The Long Cold Winter

Written by Colin Conway

Narrated by Damon Abdallah

Dallas Nash is afraid he’s losing his mind. Investigating two murders isn’t going to help.

It’s time that Detective Dallas Nash returns to his Major Crimes assignment after suffering a personal loss. His supervisor assigns him a cold case to ease him back into the job.

The thirty-year-old unsolved murder leads to a startling revelation—Nash and his friends saw the victim right before her death. Before he can work the case, though, dispatch sends him to a wintery crime scene.

A snow-covered body lies in an open field, and Nash has no witnesses or immediate suspects.

Amid freezing temperatures and under an oppressive gray sky, can Dallas Nash locate two killers—one of whom has remained hidden for three decades?

The Long Cold Winter is the second book in the 509 Crime Stories, a series of novels set in Eastern Washington with revolving lead characters. If you like raw emotion and police procedurals, you’ll love this story of a heartbroken detective working his way back from personal tragedy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: High Speed Creative, LLC
• Release date: Feb 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9781961030152

Reviews for The Long Cold Winter

[cathygeha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Long Cold Winter by Colin ConwayA 509 Crime Story #2Grief is a miserable beast that is not easy to tame. Homicide Detective Dallas Nash is not really ready to return to duty solving homicide cases after losing his wife BUT his sense of duty and commitment to the team sees him back at his desk just after Thanksgiving. As he battles depression, spends time at his wife’s grave, deals with songs that come to him in the night and deals with well and not so well wishers he is given a cold homicide case and then a new murder to tackle. Little does he realize that some of the murders will eventually overlap and that he will be able to solve all of the cases he has been assigned by the end of this book. Work does help somewhat with his grief but it is no panacea...by the end of the book he is still not finished with his grief. I hope that in book three we will find out how he is doing. What I liked: * Dallas – he was “real” in his emotions and interactions – he was not perfect but he was human and very believable* Police procedural aspects of the story: how Dallas thought and went about solving the cases* The dips into the past* Glimpses of police interactions on the job* Learning that 509 was not a call sign but an area code* The support system in place for Dallas when he is ready to reach outWhat I did not like: * The people I was meant NOT to like* The fact that sometimes people can get away with murder for decades* The way some manipulate others* It seems I disliked exactly what I was meant to dislike.I have not read the first book in this series but plan to as soon as I can even though it is not essential to read it before reading this book. I believe this is an intriguing series and look forward to reading more as it is written. Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review. 5 Stars

[carol420 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dallas Nash is a veteran and seasoned homicide detective who is just returning to work after he lost his wife when she hit and deer in a freakish one-car accident. The loss of Robbie has literally crushed Dallas. He finds himself doing irrational things but constantly reassuring himself that he's okay. It wasn't his most rational decision, but he decides to go back to work because he feels that occupying himself with the job will help him return to normal. Instead of returning to the regular case roster he gets assigned to a 30-year-old cold case. Jennifer M. Williams was found dead one late afternoon after leaving home and not informing her parents where and why she was going out. She was a beautiful high school student who was 18 years old at the time of her death. Looking at the files Nash learns that Jennifer's case was first assigned to a senior investigator whose reputation of solving murder cases was impeccable...but years past and it remained unsolved and became a cold case and was given to yet another detective, whose reputation for solving cold cases was anything but faultless but again it went nowhere. Nash continues with Jennifer's case, but in addition he is assigned a current case... the murder of a man in his 60's who was found in the middle of a snowy field with a neck wound, very likely exsanguinated was the cause of death. The body is unidentified, but a few days later, a prostitute is arrested by patrolman with the dead man’s driver’s license and credit card in her purse. Nash still isn't doing well with his wife's death and seems to be becoming almost psychotic...thinking that he hears his dead wife giving him clues through varies means like song lyrics in his head. He refuses to admit that he needs help...LOTS OF HELP. He talks to her every day even though she doesn't "always" answer him, "I'm not crazy." he says but who is he trying to convince? Both the character and the story were heart wrenching but entirely gripping. I seldom actually recommend books because people have such diverse likes and dislikes, but this one I believe anyone to anyone who is a fan of crime fiction will absolutely enjoy.