Quick Synopsis

A woman invited to her wealthy fiance’s family retreat realizes they are hiding a terrible secret—and that she’s been there before, by the bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods.

Publisher’s Synopsis

A whirlwind romance.
When Theodora Scott met Connor—wealthy, charming, and a member of the powerful Dalton family—she fell in love in an instant. Six months later, he’s brought her to Idlewood, his family’s isolated winter retreat, to win over his skeptical relatives.

Stay away from Connor Dalton.
Theo has tried to ignore the threatening messages on her phone, but she can’t ignore the footprints in the snow outside the cabin window or the strange sense of familiarity she has about this place. Then, in a disused cabin, Theo finds something impossible: a photo of herself as a child. A photo taken at Idlewood.

I’ve been here before.
Theo has almost no recollection of her earliest years, but now she begins to piece together the fragments of her memories. Someone here has a shocking secret that they will do anything to keep hidden, and Theo is in terrible danger. Because the Daltons do not lose, and discovering what happened at Idlewood may cost Theo everything.

Book Review

Because I did not love like Kate Alice Marshall’s previous novels What Lies in the Woods and No One Can Know, I originally did not plan to read A Killing Cold. However, I was feeling like a wintery thriller and decided to give Marshall another try.

A Killing Cold is a mystery novel that follows Theo Scott as she meets her new finance’s family for the first time. While Theo was raised by a set of poor, abusive adoptive parents, her finance Connor Dalton is from a very wealthy family. And like any wealthy, powerful family, the Daltons have secrets to hide… and those secrets somehow involve Theo’s unknown past.

Initially, Marshall’s prose is quite descriptive, but then, that same level of detail is not continued throughout the novel. As a result, the writing felt uneven. There was also a huge missed opportunity to capitalize on a very atmospheric setting: a snowy, private mountain retreat at Christmas with old cabins only accessible to the Dalton family and their servants. Based upon the first page, I was anticipating a book that, at the very least, would make me shiver. However, without descriptive prose, snow is no different than grass.

A Killing Cold does not have the pacing of a thriller, but there is a strong sense of suspense until about the half-way mark. Still, I found that the plot was rather predictable. In fact, I figured out part of the mystery within the first few chapters. That does not automatically mean I will not enjoy a book, but I do expect something novel about the story or exceptional execution to make up for the easily foreseen mystery. And I did not find anything within A Killing Cold that brought something new to the storyline. I will note that the details of the twist are revealed several times as Theo’s theory is revised, which just makes the story confusing. I question why so many iterations of the twist are needed for this one book. Personally, I thought that this aspect of the plot left holes and unanswered questions.

As I have found in Marshall’s previous novels, the character development in A Killing Cold is lacking. Theo is really only her story. Other than enjoying books, Theo lacks defining characteristics and personality. The same can be said for Connor. Readers are told he is nice and loves Theo, but little else about him is disclosed.

Overall, A Killing Cold is a decent mystery novel that fails to bring anything new to the table. While this book will likely be popular, it could benefit from further development of the setting and characters.

Rating

Overall Rating

Writing

Plot

Character Development