The Book:
A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall
Published: February 4, 2025 by Flatiron Books
Find more February 2025 releases here.
Torrie’s Rating:
A Killing Cold spoilers can be found below, but they’re hidden under a spoiler tag so you’re safe to keep scrolling if you’d just like to read Torrie’s review.
The Plot (Goodreads):
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.
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.
How did A Killing Cold End?
We suspect and learn early on that Theo has been to Idlewood before, as a child. She was born Rowan “Teddy” Cahill, and her mother was Mallory Cahill. When Theo was a child, her mother was in an abusive relationship with Nick (who happens to be Connor’s uncle). Connor’s father, Liam, found out about the abuse and tried to help Mallory by allowing her to stay at Idlewood while he figured out a longer-term option. Unfortunately, Nick finds out where they are hiding and shows up at Idlewood.
The rest of the family believes that Liam is having an affair with Mallory (he isn’t), and his wife files for divorce. Alexis (Connor’s sister) hears about the alleged affair and goes to Idlewood to confront her father. She finds Mallory and confronts her, with a rifle. She doesn’t intend to use it, but she accidentally shoots Mallory.
Nick watches as Mallory dies in the woods, and he assumes that her child Rowan/Theo dies with her. Nick and Liam get into an altercation, and a blow to Liam’s head eventually kills him. We learn later that Magnus (Connor’s grandfather) found Mallory still alive and trying to call for help, but he took her phone and let her die.
The person trying to warn Theo off with cryptic texts before and during the family trip is Magnus. Magnus learned who she was from her adoptive father (who teenage Theo had severely injured after she was beaten by the family for wanting an abortion).
As Theo learns more and more about who she is and what happened to her mother, her life is at stake. Magnus tried to stage a hunting accident. Nick also tried to kill Theo, but accidentally killed Olena (the nanny/maid who was sleeping with Trevor). Magnus tries to kill or incapacitate her with drugged tea as well. At one point, Nick chases after her, and she is forced to kill him in self defense.
Magnus confesses to just Theo, with the expectation that she will not call the cops on him or Alexis. She decides she wants justice and does eventually get most of the family to tell the authorities the truth. She and Connor are able to maintain their relationship and get married.
Torrie’s Review:
Thank you to Kate Alice Marshall and Flatiron Books for sending me an ARC of this book! What Lies in the Woods (also by Kate Alice Marshall) was one of my favorite reads in 2023, so I was extremely excited to get my hands on A Killing Cold as soon as possible.
I had high expectations going into this book, and while it didn’t quite blow me away in the same way that What Lies in the Woods did, I still enjoyed it immensely. I will say, the ending really took me by surprise. A few plot points were very obvious throughout, but the final “who did it” was not what I was expecting – so that’s a huge plus for me. The pacing was good, it felt like the story kept moving at a solid pace and things were revealed at multiple points, so there wasn’t just an info dump all of a sudden. I liked Theo a lot as the main character, and Connor intrigued me, though he fell a little flat. I was fascinated by Alexis, and would have loved to learn a little more about her. I almost wish Theo and Alexis were the main characters instead of Connor.
Honestly, this was a great read, and I’d definitely recommend it to those that are fans of suspense and thrillers!
Meet Guest Reviewer by Torrie Lewine
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