What do you think?
Rate this book
Muriel Mabley #2
Cold Flash
In Carrie H. Johnson's explosive series, forensic firearms specialist Muriel Mabley takes a one-way plunge that's outside the law
ON YOUR MARK. GET READY
Muriel doesn t have the option to cool her life down to manageable chaos. She s juggling a high pressure job, her extended family, and a deepening romance with Calvin, an advocate for troubled youth. And with heroin deaths epidemic throughout Philly, she's got her hands full stopping a related killing spree that's taking out gang members and innocent victims alike
ICED
But soon Calvin's unofficial search for the drug's source raises the stakes on the case dangerously higher and brings it tragically close to home. Now, with both her reputation and her family in the crosshairs, Muriel will have to aim for justice more merciless than duty and risk suffering the most chilling of consequences.
ON YOUR MARK. GET READY
Muriel doesn t have the option to cool her life down to manageable chaos. She s juggling a high pressure job, her extended family, and a deepening romance with Calvin, an advocate for troubled youth. And with heroin deaths epidemic throughout Philly, she's got her hands full stopping a related killing spree that's taking out gang members and innocent victims alike
ICED
But soon Calvin's unofficial search for the drug's source raises the stakes on the case dangerously higher and brings it tragically close to home. Now, with both her reputation and her family in the crosshairs, Muriel will have to aim for justice more merciless than duty and risk suffering the most chilling of consequences.
248 pages, Paperback
Published May 30, 2017
14 people are currently reading
388 people want to read
About the author
Carrie H. Johnson
4 books8 followersCarrie H. Johnson has been published in the Los Angeles Times, Boston Herald, and Worcester Telegram and Gazette. She received her MA in Journalism from Northeastern University and is currently a professor teaching communication and business courses at Worcester State University, Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, and The Center for Women and Enterprise in Boston, MA.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 30, 2017
Cold Flash picks up immediately following the events in Hot Flash, and we find Muriel still adjusting to her new more hands on and stressful role as guardian to not only her own son, but her twin nieces as well. Johnson wastes no time in throwing the reader right into the thick of all of the turmoil surrounding Muriel's personal life. Muriel is balancing the care of her precocious nieces, her son's unwitting involvement with a friend with dangerous baggage, a best friend who is not only battling a life threatening disease, but who is also having a relationship crisis with the man she loves, the missing daughter of her former neighbor who is more like family than just a neighbor, and Muriel's own love life is being strained in a dangerous way. If that's not enough drama for you, Johnson also incorporates gang violence, the heroine epidemic that many communities are facing, and a brand new enthusiastic partner for Muriel who is determined to not only do his job well, but to support his new partner whether she wants it or not. On top of everything that is happening to Muriel in the present, we also get significant information about Muriel's past and how that has shaped the woman that she is today.
Cold Flash is very much a sequel and you need to read Hot Flash first before diving into to this one. If you enjoy smart female leads who are mature and dealing with real life issues as part of your thrillers, I would recommend treating yourself and picking up these fast paced reads. I'm adding Cold Flash on my favorite reads list right along with Hot Flash.
**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
You can find me at:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
Cold Flash is very much a sequel and you need to read Hot Flash first before diving into to this one. If you enjoy smart female leads who are mature and dealing with real life issues as part of your thrillers, I would recommend treating yourself and picking up these fast paced reads. I'm adding Cold Flash on my favorite reads list right along with Hot Flash.
**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
You can find me at:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
May 31, 2017
Cold Flash picks up after the aftermath of what happened 'Hot Flash' (Book 1) which I haven't read yet. Muriel is holding her family together as best she can while her comatose sister recovers in a long-term care facility. Muriel receives a troubling call from Hampton, husband of her best friend Dulcey. He's gotten himself into a serious jam and he needs her help. All while trying to juggle her duties as a firearms examiner in the Philadelphia Police Department and take care of her twin nieces. Muriel barely hangs on as Hamp's troubles escalate and bring them both into the cross-hairs of a dangerous street gang named Berg Nation. A gang that seems free to operate its drug business without any consequences. Their deadly heroin product is laced with fentanyl and cocaine and bodies are dropping all across the city with no discrimination. When it hits too close to home, Muriel is in a race against time to shut them down permanently and save the people she loves.
Review Copy Received from Netgalley.
Review Copy Received from Netgalley.
October 14, 2017
Far too many indiscriminate killings leading to a high body count. Most of this violence is unexamined and under explained. Officer Mabley is not drawn with depth and she comes off as a shallow character with personality details that are difficult to discern. We get that she is good at her job, but what else makes her tick? We are offered some tidbits about what happens in her head, but little about why she has particular thoughts. The book does hum along with plenty of action, though some of it seems contrived.
A host of characters are clumsily thrown into this novel and most are not clearly flushed out, leading to questions of plausibility. For a book to be billed as suspense, this one contained very little until the final third of the novel when an unlikely member of the community is murdered. It was obviously too easy to blame the hinted at culprit, so the mystery of who and the wonder of why helps propel the book to its ending which left this reader more relieved than surprised or satisfied.
A host of characters are clumsily thrown into this novel and most are not clearly flushed out, leading to questions of plausibility. For a book to be billed as suspense, this one contained very little until the final third of the novel when an unlikely member of the community is murdered. It was obviously too easy to blame the hinted at culprit, so the mystery of who and the wonder of why helps propel the book to its ending which left this reader more relieved than surprised or satisfied.
May 19, 2017
This was a well written and easy to read book. The characters were interesting and at times they all seemed like suspects. This is my first time reading a book by this author and I look forward to checking out more of her work.
**I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review**
Kenya E
Soul Sistahs Book Club
**I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review**
Kenya E
Soul Sistahs Book Club
February 12, 2020
This author is not afraid to kill off a character....
April 18, 2019
#2 ON YOUR MARK. GET READY…
Muriel doesn’t have the option to cool her life down to manageable chaos. She’s juggling a high-pressure job, her extended family (son/nephew Travis, sister Narcee, her sister’s twins Helen and Rose, and Elijah who is trying to escape a kingpin brother) and a deepening romance with Calvin, an advocate for troubled youth. And with heroin deaths epidemic throughout Philly, she's got her hands full stopping a related killing spree that's taking out gang members and innocent victims alike…ICED…But soon Calvin's unofficial search for the drug's source raises the stakes on the case dangerously higher—and brings it tragically close to home costing him his life at the hands of a trusted confidant. Her former true love Langston returns to help. Now, with both her reputation and her family in the crosshairs because of Hamp, her best sister-friend Dulcey’s husband. Muriel will have to aim for justice more merciless than duty—and risk suffering the most chilling of consequences all while training for a triatholon in honor of Dulcey who tackling with breast cancer.
Muriel doesn’t have the option to cool her life down to manageable chaos. She’s juggling a high-pressure job, her extended family (son/nephew Travis, sister Narcee, her sister’s twins Helen and Rose, and Elijah who is trying to escape a kingpin brother) and a deepening romance with Calvin, an advocate for troubled youth. And with heroin deaths epidemic throughout Philly, she's got her hands full stopping a related killing spree that's taking out gang members and innocent victims alike…ICED…But soon Calvin's unofficial search for the drug's source raises the stakes on the case dangerously higher—and brings it tragically close to home costing him his life at the hands of a trusted confidant. Her former true love Langston returns to help. Now, with both her reputation and her family in the crosshairs because of Hamp, her best sister-friend Dulcey’s husband. Muriel will have to aim for justice more merciless than duty—and risk suffering the most chilling of consequences all while training for a triatholon in honor of Dulcey who tackling with breast cancer.
June 17, 2017
I was drawn in from the very beginning with this book, my first read by author Carrie H. Johnson. She breathes full life into Muriel who's juggling family, career, job, stress and all that goes with being a working woman. The characters appear realistic, and even though Muriel is a forensic firearms specialist, the terminology isn't written to the point where you need a dictionary, or your browser opened to Googlel. I loved this book and I can't wait to read more from this author and this series! I'm going back to get the first book in the series, to get some back story. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes an action-packed, fast paced read, with believable characters and flows well.
May 17, 2017
Cold Flash
by Carrie H. Johnson
Kensington Books
Dafina
Multicultural Interest , Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 30 May 2017
I am reviewing a copy of Cold Flash through Kensington Books and Netgalley:
Muriel doesn't have the time to slow her life down. She has a high pressured job an extended family and a blossoming relationship with Calvin an advocate for troubled youth.
When Calvin tries to bring down a Heroin epidemic in Philly will he find it closer than he could have imagined?
Find out in Cold Flash.
Five out of five stars.
Happy Reading!
June 17, 2017
I won a copy of "Cold Flash" through a Goodreads giveaway.
It is a sequel to "Hot Flash", which I have not read, but can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.
Forensic Firearm Specialist Muriel Mabley juggles family issues, a relationship with a Calvin, an advocate for troubled youth, and helping her best friends' husband get out from under a gambling debt with a deadly Philly drug gang.
It was a quick read, and entertaining, but the abrupt ending resulted in downgrading my rating to 3 stars.
It is a sequel to "Hot Flash", which I have not read, but can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.
Forensic Firearm Specialist Muriel Mabley juggles family issues, a relationship with a Calvin, an advocate for troubled youth, and helping her best friends' husband get out from under a gambling debt with a deadly Philly drug gang.
It was a quick read, and entertaining, but the abrupt ending resulted in downgrading my rating to 3 stars.
October 19, 2017
Muriel Mabley is a firearm examiner for the police department in Philadelphia. In this second book of the series, she has to figure out why her best friend's husband is acting weird. She's worried he's doing drugs again but unfortunately she finds out his mess is much worse.
I really loved the first book in this series, Hot Flash, so after reading that, this one was a bit of a disappointment. It started out really slowly and there was so many people involved, and being murder for that fact, that I had a hard time keeping track of names. One redeeming quality of this book was the fact that I had no clue who the bad guy was until the end but I'm pretty bad at guessing that in most cases. I also enjoyed the side story of Mabley training and completing a triathlon. It gave her more character and personality. While I certainly recommend the first book of this series, this one is just okay.
I really loved the first book in this series, Hot Flash, so after reading that, this one was a bit of a disappointment. It started out really slowly and there was so many people involved, and being murder for that fact, that I had a hard time keeping track of names. One redeeming quality of this book was the fact that I had no clue who the bad guy was until the end but I'm pretty bad at guessing that in most cases. I also enjoyed the side story of Mabley training and completing a triathlon. It gave her more character and personality. While I certainly recommend the first book of this series, this one is just okay.
July 5, 2018
I had such high hopes for this series, but after 2 books I'm done. There are too many unanswered questions. I don't like the unfinished(ness) of various chapters. Something happens at the end of a chapter and we never know the result. The author just moves on. Eh. Not a fan. Even the ending left a lot to be desired.
September 28, 2019
Another great read by Carrie H. Johnson. I really enjoyed the relationship Muriel and her bestfriend Dulcey have. Muriel being a firearms expert, solving crimes, caring for her family, and still have time to run a triathlon series. I love all the characters in this story. Can't wait for book three.
November 28, 2017
The book wasn’t bad. Had quite a few errors and threw too many characters in at the end of the book. Even with what happened to Elijah following up was given. Nothing was said about the drugs that were locked away in Calvin’s house. It was as if the author was rushing to get to the end.
December 22, 2020
Cold Flash picks up where Hot Flash ended. Great story with thrills and suspense! A few new characters and bad guys added. I am surely guessing there has to be another addition to this series, especially the way things ended.
March 20, 2022
Wow fastest I’ve ever read a book. It felt like an episode of law and order.! Though I would like to know what really happened to my guy in the end but that just makes it really feel like law n order because sometimes you never know.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2017
I won this book via Goodreads First Reads. This was a really enjoyable, quick read. I read it in 3 days. The action in this book kept me up past my bedtime twice. This was a very good read. :)
October 12, 2017
Muriel has quickly become my 2nd favorite female lead just behind Elouise Norton. Cold Flash, the sequel to Hot Flash will leave you wanting more of Muriel and waiting for the next installment.
August 30, 2018
This was a great read. I really loved the characters. The good and bad ones. It sucks that this is more real life than fiction.
October 24, 2021
This was a very good book.
August 3, 2017
In this second installment of the Muriel Mabley mystery series, Cold Flash, Muriel is knee deep in chaos. In Philadelphia, there has been a series of killing especially against gang members. Muriel is assisting in the case, which starts readers on a journey of her balancing work, family, troubled youth and a romance.
The killings soon hit home when her son, Travis’ friends are killed. Muriel feels there is a connection especially when one of Travis’s friends, Elijah’s brother is one of the main gang members dealing in drugs. Muriel believes she needs help by including her love interest, Calvin, in hopes of getting justice for those they have lost and to bring a stop to the gangs and drugs in the city. This is easier said than done because the closer Muriel and Calvin the more dangerous the consequences get.
Having never read this author’s work, I was captivated by the story, suspense, consistent storyline, memorable characters and the twists. This author’s writing style is one I will keep on my radar. I enjoyed that it included a realistic family, hint of romance, struggles and loyalty. I will say Muriel Mabley’s character is one I wouldn’t mind seeing on television. I would definitely tune in.
Teresa Beasley
A&RBC Review
5 Stars
The killings soon hit home when her son, Travis’ friends are killed. Muriel feels there is a connection especially when one of Travis’s friends, Elijah’s brother is one of the main gang members dealing in drugs. Muriel believes she needs help by including her love interest, Calvin, in hopes of getting justice for those they have lost and to bring a stop to the gangs and drugs in the city. This is easier said than done because the closer Muriel and Calvin the more dangerous the consequences get.
Having never read this author’s work, I was captivated by the story, suspense, consistent storyline, memorable characters and the twists. This author’s writing style is one I will keep on my radar. I enjoyed that it included a realistic family, hint of romance, struggles and loyalty. I will say Muriel Mabley’s character is one I wouldn’t mind seeing on television. I would definitely tune in.
Teresa Beasley
A&RBC Review
5 Stars
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews