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Stone Cold Fox
A compelling debut novel about an ambitious woman who, after a lifetime of conning alongside her mother, wants to leave her dark past behind and marry the heir to one of the country's wealthiest families.
Like any enterprising woman, Bea knows what she’s worth and is determined to get all she deserves—it just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. After a lifetime of forced instruction in the art of swindling men by her mother, Bea wants nothing more than to escape her shadow, close the door on their sordid past, and disappear safely into old-money domesticity.
When Bea finds her final mark in the perfectly dull blue-blooded Collin, she’s ready to deploy all her tricks one last time. The challenge isn’t getting the ring, but rather the approval of Collin’s family and everyone else in their tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend Gale. Going toe-to-toe with Gale isn’t a threat to an expert like Bea, but what begins as an amusing cat-and-mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous chase. As the truth of Bea’s past threatens to come roaring out, she finds herself racing against the clock to pass the finish line before everything is exposed.
Like any enterprising woman, Bea knows what she’s worth and is determined to get all she deserves—it just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. After a lifetime of forced instruction in the art of swindling men by her mother, Bea wants nothing more than to escape her shadow, close the door on their sordid past, and disappear safely into old-money domesticity.
When Bea finds her final mark in the perfectly dull blue-blooded Collin, she’s ready to deploy all her tricks one last time. The challenge isn’t getting the ring, but rather the approval of Collin’s family and everyone else in their tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend Gale. Going toe-to-toe with Gale isn’t a threat to an expert like Bea, but what begins as an amusing cat-and-mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous chase. As the truth of Bea’s past threatens to come roaring out, she finds herself racing against the clock to pass the finish line before everything is exposed.
384 pages, Paperback
First published February 14, 2023
879 people are currently reading
58527 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Koller Croft
2 books659 followersRachel Koller Croft is the USA TODAY bestselling author of WE LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE and STONE COLD FOX. She’s also a WGA award-nominated screenwriter. Rachel lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Charles, and their rescue pitbull, Juniper.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,491 reviews
June 16, 2025
Yes! For so long I didn’t have so much fun! Such a fantastic, riveting, addictive reading! The cat fight, mind games between the characters made me chant!
Of course I absolutely rooted for the anti heroine: she was so determined, relentless, smart! I couldn’t expect to connect with a drifter, a successful con artist, a gold digger: but Bea( Of course this is not her real name! ) wooed me at first chapter. I enjoyed to read her perspective, her dark sense of humor. She seems like cruel woman who chooses the easy way, being a trophy wife, lying about her identity by rewriting her life story to become perfect daughter in law to filthy rich Case family! But trust me, she’s absolutely more than that!
When you read about Bea’s challenging childhood memories and her dysfunctional interactions with her real mother from hell, you truly realize the reason she chose a different lifestyle because she didn’t know any better and her role model mother a.k.a. Lilith formed in human body taught her how to become a cold hearted witch!
Now Bea has a perfect job, climbing corporate ladders with her perfect negotiation-manipulation skills, dating with filthy rich Colin Case: last good and naive guy who is easily gaslighted. She’s so close to become his wife even though her future mother in law already offers to pay her off at their first meeting.
But she has a big obstacle standing between her and her HEA: the obstacle’s name is Gale Wallace- Leicester : best friend of Colin, obviously in love with him forever! She has no intention to let any woman come between them and Bea can be ruthless enemy when she sees an obstacle preventing to accomplish her mission.
Both of the women are ready to sharpen their claws, adamant to play dirty! Let the cat fights begin! But what if Gale or someone else finds something about Bea’s buried past, what if her secrets come out and both of her worlds collide each other!
How far Bea can go to protect her future? Let’s take our reserved place from front seat and enjoy this wild ride!
I had amazing time! Twists, riveting pacing, increasing tension between two women were so enjoyable! I highly recommend this delicious, entertaining, smart novel!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
Of course I absolutely rooted for the anti heroine: she was so determined, relentless, smart! I couldn’t expect to connect with a drifter, a successful con artist, a gold digger: but Bea( Of course this is not her real name! ) wooed me at first chapter. I enjoyed to read her perspective, her dark sense of humor. She seems like cruel woman who chooses the easy way, being a trophy wife, lying about her identity by rewriting her life story to become perfect daughter in law to filthy rich Case family! But trust me, she’s absolutely more than that!
When you read about Bea’s challenging childhood memories and her dysfunctional interactions with her real mother from hell, you truly realize the reason she chose a different lifestyle because she didn’t know any better and her role model mother a.k.a. Lilith formed in human body taught her how to become a cold hearted witch!
Now Bea has a perfect job, climbing corporate ladders with her perfect negotiation-manipulation skills, dating with filthy rich Colin Case: last good and naive guy who is easily gaslighted. She’s so close to become his wife even though her future mother in law already offers to pay her off at their first meeting.
But she has a big obstacle standing between her and her HEA: the obstacle’s name is Gale Wallace- Leicester : best friend of Colin, obviously in love with him forever! She has no intention to let any woman come between them and Bea can be ruthless enemy when she sees an obstacle preventing to accomplish her mission.
Both of the women are ready to sharpen their claws, adamant to play dirty! Let the cat fights begin! But what if Gale or someone else finds something about Bea’s buried past, what if her secrets come out and both of her worlds collide each other!
How far Bea can go to protect her future? Let’s take our reserved place from front seat and enjoy this wild ride!
I had amazing time! Twists, riveting pacing, increasing tension between two women were so enjoyable! I highly recommend this delicious, entertaining, smart novel!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
July 19, 2023
Give me all the juicy, con artist dramas, please and thank you! Stone Cold Fox is an edge-of-your-seat game of cat-and-mouse, the type of story where the pages practically turn themselves. The audiobook narration really added to the atmosphere of the book, so I highly recommend listening if that format works for you. The social commentary of the haves vs. the have nots is on full display, but I appreciated how every person in this book really is despicable on some level. My only gripe is that the ending felt a bit rushed and underwhelming, but overall a solid, fun read!
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
February 19, 2023
woooooh baby, what a debut! i knew this was going to be a delicious suspense and it delivered. plus ummm this cover is epic?!
i’m a sucker for a con artist plot after so many successful ones last year (THE LIES I TELL, COVER STORY, LUCKY, etc.) and i was delighted to bump this up on the TBR. it had me thinking of it every time i wasn’t reading it. the author is a screenwriter and you can totally tell! i could picture every scene playing out in my head like clockwork. and lucky us, it’s being adapted by the one and only JULIE PLEC 😩👏🏼🙌🏼🔥
i’m teetering between 4-4.5 for this one! very much still ~sitting with my thoughts~
the suspense was great, the plot twists were fun, the characters were all unlikeable but i low key loved them all (yes even Gale lol) and the ending was super fun. HELLOOOOO am i the only one begging for a sequel after that ending?! sheeeesh!
i did want a liiiiiittle more clarity in a few areas towards the end but i’ll keep that to myself and make this spoiler free per usual 🤪
more to come on my IG likely next week in a full review. but if you’re looking for a bingeworthy, juicy, full of drama, suspenseful, cat and mouse suspense, here it is!!
i’m a sucker for a con artist plot after so many successful ones last year (THE LIES I TELL, COVER STORY, LUCKY, etc.) and i was delighted to bump this up on the TBR. it had me thinking of it every time i wasn’t reading it. the author is a screenwriter and you can totally tell! i could picture every scene playing out in my head like clockwork. and lucky us, it’s being adapted by the one and only JULIE PLEC 😩👏🏼🙌🏼🔥
i’m teetering between 4-4.5 for this one! very much still ~sitting with my thoughts~
the suspense was great, the plot twists were fun, the characters were all unlikeable but i low key loved them all (yes even Gale lol) and the ending was super fun. HELLOOOOO am i the only one begging for a sequel after that ending?! sheeeesh!
i did want a liiiiiittle more clarity in a few areas towards the end but i’ll keep that to myself and make this spoiler free per usual 🤪
more to come on my IG likely next week in a full review. but if you’re looking for a bingeworthy, juicy, full of drama, suspenseful, cat and mouse suspense, here it is!!
April 9, 2023
A fun debut!
Bea was raised by a bona fide con-artist. It’s the only life she’s ever known. But now after finally breaking free she searches for something resembling a normal life.
Can a lifelong con-artist truly put a life of crime behind her and settle down? Well, maybe marrying one of the richest men in America might help things along. But of course, not everyone is ready with open arms to welcome her into the family.
Bea will need to use all her resources to outwit anyone who stands in her way.
I listened to the audio and the narrator did a great job with the characters!
Looking forward to more from this talented author!
Bea was raised by a bona fide con-artist. It’s the only life she’s ever known. But now after finally breaking free she searches for something resembling a normal life.
Can a lifelong con-artist truly put a life of crime behind her and settle down? Well, maybe marrying one of the richest men in America might help things along. But of course, not everyone is ready with open arms to welcome her into the family.
Bea will need to use all her resources to outwit anyone who stands in her way.
I listened to the audio and the narrator did a great job with the characters!
Looking forward to more from this talented author!
March 2, 2023
Woo-wee, that was fun!
And here I thought I was just going to read another gold-digger story… au contraire mon frère.
To be clear, Stone Cold Fox sure starts out that way: a gorgeous young woman aims to scam her way into one of America’s richest families by hook or by crook. Nothing, including her own sordid history, is going to stand in the way of getting a Cartier ring on her finger, thank you. Oh, and millions in her bank account.
Meet Bea — sharp, salacious, and sexy — groomed from childhood by her con-artist mother to use her beauty and brains to get whatever she wants.
And what Bea wants is Collin Case, the country’s most eligible bachelor and sole male heir to the blue-blood Case family dynasty (ie. the top one percent of the one percent).
But this is where our standard gold digger trope takes a turn, the first of many twists and turns, I might add.
Bea introduces us to “Mother,” who married men “one after another after another after another." To say Bea and her conniving, ruthless mother had a dysfunctional relationship would be a gross understatement.
While the apple certainly doesn't fall far from the tree — she is her mother’s daughter after all — unlike Mommy dearest, emotionally wounded Bea dreams of domestic stability and a family of her own.
Marrying Collin would make all of Bea’s long-sought childhood dreams come true. A stable home. Family gatherings. Financial security. Bliss.
But, alas, Collin’s best friend Gale Wallace-Leicester, has no intention of accepting Bea into their tight upper crust circle. In fact, Gale is determined to uncover and expose all of Bea’s secrets.
What starts out as an entertaining cat-and-mouse game takes a suspenseful and sinister turn as Gale has Bea in her crosshairs.
Screenwriter Rachel Koller Croft’s debut novel of jealousy, deception, and revenge is told entirely from Bea’s point of view and with her signature snark.
Filled with insufferable characters that you love to hate, Stone Cold Fox will appeal to fans of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl or Lisa Unger’s Confessions on the 7:45.
This clever page-turner ends in a perfect set-up for a sequel, and is currently being developed for television. Ooooh, more fun!
And here I thought I was just going to read another gold-digger story… au contraire mon frère.
To be clear, Stone Cold Fox sure starts out that way: a gorgeous young woman aims to scam her way into one of America’s richest families by hook or by crook. Nothing, including her own sordid history, is going to stand in the way of getting a Cartier ring on her finger, thank you. Oh, and millions in her bank account.
Meet Bea — sharp, salacious, and sexy — groomed from childhood by her con-artist mother to use her beauty and brains to get whatever she wants.
And what Bea wants is Collin Case, the country’s most eligible bachelor and sole male heir to the blue-blood Case family dynasty (ie. the top one percent of the one percent).
But this is where our standard gold digger trope takes a turn, the first of many twists and turns, I might add.
Bea introduces us to “Mother,” who married men “one after another after another after another." To say Bea and her conniving, ruthless mother had a dysfunctional relationship would be a gross understatement.
While the apple certainly doesn't fall far from the tree — she is her mother’s daughter after all — unlike Mommy dearest, emotionally wounded Bea dreams of domestic stability and a family of her own.
Marrying Collin would make all of Bea’s long-sought childhood dreams come true. A stable home. Family gatherings. Financial security. Bliss.
But, alas, Collin’s best friend Gale Wallace-Leicester, has no intention of accepting Bea into their tight upper crust circle. In fact, Gale is determined to uncover and expose all of Bea’s secrets.
What starts out as an entertaining cat-and-mouse game takes a suspenseful and sinister turn as Gale has Bea in her crosshairs.
Screenwriter Rachel Koller Croft’s debut novel of jealousy, deception, and revenge is told entirely from Bea’s point of view and with her signature snark.
Filled with insufferable characters that you love to hate, Stone Cold Fox will appeal to fans of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl or Lisa Unger’s Confessions on the 7:45.
This clever page-turner ends in a perfect set-up for a sequel, and is currently being developed for television. Ooooh, more fun!
August 1, 2024
I REALLY enjoyed this book. Bea is a super intriguing and complex character and I absolutely loved being in her head. Loved the writing style too, I was never bored!
September 9, 2023
i loved the premise and i loved the narcissistic and enigmatic narrator. the narrative was quick and snappy, which is exactly what makes a thriller so enticing and fast paced. i really loved the flashbacks as well, and how it built up more and more of a background for our narrator (who literally hides everything in the present day narrative). i literally could not put this book down and finished it in a day.
but i just thought the payoff was just a bit too anticlimactic and rushed at times. i feel like this could have been a five star and now i'm a tiny bit sad.
all in all though, if you're looking for a quick fun and flirty thriller, this is 100% the book for you!
———————————
this book begins with: "i decided that i would marry collin case after the fifth time we fucked."
that's how you know it's going to be GOOD.
———————————
thank you so much to netgalley and berkley for the arc! <3
but i just thought the payoff was just a bit too anticlimactic and rushed at times. i feel like this could have been a five star and now i'm a tiny bit sad.
all in all though, if you're looking for a quick fun and flirty thriller, this is 100% the book for you!
———————————
this book begins with: "i decided that i would marry collin case after the fifth time we fucked."
that's how you know it's going to be GOOD.
———————————
thank you so much to netgalley and berkley for the arc! <3
July 26, 2024
This was like being swallowed into a black hole with no way out, but I didn’t even want to. It was completely dark there, but the darkness wasn’t scary, just something I could dip my feet into. I’m out of that black hole now, being thrown back to reality. A bit dizzy from this strange place where bad was good and morality took on a whole new meaning. I watched Bea put on her game face, trying to figure out where her motivation would take her. I almost wanted to be Bea, to walk in her dirty shoes for just a second. She was heartbroken, without having a heart and the author really managed to capture a personality that I think might exist. Not feeling anything, but maybe feeling something after all. The storyline was divine, every chapter a new delight and my hunger for more was never satisfied. And what a supernova of an ending. It exploded in my face.
April 26, 2023
All my friends here loved it, I'm an outlier....
I had to DNF this after 5'ish hours (45%). I went in wanting something fun and juicy so I thought con women mother-daughter book is what I was looking for. It was in the beginning. I enjoy Bea hunting rich men, a little pretentious but entertaining but after halfway I lost interest. I sense Bea is searching for her mother's approval etc.
It probably has a good ending? I don't know. Please check other glowing reviews if you're interested. I did enjoy the narrator, Carlotta Brentan if you think of checking out the audiobook. 2.5⭐
I had to DNF this after 5'ish hours (45%). I went in wanting something fun and juicy so I thought con women mother-daughter book is what I was looking for. It was in the beginning. I enjoy Bea hunting rich men, a little pretentious but entertaining but after halfway I lost interest. I sense Bea is searching for her mother's approval etc.
It probably has a good ending? I don't know. Please check other glowing reviews if you're interested. I did enjoy the narrator, Carlotta Brentan if you think of checking out the audiobook. 2.5⭐
March 17, 2023
Okay so if there was ever a #bookstagrammademedoit … it is this book. Let me tell you… I LOVED it!! 😍 I COULD NOT put this book down!! Total binge read. 💖
What did I love?? Where to start? It is one amazing debut!! SO MUCH FUN!! You know in a twisted thriller lover kind of way. 😉 BEA!! Girl… we definitely could be besties…oh wait… she doesn’t do BFF’s… she’s a guys girl… 🤷♀️…well until she met her match… Gale…🤔… Yeah I don’t understand either Bea… why is your boyfriend… soon to be husband 💍.. so tight with… HER???🤔😬🤷♀️.. She’s BEYOND annoying..right? Don’t let Gale win!! 😂 #teambeaforever
Okay so Bea is… alot of things… dark.. damaged.. a gold digger? 🤔🤔 OR…a gorgeous… clever… enterprising… and one hell of a Stone Cold Fox 🦊🙌🙌 Look I loved… loved… loved Bea!! You go girl!! 👏👏 Will Bea be able to land herself a spot in one of the most prestigious families around??? 💍💖 💰… She damn well is going to try. 🦊🦊🦊 Or can someone.. outfox this fox? 😉
It’s been a long time since I have read such a fun, snarky, sassy, clever book!! Believe the hype!! This very well may end up in on my year end favorites list!! ❤️ Give in to the FOMO and add this to your list!!
🦊🦊🦊 Have you read this yet?? Is it on your list? 🦊🦊🦊
What did I love?? Where to start? It is one amazing debut!! SO MUCH FUN!! You know in a twisted thriller lover kind of way. 😉 BEA!! Girl… we definitely could be besties…oh wait… she doesn’t do BFF’s… she’s a guys girl… 🤷♀️…well until she met her match… Gale…🤔… Yeah I don’t understand either Bea… why is your boyfriend… soon to be husband 💍.. so tight with… HER???🤔😬🤷♀️.. She’s BEYOND annoying..right? Don’t let Gale win!! 😂 #teambeaforever
Okay so Bea is… alot of things… dark.. damaged.. a gold digger? 🤔🤔 OR…a gorgeous… clever… enterprising… and one hell of a Stone Cold Fox 🦊🙌🙌 Look I loved… loved… loved Bea!! You go girl!! 👏👏 Will Bea be able to land herself a spot in one of the most prestigious families around??? 💍💖 💰… She damn well is going to try. 🦊🦊🦊 Or can someone.. outfox this fox? 😉
It’s been a long time since I have read such a fun, snarky, sassy, clever book!! Believe the hype!! This very well may end up in on my year end favorites list!! ❤️ Give in to the FOMO and add this to your list!!
🦊🦊🦊 Have you read this yet?? Is it on your list? 🦊🦊🦊
November 30, 2022
STONE COLD FOX was written for readers like me. Growing up, my favorite movie was "Addams Family Values" and I loved the gold-digging black widow Debbie Jellinsky (should've known I was gay then). I have ALWAYS wondered how a book could be developed by someone like Debbie. Like, where do these types of femme fatales come from and why do they venture into the life that they do. Enter Bea. Bea is dating uber-wealthy Collin Case and wooing him for marriage. Bea doesn't seem to really love Collin, but she wants the money that will be afforded to her if they were to marry. Bea is a stunning 10 out of 10 and knows how to manipulate men—she's learned from the best, her mother—but has had a stream of unsuccessful attempts in the past. Collin is an easy target and has fallen for her hook, line, and sinker; but she has another hurdle to overcome—Collin's best friend Gale. Gale and Collin are best friends, platonically, but Gale does not trust Bea's motives. When Gale decides to take Bea head-on, readers will get one of the most juicy cat-and-mouse battles I've ever read. STONE COLD FOX dives heavy into the rich and powerful, the beautiful and manipulative, and shows a voyeuristic view of the actions people play when they have nothing to lose.
This book is going to be in my top reads of 2023 and it's not even January yet! Thank you to @jordys.book.club for knowing exactly what type of book I'd enjoy because this one hit me perfectly. Readers will be polarized with this book, because Bea isn't the typical lovable protagonist you'd come to expect, but I loved her so much! I love manipulation, rich people behaving badly, and camp. STONE COLD FOX has it all!
This book is going to be in my top reads of 2023 and it's not even January yet! Thank you to @jordys.book.club for knowing exactly what type of book I'd enjoy because this one hit me perfectly. Readers will be polarized with this book, because Bea isn't the typical lovable protagonist you'd come to expect, but I loved her so much! I love manipulation, rich people behaving badly, and camp. STONE COLD FOX has it all!
June 7, 2023
I went into this book with little expectations, and I’m happy to say that this book went far beyond what I expected!! This book was fun, fast, and entertaining!
In ‘Stone Cold Fox’ Bea is our main character who is finally getting the life she has dreamed of. Bea is dating the very wealthy Collin Case, and she knows it’s only a matter of time before they get married and she becomes Mrs. Bea Case. However, there is only one person standing in her way- and that person is Gale. Gale is also Collin’s childhood best friend. Not only is Gale “repellent” 😂, she is also very much in love with Collin and will stop at nothing to make sure that Bea is out of the picture.
During this game of cat and mouse, Bea uses some pretty funny adjectives to describe Gale. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much while reading a book. The author of this book is brilliant, and I can’t wait to repeat some of her phrases that were used throughout this book! We also get flashbacks of Bea’s time with “Mother”. Is Bea possibly just like her mother, or has she finally evolved to her own person?
I don’t want to give too much away, but all I can say is read this book!! I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, and this was just what I was looking for! Great cover, great story, great debut!! 🌟
In ‘Stone Cold Fox’ Bea is our main character who is finally getting the life she has dreamed of. Bea is dating the very wealthy Collin Case, and she knows it’s only a matter of time before they get married and she becomes Mrs. Bea Case. However, there is only one person standing in her way- and that person is Gale. Gale is also Collin’s childhood best friend. Not only is Gale “repellent” 😂, she is also very much in love with Collin and will stop at nothing to make sure that Bea is out of the picture.
During this game of cat and mouse, Bea uses some pretty funny adjectives to describe Gale. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much while reading a book. The author of this book is brilliant, and I can’t wait to repeat some of her phrases that were used throughout this book! We also get flashbacks of Bea’s time with “Mother”. Is Bea possibly just like her mother, or has she finally evolved to her own person?
I don’t want to give too much away, but all I can say is read this book!! I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, and this was just what I was looking for! Great cover, great story, great debut!! 🌟
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August 26, 2022Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if they’re glowing. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book, then write a detailed review about it that some people on GR will look at would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
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Apparently the theme of my reading at the moment, by pure accident, is … bad mothers? In case I was sort in the mood for a dirty psychological thriller and Stone Cold Fox delivered in spades.
The book basically concerns its heroine Bea’s attempt to marry into one of the richest oldest families in the US. Raised to be a conwoman by a ruthless conwoman, Bea has decided to put her hard won skills to securing a stable future for herself. Um, and plot-wise that’s basically it. Needless to say, there’s opposition to the marriage from the fiancé’s family and especially from his over-protective best friend, a woman who is herself obsessively in love with his. And then, of course, there’s the inevitable reckoning with the past Bea is trying to outrun, particularly her relationship with her mother, for whom the thrill of the con was everything.
First off, I fucking loved Bea. I can’t remember the last time I quite so viscerally needed a fictional character to get absolutely everything she wanted no matter what it cost anyone else. Don’t get me wrong, she’s not what you’d exactly call a good person—ambitious, manipulative, ruthless, judgemental, borderline sociopathic—but she’s also been profoundly (and I do mean profoundly) damaged by her upbringing and there’s just enough vulnerability in her narration (buried, though it is, beneath layer after layer of competence and bravado) that I was unabashedly and shamelessly on her side. Bea is so archetypically “a bad woman” (in the sense of seeming to embody every misogynistic cliché of the beautiful, heartless, social-climbing femme fatale: keyword *seeming*) that it’s impossible not to root for her, especially because I can’t really muster all that sympathy for the 1% having their rarefied sphere violated by an upstart. Like, #TeamUpstart all the way? (Also she doesn’t like the word ‘panty’ and neither do I, so I feel we’re basically soulmates at this point).
At its heart, this is a book about relationships between women, and the way those relationships are inevitably shaped by patriarchal power. The tension—which is so tight it’s a corkscrew by the mid-point—is never really about Bea and Collin (the hyper-privileged bloke she’s attempting to marry). It’s about the women who surround him: his female best friend, Gale, his mother, even his new secretary who seems very eager to form an alliance with Bea. And the writing is never so taut, so dynamic, sparking with an energy that feels perilously close to sexual, than in the early power games between Bea and Gale. It’s also kind of fascinating that when the book opens, Bea is very quick to look down on Gale for all the things women are not supposed to judge women for, but as the narrative progresses it becomes apparent that there are way worse things to think about and do to people than be internally catty about their choice of lipstick.
There’s so much about Stone Cold Fox I found fascinating, from the way the narrative is constructed (it does the ol’ leaping back and forth between the past and the present that so many thrillers do but the way the two interleave and escalate is incredibly precise), to the balancing act it plays with its characters (Collin, for example, comes across as genuinely well-meaning if weak, self-centred and tedious—you could see why he would be a safe choice for Bea), to the bold choices it makes with its heroine. It’s kind of simultaneously refreshing and alienating to see her own her beauty (very few people, I think, do not feel threatened by the beautiful), but I also appreciated the way that—while she is clearly naturally striking—beauty in the conventional sense of thin, groomed, and elegant is always presented as actual work. I should add that the book is also very funny, in an uncompromisingly acerbic way:
Despite its willingness to Go There in, occasionally, quite shocking ways, I did also appreciate how careful the book is with Bea. Obviously, I personally have endless time for unsympathetic, damaged characters who have trouble with emotions but I think, even if that wasn’t your particular jam, there’s still scope to find nuance and complexity in Bea (at least once she lets down her narrative guards a little). There’s something genuinely heart-breaking, for example, about her relationship with her own past: she understands her mother is toxic and dangerous, but she never really lets go of the conviction that the things that were done to her (she was a child: things were done to her, she did not do things) render her unlovable and are fundamentally incompatible with the life she is trying to build for herself with Collin would be over. It’s an emotionally difficult, but, for me, right-feeling creative choice that Bea never confronts this directly nor finds any specific closure with it (plus it would undermine everything for her future to hinge on Collin’s capacity for empathy). This is not a book that’s interested in simple answers, even if means that one of the questions that remains is the degree to which Bea is justified in her conviction that she would be condemned, or held responsible, for the way she was treated as a child.
All of which said, the book is also not without a little softness. There are moments of genuine hope and connection for Bea, and while the life of determined wifehood she is trying to choose makes my toes curl with private horror I understood its advantages for her and her reasons for choosing it. Though, of course, she does struggle with her own more thrill-seeking impulses, and I didn’t feel the book, in general, was keen to present anything to us as uncomplicatedly positive.
Anyway, this is a dark and engaging read, deeply steeped in questions of sex, power, and gender. Highly recommended if that’s your thing, or if you fancy a highly character-driven thriller with a stone cold banger of an ending.
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if they’re glowing. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book, then write a detailed review about it that some people on GR will look at would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
*******************************************
Apparently the theme of my reading at the moment, by pure accident, is … bad mothers? In case I was sort in the mood for a dirty psychological thriller and Stone Cold Fox delivered in spades.
The book basically concerns its heroine Bea’s attempt to marry into one of the richest oldest families in the US. Raised to be a conwoman by a ruthless conwoman, Bea has decided to put her hard won skills to securing a stable future for herself. Um, and plot-wise that’s basically it. Needless to say, there’s opposition to the marriage from the fiancé’s family and especially from his over-protective best friend, a woman who is herself obsessively in love with his. And then, of course, there’s the inevitable reckoning with the past Bea is trying to outrun, particularly her relationship with her mother, for whom the thrill of the con was everything.
First off, I fucking loved Bea. I can’t remember the last time I quite so viscerally needed a fictional character to get absolutely everything she wanted no matter what it cost anyone else. Don’t get me wrong, she’s not what you’d exactly call a good person—ambitious, manipulative, ruthless, judgemental, borderline sociopathic—but she’s also been profoundly (and I do mean profoundly) damaged by her upbringing and there’s just enough vulnerability in her narration (buried, though it is, beneath layer after layer of competence and bravado) that I was unabashedly and shamelessly on her side. Bea is so archetypically “a bad woman” (in the sense of seeming to embody every misogynistic cliché of the beautiful, heartless, social-climbing femme fatale: keyword *seeming*) that it’s impossible not to root for her, especially because I can’t really muster all that sympathy for the 1% having their rarefied sphere violated by an upstart. Like, #TeamUpstart all the way? (Also she doesn’t like the word ‘panty’ and neither do I, so I feel we’re basically soulmates at this point).
At its heart, this is a book about relationships between women, and the way those relationships are inevitably shaped by patriarchal power. The tension—which is so tight it’s a corkscrew by the mid-point—is never really about Bea and Collin (the hyper-privileged bloke she’s attempting to marry). It’s about the women who surround him: his female best friend, Gale, his mother, even his new secretary who seems very eager to form an alliance with Bea. And the writing is never so taut, so dynamic, sparking with an energy that feels perilously close to sexual, than in the early power games between Bea and Gale. It’s also kind of fascinating that when the book opens, Bea is very quick to look down on Gale for all the things women are not supposed to judge women for, but as the narrative progresses it becomes apparent that there are way worse things to think about and do to people than be internally catty about their choice of lipstick.
There’s so much about Stone Cold Fox I found fascinating, from the way the narrative is constructed (it does the ol’ leaping back and forth between the past and the present that so many thrillers do but the way the two interleave and escalate is incredibly precise), to the balancing act it plays with its characters (Collin, for example, comes across as genuinely well-meaning if weak, self-centred and tedious—you could see why he would be a safe choice for Bea), to the bold choices it makes with its heroine. It’s kind of simultaneously refreshing and alienating to see her own her beauty (very few people, I think, do not feel threatened by the beautiful), but I also appreciated the way that—while she is clearly naturally striking—beauty in the conventional sense of thin, groomed, and elegant is always presented as actual work. I should add that the book is also very funny, in an uncompromisingly acerbic way:
Collin Case, born on September 8. A Virgo man. My kind of guy. A crushing need to be seen as perfect, which is exactly the type of pressure I wanted a man to feel in my presence.
Despite its willingness to Go There in, occasionally, quite shocking ways, I did also appreciate how careful the book is with Bea. Obviously, I personally have endless time for unsympathetic, damaged characters who have trouble with emotions but I think, even if that wasn’t your particular jam, there’s still scope to find nuance and complexity in Bea (at least once she lets down her narrative guards a little). There’s something genuinely heart-breaking, for example, about her relationship with her own past: she understands her mother is toxic and dangerous, but she never really lets go of the conviction that the things that were done to her (she was a child: things were done to her, she did not do things) render her unlovable and are fundamentally incompatible with the life she is trying to build for herself with Collin would be over. It’s an emotionally difficult, but, for me, right-feeling creative choice that Bea never confronts this directly nor finds any specific closure with it (plus it would undermine everything for her future to hinge on Collin’s capacity for empathy). This is not a book that’s interested in simple answers, even if means that one of the questions that remains is the degree to which Bea is justified in her conviction that she would be condemned, or held responsible, for the way she was treated as a child.
All of which said, the book is also not without a little softness. There are moments of genuine hope and connection for Bea, and while the life of determined wifehood she is trying to choose makes my toes curl with private horror I understood its advantages for her and her reasons for choosing it. Though, of course, she does struggle with her own more thrill-seeking impulses, and I didn’t feel the book, in general, was keen to present anything to us as uncomplicatedly positive.
Anyway, this is a dark and engaging read, deeply steeped in questions of sex, power, and gender. Highly recommended if that’s your thing, or if you fancy a highly character-driven thriller with a stone cold banger of an ending.
April 26, 2024
Market research read. If anyone knows any novels published 2019 forward about women plotting to commit or caught up in crime, let me know.
Published in 2023, Rachel Koller Croft's debut novel Stone Cold Fox sounded the cash register bell for lots of what I want in a crime thriller, specifically one about a gleefully sinister woman. It often reminded me of a '90s film noir like The Last Seduction (1994) where a diabolical femme fatale takes down everyone who gets between her and the bag. This is a book that starts slowly and haltingly, but once it gets going downhill, hooked me in the way Season 1 of a thrilling TV series might. Croft is a screenwriter. It shows. Her first novel is un-put-downable.
The story is the first-person account of "Bea," a senior business development director who's shot to the top of a big advertising agency in New York, albeit with phony credentials and references. Bea's goal is to marry wealthy and against all odds, has snared the mark of a lifetime: Collin Case, Chief Marketing Officer of a huge consumer goods company that's been in his family for a hundred years. Young, good-looking, callow, he's fallen hard for the character Bea has tailored for his desire. The more Collin's mother Haven or his smitten childhood friend Gale Wallace-Leicester protest his union to this outsider, the more committed Collin is to living his life beyond their control.
The story flashes back to a childhood Bea spent with "Mother," a self-destructive flim-flam artist who keeps the two of them moving from dope to dope. Bea tells herself she's nothing like her ruthless mother. When Gale Wallace-Leicester makes it her mission to expel Bea from the Case family, Bea returns these efforts with the backhand of Maria Sharapova. As Collin proposes to and marries her. Bea even turns what began as a rivalry with her fiancée's assistant Sylvia into an alliance, perhaps a friendship, her only one. Bea doesn't know what Gale knows about her sordid past, and can't shake the feeling that Mother is close by.
Stone Cold Fox made a poor first impression on me. First-person narratives suffer when narrators come across as insipid. Bea is crass and materialistic, appraising people strictly by their physical attributes as if they were horses, and chasing affluence. She also narrates her story in a very plain manner that reminded me of a teenager at times. She shares thoughts with the reader like, Truthfully, when I get the opportunity to dance, I take it, because it's the only time I feel like I can actually be myself. Wow, thanks for that insight, Bea. I'll alert the Nobel Committee.
Another narrative choice I'm prejudiced against is jumping around in time or swapping narrators. Croft stays in Bea's head, but moving back in time stalled the pacing a bit. After two hours of reading, I considered quitting the book. Croft checks a crucial box I ask of any author when I open their book: Do I want to know what happens next? The prose grows neither more luscious or significantly sharper, but the dialogue and interactions between the characters do. I savored watching Bea duel with Gale. Like a Patricia Highsmith novel, I had to keep reading to see if the narrator would be exposed and led away in handcuffs.
What I loved about Stone Cold Fox is how strong the felonious protagonist is. Characters who are particularly bad at their jobs or make increasingly dumb decisions turn me off. High competency gets me turning the pages. I'm learning things. Bea is good at what she does. She recognizes how pampered and inbred the wealthy are, but doesn't respond with bitterness or entitlement for what they have. She uses that to her advantage. She gets to work. She knows exactly what she wants and how much work is required to take it, whether that means hacking social media accounts or breaking into a safe. I was with her.
What initially irked me about Stone Cold Fox moving back and forth in time sets up an inevitable confrontation between Bea and Mother that was fun to anticipate. The enemies that Croft sets against Bea hail from a variety of backgrounds and are fun to watch get outfoxed. She writes a compelling male character in Collin Case, a decent man and good husband material whose shortcomings are convincingly portrayed as becoming a full-time job for Bea to manage, lest they fester and destroy the life she's carefully planned. I could visualize this novel being Season 1 of a TV series, with Sydney Sweeney and Cameron Diaz in the daughter-mother roles.
I'm looking forward to what Croft publishes next, what looks to be a vampire novel that has The Hunger vibes.
First paragraph: I decided that I would marry Collin Case after the fifth time we fucked. His performance had been consistently adequate, both in the bedroom and while we were out socially. We had been on seven dates, each more lavish than the one before it, raising the stakes suitably during our early courtship. Collin always selected an upscale bar or restaurant in a desirable neighborhood where people made no mistake about who he was, and therefore we were treated appropriately. He didn't tip like a Rockefeller, but I'd wager Rockefeller didn't even tip like a Rockefeller. Old money is old money for a reason and it's not to brighten some downtrodden server's day. So I didn't really care about Collin's standard 20 percent, since it was neither overtly cheap nor blatantly embarrassing. There was nothing blatantly embarrassing about Collin. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing terribly exciting about him either, but I knew that taking up with a man like Collin Case wouldn't exactly lead me down a path of intrigue and excitement and hot sex, which was precisely the point.
Memorable prose: I actually made it a point to care about his well-being. I knew intimately that if you couldn't rely on your own mother, you're inevitably fucked-up forever about where to go for any sort of help. You just let any and all issues fester on the inside until you explode or melt down or spiral into a deep pit of despair, like Collin. Or use it as fuel, like I did, but most people weren't like me.
Published in 2023, Rachel Koller Croft's debut novel Stone Cold Fox sounded the cash register bell for lots of what I want in a crime thriller, specifically one about a gleefully sinister woman. It often reminded me of a '90s film noir like The Last Seduction (1994) where a diabolical femme fatale takes down everyone who gets between her and the bag. This is a book that starts slowly and haltingly, but once it gets going downhill, hooked me in the way Season 1 of a thrilling TV series might. Croft is a screenwriter. It shows. Her first novel is un-put-downable.
The story is the first-person account of "Bea," a senior business development director who's shot to the top of a big advertising agency in New York, albeit with phony credentials and references. Bea's goal is to marry wealthy and against all odds, has snared the mark of a lifetime: Collin Case, Chief Marketing Officer of a huge consumer goods company that's been in his family for a hundred years. Young, good-looking, callow, he's fallen hard for the character Bea has tailored for his desire. The more Collin's mother Haven or his smitten childhood friend Gale Wallace-Leicester protest his union to this outsider, the more committed Collin is to living his life beyond their control.
The story flashes back to a childhood Bea spent with "Mother," a self-destructive flim-flam artist who keeps the two of them moving from dope to dope. Bea tells herself she's nothing like her ruthless mother. When Gale Wallace-Leicester makes it her mission to expel Bea from the Case family, Bea returns these efforts with the backhand of Maria Sharapova. As Collin proposes to and marries her. Bea even turns what began as a rivalry with her fiancée's assistant Sylvia into an alliance, perhaps a friendship, her only one. Bea doesn't know what Gale knows about her sordid past, and can't shake the feeling that Mother is close by.
Stone Cold Fox made a poor first impression on me. First-person narratives suffer when narrators come across as insipid. Bea is crass and materialistic, appraising people strictly by their physical attributes as if they were horses, and chasing affluence. She also narrates her story in a very plain manner that reminded me of a teenager at times. She shares thoughts with the reader like, Truthfully, when I get the opportunity to dance, I take it, because it's the only time I feel like I can actually be myself. Wow, thanks for that insight, Bea. I'll alert the Nobel Committee.
Another narrative choice I'm prejudiced against is jumping around in time or swapping narrators. Croft stays in Bea's head, but moving back in time stalled the pacing a bit. After two hours of reading, I considered quitting the book. Croft checks a crucial box I ask of any author when I open their book: Do I want to know what happens next? The prose grows neither more luscious or significantly sharper, but the dialogue and interactions between the characters do. I savored watching Bea duel with Gale. Like a Patricia Highsmith novel, I had to keep reading to see if the narrator would be exposed and led away in handcuffs.
What I loved about Stone Cold Fox is how strong the felonious protagonist is. Characters who are particularly bad at their jobs or make increasingly dumb decisions turn me off. High competency gets me turning the pages. I'm learning things. Bea is good at what she does. She recognizes how pampered and inbred the wealthy are, but doesn't respond with bitterness or entitlement for what they have. She uses that to her advantage. She gets to work. She knows exactly what she wants and how much work is required to take it, whether that means hacking social media accounts or breaking into a safe. I was with her.
What initially irked me about Stone Cold Fox moving back and forth in time sets up an inevitable confrontation between Bea and Mother that was fun to anticipate. The enemies that Croft sets against Bea hail from a variety of backgrounds and are fun to watch get outfoxed. She writes a compelling male character in Collin Case, a decent man and good husband material whose shortcomings are convincingly portrayed as becoming a full-time job for Bea to manage, lest they fester and destroy the life she's carefully planned. I could visualize this novel being Season 1 of a TV series, with Sydney Sweeney and Cameron Diaz in the daughter-mother roles.
I'm looking forward to what Croft publishes next, what looks to be a vampire novel that has The Hunger vibes.
First paragraph: I decided that I would marry Collin Case after the fifth time we fucked. His performance had been consistently adequate, both in the bedroom and while we were out socially. We had been on seven dates, each more lavish than the one before it, raising the stakes suitably during our early courtship. Collin always selected an upscale bar or restaurant in a desirable neighborhood where people made no mistake about who he was, and therefore we were treated appropriately. He didn't tip like a Rockefeller, but I'd wager Rockefeller didn't even tip like a Rockefeller. Old money is old money for a reason and it's not to brighten some downtrodden server's day. So I didn't really care about Collin's standard 20 percent, since it was neither overtly cheap nor blatantly embarrassing. There was nothing blatantly embarrassing about Collin. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing terribly exciting about him either, but I knew that taking up with a man like Collin Case wouldn't exactly lead me down a path of intrigue and excitement and hot sex, which was precisely the point.
Memorable prose: I actually made it a point to care about his well-being. I knew intimately that if you couldn't rely on your own mother, you're inevitably fucked-up forever about where to go for any sort of help. You just let any and all issues fester on the inside until you explode or melt down or spiral into a deep pit of despair, like Collin. Or use it as fuel, like I did, but most people weren't like me.
April 4, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(4/5, Suspense)
THE BITE ON THIS ONE.
I was breathless basically the entire time reading this book. The tone and pacing were so addictive, and the endless suspense had me panting. I love a book that’s not black and white where you find yourself rooting for the “bad guy.”
Bea Case spent her early years forced into a lifestyle of conning with her mother. When we meet her, she’s put that dark life behind her and is finally working solo on her final con: marrying into the wealthiest family in America. She’s ready for the safety and security her totally dull husband’s wealth can offer her. While Bea’s perfectly curated personality and looks have Collin eating out of the palm of her hand, she needs to win over Collin’s family and friends to seal the deal. Namely, his best friend, Gale, who is willing to fight dirty to find out who Bea really is…
Sharp, devilish, and smart.
My only beef with the book is the ending. No spoilers here, but I was like, “??”. I get that some readers may have found this ending delightful, but I need a story that PUTS A BOW ON IT. Even with the ending, I had a total ball devouring this story.
Best paired with a vodka martini. I usually prefer gin but i know Bea would insist on vodka 🍸
THE BITE ON THIS ONE.
I was breathless basically the entire time reading this book. The tone and pacing were so addictive, and the endless suspense had me panting. I love a book that’s not black and white where you find yourself rooting for the “bad guy.”
Bea Case spent her early years forced into a lifestyle of conning with her mother. When we meet her, she’s put that dark life behind her and is finally working solo on her final con: marrying into the wealthiest family in America. She’s ready for the safety and security her totally dull husband’s wealth can offer her. While Bea’s perfectly curated personality and looks have Collin eating out of the palm of her hand, she needs to win over Collin’s family and friends to seal the deal. Namely, his best friend, Gale, who is willing to fight dirty to find out who Bea really is…
Sharp, devilish, and smart.
My only beef with the book is the ending. No spoilers here, but I was like, “??”. I get that some readers may have found this ending delightful, but I need a story that PUTS A BOW ON IT. Even with the ending, I had a total ball devouring this story.
Best paired with a vodka martini. I usually prefer gin but i know Bea would insist on vodka 🍸
March 1, 2023
I support women's rights but more importantly I support women's wrongs.
January 14, 2023
This was not at all what I expected. I love a good conwoman story. Heartbreakers will forever be a favorite film of mine. Unfortunately this didn't have any of the fun scheming I was hoping for from a woman who's smarter than everyone around her. Instead it was sort of...sad. Bea may be running a con, but she's really just trying to escape. This read like a thriller with an unlikable narrator and the conwoman piece was barely prevalent.
BUT - my biggest issue with this book was that it was 95% inner monologue. It felt way too repetitive and too much telling me what was happening versus actually showing it. I found myself skimming a lot by the second half for this reason.
Twists were okay but fairly predictable. All in all, this was a miss for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.
BUT - my biggest issue with this book was that it was 95% inner monologue. It felt way too repetitive and too much telling me what was happening versus actually showing it. I found myself skimming a lot by the second half for this reason.
Twists were okay but fairly predictable. All in all, this was a miss for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.
March 4, 2023
Bea is determined to become filthy rich after a lifetime of swindling men, a practice her mother has engaged in and forced Bea to partake in with her for years. But now, Bea has had enough — She’s ready to settle down as a rich wife and targets Collin Case to make it happen. He’s not ostentatious but definitely comfortable, and can make Bea’s lifestyle goals a reality.
While Bea recognizes she’ll have to seal the deal with Collin and try to win over his family, she doesn’t anticipate the challenges of his best friend, Gale Wallace-Leister. Gale is also from an elite, wealthy family and skeptical of Bea from the start. Bea, however, won’t let any rando deter her and welcomes the games from Gale, as she works to stay one step ahead. After all, Collin can’t find out about her real past!
Stone Cold Fox sucked me in immediately and I flew through the story, dying to find out what would happen. I’ve seen this book described as “a delicious twisty tale” which is quite fitting. It was a fun ride to see how things played out in this suspense story debut.
While Bea recognizes she’ll have to seal the deal with Collin and try to win over his family, she doesn’t anticipate the challenges of his best friend, Gale Wallace-Leister. Gale is also from an elite, wealthy family and skeptical of Bea from the start. Bea, however, won’t let any rando deter her and welcomes the games from Gale, as she works to stay one step ahead. After all, Collin can’t find out about her real past!
Stone Cold Fox sucked me in immediately and I flew through the story, dying to find out what would happen. I’ve seen this book described as “a delicious twisty tale” which is quite fitting. It was a fun ride to see how things played out in this suspense story debut.
March 6, 2023
4.5 stars. Another reviewer has already summed this thing up admirably: it’s “the type of story where the pages practically turn themselves.” Oh yes. Set in a world where the women are “all collarbones and Cartier,” this was so fun and juicy and stylish and sexy and clever, I absolutely could not put it down. Cannot wait for the author to write more books, because this one was pretty fucking flawless.
We might just have a new queen of glamorous-thrillers-featuring-bad-bitch-antiheroines-you-totally-and-undeniably-have-to-fucking-root-for on our hands.
We might just have a new queen of glamorous-thrillers-featuring-bad-bitch-antiheroines-you-totally-and-undeniably-have-to-fucking-root-for on our hands.
November 20, 2022
QUICK TAKE: I loved this domestic suspense about a grifter trying to marry into a wealthy family and the woman who tries to take her down. Extremely voice-driven, sharply written and very witty. Delicious fun.
February 25, 2023
Estava indecisa entre 4.5 e 5 estrelas, mas o livro prendeu-me do início ao fim
Mais uma escritora para estar atenta a novos livros
Mais uma escritora para estar atenta a novos livros
March 7, 2023
Utterly underwhelming. I found the cover so beautiful and the synopsis interesting enough to immediately dive into the audiobook upon discovering it, listen to about an hour and then read two or three other books and basically going "ugh" when I saw this stunning cover in my audiobook library. That probably already tells you all you need to know.
Given the synopsis, I didn't expect to like anyone in this. The rich people were obviously going to be the typical rich people in a book like this: Stuck up, cold, condescending. Whatever was going on with Bea's mother would obviously be highly toxic if not downright abusive. And Bea, our main character, would be a stone cold b*tch, because that's all she was ever allowed to be. I was right on all accounts, which also didn't downright bother me. Sure, it kinda took the joy out of getting to know the characters when they were all like every character in a book or movie with a similar storyline, but not every book has to reinvent its genre, it's fine.
What does bother me, however, is the fact that Bea is incredibly boring. Not only is she predictable in her narcissistic and misogynistic behavior, her constant inner monologue of how she's better and smarter and hotter than everyone else, how much everyone sucks, how she just needs the right man's validation to live happily ever after- booooring! She underestimated every woman she interacts with and doesn't learn anything from it. And she never actually has to "win over the family and friends" or whatever it says in the synopsis, she interacts with them maybe twice before the engagement and she fails spectacularly winning anyone over. Sadly the book portrays this to be a fault of the family thinking she's white trash and not that she's obviously a very hateful and condescending and utterly self-obsessed person, which actually would have been an interesting plot twist. Instead of having the mother offer her 5 million dollars to get out of the son's life (which is never brought up again, that's how dismissible that storyline was), imagine she had just looked at Bea and said: "We're already horrible people, but you, my dear, suck tremendously in a different way and I have no interest pursuing any kind of relationship with you and I'll make sure neither does my son." That actually would have been a better premise than to mention the above manipulation ploy and then never bring it up again. It was literal inconsequential, so why was it in the story? The mother just gave up after this? Weak.
With that said, the rich people in this do suck. They're condescending and hateful and they don't take any kind of mental struggling seriously (even when it affects their own child), all they care about is keeping their blood lineage clean (hellooo royal incest of the 17th century or whenever). In case that wasn't clear: They were also just so boring, so uninteresting. I have no idea why anyone would want to join the ranks of people who think working for money is pathetic. Are you ready to talk about how your inherent wealth then obviously makes you a lazy asshole who doesn't deserve that wealth? No? Then why are you here?
And Bea had this really weird dream of not doing anything once she's married, how she's going to fill her days, maybe run for office (haha!). She just has these really weird moments where she romanticizes the rich life to a ridiculous degree, it felt like a child dreaming and not an actual grown up who reminded us that she loves having her job and her own money and also knows that the family doesn't really like her, why would they just let her laze around all day on their money?
I want to say that I do feel for Bea. What she went through at her mother's hands obviously left her very traumatized and I found her character much more appealing once she showed that in the last third of the book. Then again, I was already so done with her that that couldn't make me truly care about her anymore either. Especially after how she treated her one, singular friend, who was decidedly too pure and good for this whole book. What I really liked was that many of the men her mother manipulated were super nice to her as a kid, I feel like the men in these kinds of stories are usually creepy assholes, but those first men actively tried to be a father to her and even take some of the pressure of her mother's toxicity off of her, which was great to see!
I could go into some spoilers about the utterly boring and unmoving plot twists towards the end that I didn't see coming, but also wasn't in any way elated about either, but tbh I just don't want to. The writing is fine, the characters are bland and boring, the story is one heard and read often before, but what it all truly boils down to is: I have no interest reading a story where grown women fight to the death over such a boring, spineless and witless man such as Colin (?). Both of them could have easily done better and really, there is no way Gale would have gone to this length even after so obviously "losing". No way. That woman was obviously intelligent enough to see that cutting her losses would make the most sense. Also queer people do not exist in this world, unless Bea can call a man gay for not immediately slobbering after her. Groundbreaking literature.
(There's also this really pointless drawn out bit about her being desperately horny for one of Colin's (again, is that his name? I don't know) friends and for what? I thought at least he would turn out to be interesting but I guess he was just there to remind us that rich men can also be middle-ground gross? That was so pointless, that whole thing could have been cut and no one would have cared.)
Wouldn't recommend.
Given the synopsis, I didn't expect to like anyone in this. The rich people were obviously going to be the typical rich people in a book like this: Stuck up, cold, condescending. Whatever was going on with Bea's mother would obviously be highly toxic if not downright abusive. And Bea, our main character, would be a stone cold b*tch, because that's all she was ever allowed to be. I was right on all accounts, which also didn't downright bother me. Sure, it kinda took the joy out of getting to know the characters when they were all like every character in a book or movie with a similar storyline, but not every book has to reinvent its genre, it's fine.
What does bother me, however, is the fact that Bea is incredibly boring. Not only is she predictable in her narcissistic and misogynistic behavior, her constant inner monologue of how she's better and smarter and hotter than everyone else, how much everyone sucks, how she just needs the right man's validation to live happily ever after- booooring! She underestimated every woman she interacts with and doesn't learn anything from it. And she never actually has to "win over the family and friends" or whatever it says in the synopsis, she interacts with them maybe twice before the engagement and she fails spectacularly winning anyone over. Sadly the book portrays this to be a fault of the family thinking she's white trash and not that she's obviously a very hateful and condescending and utterly self-obsessed person, which actually would have been an interesting plot twist. Instead of having the mother offer her 5 million dollars to get out of the son's life (which is never brought up again, that's how dismissible that storyline was), imagine she had just looked at Bea and said: "We're already horrible people, but you, my dear, suck tremendously in a different way and I have no interest pursuing any kind of relationship with you and I'll make sure neither does my son." That actually would have been a better premise than to mention the above manipulation ploy and then never bring it up again. It was literal inconsequential, so why was it in the story? The mother just gave up after this? Weak.
With that said, the rich people in this do suck. They're condescending and hateful and they don't take any kind of mental struggling seriously (even when it affects their own child), all they care about is keeping their blood lineage clean (hellooo royal incest of the 17th century or whenever). In case that wasn't clear: They were also just so boring, so uninteresting. I have no idea why anyone would want to join the ranks of people who think working for money is pathetic. Are you ready to talk about how your inherent wealth then obviously makes you a lazy asshole who doesn't deserve that wealth? No? Then why are you here?
And Bea had this really weird dream of not doing anything once she's married, how she's going to fill her days, maybe run for office (haha!). She just has these really weird moments where she romanticizes the rich life to a ridiculous degree, it felt like a child dreaming and not an actual grown up who reminded us that she loves having her job and her own money and also knows that the family doesn't really like her, why would they just let her laze around all day on their money?
I want to say that I do feel for Bea. What she went through at her mother's hands obviously left her very traumatized and I found her character much more appealing once she showed that in the last third of the book. Then again, I was already so done with her that that couldn't make me truly care about her anymore either. Especially after how she treated her one, singular friend, who was decidedly too pure and good for this whole book. What I really liked was that many of the men her mother manipulated were super nice to her as a kid, I feel like the men in these kinds of stories are usually creepy assholes, but those first men actively tried to be a father to her and even take some of the pressure of her mother's toxicity off of her, which was great to see!
I could go into some spoilers about the utterly boring and unmoving plot twists towards the end that I didn't see coming, but also wasn't in any way elated about either, but tbh I just don't want to. The writing is fine, the characters are bland and boring, the story is one heard and read often before, but what it all truly boils down to is: I have no interest reading a story where grown women fight to the death over such a boring, spineless and witless man such as Colin (?). Both of them could have easily done better and really, there is no way Gale would have gone to this length even after so obviously "losing". No way. That woman was obviously intelligent enough to see that cutting her losses would make the most sense. Also queer people do not exist in this world, unless Bea can call a man gay for not immediately slobbering after her. Groundbreaking literature.
(There's also this really pointless drawn out bit about her being desperately horny for one of Colin's (again, is that his name? I don't know) friends and for what? I thought at least he would turn out to be interesting but I guess he was just there to remind us that rich men can also be middle-ground gross? That was so pointless, that whole thing could have been cut and no one would have cared.)
Wouldn't recommend.
February 18, 2023
Love me a book about smart, savvy, strong, conniving women! this was an addictive, compelling, and entertaining read. A brilliant game of cat and mouse between two women who truly underestimated the other. Bea is a gorgeous manipulative woman who is determined to marry Rich. her biggest obstacle, Gail. Gail is equally determined to stop Bea from marrying her BFF Colin. not only does Gail not think Bea is who she says she is, she also thinks she is not worthy of entering their wealthy circle. Let the games begin! Neither of these ladies were tremendously likable, but I have to admit I had a soft spot for Bea. The author gives us a glimpse into Bea's past. this allows the reader to really understand why she is how she is and made her much more sympathetic to me. let's just say Bea came by her manipulative ways honestly. Carlotta Brentan does a remarkable job narrating the audiobook. The entire book is spent in Bea's head, and she brought the perfect voice to both past and present Bea. if you're looking for an entertaining engaging thriller, pick this book up!
*** Big thank you to Berkley and PRH Audio for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
*** Big thank you to Berkley and PRH Audio for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
December 8, 2024
the last half of this book made no fucking sense at all its like the editor said do whatever u want bro just say anything its fine
March 27, 2024
Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft is a thriller about a young woman who has spent most of her life conning men alongside her mother, but who now wants to put that life behind her and marry into one of the country’s wealthiest families. With Collin head over heals in love with Bea, she has no problem getting him to propose. The bigger issue at hand is getting the approval of his family and his lifelong best friend, Gale Wallace-Leicester, which is not going to come easily.
This debut was incredibly entertaining! The dynamic between Bea and Gale felt like a captivating cat and mouse game that I couldn’t look away from. Honestly, there weren’t any likable characters in this book, and while sometimes that can be an issue for me, in this case it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the book at all. Bea comes across as arrogant and narcissistic, deliberately crafted to be unlikable. The narrative unfolds in two timelines, delving into Bea’s complex relationship with her mother and the events that shaped her current persona.
You definitely have to throw plausibility out the window for one of the twists, but my primary issue was the ending. After the slow build up of tension, the ending felt extremely rushed and left me feeling dissatisfied. I listened to the audiobook from Libby and thought Carlotta Brentan did a great job voicing the characters. Overall, I really enjoyed it until the lackluster ending. 3.5 stars rounded up.
This debut was incredibly entertaining! The dynamic between Bea and Gale felt like a captivating cat and mouse game that I couldn’t look away from. Honestly, there weren’t any likable characters in this book, and while sometimes that can be an issue for me, in this case it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the book at all. Bea comes across as arrogant and narcissistic, deliberately crafted to be unlikable. The narrative unfolds in two timelines, delving into Bea’s complex relationship with her mother and the events that shaped her current persona.
You definitely have to throw plausibility out the window for one of the twists, but my primary issue was the ending. After the slow build up of tension, the ending felt extremely rushed and left me feeling dissatisfied. I listened to the audiobook from Libby and thought Carlotta Brentan did a great job voicing the characters. Overall, I really enjoyed it until the lackluster ending. 3.5 stars rounded up.
August 7, 2024
After a lifetime of coaching by her mother in the dark art of the con, Bea has decided that she’s finally found the ultimate mark. But instead of playing the game like her enterprising mother, she wants to get everything she’s ever wanted by marrying the obscenely wealthy Collin Case. But adding to the allure is the fact that the Case family isn’t just rolling in it, but has been for generations. After all, they’re one of New York’s oldest blue blood clans.
Determined to finally throw her con woman games to the curb, Bea must lock it all down by getting Collin to fall for her hook, line, and sinker. Of course, thanks to her God given looks, she doesn’t think that piece will be all that hard. No, it will be winning over Collin’s friends and family that will take all of her training. Especially once she meets his childhood best friend, Gale Wallace-Leicester.
It seems that Gale just might have Bea and her tricks pegged down cold. Regardless of the inside track that Collin’s dear friend may have, however, Bea knows that she’s got this one in the bag. So instead of withdrawing from Gale’s harried attempts to cut her from Collin’s life, Bea steps up to the entertaining cat-and-mouse games.
The only problem is that with every tête-à-tête between Bea and Gale, the situation grows more complex, toeing closer and closer to a dangerous edge. And as the two young women try to outsmart one another, it becomes an all too real game of life and death. Bea has a decision to make. Either walk away from the biggest score of her life with her very survival possibly hanging in the balance. Or stick it out to in the hopes of winning it all.
Hmmm… Despite a rather clamorous response to Stone Cold Fox on its release, I found it somewhat underwhelming by the end. After all, the premise, which was certainly filled with potential, ultimately just didn’t live up to my expectations. All the same, I found the bulk of this slow burn domestic suspense novel thoroughly addictive and wholly unputdownable. Although, I did have to suspend all disbelief in order to find the fun in this one. Let me explain why.
Starting off with the winning attributes, I absolutely loved the characters. From one old money best friend who you’ll love to hate to the new woman on the scene with quite the dark and disturbing past, their ongoing mind games made for quite the entertaining read. While perhaps not fully fleshed out or with deep backstories (besides Bea, that is), they each added both dimension as well as a distinct foreboding.
Next up were the truly righteous twists. Two, in fact, that totally blew me away. Granted, I did have just an inkling about them, but when Croft delivered, she delivered and there aren’t many authors you can say that about. Unfortunately, the rest of the plot was somewhat disappointing. Between a non-climax and an anticlimactic conclusion, the end of this book just lacked the pizzazz that I was expecting.
My biggest pet peeve with this one, however, was the running diatribe of Bea’s narcissistic thoughts and feelings. With very little action or dialogue and a whole lot of self-absorbed and self-serving praise, I kept waiting for something to actually happen. Instead, it was one long inner monologue that lacked any true thriller edge. Then again, I seem to be an outlier in my criticism of this novel, so take my thoughts with a rather large grain of salt.
All in all, despite the inherent flaws, I had a blast (for the most part) reading this smart, sassy, and snarky tale. Just don’t expect an action-packed plot filled with ever ratcheting cat-and-mouse gamesmanship. No, this one was decidedly more subdued than I had anticipated, but it gave me quite the ride nonetheless. And the fact that this is a debut set up perfectly for a freewheeling sequel? Well, it can’t get much better than that. Rating of 4 stars.
Trigger warning: con artist, pedophilia, child abuse, solicitation, blackmail
Determined to finally throw her con woman games to the curb, Bea must lock it all down by getting Collin to fall for her hook, line, and sinker. Of course, thanks to her God given looks, she doesn’t think that piece will be all that hard. No, it will be winning over Collin’s friends and family that will take all of her training. Especially once she meets his childhood best friend, Gale Wallace-Leicester.
It seems that Gale just might have Bea and her tricks pegged down cold. Regardless of the inside track that Collin’s dear friend may have, however, Bea knows that she’s got this one in the bag. So instead of withdrawing from Gale’s harried attempts to cut her from Collin’s life, Bea steps up to the entertaining cat-and-mouse games.
The only problem is that with every tête-à-tête between Bea and Gale, the situation grows more complex, toeing closer and closer to a dangerous edge. And as the two young women try to outsmart one another, it becomes an all too real game of life and death. Bea has a decision to make. Either walk away from the biggest score of her life with her very survival possibly hanging in the balance. Or stick it out to in the hopes of winning it all.
Hmmm… Despite a rather clamorous response to Stone Cold Fox on its release, I found it somewhat underwhelming by the end. After all, the premise, which was certainly filled with potential, ultimately just didn’t live up to my expectations. All the same, I found the bulk of this slow burn domestic suspense novel thoroughly addictive and wholly unputdownable. Although, I did have to suspend all disbelief in order to find the fun in this one. Let me explain why.
Starting off with the winning attributes, I absolutely loved the characters. From one old money best friend who you’ll love to hate to the new woman on the scene with quite the dark and disturbing past, their ongoing mind games made for quite the entertaining read. While perhaps not fully fleshed out or with deep backstories (besides Bea, that is), they each added both dimension as well as a distinct foreboding.
Next up were the truly righteous twists. Two, in fact, that totally blew me away. Granted, I did have just an inkling about them, but when Croft delivered, she delivered and there aren’t many authors you can say that about. Unfortunately, the rest of the plot was somewhat disappointing. Between a non-climax and an anticlimactic conclusion, the end of this book just lacked the pizzazz that I was expecting.
My biggest pet peeve with this one, however, was the running diatribe of Bea’s narcissistic thoughts and feelings. With very little action or dialogue and a whole lot of self-absorbed and self-serving praise, I kept waiting for something to actually happen. Instead, it was one long inner monologue that lacked any true thriller edge. Then again, I seem to be an outlier in my criticism of this novel, so take my thoughts with a rather large grain of salt.
All in all, despite the inherent flaws, I had a blast (for the most part) reading this smart, sassy, and snarky tale. Just don’t expect an action-packed plot filled with ever ratcheting cat-and-mouse gamesmanship. No, this one was decidedly more subdued than I had anticipated, but it gave me quite the ride nonetheless. And the fact that this is a debut set up perfectly for a freewheeling sequel? Well, it can’t get much better than that. Rating of 4 stars.
Trigger warning: con artist, pedophilia, child abuse, solicitation, blackmail
February 25, 2023
All the stars! Will easily be in my top 5 of the year. This was SO GOOD! If you are a thriller/psychological suspense lover, this is a must read! Full RTC!
January 28, 2023
Wickedly unique and twisted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The story started off a bit slow. It took some time to get the flow and figure out where it was heading. There is a lot of building of the scene and energy, but once it caught your attention, it was game on – literally.
This book is a trip! A con artist who has met her match. The catfights and overprotective responses from the “ladies” are on fire and the introduction of multiple characters will keep you on your toes, wondering how they will fit into the story.
Family drama can be droll but Croft has no problem with her characters playing the perfect parts in the twisted game. Snooty old money in-laws who will not accept her and Bea’s own family issues keep popping up to muddle the playing field.
Stone Cold Fox is a decadent read that is wickedly unique and deliciously twisted in a bitchy sort of way! I was looking for more in terms of the ending. However, this is definitely one to check out.
* copy received for review consideration
* full review - https://amidlifewife.com/stone-cold-f...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The story started off a bit slow. It took some time to get the flow and figure out where it was heading. There is a lot of building of the scene and energy, but once it caught your attention, it was game on – literally.
This book is a trip! A con artist who has met her match. The catfights and overprotective responses from the “ladies” are on fire and the introduction of multiple characters will keep you on your toes, wondering how they will fit into the story.
Family drama can be droll but Croft has no problem with her characters playing the perfect parts in the twisted game. Snooty old money in-laws who will not accept her and Bea’s own family issues keep popping up to muddle the playing field.
Stone Cold Fox is a decadent read that is wickedly unique and deliciously twisted in a bitchy sort of way! I was looking for more in terms of the ending. However, this is definitely one to check out.
* copy received for review consideration
* full review - https://amidlifewife.com/stone-cold-f...
April 5, 2023
Review to come
March 14, 2023
Solid 2 for a book with an identity crisis and no real ability to capture an audience. The premise is fantastic: who doesn't love a good con artist tale? There's so much potential for a good and thrilling read as the con artist/protagnoist strategically moves about their world like a chess piece finding easy targets to manipulate and culminating in reaping the rewards of the ultimate scheme. That seems to be the goal, however, this book was all over the place without ever gaining momentum or drawing the reader in. The last 15 pages could, arguably, be the most interesting, however, the lack of character development precipitating it ruined any investment in the (predictable) outcome. Not that an effort wasn't made to draw a portrait of Bea, the con artist, however, it felt superficial, redundant and full of misplaced confidence: the author tries to portray Bea as this cunning con artist, however, spent the majority of the time discussing Bea's physical appearance. There is, annoyingly, paragraph upon paragraph of descriptions of Bea's beauty, which is touted as the source of her ability to manipulate those around her. I guess that's a realistic way to get people to do what you want, but I would have enjoyed the story more if it were based on a cunning intellect. Or even a combination of the two. Instead, it seems her ability to con comes only from an appearance based narcissism. How boring.
Also, I might be off base here, but if you want to write a book about a con artist, shouldn't they engage in a con? The only "con" Bea achieves is snagging a rich guy by using a fake name and lying about her parents being dead......hardly the con of the century. The childhood flashbacks had the potential to provide some depth but were never fully flushed out enough to leave little more than a vague impression of Bea's adult motivations.
There is also a random segue into the topic of clinical depression that felt extremely out of place and pointless. I also couldn't look past some of the cringey dialogue. In another pointless tangent, wherein Bea finds herself attracted to a family friend, she continuously describes him as "delicious".....to the extent that if it happened one more time, i was going to vomit.
Ultimately, the only con here was buying the book.
Also, I might be off base here, but if you want to write a book about a con artist, shouldn't they engage in a con? The only "con" Bea achieves is snagging a rich guy by using a fake name and lying about her parents being dead......hardly the con of the century. The childhood flashbacks had the potential to provide some depth but were never fully flushed out enough to leave little more than a vague impression of Bea's adult motivations.
There is also a random segue into the topic of clinical depression that felt extremely out of place and pointless. I also couldn't look past some of the cringey dialogue. In another pointless tangent, wherein Bea finds herself attracted to a family friend, she continuously describes him as "delicious".....to the extent that if it happened one more time, i was going to vomit.
Ultimately, the only con here was buying the book.
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