A Cold, Cold World - (A Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery) by Elena Taylor

Book Synopsis

A female sheriff tries to fill her late father's boots and be the sheriff her small Washington State mountain town needs as a deadly snow storm engulfs the town, in this dark, twisty mystery.

A FOREWORD INDIES GOLD 2024 WINNER

"Riveting" Library Journal Starred Review

The world felt pure. Nature made the location pristine again, hiding the scene from prying eyes. As if no one had died there at all.

In the months since Bet Rivers solved her first murder investigation and secured the sheriff's seat in Collier, she's remained determined to keep her town safe. With a massive snowstorm looming, it's more important than ever that she stays vigilant.

When Bet gets a call that a family of tourists has stumbled across a teen injured in a snowmobile accident on a mountain ridge, she braves the storm to investigate. However, once she arrives at the scene of the accident it's clear to Bet that the teen is not injured; he's dead. And has been for some time . . .

Investigating a possible homicide is hard enough, but with the worst snowstorm the valley has seen in years threatening the safety of her town, not to mention the integrity of her crime scenes - as they seem to be mounting up as well - Bet has to move fast to uncover the complicated truth and prove that she's worthy of keeping her father's badge.

Review Quotes

A suspenseful and shrewdly plotted story of deadly small town secrets. Taylor's trademark vivid characters pull you in and the suspense keeps you on the edge of your seat-- "James L'Etoile, award winning author of Dead Drop and Face of Greed"

A wonderful protagonist [and] a stellar mystery with a current of tension and suspicion powerful enough to quicken your pulse-- "Allen Eskens, USA Today bestselling author of The Life We Bury and Nothing More Dangerous, on All We Buried"

An exciting combination of multiple mysteries and a thrilling fight to survive nature's wrath-- "Kirkus Reviews"

Atmospheric and addictive. You'll stay up all night to finish this novel-- "Nichole Christoff, author of The Kill Chain, on All We Buried"

Extremely hard to put down . . . Would recommend this to anyone who loves mystery thrillers-- "San Francisco Book Review on All We Buried"

Fans of CJ Box and Julia Spencer-Fleming will adore this novel. Not to be missed!-- "Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today best selling author of One Wrong Word/b>"

Readers who appreciate the strong woman police chief in Linda Castillo's Kate Burkholder books or the vivid landscapes of Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire mysteries will appreciate Taylor's riveting crime novel-- "Library Journal Starred Review"

Smart, action-packed suspense. Sheriff Bet Rivers will be your new favorite character-- "Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author"

Taylor skillfully sets the scene, [while] the introspective, conflicted Bet proves her mettle. Readers will look forward to her next outing-- "Publishers Weekly on All We Buried"

Tense and divinely atmospheric, this is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold winter's day -- or any day you long for a chilling, thrilling read-- "J.L. Delozier, author of the multi-award-winning mystery The Photo Thief"