Dead Cold
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Title: DEAD COLD
Author: Jennifer Chase
Publisher: JEC Press
Pages: 326
Genre: Crime Thriller
What happens when one California
community has a disturbing spike in homicides? It catapults cops into a deadly
game of murder. Frozen human body parts hideously displayed at the crime scenes
offers a horrifying interpretation that only a sadistic serial killer could
design—and execute.
On the hunt for a complex serial killer, vigilante detective Emily Stone must face her most daring case yet. Stone’s proven top-notch profiling skills and forensic expertise may not be enough this time.
Young and ambitious, Detective Danny Starr, catches the homicide cases and discovers that it will test everything he knows about police work and the criminal mind. Can he handle these escalating cases or will the police department have to call in reinforcements—the FBI.
Emily Stone’s covert team pushes with extreme urgency to unravel the grisly clues, while keeping their identities hidden from the police. With one last-ditch effort, Stone dangles someone she loves as bait to draw out the killer. She then forces the killer out of their comfort zone with her partner Rick Lopez, and with help from a longtime friend Jordan Smith. A revelation of the serial killer’s identity leaves the team with volatile emotions that could destroy them.
The killer continues to taunt and expertly manipulate the police, as well as Stone’s team, and as they run out of time—they leave behind everyone and everything—in Dead Cold.
My Review
This is my first introduction to Emily Stone and this series. My first impression was a great experience. I will be checking out the prior novels in this series. What I liked a lot about this book is that I felt like I got the best parts as I missed all of the logistics of getting to know Emily and the rest of the team. It felt natural and I was able to ease into the dynamics of everyone and their working relationship. For example, I felt the chemistry between Emily and Rick. I did not question them as a couple. Because they were a couple, it was to their advantage as they could anticipate each other's moves. I liked that for the longest time that they were a secret operation that Detective Starr was not aware of. Not that I did not have faith that he would solve the case on his own. He is strong and smart.
When it came to the killer; the killer was cold and calculated. A good challenge for Emily, Rick, and Starr. Besides all of the characters, I thought the storyline was good as well. It moved at a good, quick pace with plenty of action. Although, it did pick up more in the last third of the story. Emily can kick some butt.
On the hunt for a complex serial killer, vigilante detective Emily Stone must face her most daring case yet. Stone’s proven top-notch profiling skills and forensic expertise may not be enough this time.
Young and ambitious, Detective Danny Starr, catches the homicide cases and discovers that it will test everything he knows about police work and the criminal mind. Can he handle these escalating cases or will the police department have to call in reinforcements—the FBI.
Emily Stone’s covert team pushes with extreme urgency to unravel the grisly clues, while keeping their identities hidden from the police. With one last-ditch effort, Stone dangles someone she loves as bait to draw out the killer. She then forces the killer out of their comfort zone with her partner Rick Lopez, and with help from a longtime friend Jordan Smith. A revelation of the serial killer’s identity leaves the team with volatile emotions that could destroy them.
The killer continues to taunt and expertly manipulate the police, as well as Stone’s team, and as they run out of time—they leave behind everyone and everything—in Dead Cold.
My Review
This is my first introduction to Emily Stone and this series. My first impression was a great experience. I will be checking out the prior novels in this series. What I liked a lot about this book is that I felt like I got the best parts as I missed all of the logistics of getting to know Emily and the rest of the team. It felt natural and I was able to ease into the dynamics of everyone and their working relationship. For example, I felt the chemistry between Emily and Rick. I did not question them as a couple. Because they were a couple, it was to their advantage as they could anticipate each other's moves. I liked that for the longest time that they were a secret operation that Detective Starr was not aware of. Not that I did not have faith that he would solve the case on his own. He is strong and smart.
When it came to the killer; the killer was cold and calculated. A good challenge for Emily, Rick, and Starr. Besides all of the characters, I thought the storyline was good as well. It moved at a good, quick pace with plenty of action. Although, it did pick up more in the last third of the story. Emily can kick some butt.
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ESCAPE WAS IMPOSSIBLE. TEARS STREAMED down her
face as she sat in the darkness and waited for the man to return. There was no
other choice—but to wait.
She hadn’t eaten anything in three days and had only a
limited amount of water—her strength continued to fade with every hour. With
her wrists and ankles secured with duct tape, her skin stung with pain every
time she struggled to move. At least the man had peeled the tape from her eyes
and mouth so that she could see something besides pitch-blackness.
Even if she could escape, the only way to safety was jumping
into the frigid water, but she could not swim and would drown before ever
reaching the shore.
The only thing thirteen-year-old Kayla Swanson thought about
was home. Fond memories flashed through her mind of her parents, her little
brother, and her dog Charlie. She was never going to see them again. Their
smiling faces were forever etched in Kayla’s mind, and she constantly held them
close to her heart.
The boat rocked, and seemed to sway more violently as the
tide flooded in and out of the harbor. Kayla could hear a consistent clanking
noise above her as the boat rolled back and forth. The sound had a hypnotic
quality, and kept her mind on something else besides when the man would return
and what he would do next.
Her lips were dry and cracked as she bordered on dehydration.
Even her tears dried on her cheeks, leaving her skin stiff and drawn. Her body
began to shake, not only from fear, but also because of the extreme exhaustion
and the constant dampness all around her.
The boat rocked more, but this time it shifted from the
opposite sides. Kayla heard soft footsteps above, which she knew wasn’t her
captor’s heavy walk. She strained her eyes in the darkness and thought she saw
a thin shadow stealthily move along the upper deck.
Was it a ghost?
Kayla remembered a television series where a team of people
hunted ghosts and they had said that ghosts could
occupy any type of space, house, property, and even a boat.
She blinked her eyes several times and hoped that she could
catch a glimpse of the ghost again. With every ounce of declining strength,
Kayla scooted her body closer to the narrow stairs leading to the upper deck.
Painfully craning her neck, she strained to see something up
in the darkness.
The dark shadowed areas played tricks on her eyes—it was
there, then it wasn’t.
She waited for several minutes.
Nothing appeared.
The only sounds she heard were the usual boat noises she had
grown accustomed to hearing. Whatever she thought she heard was gone now. It
was most likely her imagination trying to give her some hope and a few moments
break from her dire circumstances.
As she relaxed her shoulders and leaned back against the
wall, the reality of her world pressing down hard. Tears streamed down her
face. She tasted the saltiness that settled around her mouth. Her last moments
were approaching, and there was nothing she could do.
Jennifer Chase is a multi award-winning crime fiction author and consulting criminologist. Jennifer holds a bachelor degree in police forensics and a master's degree in criminology & criminal justice. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent sociopath, providing Jennifer with deep personal investment in every story she tells. In addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal profiling. She is an affiliate member of the International Association of Forensic Criminologists.
Her
latest book is the crime thriller, Dead
Cold.
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