A Killing Cold

4.25 Stars — I had a lot of fun with this wintry thriller. It has dark family secrets, rich people being awful, a chilling, isolated setting, and a young protagonist who doesn't know what she's in for. I found the whole book fast-paced and entertaining, with plenty of twists that kept me on my toes. Sure, there were a couple of over-the-top moments, but they fit with the devious Dalton family. Even while having sore sinuses from a cold that made wearing reading glasses uncomfy, I plowed through this book in two days. Read it before winter slips away! [January 2025 BOTM Pick]

4.5 True Rating | This one had me guessing and somehow I was still wrong!

This was such a fun book because not only was the plot itself interesting, trying to find out how the past and present meet up, but ALSO I thought for sure I had figured out the plot twist MULTIPLE TIMES and I was so close but with HUGE elements missing. Like, I would guess the person but the wrong scenario or the wrong person but the right reason.

This book does a great job of keeping you on your toes but also fully engaged because there's just SO. MANY. QUESTIONS. and honestly? Everyone is sus. Even the main character feels sus. Is she? Read the book! lol

Why Not a Five Star Rating?
This one was pretty close, but there were some times when it felt like there were show more missing elements and while I enjoyed the characters, I think there were some that I would've liked more information on (his sister's wife and child are absent for the first half of the book then suddenly always there, etc.).
I also think it would've been helpful to have a family tree. I know it's a shorter book and a somewhat smaller family, but the FMC mentions needing one and I was like SAME, GIRL! show less

A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall is a twisty thriller set in a creepy, snowed-in winter family retreat. The story follows Theodora Scott as she visits her fiancé’s rich but mysterious family, only to realize they might be hiding dark secrets—secrets that could be connected to her own past.

The book does a great job of creating a tense, eerie atmosphere, and the twists keep you on your toes! You’ll want to keep reading to find out what happens next. However, some parts of the story feel a bit predictable, and a few characters could have been more interesting.

Overall, it’s a solid mystery with lots of suspense. If you like thrillers with big family secrets and a chilling setting, this one is worth a read!

Theodora (Theo) Scott is engaged to Connor Dalton, whose family is fabulously wealthy. In "A Killing Cold," by Kate Alice Marshall, Connor invites his fiancée to Idlewood, the Dalton retreat, for the winter holidays. Theo is nervous about meeting Connor's relatives. It is clear that they consider her to be a gold-digger who is unworthy of joining their distinguished clan. If the Dalton's knew details about Theo's harrowing childhood, they would be even more horrified.

This is an atmospheric psychological thriller in which the occupants of Idlewood are cut off from civilization by limited cellular service and inclement weather. Connor is devoted to Theo, but she fears that his family will succeed in turning him against her. We show more sympathize with this young woman, who is treated badly by Connor's intimidating grandparents, Magnus and Louise; Connor's arrogant uncle, Nick; and Connor's selfish and malicious younger brother, Trevor. Theo soon suspects that there is a sinister reason for the Daltons' excessive hostility towards her.

Marshall does a fine job of creating a mood of impending doom. Theo's frequent nightmares stem from hazy memories that give her no peace. When she begins to recall episodes from her childhood, we sympathize with her intense anguish. Red herrings abound, there are several violent deaths, and the author wraps things up with an overly melodramatic and convoluted finale. Although readers will root for Theo to survive her ordeal, accompanying her on this distressing journey into the past is more exhausting than entertaining. show less

This is such a twisty thriller! It kept me constantly second-guessing, thinking I had cracked the case, only to be thrown off course again. The pacing is relentless, I could barely put it down to sleep because I had to know how it all unraveled. My only complaint is that I wish we could learn more about the supporting characters. We spend so much time in the main character’s thoughts and memories that the supporting cast feels a bit superficial. It delivers a suspenseful mystery, hitting all the right beats and keeping the intrigue up. If fast-paced thrillers are your thing, definitely give this one a read!

A woman invited to her wealthy fiancé’s family retreat realizes they are hiding a terrible secret―and that she’s been there before.
The story focuses mainly on Theodora Scott, a woman with a, shall we say "shady past". She kept secrets from her new fiancé, Connor. Connor Dalton is a handsome, wealthy guy that Theo has recently become entangled with six months ago. Theirs was a whirlwind romance that led to a rushed engagement...but there's a catch...isn't there always? Before there are going to be any wedding bells, there is one more thing they have to do – they have to have the approval of Connor’s family. We already know this is going to probably go downhill fast.

Connor's family...the Daltons, are a strangely reserved show more bunch and certainly don’t take kindly to strangers entering their "sacred grounds"...Idlewood, an isolated winter retreat reserved and "ONLY" for the family.

When Connor and Theo arrive, the threatening messages start. I almost began to feel sorry for Theo. Her mother-in-law "perhaps to be", is less than thrilled, to put it mildly. Frosty and standoffish describes her demure well. We learn that there are secrets here that are tied to Theo’s past. As the story progresses, those secrets slowly start to "rear their ugly heads". This leads the story to a shocking, very dramatic conclusion as the truth rolls out.

Almost the entire story is told from Theo’s perspective and it's not too long before the reader begins to question everybody. There's Connor’s sister, Alexis, and the shady Nick to name a few but all the characters are complex, and you know that they are holding onto secrets of their own. In fact, it reaches a point where Theo even starts to question Connor, letting to a paranoid edge to ooze through every remaining page of the book. Theo’s past is enticing. The little snippets of her backstory are sprinkled throughout the book, broken up by small chapters. Sometimes we "see and hear" snippets while she’s asleep. Some of her thoughts are marked with stars placed in the middle of individual chapter. That actually worked quite well. The books characters are what makes the standout. A Killing Cold is an enticing read with a clever ending. If you’re looking for an easy thriller to add to your pile of books, this one is well worth your time. show less

I thought this book was fantastic. And I was wondering how it was going to all tie together. So many family secrets. I really enjoyed this journey!

[contains spoilers] The main character, Theo, goes to her fiancé's family's winter get away land for Christmas. It is in the middle of nowhere with 5 cottages on the land. Of course, it's winter and it's snowing. Great ambiance. And his family is super rich, so she is meeting them for the first time and wants to impress them. Her background, she doesn't remember much prior to 4 years old. She was raised by 2 people who were not very nice, except the dad really tried to be, but the mom sounds psycho and super religious folk. Anyway, so now she's on this land and things are starting to feel show more familiar to her, which doesn't make any sense. She meets the family and they grill her and she tries to be discreet about her past. And even Connor, her fiance, doesn't know much about her past with her "parents". We find out later that she stabbed her dad with a knife. But that was because she was being held in the attic and tied up and they were do an exorcism on her because they thought the devil was inside her. She was a normal child getting up to normal things. Anywho, so the whole family is sketchy as hell which I loved. She is drawn to the "5th" cabin which no one uses. She goes there and there is a firefly on the door. And she also has a firefly tattoo on her wrist. So, she was actually at the cabin when she was younger with her mother. The mother was dating Nick (Connor's uncle) who is a complete asshole and was hurting her. So Connor's dad, hid them in the cabin away from everyone. His wife (Connor's mom) told Nick where they were because she thought her husband was cheating on her and didn't realize her husband was actually trying to save the woman and her kid. we find out at the end, that Connor's sister showed up with a gun and shot Theo's mom. And she had thought that she killed her all those years ago. But come to find out, the grandfather also made his way up there and she was still alive even though she'd been shot and then he made sure that she bled out instead of getting her help. And then Nick was there too and him and his brother (Connor's dad) fought and Nick killed him, supposedly by accident, but also didn't get any help to try to make sure lived. All of this comes out during this 2-week Christmas break. And Nick is now also trying to kill Theo. He also killed the housekeeper's daughter who also helped, because he thought it was Theo. The grandfather then tries to get Theo to not tell on anyone and basically pay her off not to say anything. And she doesn't, she reports him. He's dying of cancer, so nothing really happens to him, but I think Nick is arrested. Their family is rich so they didn't want all this coming out. And Connor was really a good guy all along. And their meeting was happenstance. Her friend is an artist and used a photo of her at a gallery and her firefly tattoo was showing and he just had to meet the girl behind the photo. They had met as young kids. I was worried there might be some incest going on when the story was just coming out and her memories were starting to take shape. But I was like, I'm sure the author is not going to go there, but an awful funny joke to make us think that at first! show less