A Killing Cold
A Killing Cold
By: Kate Alice Marshall
[Fulfilled ‘A book by an author whose last name is also a first name’ prompt as part of Shelf Reflection’s 2025 Reading Challenge]
[On my list of Most Anticipated Books of 2025]
“My whole body thrums with fear. It tells me to run. It tells me that the hunter is here, and I am prey. I have always been prey.”
If you like books about dysfunctional families and lots of twists, this is the book for you!
This one is a wild ride where you’re never quite sure who is the hunter and who is the hunted. Every time I thought I had a piece right, Marshall switched it up!
It’s also an atmospheric story as it takes place at an isolated mountain mansion family property around Christmastime where there is of course, no cell reception. The characters stay in their own cabins on the property and the snow is its own element in ‘A Killing Cold.’
The main premise is this:
Theo and Connor are recently engaged (after having only met a few months ago) and headed to Connor’s wealthy and influential family’s property in the mountain woods of New York where Theo has a couple weeks to impress them and be accepted into their curated life.
“All I have to do is convince them that I love him, that I’m charming, that I’m not just interested in his money.”
“All I have to do is ignore the text on my phone… The text that arrived last week from a number I’ve never seen before. ‘Stay away from Connor Dalton.’”
Theo has her own secrets she’s been keeping from Connor— her name isn’t really Theo. And her parents aren’t really dead, but if Connor finds out the truth about them, he might leave her forever.
“The story isn’t about what happened in the attic. It’s about what happened after— what happens when I feel trapped. It is dangerous to corner a wild animal. Even a wounded one.”
There is also part of her childhood she knows must have been traumatic because she barely has any memories of that time and most of them come in the form of nightmares with an ‘antler man’ and running away.
“I’ve never minded blood. It’s a trail to follow, back through my memories.”
The mysteries and secrets pile up as she meets the various family members and learn of their vices and their tragedies, including the mysterious death of Connor’s charming father and the desolate cabin that is no longer used or talked about.
Even as Theo confronts the reality that someone is trying to keep her away from Connor, she’s also discovering that parts of the family property are familiar. Snippets from her memories come back and she realizes the chilling fact: She’s been here before.
“I thought all of this was a coincidence, too wild to be true. But what if it wasn’t? What if I didn’t stumble my way here? What if I was led?”
I will say that if abuse is a trigger for you, you may want to pass on this one as it depicts both adult and child abuse.
I will mention here that it was really hard to read about what happened to Theo with her adoptive parents, especially when the parents attempted to justify their heinous behavior and parenting with what I’m assuming Marshall is portraying as a Christian Bible.
“Holy words wound their way through it, but it was pure punishment. It was like something had been set on fire in Beth’s soul and decades of being a demure and submissive wife became nothing but kindling for her rage.”
She never identifies what religion they claim to be; there are elements of their beliefs surrounding gender and sex that are associated with Christianity but it’s clear that if the Bible is their ‘foundation’ they’ve discarded and twisted most of it because there is nothing biblical about what they said and did to Theo.
It’s hard to read about child abuse but it’s even harder to read it knowing someone had the words of life but were blinded by evil and instead offered only pain, violence, and a wrong theology about sin that not only hurt that child physically but emotionally, spiritually, and in every sense of identity and security.
“I’m a devil-child; my parents are alive, they just don’t want me.”
“Who am I? Maybe I’m no one. Maybe I didn’t come from anywhere at all. Maybe there’s nothing inside me except all the little pieces I’ve collected from the people I’ve wanted to love.”
There were some reviewers who thought the plot was tired and relied too much on fate. I guess I haven’t read a lot that are similar to this one— probably the most similar would be The Family Bones, The Alone Time, or The Fury but even those have their own thing— so it didn’t feel overdone.
There was perhaps an element of fate but truly so many stories require that because ultimately stories set out to answer the question ‘what if’ such and such happened, not ‘here’s how this could legitimately happen’ so for the most part I take no issue with that either.
However, when she unlocked the phone after only a few tries by using the mother’s birth date I was like— nope, no one uses that and even if they did, how would she know this lady’s birth date? She wouldn’t.
A couple times I was nervous that the author was playing up the main character’s recklessness or the mystery of what she did in her past too much so that the culmination of everything was going to be explained in a stupid or stereotypical way or just be not a big deal in general. I’m pleased that Marshall didn’t do that. The direction she took was disturbing and tragic but was a better way to tell the story than how many other authors opt to do.
Recommendation
This story is a pretty tangled web of secrets and is definitely a thrill ride. I found it all very compelling, however there was some content in it that I usually avoid and may be something that would keep certain readers from picking it up, including a decent amount of swearing and a few brief, but graphic sexual encounters.
The reviews are a bit mixed on this one and several mentioned they loved her book What Lies in the Woods better (which had also been on my to-read list) so I might still give that one a shot. I liked the complexity and unpredictability of her book but am still deciding if it’s worth wading through some of the other stuff or not.
[Content Advisory: 41 f-words, 18 s-words; some brief but graphic sexual encounters, a couple prominent characters are LGBTQ; some gore; adult and child abuse; miscarriage]
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
This book releases February 4, 2025. You can pre-order/order a copy of this book using my affiliate link below.
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