Heart of Ice: Emily Kenyon Thriller Series, Book 2

Emily Kenyon #2

by Gregg Olsen, Karen Peakes (Narrator)

“A work of dark, gripping suspense” (Anne Frasier) from a #1 New York Times bestselling author! In the town of Cherrystone, Washington, Sheriff Emily Kenyon investigates the murder of a local woman whose husband is the prime suspect. Meanwhile, a serial killer is targeting sorority girls across the nation — and Emily’s daughter Jenna is in danger… “Irresistible” (Kevin O’Brien).

Three bodies, three different towns. Each victim was a sorority girl - pretty, privileged, and brutally murdered. There are no fingerprints, no clues. He is scrupulously careful, craving those exquisite seconds when the light fades from his victim's eyes. But the rush never lasts, and the killing won't stop - not until one special woman has been made to suffer....

Contains mature themes.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Throughout his career, Gregg Olsen has demonstrated an ability to create a detailed narrative that offers readers fascinating insights into the lives of people caught in extraordinary circumstances.

A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Olsen has written ten nonfiction books, ten novels, and contributed a short story to a collection edited by Lee Child.

The award-winning author has been a guest on dozens of national and local television shows, including educational programs for the History Channel, Learning Channel, and Discovery Channel. He has also appeared on Good Morning America, The Early Show, The Today Show, FOX News; CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, MSNBC, Entertainment Tonight, CBS 48 Hours, Oxygen’s Snapped, Court TV’s Crier Live, Inside Edition, Extra, Access Hollywood, and A&E’s Biography.

In addition to television and radio appearances, the award-winning author has been featured in Redbook, USA Today, People, Salon magazine, Seattle Times, Los Angeles Times and the New York Post.

The Deep Dark was named Idaho Book of the Year by the ILA and Starvation Heights was honored by Washington’s Secretary of State for the book’s contribution to Washington state history and culture.

Olsen, a Seattle native, lives in Olalla, Washington with his wife and Suri (a mini dachshund so spoiled she wears a sweater).

Reviews

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! I can't wait to start A Wicked Snow (#3 Emily Kenyon)...I have really enjoyed this series so far..it keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what's going to happen next...

A Wicked Snow is not part of the Emily Kenyon series it is a standalone. But I still can't wait to read it.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well. I could talk about how the editing's better in this book than the first, so that's a nice plus. Or how its two plot lines are so disparate and segregated that you could split it into two books with no harm done (not a plus). I was planning to make a crack about how you could create a drinking game about how frequently women in the book are described and categorized in disparaging, sexist terms, except that you'd die of alcohol poisoning halfway through, but hey! At least you wouldn't have to read any more! (For ex., petty and off-putting speculation that some minor characters are bulimic / anorexic; painting 10+ women of a sorority with the same "vapid, terrible, too stupid to read" brush; or my personal favorite, a character who's basically a walking dumb blonde joke who we're supposed to believe is so dumb, she doesn't even know how to advance a Powerpoint presentation.)

But really, there's only one thing you need to know about this wretched, wretched book: the way it's written, it wants its readers to have more sympathy for its antagonist than it does for the women he victimizes. No, really. We're thrown into his backstory for at least a fifth of the book's 400+ pages, while the women he kills never have a voice--they're entirely framed by the antagonist who, obviously, doesn't look on them kindly. We never get their side of the story re: the inciting incident that caused all this, just his. And when the antagonist is finally killed, he's described to be "at peace."

Just, you know, never mind the lady bleeding to death off-screen while that's happening. She's not important, I guess.

I'd give this zero stars if I could.

[Lisa Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read this book out of order. There is a book that comes before it called A Cold Dark Place. However, both books were awesome and I think you could read them both as stand alones without getting confused. This book doesn’t go too far into detail about the end of A Cold Dark Place that it will spoil the story for you. Plus I read them several months apart so that helped. Here is what I loved about this book: First, you get two scintillating mysteries for the price of one. It starts out with Sheriff Emily Kenyon searching for a missing pregnant woman in her small Washington town. Shades of Lacy Peterson. In fact, the missing woman’s husband, Mitch Crawford comes off as incredibly cold and narcissistic, making him the prime suspect. As Emily tries to put together a case against him with the help of her deputy Jason and her love interest, former Seattle detective Chris Collier, her daughter becomes the focus of an altogether different killer. A man is stalking Jenna’s sorority sisters and brutally murdering them. Jenna doesn’t realize until very late in the book that she too is the focus of a frightening and deeply disturbing killer. The plot weaves in and out of the lives of the main characters, telling the story of two killers, both motivated by very different things but each one with a heart of ice! So yes, the title is quite apt.

In fact, what Olsen does best in this novel is show the evolution of a cold-blooded killer. This book answers the questions how can a seemingly normal family man carry on with a perfectly normal life and be a horrific killer? How does that work? How can the wife of a serial killer not know that this person is doing all of these horrible things? Weren’t there signs? Olsen answers these questions in this book and it is positively fascinating. Deeply disturbing but fascinating. Olsen puts you right inside the mind of a killer like no author I’ve ever read.

This is a fantastic book. You get multiple mysteries, a psychological study in serial killers, relatable, likeable protagonists and lots of twists and turns!

[Brittany · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first book in this series, but I was very disappointed in this one. I almost didn't finish it. There was a lot going on without much character development and I found myself asking, "who is this again?" at multiple points of the book. And the ending was immensely rushed. It seemed like even the author just wanted to be done with it all and very abruptly ended it. I was also very disappointed in the multiple uses of very ignorant statements in this story. Coming across these alone really made it difficult to want to finish this book, but then add in all of the other flaws, and it became a chore to finish.

[Jon Recluse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Gregg Olsen's True Crime books, and the skills he brings to nonfiction are on ample display in his fictional work. He writes with a depth and compassion that is rare in either field.
This are not your typical, scenery chewing serial killer book.
Highly recommended.

[Alaina]

rtc

[Christine (KizzieReads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good. Couldn't put it down. The only thing I didn't like was the graphic details of pets and other animals being killed. I get why it was done, to show how depraved the killer is, but didn't need to read the details.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only fair story of not one, but two, crazed psychopathic killers on the loose. While this book was well written, for some reason I could not get into it. Maybe there's just too many crazed psychopathic killers running loose in fiction these days, or maybe it was because the lady sheriff and the lady DA focused on an obnoxious but innocent man to the exclusion of everything else and came off looking like twits. I would only recommend it to hardcare Olsen fans.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little skeptical when I started reading this book, especially from Gregg Olson, but as you can see I gave it 5 Stars... Ended up being a page turner and WOW what a Ending!!!

[Kyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this book hoping it got better. It just seemed like the author really didn’t like or understand women and I’m not sure why he wrote a book full of them.

[Michelle N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Lots of twists. I enjoyed the way multiple characters and stories were intertwined. This is the second book if this author I have read, and I plan on reading several more!

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Good thriller. It had me going right up to the last few chapters. Good details and character development. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Cara Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I enjoyed this one a lot, but did find myself cringing from time to time. The epilogue was especially bad. I’m reading the final book of the series next and if Jenna gets into any more deadly situations I’m going to be annoyed. Too much for one character. I’m looking forward to it either way.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two-haiku review:

Pregnant woman's gone
Husband cleans their house with bleach
Could he have killed her?

Two different plots
I liked two main characters
Kind of like first book

[Cameron Wiggins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good, but not quite as good as “A Cold Dark Place.” Again, the storyline and characters were all good. There were two murder plots to follow in this book, and you were not quite sure, but reasonably sure, that it was two different killers to follow. One murder involved the murder of a prominent car dealer’s wife, Mandy, in which, the car dealer husband is the prime suspect. Again, Emily Kenyon is on the case (now Sherriff) with her deputy Jason and her lover retired Seattle homicide detective Chris Collier. The second by-line is a serial murderer of sorts targeting girls whom Jenna Kenyon is acquainted with through her job as sorority trouble-shooter for the Beta Zeta sorority. This does not really seem that unusual as she meets many of the BZ’s in the power positions. It is not like that they were best friends. But there is fear in the BZ houses to be sure.

[Shane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope. Just nope all around.
I'm quitting this while I'm ahead. I liked Jenna in the first book when she was a sweet teen. This sorority Jenna though that does classes on "blond being best" (and feels a little bad for the only Asian in the house) and is written like such a brat and is so hateable I can't even root for her. I feel like this was supposed to be a suspense novel that derailed somewhere between when we learn how fit Emily is (even though - GASP - she's in her FORTIES) and the lame-ass reference to Eat-a-Pie sorority (Beta Pi for having a "couple of chunky sisters".

[Breia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly enjoying this series! Gregg Olsen is hit or miss for me but this fiction series is great. Thank you to Amazon for these being part of Kindle Daily Deals or I would never have picked them up!

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cherrystone, Washington sheriff Emily Kenyon is investigating the disappearance of a young pregnant wife. Her seemingly unconcerned husband is Emily's prime suspect but without a body he cannot be charged with anything. Once her body is found, however, Emily quickly arrests the husband but he swears he did not do anything to hurt his wife. Meanwhile, a desperate serial killer is systematically murdering members of a college sorority that Emily's daughter Jenna manages as president. He has a personal reason for the killings and Jenna will be the last one to die but the murder that he will enjoy the most.

This is the second book I have read in Olsen's series featuring Emily Kenyon. They are dark and creepy and very suspenseful. I would have rated this one higher because the mystery was very well plotted. Unfortunately there was very graphic animal abuse that became stomach-turning. Had these scenes happened earlier in the story I would have quit but it was after the half-way point. Plus I was listening to the audio so I wasn't able to skip through the horrible parts. If you are going to give this one a try, maybe do so with the print version.

[J E Suver · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve tried now 3 books by Greg Olsen and frankly they all are so predicament & so convoluted it’s uncanny. This novel’s plot is all over the place that several times I had to go back to see which murder I was reading about. The reveal of the main plot or is it the secondary plot was so far-fetched but I was so over it by then I didn’t care. And the plot with Jenna, again the daughter of the Sheriff, who lets a stranger into her home after 3 young girls she knew had been violently murdered, made me not care again. Like seriously - so much backstory to make the read feel sympathy, for the cold blooded killer, not to mention the persisting sexist view of the victims makes me wonder if the author has been rejected by pretty girls in real life. The ending is rushed & left little closure other than while a poor girl is bleeding the “Monster was at peace”. There is a lot of detail on child abuse in this book that is not necessary either, very disturbing & again no voice for the victims but glorification of the killer.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is rather dark. So much so that if this had been the first I’d read by this author, it very well could have been my last. I found myself fast-forwarding through the graphic threads of sexual abuse throughout. Yah, I tend to fast-forward through sex scenes of all varieties.

Running concurrently were two separate mysteries. Having her ex-lover lawyer boy being guilty of the murder of Mandy, was too convenient - a good way for the author to get rid of him as an opponent for any of Emily’s future cases. It would have been more of a whammy if it had been Emily’s current lover Chris. Oh yes, she and Chris tie the knot in this one. Oops, too bad I spoiled that one for you. The underlying mystery didn’t resolve with anything of a showdown; It was dull. Flat. Lifeless.

One thing I don’t like about this author’s writing is that he often goes into great detail about past cases, at times having nothing to do with the present events.

[Brian Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. A pregnant woman went missing and was later found murdered. Her husband who owned a car dealership was accused of the murder and arrested. It was later found out that his attorney who had an affair with his wife and was the father of his wife’s daughter was the killer.
At the same time, girls from Jenna‘s sorority were being murdered by a man who turns out to have been an abuse child who was abandoned by his mother and his sister was adopted at a foster care. He stayed in the system and was sexually abused. He later reconnected with his long lost sister, and when she went to college, she was rejected by the sorority and she hung herself so he got revenge by killing the people who were in charge of the sorority that rejected her.
The main detective Emily finally agreed to marry her boyfriend Chris.
I listen to this as an audiobook.
I would give it 4 1/2 stars

[Alison Takacs · Rating 2 out of 5]

The underlying story about the serial killer was pretty good. But there was no connection at all to the other murder mystery. These were 2 completely different mysteries told in one book. It just didn’t work for me.

In addition to that, there were big chunks of the story that dragged. Too much time was spent on getting to know the sorority sisters & learning about the boring presentation that had to be made. I also felt like the personal story btw Emily & Chris dragged.

I also didn’t care for the graphic descriptions of the animal abuse (I almost DNFed it at that point).

Re: the audiobook - this one may be better to read in print. While the narrator is fine for the male characters, it was hard to listen to this book because of how he made most of the women sound. The FMC was okay, but almost all the others were simpering or whiney. These college girls & adult women sounded more like junior high or HS students.

TW: child abuse, animal abuse, suicide

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book one in this series, A Cold Dark Place. introduced us to Sheriff Emily Kenyon. In Hear of Ice, Sheriff Kenyon returns and unresolved plot lines from prior book. One plot line involves a serial killer whose identity is immediately revealed. Michael Barton a technician has a wife Olivia and two children that he loves and they love him. But Olivia is sensing that something is quite right. The second plot line involves the disappearance of Mandy Crawford. Mandy is the wife of Mitch Crawford, an owner of a local car dealership. Mandy has been reported missing by one of her co-workers, and her husband doesn't seem to be concerned when confronted by the Sheriff Emily Kenyon. While investigating, Emily uncovers another secret that complicates everything. Be warned the author does not hold back on the murder descriptions, which might be a trigger for some. I really recommend that you read these books in series order.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pregnant woman has gone missing and Sheriff Kenyon is working hard to solve her disappearance. Will she be able to find out what happened to Mandy and who is responsible for her tragic death? Meanwhile, her daughter is busy learning the ropes of her new job working for the BZ sorority head office and is travelling around the country to help the various house locations. While on her voyages, Jenna hears about a few sorority girls who have been murdered. Is a serial killer on the loose?

Mr. Olsen does a good job of creating a thrilling read. I really enjoyed Sheriff Kenyon's character and found the "bad" guys to be very well developed. The ending was a bit rushed in my personal opinion and I felt like it was a bit of a letdown. Some more development would have made it a bit more final and interesting.

[Cameron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Emily Kenyon is back baby and she’s dumber than ever! Jenna is back as well baby and she too is dumber than ever!
Honestly it’s not their fault they’re so fucking stupid. It’s Gregg Olsen’s fault for writing arguably the worst cast of characters in the history of literature. How can someone so good at true crime not create a believable crime thriller? The killers motive was so fucking stupid. HNGHHH YOU MADE MY SISTER KILL HERSELF BECAUSE YOU SAID SHE ISNT BETA ZETA MATERIAL HNNNGH. Bro hadn’t seen his sister in like 4,000 years. He was bitch and his motive was ass. Just like the first book, the killers motive was ass. Goddammit Greg you suck at fiction fuck. But I’m gonna read the third Kenyon novel because it’s free.

Also, beta zeta? Seriously? That’s so fucking stupid holy shit.

There was ONE Muslim character in this one. What was her name? Fatima Hussein😂 shit had me laughing.

Edit: there is no third Kenyon book. Goodreads and Audible lied but I’ll blame it on Gregg Olsen

[Shirley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why? I asked myself continuously through 500+ pages. First off, I loved "If You Tell", so when I saw this in a bargain bin I snagged it quickly. I am not a huge fan of series but if the writing is good it shouldn't matter. However, this was a huge disappointment. I committed myself to reading this hoping it would get better-unbelievable poor editing and plot holes galore. If you are going to be descriptive please remember and stick to it- and Olsen is very detail oriented. For example why does Mandy's pink casket become blue or why Irv's beer turns into a pinot noir. Huh? Some questions in the plot are never answered either. The book drags through scenes in different locales and rushes to a quick and predictable ending.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think Gregg Olsen and I have come to a parting of the ways. There's something about his style of writing that really doesn't do it for me. I think he adds different viewpoints when he get tired of the plot (and heaven know I was tired of it too!). He added a second killer to the story because, well, reasons. And then, once all of the tedious details of sorority business and life were explored, he rushed the ending (because he'd hit his page count?). There was not a lot here that I found to be worthwhile.

I recognize he has a very loyal following and I will assume it is just me, and that for whatever reason we aren't a match. Having said that, I think this is my last Gregg Olsen book.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily is now Sheriff and her daughter has graduated college. A missing woman's body has been found in a pond. The husband is acting strange. As Emily investigates, strange killings start happening in Jenna's sorority. Did Emily arrest the right person for the missing women's body? Why have 3 of Jenna's sorority sisters been killed and what does it have to do with Jenna? Is a woman in another state married to a Serial Killer and not know it? Will Emily be able to save Jenna? All these questions will be answered when you read Heart of Ice! Happy Reading!

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my second book by Gregg Olsen. I like his books and would have read more of them but my library doesn't have that many. I finished reading this book three weeks ago so it's difficult to remember everything. I gave it a 4+. I did have a few questions after reading the book.

The police want's to get something with Mandy's DNA. They don't need that, they can get DNA from her parents. They find a file on Amanda's computer, but don't know when she wrote it. You can see when something was written.

What teenager lets in a man they don't know?

[Jill Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the main story of this book. I also read the 1st book in the series and enjoyed that one too.

The problem I had with this book is once again Emily's daughter Jenna is in danger. Its a sub plot of the book but gets a lot of story time. The bad guy in the Jenna story is very interesting and I think a whole book could have been written about him but I'm wondering if Jenna is going to be in life threatening situations in every book? I'm hoping not because I really do enjoy them otherwise.