start and I just can’t get into it. Unfortunately I had to DNF , just wasn’t enjoying it.

Thank you Severn House and Casey Dunn for copy in NetGalley.

"A Cold Whisper by Casey Dunn had a slow start for me — it took a while to really get into the story. The creepy vibe was there, but I honestly struggled a bit with the multiple points of view; it made it harder to connect with the characters at first. Once the plot picked up, though, it kept me curious enough to see how everything would come together. If you like a slow-burn mystery with a few chilling twists, this might be your vibe — just be ready to stick with it through the beginning!"

this book is about trauma and so much about how one survives that. the eerie level and fear woven throughout the book is really well done. you cant help but feel for all the characters involved. so much of what happens to people in childhood they carry going forward. what happens to those who come out the foster care system with even more troubles that when they went in must truly be one of the cruelest of fates. this book was dark. this book was gripping. this book was a fabulous read.
i loved the dual timelines and it adds so much details and fills in blanks to questions you would have otherwise be left with.
i didnt see the twists coming and appreciate that this book didnt follow cliches of the subject but instead found a very real theme and went on from there.
two girls in this book handle what they went through very differently. but what is their link to other children who are now going missing in similar fashion.

Where did Rose go and why did she leave Lily alone in the snow? This has nagged at Lily for 25 years and now it's reared up large because a foster child has been found in a similar situation. This tells the story through multiple perspectives as Lily works through the question. Fans of thrillers might see the twist and answers coming but Durn has crafted good characters. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I’m not sure if I was happy with the four different POVs, plus dual timeline. It might have worked better if the story had just the sister's POV. Even tho the character's stories intertwine, it was a bit much.
I couldn't truly relate to the characters and they weren't likeable either.
The beginning of the story dragged and I felt that some parts were clunky and repetitive. I didn't feel that the pacing found the right flow.
I did like the attention to the foster psystem. The story had some good twist and turns, but as an avid Thriller reader I saw the plot twist coming, but I am sure that others would be happily surprised by it. For me it was an okay read, but not spectacular. There are some triggers like childhood trauma, so check the triggers beforehand. This would be a nice read for beginning Thriller fans and people who enjoy multiple POVs.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, NetGalley, and Severn House for this copy.

Three and a half stars rounded up. Casey Dunn’s “A Cold Whisper” had an interesting premise to me. Rose and Lily are sisters. When Rose was fourteen and Lily was seven they left their home during a blizzard to escape their abusive home. The next morning Lily woke up alone in the forest and for twenty-five years she has been searching for Rose.

Now a social worker, Lily has a knack for finding children who are in foster care, but run away. As she’s out looking for a few of those children, she has a couple of sightings where she believes she sees Rose. After a foster child is found dead in the snow and another child almost dies in a separate incident, Lily decides to deal with what happened to her as a child and find Rose to understand why she left Lily alone.

This book had a couple twists that made sense, but I didn’t necessarily like. There were several things left unexplained and the ending felt a little rushed to me.

Overall, I recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

A Cold Whisper by Casie Dunno is a gripping and atmospheric thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The eerie, suspenseful atmosphere is perfectly crafted, and the plot is filled with twists that keep you guessing until the very end. The characters are well-developed, and their complex relationships add emotional depth to the story. While the pacing is generally strong, there are a few moments where the narrative slows down, which slightly dampens the suspense. Despite this, Dunno’s writing shines, and the tension builds to a satisfying conclusion. A solid 4-star read for fans of chilling mysteries and psychological thrillers.

After a pretty slow start, the book developed into an enjoyable read, as one grasps the intertwining of the plots. Although several things were quite predictable, there were also surprising twists and turns, so all in all I found the book worth reading.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC copy, offered in exchange for my honest review.