A Killing Cold

A Novel

By: Kate Alice Marshall

Narrated by: Karissa Vacker

"Listeners will find it challenging to hit pause on this suspense thriller by Marshall...Perfect for listeners who enjoy intricately-plotted suspense thrillers full of family secrets, deception, and isolated settings."—Booklist (Starred Review)

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

©2025 Kate Alice Marshall (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“A Killing Cold is a gripping tale, full of dizzying twists and turns! It is packed with suspense and kept me frantically turning pages until the very end!”–Freida McFadden, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Housemaid

“A Killing Cold is a tightly wound thriller perfect for fans of Stacy Willingham and Gillian Flynn. Readers will flock to this outstanding story. The suspense is palpable, the danger obvious but obscured, and the isolation creepy enough to raise the hair on the back of your neck. Theodora Scott is a fascinating and complex character, and the entire Dalton clan is everything you’d expect from a family who spends two weeks every winter locked away at their Grand Lodge. Secrets and coverups abound. Marshall has created a feral and alluring gothic that you won’t be able to put down.”—J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of A Very Bad Thing

“Tense, layered, and gripping from start to finish, A Killing Cold is a masterfully suspenseful, character-rich thriller of the first order. With the harsh winter landscape, isolated family compound, and buried memories come back to haunt, Marshall deftly creates an atmosphere of dread that will keep you up past your bedtime and chill you to the bone.”—Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of The New Couple in 5B

Really really good

What a great story! Kept me intrigued the whole time. Lot of depth and suspense, also well narrated!

Her best book yet!

I literally couldn’t stop listening!!!! I love rich family dramas and add a secluded lodge on top of that and I’m in!

The Plot Twists that keeps twisting!

I loved this book! Every time you thought you knew what was happening, it twists again!

Not as much Twists as other reviews say

I had been looking for a good book to use my credit on and based on reviews of how many supposed twists this book had, I picked this one. I, however, did not find there to be so many twists. Reading the summary of this book you basically get the main plot twist so mostly you’re just guessing the whole time “who done it”. The outcome is not so shocking, in my opinion. It was an okay story but I definitely don’t agree with the 5 star reviews. The narrator did pretty well and had good voices for all the characters. I just thought she didn’t do the main character in a cadence that was believable in certain situations

Entertaining but predictable

The reason this garnered 4 stars instead of 3 is because of that totally satisfying ending.

I started off thinking this story was really predictable and corny, which it is, but it grew on me. Some of the characters are totally lovable, and some you just hate—which is, like, the point. I think the character writing was really well done! I could almost feel the energy shift with each character that came through the story. There wasn’t a whole lot of strong character development though, which I would’ve loved to see.

Despite the awful choices made and red flags ignored throughout the story, some incredible and fist-pump-worthy choices were made at the end and that was sooo needed!

Desperate plea: can we stop writing lesbians that give villain energy

Excellent! My favorite so far!

I’ve been waiting to listen to this since I heard the preview months ago and it did not disappoint! The twists were fantastic but the suspense kept me listening. I couldn’t put it down.

Great story

I loved this book. Tons of twists and turns that keep you guessing and on your toes.

holy plot twists

this was something out of a lifetime movie. I’m a sucker for them though. Great book!!

All the the turns.

Absolutely amazing! Loved this one!! When you think you have it figured out you’re completely wrong.

Hard to follow

This story had too many players to really enjoy the telling of the story. The flow for me was patchy. Someone ended up murdered and I could not recall the character’s importance in the story.