Cold to the Bone

Nicole Cobain Mystery #1

by Emery Hayes

The brutal murder of a teenager and a deadly medical drama plunge a small-town sheriff into a vortex of treachery and greed in the debut novel of Emery Hayes's A Nicole Cobain Mystery series.

First female sheriff of Toole County, Montana Nicole Cobain earned the position through mental and physical grit and when a young girl is found murdered on icy Lake Maria, every bit of it is tested. But what begins as a chase for the killer quickly unravels into a high stakes medial transaction with harrowing consequences.

Eight years ago, Nicole fled her fast-track position as a homicide detective with the Denver Police Department in an act of desperation to save both her son and herself. Answering a recruitment ad, she showed up in the foothills of Glacier National Park and was elected sheriff six years later. She has a measure of peace in her new surroundings, her son is thriving, and she has effectively distanced herself from her past. Until Benjamin Kris shows up again.

Benjamin is the father of Nicole's son and a big-time charmer who has quickly scaled the crime ladder. He has a large clientele and is looking forward to a big pay day that lands him in Toole. But when it becomes clear he could be a suspect among several others in town with opportunity and motive, it's up to Nicole to sift through the tangled threads to find the killer before they strike again.

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

266 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Linda Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicole Cobain is the first ever sheriff in a Montana resort town. Most people visit for the skiing. Crime is usually minor ... but not today.

A teenage girl is found in an icy lake ... murdered. Much searching locates a purse with her identification... but no one has reported her missing. She has parents, an older brother, an younger sisters ... yet no one seemed to be concerned that she did not come home.

Nicole and her team are diligent and resourceful. Learning that the girl's father is an Oncologist leads them in a whole new direction.

A side story is that of Benjamin, father of Nicole's son. Nicole distanced herself to get away from him and raise her son in a smaller, quieter, safer town. But Benjamin has found her. He says he has changed his ways ... but has he?

Benjamin is only one suspect ... the girl's father and brother are also suspect ... an older 'boyfriend' that no one knew anything about .... business partners of her father .... or maybe it was someone unknown ... a random killing.

The procedural portion of this intricate plot is well written. Character development was okay, but I hope that improves with the next book. There's lots of action and twists and turns along the way. Suspects are many and varied, making it a little more difficult to pick out the bad guy until the surprising ending.

Many thanks to the author / Crooked Lane Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The setting is the small town of Blue Mesa in Toole County, Montana. Looks awfully cold there and the author did a good job in describing the cold and snow.

The first female sheriff of the county, Nicole Cobain, was elected six years ago. She transferred to the department there as a sergeant from the Denver Colorado police and has moved up. She's been in law enforcement for 14 years. Her son Jordan is now eleven years old.

The day after Christmas, a 14 year old girl's body is found on the ice of Lake Maria. She has been strangled. Nicole is also faced with the arrival of her ex Benjamin Kris. He is not a nice guy and he's the reason she left Denver. In truth, he's a murdering jerk who thinks he's superior but he's not even close.

Nicole has a good undersheriff in Lars. Liked him a lot. The police procedural part of the book is good. Nicole knows what to do. Parts of the book were a bit slow. I think this is the beginning of a series which makes me happy because I liked Nicole's toughness. I look forward to more character development in the future.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I was just rating this on the police procedural parts it would get a solid rating. Very detailed and Sheriff Nicole Cobain and her team were good investigators.

But it was lacking in character emotional depth. The main bad guy inner thoughts, reasoning for revenge, and how he spoke were not those of a grown man. The teenage son spoke more mature than he did. And again his reasons for wanting revenge on Nicole were both weird and lame. And the icing on top was the abruptness of the ending of the book. Very unsatisfying. Needs a epilogue.

I can see the potential in this author/series but this genre is already saturated with with some great authors so to compete you need to bring (write) your A game.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written thriller with a few caveats. The main stories are pretty ridiculous in the whole "that could happen" sense. I appreciate that Hayes has given us a main character (a female sheriff with a history of bad choices with a dangerous ex) who is generally strong, likeable and competent. There's good insight into the forensic aspect of her work and there's also a nice sense of place in the rural Montana resort area where it takes place.

The crime is one of those stories you'd see on a show like Alias, not something that you'd really see happening in a small Montana town, even one that brings in the very rich for its tourist trade. The bad guy is also straight out of a bad cable show, although I appreciate having a psychopathic career criminal who is short, thin and physically weak even if he is capable in other ways. Yay for diversity? 😉 Two different women (his current wife and the sheriff) are stronger, taller and more capable at fighting and shooting than he is, which is refreshing in a genre where bad guys are typically supernaturally strong, big and expert at all violence.

The whodunnit was a bit weird and unsatisfying. The ending was also rather abrupt. This is listed as #1 in a new series but a bit of wrap-up would still benefit the book. I would happily continue reading the series though, and enjoyed the secondary characters who are likely to start playing larger roles in upcoming books.

I received a digital ARC of the book for review.

[Roz · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent crime story and I liked the idea of the first female sheriff. The characters were definitely developed well enough to carry the case and make one wonder. If there is a criticism, I felt that the characters were very black or white. The murdered girl, for example, was so good she would have given a few saints a complex - possibly a few deities as well. The bad guy was purely evil - although those do make the best bad guys so I am not really complaining there. The sheriff was tough, ... You get the idea. Very little duality of character.

[Nila (digitalcreativepages) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good police procedural where the investigation was led by the Sheriff in a Montana Resort town. A teenage girl was found murdered and it would take all their combined efforts to ID her. Many suspects and few good twists did add to the plot. Nicole and her team worked hard. But the characters seemed a bit shallow, but I didn't mind that as I just wanted to get to the killer. Maybe the next book would be far spicier.

[Virginia Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Cold to the Bone" is a first-rate beginning to author Emery Hayes' suspenseful crime-procedural series, "A Nicole Cobain Mystery". Former Denver homicide detective Nicole Cobain left big-city life behind to evade her abusive, dominating husband, Benjamin Kris, and start life anew. She and her young son, Jordan, settled in the small ski resort community of Blue Mesa, Montana, which was located in Glacier National Park and was bordered to the North by Canada. After serving six years in local law enforcement, she was the first woman to have been elected as the Sheriff of Toole County. Working to solve the murder of a young girl whose father is involved with producing a new drug for a major pharmaceutical company becomes increasingly complex, with the girl's family acting in a strange, suspicious manner. The case takes on a nightmarish quality when Nicole's ex-husband, Benjamin, who has his own evil agenda, is also connected to the drug company. Nicole must fight to protect her son and the good life the two of them have made in Blue Mesa, but she must also do her sworn duty and find justice for a young girl whose life ended in a frozen, unfeeling landscape. I very much enjoyed "Cold to the Bone"--the characters are well-drawn, the setting is appropriately remote and forbidding, and the investigative work is excellent. The lead character is very appealing, and I look forward to more entries in the "A Nicole Cobain Mystery" series.

Book Copy Gratis Crooked Lane Books

[Kathy Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This first book in the Nicole Cobain series begins with the murder of a teenager who is vacationing in the Montana mountains. Sheriff Cobain is the first female sheriff but her big city experience in Denver makes her a good fit for the job. She left Denver in order to get away from a man and to raise her son in a safer environment.

However, the man she left has finally come to find her and he has revenge on his mind. Benjamin has improved himself from a low-level drug dealer to a broker in much more lucrative and high-powered deals. The victim's father is in negotiations to sell his important medical discovery in an auction which has drawn the attention of the biggest pharmaceutical companies. Some of them want his discovery in order to suppress it and others want it for personal reasons.

While Nicole and her officers are trying to discover who murdered Beatrice Esparza and discovering quite a few suspects, Benjamin is getting closer and closer to making his dreams of revenge come true.

The story was tense and fast-paced. I liked that Nicole had something of a questionable background herself. I liked the interesting connections between the various drug companies and all the politics around a discovery that could change medicine.

Fans of medical thrillers would be a good audience for this one.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new author with a new series for me to follow. Book one in this series, and what a fantastic book to start a series with. The book takes place in Montana in cold, snowy December. (Living in Minnesota I felt the author’s description of the cold and snow was perfect). The lead character is Nicole and she is the sheriff of Toole County. She is strong, dedicated, and determined. I immediately liked her and enjoyed discovering a new, strong female leading character.
The book is filled with action and greed. The big pharmaceutical industry is a huge part of this story and I wasn’t surprised to read of their greed to make sure the cost of medicines remain high. I did learn some disturbing things about that industry.
I really enjoyed this book and especially the author’s style of writing.

[Jaime H · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of female detective books, Cold to the Bone is right up my alley. Set in a small Montana town with a low crime rate- a murder wasn't something expected. A dead teenage girl and the search for her killer sets Cold to the Bone on a path to find out who and why was this 14 year old girl murdered. The pace was good, the case intriguing and suspenseful. I can't wait for more in this new series

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid police procedural with a likable main charter that would have benefited from dropping the ex from the story completely. He detracted from a good mystery. I look forward to more from this author.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this book as a Christmas gift. Good writing and interesting story. First in the series and looking forward to the next. Nicole Cobain the first female sheriff of Toole County, Montana. Course it's winter time in Montana and we have a young girl murdered on Lake Maria. Lots of tourist and one killer.

[Sharon Grow · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a young girl is found murdered, her death opens up a major case for Sheriff Nicole Cobain. After leaving Denver, with her young son, Nicole has risen through the ranks to become the sheriff. Nicole questions the girl’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. Esparza, and knows that they are hiding something about their daughters’ death. Dr. Esparza has been working on a new drug that may change the world. Was this the reason his daughter was killed? And if so, why? In addition to the investigation, Nicole is concerned with the sudden appearance of the father of her son. With his past history of selling drugs, he must be involved somehow. I enjoy a police procedural story, especially with a female law enforcement lead, but the extensive amount of dialog in the questioning of the family seemed to slow the story down. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicole Cobain, a former police officer and now sheriff of Toole County, Montana, is investigating the death of a young girl at a lake in the middle of winter. Nicole and her young son live here in hopes that Nicole’s ex and the father of her child, stays away from them. The young girl that died was involved in a medical test that her father was conducting and big pharma execs are competing for the rights to the research. Somehow Ben, Nicole’s ex-husband, is involved in the bidding and shows up on the scene. What follows is a harrowing rush to solve the crime and protect Nicole and her son from Ben. This was a page turner.

If you like a good Whodunit you will enjoy this book.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

[Myreadbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would especially like to thank Crooked Lane Books and the Netgalley website for allowing me to read this book.

It all begins when a teenage girl brutally kills herself on icy Lake Maria. But this murder quickly turns into a medical transaction with high stakes and heartbreaking consequences.

Eight years earlier, Nicole was fleeing her job as a homicide detective in Denver in an attempt to save her son and herself. After answering a recruitment ad, she is elected sheriff six years later. Except that the famous Benjamin Kris reappears in her life.

He is her son's father, and he is waiting for a large payment and may well be the ideal suspect in her investigation.

A book read in one sitting, so much so that I was hooked on the story, so gripping, addictive, captivating, full of suspense and twists and turns and endearing characters.

[Denice Langley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book in a new series introduces us to the main characters and shares their background, setting up the basis for a continuing story. Emery Hayes has introduced us to a strong lead character. A young mother who has settled into a community, becoming the sheriff, only to have her son's abusive father come to complicate their lives. The death of a teenager serves as the main focus in the Cold to the Bone story. As our young sheriff works through clues to solve the girl's death, she will face criminal activities from unexpected sources that will test her skills while protecting her son from the danger of too much contact with his father. A great start to what I hope will be a long series.

[Sue Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this exciting new book

i love a story that has snow in it...and i wasnt disappointed...this is about a village somewhere in america with snow and skiing and family resort

but a young girl is found dead...murdered in the snow by the lake amongst the trees..on christmas day....
her family dont report her missing ....

and so the investigation begins...

there is also another story with the sheriff and her son which hints at domestic violence and child abuse

on the whole though this story i found to be very interesting and kept my attention right to the end...and i will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors works

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why didn't 14 year old Beatrice's family report her missing? She's found in the snow on Christmas Day. Turns out, her father was using her as a test subject for what he hopes will be a cure for cancer. Sheriff Nicole Cobain, who left Denver and moved to Montana to escape her ex, finds she's got a mess on her hands. Especially when the ex- Bemjamin- shows up. He was a low level drug dealer but now he's somehow moved into brokering deals for big pharma. Nicole's worked hard to hide her past (and keep her son safe) so his appearance now (or anytime) is most unwelcome. This combines some familiar themes with a good lead character in Nicole. Hayes has a nice storytelling style. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A teen is brutally murdered and a medical drama turned deadly throw a small town sheriff into a mix of treachery and greed.

Nicole Cobain moved to Toole County, Montana 8 years ago from Denver, Colorado. She left behind an abusive man who is the father of her son Jordan.

Benjamin is a big crime person who charms people and has now come to Toole for a deal and plans to surprise Nicole and Jordan.

Nicole is dealing with the death of a teenager whose family is being secretive. Trying to unravel the mystery of this girl's death has Nicole on her toes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Plenty of action and twists in the book to keep you hooked until the end.

This is my first book by this author and I was very impressed. I hope there are more Nicole Cobain books in the future.

[Anadarko52 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent police procedural

This novel started off really well with the finding of a body in the cold Montana winter. The principal character is a female sheriff who relocated from a major urban area. All the elements for a great murder mystery are there, but the story gets bogged down with the handling of the investigation, primarily as concerns the deceased’s family. There is also the element of the sheriff’s psychopath ex-husband. There was more that could have been told about him. Finally, the story gets moralistic or political with the element of Big Pharma. In any event, the novel is good but not great. The author has potential.

[Joyce Rawlins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cold To The Bone by Emery Hayes

The brutal murder of a teenager and a deadly medical drama plunge a small town sheriff into a dilemma of treachery and greed in this novel. First female sheriff of Toole County, Nicole Cobain, earned the position through mental and physical grit and is tested when a young girl is found murdered in Lake Maria.

This book was divided into two. Solving the murder and keeping the sheriff’s ex from, harming her soon. The plot was good although most of the characters were unfriendly. It had a very strong ending.

Thank you Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for review.

[Lisa Davison · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this new series, we meet the first female sheriff of Toole Co. in Montana, Nicole Cobain. After making a name for herself as a police detective in Denver, Nicole decided to take her son and move to a small town for a slower pace and to get away from her son's father, an abusive criminal named Benjamin. As Nicole and her team are investigating the murder of a young girl, Benjamin shows up with the intention of making Nicole suffer for everything she did to him. The many twists and turns of the mystery keep you guessing, and the suspense will have your heart racing. It's a good start to the series, and I look forward to seeing what comes next for Nicole.

[Christi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a clean police procedural with a strong female lead. I have to say that I became very fond of the victim and was not happy when the fate was determined. There were several suspects and several confessions, to the point that I didn’t really believe the murderer when it came to light. Thankfully, the author reiterated it later so that I was not confused. The author also wove a sub plot in to the main one to add layers of interest. I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more from this author.

[Laurie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I gave up before the end of the first chapter. The writing was mechanical and flat. Conversation didn’t ring real.

From Chapter 1: ..She rose to her current position as sheriff thanks to gold stars and “several accommodations” “Accommodations??” NO NO NO!!! Where was the editor?

The audiobook narrator had a pleasant enough voice, but she voiced one of the main characters really annoyingly, and it would be difficult to listen to an entire book of that. I am not impressed and will avoid this series.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a beginning Author, I thought she did a decent job. I thought she made the main protagonist a bit too childish. While I understand that there are grown adults that act childish because of the way they grew up, the way she wrote the character just annoyed me.
The police and medical procedures in this book were very well written. She did not get overly detailed and boring, she kept it short, sweet and understandable.
If you’re looking for a bit of light reading, I’d recommend this book.

[Elysa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery by Emery Hayes is not one to forget, The cases needing to be solved by Sheriff Nicole Cobain and her investigators, little do they know the twist and turns! Although the character development was strong, definitely need a sequel to this book.

Thanks to Netgalley, Pub, and Hayes for this oppurtunity.

[Nicola Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an entertaining read - it's a good start to a new series. It's a good police procedural with a strong female lead. Even though the story is a little farfetched, I thought it was well-written and very easy to read.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books & NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

[Aida Alberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emery Hayes has laid the foundation of her new series with a character you will cheer for. The writing is stellar. It starts out with a bang and the action just keeps ramping up until the explosive end. Can't wait for book two if this is an indication of what is in store. Absolutely a must read. Happy reading! #ColdtotheBone #NetGalley

[Janet Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book never really worked for me--plot elements seemed forced and unreal, and what should have been a significant setting was underutilized. Promising, I'll continue reading this author for at least one more book

[Lynn Guelzow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unrealistic plot and vague medical knowledge make this just a so-so read. Good luck to the author on her follow-up books. The protagonist is well-conceived and a worthy detective. Perhaps with more experience, the author will improve her writing and plotting.