A Cold Dark Place: FBI Romantic Mystery and Suspense: 1 (Cold Justice®)

I really enjoyed this novel, it’s my first book by Toni Anderson and definitely won’t be my last. I swapped between reading on kindle and listening to the audible recording, which was fab, it had a great pace, good diversity of character voices and the male narator - Eric G. Dove did good female voices without going too much into a falsetto range. Overall the narration really added to the creepy vibe of the novel and help to keep that atmosphere of being on my toes and desperate to find out what happens. I liked the audio narration so much I bought the rest of the series on audible as they are all narrated by Eric G. Dove. As to the story - wow, so much going on and although some of the central character premise seemed incredibly unrealistic, Toni weaves her plot and character development so well it is easy to suspend belief and buy into the narrative of the story. The pacing of the plot unfolded nicely throughout the novel. There was just enough world building to make it believable without getting overly procedural and neither the murder/kidnapping plot and world building got in the way of some great protagonist character development which played out with some great set pieces that also moved along the central plot as well as the developing the relationship between Alex and Mallory. I really bought into Alex and Mallory as a couple, I wanted them to get their HEA, even as for much of the novel I was wondering how the author would achieve that given their polar opposite sides at times. There are a number of plot points to uncover as you read through the book, I guessed quite a few, but this didn’t detract from my enjoyment and there was one I totally missed at the end and one I didn’t quite get right. I liked that I was able to work some of the plot points out as I read. I often have theories going on in the back of my mind when reading and it’s good to see them proved or disproved as you read along. I personally hate thriller/crime novels which are so obtuse you never work out anything until the last 15 pages and in some obscure way it would have been almost impossible to have worked out. Overall this was a rip-roaring yarn with good pacing, interesting, but not obtuse central and supporting plots that helped the character development far outweighed the minor plot holes and unrealistic premise around some characters. I’d definitely recommend it to friends who enjoy thrillers and romance suspense. Looking forward to reading/listening to the next instalment.

A Cold Dark Place by Toni Anderson is the first book in the Cold Justice series. This bookie well written and an absolute thrilling read. Alex and Mallory could not be more suit and yet ill-suited at the same time. The chemistry between them, the connection they have, was so good to read about. You wanted to find a way to work past all the secrets that were bound to come out. But at the same time you couldn’t possibly guess how they would work it out. The story was great as well. With t all relating back to Mallory’s sister it gave an emotional depth that I hadn’t expected. As the first book I have read by this author I found it to be enjoyable and thrilling. I am looking forward to book 2.

Toni Anderson is a new author for me, and what a great book to get introduced by. A Cold Dark Place is book 1 in the Cold Justice series, and OMG! What an incredible read. This book was everything and more. I was captivated from just reading the synopsis and then diving into this book it drew me in, even more, I was completely and utterly entranced with this read. This read was action-packed, it had twists and turns, it had danger it was a thriller and suspenseful from the start to finish. I was left on the edge of my seat numerous times and left reeling. The characters in this read were real, and their feeling and emotions were raw, strong and powerful to the point every emotion I could feel felt as though I was there alongside the characters. These characters bring an extra level of brilliance to this read, with incredible chemistry between the two its a story definitely not to be missed! I cannot wait to see what else comes to this series, and what else this author can bring, she will definitely be on my go-to author list after this read! What an incredible book that should not be missed!

I read the Kindle version and listened to the audiobook. Review of Audio version A brilliant start to the series. Loved it." Would you listen to A Cold Dark Place again? Why? Yes I would listen to this story again. The story is well written, the characters are interesting and well developed and the mystery was engrossing. The narrator brings the story to life and I'm looking forward to listening to the rest of the series. What does Eric G. Dove bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book? Eric G. Dove does an amazing job with these characters. They really come to life and there is no ambiguity surrounding which character is speaking. There are a few sex scenes, which I find weird listening to, but he manages these with finesse. Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry? This story has quite an emotional kick to it as the crimes committed are very dark and creepy They leave a raft of sadness and grief for the families left behind. It is difficult not to get swept up in the story and feel sympathy for the victims and their families.

Serial killer time yet again in America. This time we have a rookie detective by the name of FBI Special Agent Mallory Rooney plus Former CIA assassin Alex Parker. These hetrosexuals meet when their work brings them together. They put their heads and bodies together as they solve some crimes and fall in love with each other. A Cold Dark Place is a crime thriller with some romance thrown into the story. I found the plot of A Cold Dark Place to be okay although not exactly original. Have one character who used to work for the CIA and you can assume some dodgy underhand dealings. Alex Parker is your typical flashy glamourous male, another loud mouthed American. He has little respect for the law and his morals are shady. Mallory Rooney is a highly attractive woman who went against her parents wishes to work for the FBI. I did not relate to either of these two lead characters. Oh and the romance blossomed between them which resulted in lots of vanilla sex which became a bore to read. Okay, people all over the world become attached to their digital devices. However, wherever Alex or Mallory went, they always had their laptop computers with them. These laptop computers were so integral with their lives and the plot, every movement involved them picking up their laptop computer before walking away. This became tiresome during A Cold Dark Place because nearly every scene involved picking up a laptop computer before Alex or Mallory did anything. Nose running, pick up a laptop computer before blowing on a tissue - only joking but you get my point. Thankfully in the heat of passion, Alex did NOT splash his laptop computer screen with semen! I did however enjoy the rivalry between police departments and the hunt for the officer involved who was leaking information. Although towards the end the action became quite comic strip in nature, I really liked the final telephone call and felt that conversation could so very easily happen in real life. Would I bother with the other books in the Cold Justice series? No thank you, I was happy to dip my toe into the series but there are other series in the crowded Kindle Store that I think will be more rewarding for me. A Cold Dark Place for me was simply an okay 3 star read.

Good book, well written. Characters you can get invested in. However the reason I gave it only 4* is that I was disappointed to discover that, although advertised as a series, all the stories and characters were totally unrelated. It would have been interesting to see character development and how the two main protagonists coped with their new life choices.

Umm.. Wow! I definitely wasn't expecting this book to be this good! This was a Kindle freebie and I'll be honest, my expectations were pretty low (I've had some awful freebie experiences recently). I figured it was something to read on the side of the latest Pamela Clare book... But it was soooo good that it ended up distracting me and I finished this one first!!! Actually it was so amazing that I've just been and bought the next 4 in the series (all 99p on Amazon at the moment - a complete bargain!). The romance was fantastic and believable, the characters were written brilliantly and consistently and the action kept me guessing until the very end. Oh, and for once the writing style was mature, fluid and just a complete pleasure to read. My only issue was that I found the plot slightly confusing and a bit too convoluted... I mean I understood the idea of 'the gateway project' but discovering the link at the end between Mallory's mother, Alex, Mallory herself and the FBI insider? Yeah it just totally confused me! Oh... and I think I might be a tiny bit in love with Alex Parker - he was just perfect! Protective, gorgeous and just so kind and gentle *swoon*

A Cold Dark Place (Cold Justice #1) By Toni Anderson 5 stars What an amazing read! I still have goose bumps after finishing it! When I first read the blurb for this book I thought it sounded good and Toni Anderson is a new to me author so I thought I would give it ago – I am so, so glad that I did! I was hooked from the very first page! It was a brilliant mix of romance and suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat and also turning the pages just to see what was going to happen next! Mallory was a great female lead and I could feel the passion she had for her job, she was determined to find out what happened to her twin sister. I was rooting for her the whole way through to finally get the answers she wanted. Alex was a really intriguing character and I loved reading about him – there was chemistry between him and Mallory that was quite evident. I really loved the mystery surrounding him although I was worried he would end up hurting Mallory – this is one of the things that kept me turning the pages as I wanted to find out what would happen with them. A Cold Dark Place was a fantastic 5 star romantic suspense novel that I highly recommend!