I requested this book as the title pulled me in. Unfortunately I'm disappointed by it, I found it very hard to get in to and quite drawn out.
Wouldn't recommend.

No one thinks it will happen to them. When a natural disaster hits in small town Cherrystone, Washington, it makes solving the murders that are uncovered all that more difficult. Then when Detective Emily Kenyon's own daughter disappears, the race against time is on. You won't regret adding this book to your reading pile. It won't stay unread for long.

3.25/5 stars! "If You Tell" is one of my favorite True Crime novels I have ever read, so when I got the opportunity to read "A Cold Dark Place." I liked parts of this, but it is clear that the author's strength lies in presenting true crime in an amazing and thrilling fashion. This felt very all over the place, which made it hard to stay engaged. Our FMC is also very gullible and passive, which is done way too much to female characters, and frustrated me, as a highly competent woman. I did enjoy the final twist.

A Cold Dark Place
By: Gregg Olsen

4 Stars

This book was the definition of an edge of your seat thriller. It was almost like watching a crazy murder documentary. It was twisty. With every page turn, you get a new and shocking piece of the puzzle.

Emily Kenyon is a detective whose town just had a twister go through. While doing a wellness check, she finds a mystery that brings back her past. It also messes with her future when her daughter goes missing. Emily is on the hunt in this story that will leave you shocked.

This was such a well written story. Pieced together like it is, it leaves you craving more while keeping you completely captivated. It is a story of a detectives worst nightmare and a mothers love. It is fast-paced and thrilling from page one. I really enjoyed this mystery.

*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

Woowie this was a good one! I genuinely couldn’t believe the ending I didn’t see that coming. It was so dark and twisted in all the best ways!

I am usually a fan of this author but this book missed the mark for me. The premise was great and I had high hopes. And there were aspects I really liked. Unfortunately the story itself is very disjointed. For being the first in a series, the main character is a cop that doesn't come across as one. I can't really explain it, but most of the book the fact she is a cop wasn't even in my mind. The mystery felt like it had too many points packed in and none were able to make the reader invested.

This book tells the story of Detective Emily Kenyon and her daughter Jenna, a teenager who has a certain interest in her colleague Nicholas Martin. Nicholas is a teenager whom the Martin family adopted. During a tornado that devastates part of Cherrystone, the family's house is destroyed. Nicholas survives and entices Jenna to help him escape the scene of destruction. Jenna and Nicholas run away; Emily tries to find her daughter and discover how Nicholas managed to attract Jenna. Will Emily be able to solve this mystery?

This was a bit of convoluted plotting, which left me feeling just a bit disappointed. The promise was good but the characterisation was undeveloped. I tried to like Emily but I failed to get to grips with who she really is and found her to be weak and unbelievable. The ending was all too rushed and unbelievable, which is a shame, and there were too many unanswered questions. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

An In a remote Pacific Northwest farmhouse, a family is brutally murdered—and their teenage son vanishes. Detective Emily Kenyon is on the case, but her daughter Jenna may be one step ahead… and in danger.
As more families are slaughtered across the country, a chilling pattern emerges—pointing to a killer shaped by a dark, twisted past. Emily must uncover the truth before Jenna becomes the next victim.
Gregg Olsen book is a gripping psychological thriller about buried secrets, fragile trust, and the terrifying line between good and evil. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

























Unflinching Decent into the Mind of a Killer.

A COLD DARK PLACE - An interesting read with some good characters and a good story line. Sometimes, especially at the end, bits were almost silly. I dislike Emily, I found her actions stupid. She wants to kill instead of investigate, which results in the death a young girl and almost another girl. I believe a real mother would do anything to find her child, not kill the only link to saving the child, regardless of the emotional turmoil. I won't be reading anymore of this series. Source: Netgalley. 3*

This was just an OK read.

I’ve previously read and enjoyed Gregg Olsen’s true crime books, which are well-researched and compelling, so I was excited to try his fictional crime series. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite live up to expectations.

The narrative jumps between the present and events from 20 years ago, but the transitions felt disjointed and the characters underdeveloped. The heroine lacked depth and strength, and too many plot points were left unresolved by the end.

Emily’s behavior—especially her inaction while her daughter was in danger—was hard to believe and didn’t make much sense.

Overall, I’m not sure I’ll continue with the series. I’d think twice before picking up the next installment.

This was just an OK read for me, and I was happy when I got to the end. The plot was decent but I couldn’t warm to any of the characters, and I didn’t find it exciting or suspenseful. Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley but I think I’ll be giving the next book in the series a miss.

I am giving this book a rating of 3.5 ☆

We meet Emily Kenyon, detective and divorced mother of Jenna, who lives in Cherrystone, Washington. After a recent tornado Emily is called to an address, where three members of a family are found dead among the ruins of a house, a fourth member missing. However, its not the recent tornado that killed them, each have gunshot wounds. Their oldest son, Nick, is missing, unseen since he was called home from school days before.
Then Jenna also goes missing, believed to be with Nick. Is Nick the killer, or is he running from the horror he's witnessed.
While searching for answers, it appears that there have been other similar murders. Emily needs to find out the link is in the hopes of finding Jenna.

This story is broken into three 'book' sections. The story itself goes between the present day and the previous twenty years, involving other murders and police departments. All of which start to come together in the second part of the 'books'.
I thought the description of the book was really interesting, and I really enjoyed seeing how it played out. I enjoyed the investigation side of it and felt the ending tied everything up really well. Although I had an idea what might have happened, I still hadn't been prepared for the ending, and their were plenty of twists along the way.
The only thing stopping me from rating the book higher was that I didn't fully feel the motherly connection between Emily and Jenna. Mainly in the way Emily spent hours sitting around the hospital with a injurd police officer right at a crucial point, and managing to have a meal and some drinks with this same officer leading to her waking and forgetting the night before. I just felt that as a parent myself, Emily didn't seem to be acting as a parent would if their child was somewhere with a potential killer!
I would still be interested in reading the next book, as missing daughter aside, I'd really quite enjoyed reading this one.

A Cold Dark Place by Gregg Olsen
At first, I found the book a little slow to get going, and the frequent shifts between characters felt a bit chaotic, making it hard to follow. However, once the story found its rhythm, I was completely drawn in. The twists and turns kept me engaged right up until the final page. It’s a gritty, gripping, and twist-filled thriller that ultimately had me hooked. I’d definitely read the next book in the series, as well as more from Gregg Olsen.

Have you ever read a book written by a man and wondered why they chose to write female main characters if they hate them so much?
Every female character in this was written so poorly I almost rolled my eyes into the back of my head and lodged them there permanently.

Pretty but bitchy, pretty but old, slim but weak, easily manipulated, fat and dowdy. I mean far out, you’d think the police detectives he made the main characters would at least escape the negative connotations of women but they didn’t.

The changing pov of characters in the same paragraph was also exceptionally jarring.

The plot was fine, I didn’t hate it but there was no big AHA! moment.

To be perfectly honest I wish I’d DNF’d this one.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the arc of this book. This is my honest opinion.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

Solid book from a prolific and noted author. This kept me engaged, had some interesting characters, and the author knows how to tell a story.

This book has been released twice before, in 2007 and 2014, and there were just a couple of dated references about pop culture which were a little off-putting.

Will I read more from the author? Yes.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

While there were parts of this book that were suspenseful, I did not like the main character and found the whole story to be a bit chaotic.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this one, I did finish the book, I just didn't find is as gripping as anything else I have read.

Gregg Olsen can do no wrong... he takes readers on a wild ride in every book. A Cold Dark Place is incredible. Detective Emily Kenyon has returned to her home town and living in her childhood home with her daughter. After her divorce, she left Seattle but maintains ties there. Emily's home town is reeling from a tornado; after a long day at work, she's called to do a welfare check on a family. When she arrives, she sees the house is gone and the family is dead... except for a son, who no one can find. Jenna, Emily's daughter, knows the boy from school. However, to compound things, Jenna becomes missing as well. Told in alternating times and points of view, A Cold Dark Place is brutal, spine tingling, and fantastic. Thank you to Storm Publishing for an advanced reader of this book. The opinions expressed are my own.

Detective Emily Kenyon is searching for the only family member left alive after visiting a crime scene pulverized by a tornado. It appears the victims were killed before the tornado passed through, and the teenage son, Nick, is missing. The problem is that they don’t know if he’s innocent and safe or guilty and on the run. Emily’s daughter Jenna is a schoolmate of the boy and swears he would never have done this to his family. Maintaining a neutral stance is hard as the investigation continues and her family is dragged into the mess. But she’s determined to locate Nick before anyone else gets hurt, even if it means putting her own life in danger.

One of the things that struck me about this story was Emily’s character making sporadic references to herself being ‘too old’ for this and that. One passage said she knew she was too old to wear a ponytail. Another talked about not dressing too young for her age. She’s only 39! It only bothers me because it’s a male author who doesn’t seem to realize that a badass female character wouldn’t care what anyone thought of her looks – and plenty of women older than that wear ponytails. I don’t know, it’s just weird.

The story was a little disjointed, as just when you get into it and feel the momentum, there’s suddenly a chapter in a new location across the country with random characters, leaving the reader with no idea what’s going on and why we’re hearing about seemingly unrelated crimes. I think that’s just the author’s writing style, but it interrupted the flow of the story.

I wish the rest of the book were as engaging as the beginning, but I just had trouble staying interested. The ending was clever, though, and I think plenty of people would enjoy the story more than I did.