Review – Cold as Hell (Haven’s Rock, Book 3) by Kelley Armstrong (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Mystery/Survival
Length: 343 pages
Publisher:‎ Minotaur Books
Release Date: February 18, 2025
ASIN: B0D1PQ139V
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Haven’s Rock series
Source: Borrowed on ebook from library
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Haven’s Rock is a sanctuary town hidden deep in the Yukon for those who need to disappear from the regular world. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are starting a family now that they’ve settled into their life here. As Casey nears the end of her pregnancy, she lets nothing, including her worried husband, stop her from investigating what happens in the forbidden forest outside the town of Haven’s Rock.

When one of the town’s residents is drugged and wanders too close to the edge of town, she’s dragged into the woods kicking and screaming. She’s saved in the nick of time, but the women of the town are alarmed. Casey and Eric investigate the assault just as a snowstorm hits Haven’s Rock, covering the forest. It’s there they find a frozen body, naked in the snow. With mixed accounts of the woman’s last movements, the two begin to question who they can trust—and who they can’t—in their seemingly safe haven.”

Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Haven’s Rock series. I borrowed this ebook from the library.

Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this third book in the Haven’s Rock series. This is another excellent mystery and I continue to enjoy the characters and the survival aspects of the story. It is a delight to see Casey and Eric building this haven that they always wanted to have. I am a big Armstrong fan and have really loved her books (I wasn’t a huge fan of the Women of the Otherworld series, but aside from those). Right now I am reading this series along with her A Rip Through Time series and A Stitch and Time series and really enjoying them all.

One of the town’s resident women is drugged and pulled into the woods, but someone saves her before anything more can happen. However, this is understandably very alarming and a broader investigation is started. Casey is also eight months into a rather risky pregnancy, which has Eric feeling a bit overprotective.

This was a very well done mystery with both some thriller and survival aspects here. I love seeing how the town of Haven’s Rock has developed into such a wonderful safe place for those who need help. Watching Casey deal with being an expectant mother was also very intriguing. She thought motherhood wasn’t in the cards anymore.

All of our favorite characters are here from both the Rockton and Haven’s Rock series. There are some wonderful new characters as well. I have been enjoying this series even more than the Rockton series. I feel like Haven’s Rock is a bit cozier with more sense of community.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this new addition to the Haven’s Rock series. If you love murder mysteries and police procedurals with some survival and thriller elements I would recommend. This series also has a lot of very intriguing characters and a cozy feeling community as well. I eagerly await Kelley Armstrong’s next book.