In “A Killing Cold”, Kate Alice Marshall has written the kind of thriller that grips a reader quickly, and then provides so many twists that you’re dizzy by the time it all concludes. It all makes perfect sense, but you may have to sit with those last few chapters for a while to make sure you’ve got it all straight in your head.
Connor Dalton is taking his fiancée, Theodora Scott, to his family’s winter retreat. It will be the first time Theo has met most of them, and given both the family’s wealth and the speed of her engagement to Connor, she’s anxious about winning them over.
Like most people, Theo has a few things in her past that she’d rather her fiancée and his family not find out about. Perhaps the biggest secret is that Theo remembers virtually nothing of her early childhood, before she was adopted at four years old.
But something about the isolated retreat begins to spark memories for Theo. It’s not long before it becomes evident that the Daltons have secrets too – and some of them might involve Theo.
This is a genuinely suspenseful novel. The setup is pretty familiar, the sort of thing you’ve read before. However, Marshall spins off from there in entirely unexpected directions. As she gradually reveals both Theo’s secrets and those of the Daltons, readers will be utterly engrossed. Some are almost predictable, some come out of left field.
I was particularly taken by the way Marshall weaves Theo’s returning memories into the gradual revelations. These reveal not just information, but more about Theo’s character. They’re a part of what sets this novel apart, central to the plot, and I felt they were handled so well.
The weather is a minor character in the novel – the cold and snow is relevant throughout, but particularly critical when the final revelations begin tumbling out. Other characters are strong, and as they’re gradually shown more fully through the novel, it’s like getting to know a new acquaintance.
There are a lot of twists in the novel, leading the reader to feel as uncertain and fearful as Theo becomes. And the final few chapters contain more twists than I’ve seen in some entire novels! I actually had to sit there for a minute and go over it all again, working out whether what I thought had just happened really had. It had! It was a tense climax, entirely believable in the world Marshall had created.
I enjoyed this novel a great deal. It’s more twisty than your average thriller, but so carefully plotted that it all works. I was identifying strongly with Theo’s emotions throughout the novel, and I’m not sure anyone could have convinced me to put it down during the climatic chapters. Highly recommended to thriller readers in particular.
ISBN: 978 1 76156 775 9
Copy courtesy of Macmillan (2025)
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall. You can read their comments below, or add your own review.
I’ve loved books for as long as I can remember, and I love sharing that joy.
I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, across all genres. There’s not much I won’t at least try. I’ve been an enthusiastic book reviewer for years. I particularly enjoy discovering writers new to me, and sharing good writing with others.
My career has included time spent writing and editing technical documents, but it’s fiction that really moves me. I’ve reviewed for a number of different outlets over the years, and have been a judge in literary competitions.
I’m now raising little bookworms of my own, which brings a whole new kind of joy to sharing books.
More of my reviews can be found on my review blog www.otherdreamsotherlives.home.blog .
Theodora Scott’s fragmented past begins to collide with her impending future when she goes to meet her potential in laws. Her newly acquired fiance, Connor Dalton, comes from a world of wealth and power.
Flashes from her earliest years begin to surface and provide background to her shattered memories. Is the extremely wealthy family she’s about to marry into all that they seem or is there a hidden story? A hidden story that involves both herself and her mother.
Kate Marshall writes a riveting storyline that keeps the reader engaged whilst trying to solve the mystery of Theodora’s background.
A childhood photo holds the key, along with a series of menacing messages! Will Theodora find her past and continue into her future?
A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall is a great mystery novel where everyone truly is a suspect.
It’s the story of Theodora Scott who fell in love with Connor Dalton from the powerful Dalton family. They get engaged rapidly earning her an invite to the Christmas family retreat Idlewood. There is no phone reception and no-one nearby. Theodora is getting worrying messages on her phone and strange things keep happening. There are many players in and involved with the Dalton family and they all seem to have an agenda. The setting and players make this a constant guessing game. As well as all this Theodora feels like she has been at Idlewood as a child, but feels that can’t be right. She had a hard start to life and there are many memories missing, but when they start returning she realises she is in danger, people have secrets and she isn’t wanted at the retreat. The force of the Daltons is hard to tackle, but Theodora doesn’t give up easily, making this a huge showdown.
I loved how everyone could be involved or a suspect, keeping me on my toes. The isolation added to the atmosphere and kept me guessing all through the book. It shows the good and bad in people and that everything is not clear cut.
Would thoroughly recommend for anyone who loves trying to unravel a mystery.
Thankyou Beautyandlace and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to review A Killing Cold’ by Kate Alice Marshall.
I hadn’t read any of Kate Alice Marshall’s books before but now I’m hooked.!
From the first page I knew I would enjoy this book.
Theo Scott is on her way to meet Connor’s family, they are travelling to his grandparent’s residence ‘Idlewood’ where it is a Christmas tradition for all the family to gather.
She is very nervous because the Dalton’s are a wealthy family and as she is adopted and knows nothing of the time before her adoption she is hoping to be accepted. The fact that they have become engaged after a short time and plan to marry soon worries her.
Introduced to Connor at a party hosted by her friend Harper, the couple felt an instant attraction.
Texts which started to arrive prior to the two week holiday with Connor’s family, alarmed her as they warned her to stay away from Connor.
On her arrival at ‘Idlewood’ she is not readily accepted by any of the family and when she finds a photo and starts asking questions about an empty cabin (family members all have separate accomodation), she finds herself in danger, but from whom!
A great read and one you won’t want to put down.
Theodora has feelings of Déjà vu, and it starts to feel like it’s not the first time Theo has visited the Daltons family retreat ‘Idlewood’. Mysterious events unfold, the web of lies increase and flashbacks of Theo’s childhood have her second guessing if she made the right decision joining Connor and his family to celebrate Christmas at their isolated retreat.
The family dynamic feels a little bit askew; Theo has so many unanswered questions, why does she feel like they always stop talking when Theo enters a room. But who can she trust, Connor’s sister Alexis, or (the black sheep of the family) Trevor, or Connor’s mother Rose or matriarch Louise, or what if maybe the youngest member of the family, sweet Sebastian is the only one.
The novel takes you along a winding road, so many twists and turns, a lot like following breadcrumbs through a never-ending maze, and as the story unfolds, I think I’m starting to work out the puzzle only to be blindsided.
Thank you, Pan Macmillan Australia and Beauty and Lace, for introducing me to Kate Alice Marshall,
I thoroughly enjoyed this roller coaster of a read, and I can’t wait to explore Kate’s back catalogue.
A mystery novel that will keep you on the edge. While I thought the overall storyline was chilling and exciting, I do think at the beginning it was all overdramatised. In the first half it felt like the author just tried a little bit too hard to make it seem like a mystery when really it wasn’t. But apart from that it was enjoyable, a clever and suspenseful novel.
A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall was a really enjoyable novel. The story line was interesting with believable characters and lots of twists and changes that kept me engaged.
Main character Theodora, known as Theo and the love of her life Connor are an unlikely matching that even Theo can hardly believe. Connor is from a wealthy and close-knit powerful family whilst Theo was adopted and has traumatic childhood memories and almost no memory of her pre-adoption years.
Theo is nervous about meeting Connor’s extended family at their isolated winter retreat, Idlewood, and worried about whether they will like and accept her. After all, she has only been in a relationship with Connor for 6 months and doesn’t come with the same family credentials. The holiday certainly doesn’t go as planned with memories and family secrets being exposed in the most unexpected manner which left me wondering until the end whether there would be a happy ending for Theo and Connor’s relationship.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace and Pan Macmillan Australia for the opportunity to read and review A Killing Cold. Highly recommended.
Thank you, Beauty & Lace, for allowing me to read and review ‘A Killing Cold by Kate Marshall’.
Theo has fallen head over heels for Connor, they feel right together, unlike so much of her past that felt so wrong. However, Connor is part of the great and very wealthy Dalton family, and Theo will be sharing this winter holiday break with the whole family. But who is it warning her away, and why does everyone there seem to have an altered agenda? Can anyone be trusted?
This is an excellent read, which had me guessing about the outcome for Theo and Connor from one page to the next. Thank you ‘Beauty & Lace Bookclub’ for the opportunity to read ‘‘A Killing Cold by Kate Marshall’.
This was an easy 5-star rating for me! I loved the writing style, the way the story unfolded and description of events. The characters all had their own agendas and dramas and the fact that I was still left wondering towards the end how it would all turn out had me going over the whole storyline after I finished.
Highly recommend.
Thank you for allowing me to read “A Killing Cold” by!ate Marshall.
This book revolves around the main character Theo who with her new finance Connor, visits his wealthy family’s estate for a weekend. The family do not take to her originally but Theo has no idea why. She keeps getting strange messages on her phone and has feelings of deja vu.
It’s a suspensive story leading to an unusual ending.
Top marks!