Haven’s Rock is a sanctuary deep inside Yukon for those who need a safe place away from the rest of the world. Detective Casey and her husband Eric, along with a few others, do their best to keep the place running smoothly. 

However, when one of the residents is drugged and dragged into the forest on a cold night, Casey realizes they have a potential threat on their hands. As they investigate, a snowstorm hits the place and a dead body turns up. Casey and Eric need to find the killer and end this soon. 

The story comes in Casey’s first-person POV in the present tense. 

So, I read my reviews for the previous three books before I wrote this review. Sadly, I don’t remember much but the inability to connect with Casey continues. 

The premise is cool – an abduction/ assault foiled only for another to happen during a snowstorm. Also, with the FMC being eight months pregnant, there are more limitations to the already restricted setting. 

Sadly, this time around, I didn’t feel the charm of the place. Winter is my favorite season, so I should have loved the setting. A few scenes searching in the woods with Storm were great. For the rest, the charm seems to have worn off. 

Storm is a darling, my constant and only favorite in the series. A wee kid appears for half a page and creates a mini-storm, lol. 

This time around, only the prologue is a different character’s third-person POV. The rest was Casey, which, unfortunately, didn’t do her any favor. Being in her head wasn’t entertaining, TBH. She sounded borderline whiny at times and would overthink issues that didn’t need so much ‘moral dilemma’. 

I know idealism appeals to us. It helps to an extent and encourages discussions. However, letting the main character veer into naïve and stupid territory isn’t a good idea, especially when she has experience in dealing with the worst kind of people. 

The mystery is actually good. I like most of it and the arguments around it. Sebastian turns out to be another favorite character! 

However, what I didn’t want had happened in the climax. I kept an eye on the % and pretty much knew how things would develop. Nope, not happy with that. I can see the appeal. It’ll keep readers on the edge of the seat; all that tension! But… for me, it was unnecessary and made the FMC appear as someone who likes to play a hero irrespective of the cost. I don’t look for realism in thrillers (or even in cozy mysteries) but maybe this one time, a toned-down version might have had a greater appeal. 

At least the ending is good. There’s proper closure and a happy (cute) development with some lighthearted scenes. 

To summarize, Cold as Hell has a great premise and will appeal to a lot of readers, though I’m a bit of an outliner. I recommend reading the books in order as this won’t be good as a standalone (if I say this, then you have to take it seriously). 

Thank you, NetGalley and St Martin’s (Minotaur Books), for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#NetGalley