Ice Cold

Written by Tess Gerritsen

Narrated by Tanya Eby

In Wyoming for a medical conference, Boston medical examiner Maura Isles joins a group of friends on a spur-of-the-moment ski trip. But when their SUV stalls on a snow-choked mountain road, they’re stranded with no help in sight.

As night falls, the group seeks refuge from the blizzard in the remote village of Kingdom Come, where twelve eerily identical houses stand dark and abandoned. Something terrible has happened in Kingdom Come: Meals sit untouched on tables, cars are still parked in garages. The town’s previous residents seem to have vanished into thin air, but footprints in the snow betray the presence of someone who still lurks in the cold darkness—someone who is watching Maura and her friends.

Days later, Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli receives the grim news that Maura’s charred body has been found in a mountain ravine. Shocked and grieving, Jane is determined to learn what happened to her friend. The investigation plunges Jane into the twisted history of Kingdom Come, where a gruesome discovery lies buried beneath the snow. As horrifying revelations come to light, Jane closes in on an enemy both powerful and merciless—and the chilling truth about Maura’s fate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jun 29, 2010
• ISBN: 9781423392095

Tess Gerritsen

Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen is a graduate of Stanford University and went on to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was awarded her M.D. Since 1987, her books have been translated into 37 languages, and more than 25 million copies have been sold around the world. She has received the Nero Wolfe Award and the Rita Award, and she was a finalist for the Edgar award. Now retired from medicine, she writes full time. She lives in Maine.

Reviews for Ice Cold

[shellyann_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lacking plot line. Starts wih Maura getting away from Daniel and then disappearing into the wildnerness. Come on, polygamy, dead people, nerve gas. Pick a plot and stick with it. I had a very hard time keeping up with the turns in the plot. Not one of her best.

[lug barbosa · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Enough plot holes to fly a 747 through but ok read if you ignore them.

Why don´t editors point these out to authors? Oh yeah, can´t interfere a golden goose´s egg production. But with better editing and eliminating the gargantuan plot holes it could have been a great read.

[Sandy Whitworth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was another great book by Tess Gerritsen! The plot kept my interest and the book did not end in the way I thought it would.

[judiththorne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Outstanding as all of tess garrison’s books are. This story is a little different than most of her others but still riveting. Beautifully read and acted. Great voice. Bring on the next one.

[mrsbakitch · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Initially I didn't think this was going to be as good as her previous novels however, there was enough mystery and suspense in here to keep me from putting it down. This book, put Maura Isles, the main character, in a completely new situation which did take a bit to get used to. If you're a fan of Tess Gerritsen, you will like this one but if you're wanting to see what she's like maybe start with one her earlier novels.

[Shine Shahzad · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Bone chilling and gut wrenching mystery filled book great job writer

[candacevan_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A real gripper. Some of the plotting is far-fetched, but it held my attention throughout.

[katiehuber · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ice Cold is another exciting thriller by Tess Gerritsen. I’ve read several of her books, and have enjoyed them all, Ice Cold included. Ice Cold combines an outdoor survival adventure with a villainous cult leader. And, of course, there is a surprising twist at the end. This was a quick read; I finished it in just a day.  

[katiemertz · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ice Cold is another exciting thriller by Tess Gerritsen. I’ve read several of her books, and have enjoyed them all, Ice Cold included. Ice Cold combines an outdoor survival adventure with a villainous cult leader. And, of course, there is a surprising twist at the end. This was a quick read; I finished it in just a day.  

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reason for Reading: Next in the series.Tess Gerritsen consistently writes a series that aims to please her fans. Ice Cold is no exception. Placing her main characters in a new location freshens things up a bit and Gerritsen has given us an exciting new plot. This was a page turner for me and one of my favourites in the series.Maura goes away to a medical convention where she meets an old friend from college and skips out early to join him and his friends for a short ski trip before they all must fly home. They get lost on a remote road, stranded in a blizzard and end up in an abandoned village called Kingdom Come where it appears that everyone has simply vanished in the middle of making/having dinner. Later Rizzoli receives news that Maura's charred remains have been found at the bottom of a cliff in an SUV in the mountains. Full of grief, one thing does not sit right with Jane about the accident so she goes out to see for herself where it happened and she and Gabriel are lead into a world of revelations about Maura and other events that have been happening in the area.It was great to have Gabriel back as a main character, since he's been left out of the last couple of books. Jane was great in this book! She is such a great character. Maura on the other hand I've never particularly liked, but at least she didn't spend this whole book moping about her stupid choice of relationship. Mope and whine she did, but she was pretty busy with her part in the plot. The plot is something has been done a lot lately in other books, but it was a new type of adventure for Rizzoli and Isles. The ending has a double twist and I loved how it finally turned out. Another great entry in Gerritsen's series, that was exciting, page-turning and one of those can't-put-it-down books! Looking forward to next summer's book Ms. Gerritsen!

[curlupandread · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Rizzoli & Isles is one of my favorite series but this book was a little bit of a disappointment for me. I'm not saying I hated the book but I didn't love it either. I liked the first part of the book but I hated the ending. I hope the next book will be better.

[elvisettey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ice Cold brings back Tess Gerritsen's crime solvers Maura Isles and Jane Rizzoli, though the focus here is on Maura, with Jane playing a supporting-- and late-in-the-game-- role. The novel begins with Maura leaving her lover, the priest Daniel Brophy, for a pathology conference in chilly Wyoming. While there, she encounters a college acquaintance, a live-life-on-the-edge type named Doug Comley. Still burning from a less than cordial parting from Brophy, she spontaneously accepts an invitation to go skiing with Comley and his friends and daughter, informing no one of her plans. Weather derails their trip, and they find themselves straneded in the settlement of Kingdom Come, where things take a turn to a Dean Koontz-type plot: the entire village is abandoned without a trace of human existence remaining, meals still sitting on tables, cars still in garages, everything seemingly just dropped, as if everyone just vanished. Their circumstances go from bad to worse, and, in short order, Maura finds herself out in the wilderness, depending for survival on a 16-year-old boy.The first part of the novel, as I said, is almost Dean Koontz in character, almost as if a supernatural event has occured to sweep Kingdom Come of its residents. The second half is jarringly back to cold hard reality: a brainwashing cult that preys on the vunerable, forensics, and the interplay of everyday (if complex) emotions (I don't want to talk further about the plot because of spoilers). It's a little bit like two narratives sutured together. I felt like there was a bit of a disconnect between the two halves of the novel; we have the cult theme joining them, but we don't really know much about that in the first half (unless, of course, you've read the jacket blurb).I also felt like, as in previous novels, Jane gets a little shortchanged. She was once such a powerful, assertive character; she seems so much more tamed now, seeming to be sitting on the sidelines while her hotshot FBI husband takes the lead. I miss the old Jane. Maura does, at least, get to show a little of her human side in this novel.Overall, this novel does have sufficient suspense driving it to keep it interesting, but it's not particularly a standout in its genre. Things happen fast and furiously, which keeps the reader turning the pages, so it's a quick read. There's not a ton of character development in this novel, so, if you're just tuning into the series because you've gotten interested in the TV show, you probably won't find yourself hopelessly lost by starting here, even though it's the eighth novel in the series. Still, if you're new to Gerritsen, I'd recommend beginning at the beginning, just so you get to know the characters in their original element.

[stuartaston · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book from the Rizzoli and Isles series sees Maura Isles in Wyoming at a medical conference where she meets up with an old college friend. After the conference they go for a skiing trip and fall foul of the weather and a local religious cult.This means that she does not return to Boston and all of her friends are certain she is dead except somehow she manages to get a call to Rizzoli and then a search begins in the hills of Wyoming.All of which leads to the normal greatness of a Gerritsen book. Murder, corruption, a secret in the community which is trying to be kept secret and a great ending.I have missed a few books in the series and came back to this now. But the same characters are there (outside the main group) and you do not feel like you are out of the background stories that much. So you can pick this up and read it without much worrying about what is happening behind the main storyline. Enjoy it - you will get right into it and not put it down!

[blehner_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is book number eight in the Rizzoli & Isles series by Tess Gerritsen, and as I really love the series it was obviously a must-read for me. Admittedly I wasn't all too happy with the last book "Keeping the Dead", which was only an ok read, but this one certainly made up for it. Once again a fast-paced page turner with a gripping and solid plot, this time the story focuses mainly on Maura Isles, whose death is anounced too soon and consequently keeps her friends searching for answers. Add some interesting turns in the storyline and a conclusion to a thread that leads through all the previous books. Don't want to give anything away for those who haven't read it though. Not only does the book, the story and the cast of chacters introduced (and killed off in due course) live up to my expectations, I really love how it's Maura who's in the spotlight in this book, allowing the reader to get to know her even better. In short: For fans of Tess Gerritsen's books and anyone else who loves thrillers!

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was the first Rizzoli and Isles book that I've ever read so it was interesting to see that the characters' personalities were much like the TV show, but their circumstances weren't. The story really hooked me and I found it hard to put down. It was well-paced, not at all predictable and very visual for me. I could see everything in my mind's eye. I will definitely go back and read some of the earlier books now.

[ennuiprayer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

By the time I finished reading The Keepsake, I wasn't looking forward to reading Ice Cold. I was even considering to put it off for another week, read another author for a change. Maybe it would freshen my outlook on the Rizzoli & Isles series - giving myself some time to forgive Tess Gerritsen for the seventh novel. But I couldn't resist. I cracked the novel and dove in. And while at the beginning of the novel, I felt like Gerritsen was working on some deadline to release a novel during the time the series was going to be released, the journey it took me on caught me off guard. Has it renewed my faith in Gerritsen's prose? Perhaps. Has it left me pining away until she releases a ninth novel? You bet your sweet ass it has.

Unlike the predecessors, Ice Cold seems to focus mostly on Dr. Maura Isles. Jane Rizzoli still remains the series's central character, however. Starting up on the winter after the events in The Keepsake, we open up with the beginning of the end of Maura and Father Daniel Brophy's affair. Leaving for Wyoming, Maura doesn't want to face the facts that have been so painfully obvious for months now. Still, rather than ending it there at the airport, she boards the plane knowing that the one person who has made her the happiest has also left miserable. At the conference in Wyoming, she meets up with an old college alumnus, Douglas Comley - a character who is Maura's opposite. Seduced into living a little wild, Maura agrees to join him, his daughter and two friends on a road trip to sight see after the conference commences. However, a wrong turn takes them on a deadly path that neither foresaw.

Taking shelter in an abandon compound called Kingdom Come, the quartet begin to uncover a mystery. Meals have been abandoned; pets are found dead. Something strange has happened in Kingdom Come, and someone is watching them intently.

When Jane Rizzoli learns of Maura's failure to board the flight back to Boston, she sets off for Wyoming - husband Gabriel Dean and Father Daniel Brophy in tow. The trio learn of Maura's death, leaving a greater mystery to uncover.

I don't want to give too much away, because I liked being on the edge of my seat. However, if you remember correctly, Maura Isles has died before in Body Double. I was confused about the novel when I first started reading it. Several times I found myself wondering if any of the actions were really those of the characters. It felt like Gerritsen was meeting some deadline - a way to promote the TNT series by labeling the novel "A Rizzoli & Isles Novel" rather than the usual "Jane Rizzoli Book #". Some of Maura's actions were questionable, but I learned to accept them. However, the ending was a little flat. Not to mention the mystery's ending was a little too familiar, as well (ahem, can anyone remember The Sinner?).

Old friends are brought back - Anthony Sansone returns, as well, with a cameo appearance from The Mephisto Club victim, Lily Saul - and new ones are made - possibly the most memorable, Julian "Rat" Perkins, who serves as the sort of anti-hero.

[payday1999-430350 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the eight book in the series and I really enjoyed it. It is very easy to read Tess Gerritsen novels and this book is no exception.

I really love this series and would recommend them to anybody.

[melrailey-412132 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the latest in the Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles series by Tess Gerritsen. At first, the book failed to interest me but then a little over halfway through, I didn't want to turn it off or get out of the car. This story took Rizzoli and Isles out of their normal setting . Maura was stranded in a snowstorm in Wyoming and there was an odd cult involved. The narrator was above average. Ice Cold ended up being a decent addition to the Rizzoli and Isles series.

[readingover50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed reading this one. The main plot involved a cult, where all of the members have mysteriously disappeared. I love stories about creepy cults. This book is mostly about Maura Isles, because she is the one stranded at the site of the cults disappearance. I think this is a good addition to the series, and I am ready to go to the library to look for the next book.

[preston.kringle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tess Gerritsen did it again in this thriller focusing on Dr. Marua Isles and her being stuck in a abandoned town. Scary at times, this book is hard to put down even to go to sleep---you have to keep reading until there is a less intense point in the story---which there are few!

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ice Cold
3.5 Stars

Synopsis:
At a medical examiners conference in Wyoming, Maura Isles decides to take an unexpected trip with an old college acquaintance and his friends. However, things take a dangerous turn when they find themselves snowbound in an abandoned village, and realize that someone is watching them. Days later, Jane Rizzoli is left with more questions than answers when she is informed of her friend’s death, and travels to Wyoming where horrifying revelations slowly come to light and Jane moves closer to discovering the truth about Maura’s fate.

Review:
An intelligent if somewhat convoluted plot with quite a few twists and an unexpected ending.

Gerritsen is a skilled writer and is exceedingly adept at developing intriguing and complex characters. Maura’s characterization and development is a particularly good example of this. However, this skill also highlights one of the main problems in the book, namely the overabundance of new characters some of whom are introduced and well-detailed but suddenly disappear, and others who receive little attention and then become very important to the plot. In both instances, the reader is left with numerous unanswered questions.

While the story begins really well and has an interesting premise involving a cult and its apparently deserted compound, the pacing is all wrong. The plot fails to gain any real momentum until the last few chapters, and at which point it progresses too rapidly and the conclusion feels rushed.

Overall, Ice Cold is a light and satisfying read with some tense and thrilling moments, however, I definitely prefer the books in which Rizzoli is the primary focus. My rating for this book wavered between 3.5 and 4 stars but ultimately settled at the latter because this series is immensely entertaining.

[lewilliams-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A tense, riviting story I found hard to put down. This is the first Tess Gerritsen book I've read. I'll be searching for others in the Rizolli & Isles series.

[mhanover10 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is full of so many twists and turns and scary moments that I didn't want to turn the audio book off. I found myself sitting in my garage waiting for the CD to end. Maura Isles is at a medical conference in Wyoming during winter and when she decides to go to a ski lodge with an old college friend, his 13-year-old daughter and another couple things suddenly turn wrong and they are fighting for their lives. This series just keeps getting better and better. I highly recommend this book and this series. I do have to say the person reading this one should have been told how Maura's Mom's name was pronounced in the previous books, she totally mangled it. But other than that...riveting!

[chrissilu68 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rate this a 5 star book. Loved it. Had me hooked from page 1.

[skinglist · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

aka what happens when Dr. Maura Isles leaves Boston. While I didn't care much for the cult angle or the others she was stranded with, I felt Jane's pain in trying frantically to find her. I also really love Julian and Bear and am glad to see them maintain a role in the series.

[utbw42 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow, what a surprise....Gerritsen has crafted what I feel is her best effort to date with this book. Part whodunnit, part horror, with lots of characters interacting that takes the reader through an entire spectrum of emotions (fear, hate, love, friendship, technical, survival, etc.). I've always enjoyed Gerritsen's books, but this one belongs among the best I've read this year.

[ladypembroke · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A little over the top for me on this one, but still well-written.

ETA: The more I think about it, the less I like this book. It feels so out of place in the R&I series. Maura is basically just thrown into this story that happens to her. The side characters are very two-dimensional, throw-away caricatures. They serve no purpose other than to get Maura into the situation and then make things worse. The mystery is underplayed and insubstantial. Even the twists at the end couldn't save the book (and one of them I had figured out in advance). The only likable/useful character is Rat, and the appearance of Jane and Gabriel cannot save the story. Additionally, parts were left hanging and/or unresolved. I almost feel like this book was sort of a "ripped from the headlines" novel that met a deadline for the next R&I book.

Disappointing. I'm not sure this one deserves even the three stars I gave it which really bothers me because I have pretty much enjoyed every other Gerritsen novel I have read.

[tash57 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Stumbled over this book as a freebie and didnt want to put it down. Read it at record speed and have taken the next one out of the library already. Found a new favourite author. Great!!!

[jldhuse · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Best Rizzoli & Isles book yet! Had a hard time putting it down!

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Maura goes to a conference, trying to work out some of her issues with with Daniel and the pulls on his life and hers. When a old friend from college offers her an opportunity to go on a trip with him, his daughter and some of his friends and it all goes wrong when they go down a road and get lost. With snow coming down they shelter in some abandoned houses but find themselves facing more questions. When Maura doesn't turn up for a while Daniel and later Jane start asking questions and then the questions get bigger when they start to find that there are people trying hard to keep this all quiet. It's an interesting take on the lost in the wilderness story mostly starring Maura with some serious backup from Jane when necessary and occasionally when slightly deus ex. Readable I was shocked by some of the twists.