Cold Pursuit

Black Falls #1

by Carla Neggers

Plunge into the thrills of this classic romantic suspense by New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers.

A prominent ambassador is killed in a suspicious hit-and-run in Washington, DC. Hours later, his stepdaughter vanishes in the mountains of northern New England.

Back in her hometown of Black Falls, Vermont, to do damage control on her career, Secret Service agent Jo Harper is drawn into the search. But her efforts face an unexpected challenge: Elijah Cameron.

With his military training and mountain rescue experience, Elijah knows the unforgiving terrain better than anyone. But he and Jo have been at odds forever—and Elijah believes the missing teenager isn’t just lost…she’s on the run.

Forced to work together, Jo and Elijah battle time and the elements in a race into the unforgiving mountains. The twists and turns awaiting them will take them closer to the explosive truth…and into the sights of a killer.

First published in 2008.

Genres: Romantic Suspense, Romance, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Contemporary, Fiction

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Carla Neggers is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sharpe & Donovan series featuring Boston-based FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan, and the popular Swift River Valley series set in the small, fictional New England town of Knights Bridge. With many bestsellers to her credit, Carla loves to write now as much as she did when she climbed a tree at age eleven with a pad and pen and spun stories perched on her favorite branch.

A native New Englander, Carla and her husband divide their time between their hilltop home in Vermont, a sofa bed at their kids' places in Boston and various inns, hotels and hideaways on their travels, frequently to Ireland.

Find out more and sign up for Carla's newsletter at CarlaNeggers.com.

Reviews

[fleurette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in the right mood for this story.

I really like second chance romance. Although there was surprisingly little romance in this book, if you expect anything else you will be disappointed. Still, there is a lot of tension between Jo and Elijah right from the start. But I cannot say that much space is devoted to their relationship or their feelings. I missed it, but only a little. Also, I'm not sure if I fully understand why they broke up years ago.

Suspense part is very interesting. And the stakes are surprisingly high for a story set in a small mountain town. All of the more important plotlines are resolved at the end, but in the next books the plot of this story will probably be continued.

I liked how strong Jo is. She can handle most situations on her own and doesn't require someone to save her. I'm glad Elijah appreciates her skills and is not trying to protect her. He has a lot of respect for her abilities.

I really liked also the other characters besides the main couple. Someday I will read more books in this series.

[Sherry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Carla Neggers left me disappointed in “Cold Pursuit”. I felt like I was watching a well-known play that was being produced badly. The main characters Elijah Cameron and Jo Harper felt stiff and failed to connect to this reader. The supporting characters even more so, there weren’t many redeeming qualities in this bunch, especially the emotionally uncertain Nora Asher, who should have garnered the readers compassion, did not, at 19 she behaved more like a spoiled 14 year old pre-adolescent, not the young woman she was supposed to be.
The only character that showed more than one dimension was one of the adversary’s; Melanie Kendall. Although a killer, Melanie showed more human emotions than any of the others, her character had depth, sincerity and was well written.
The schematics and the intricacy of this mystery itself is well thought out and complete, it was the characterization that failed to carry this out to completion.
I am a fan of Carla Neggers and will continue to recommend her books…..just not this one….it has simply fallen short of expectations.

[Bea · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a mess. Neggers is hit or miss for me and this was definitely a miss. The best developed character was one of the villains. The hero was a condescending, patronizing ass though he did improve slightly near the end. The heroine was bland. The most interesting characters were the secondary ones. A lot of the story didn't make sense and the romance was a dud as I never felt the attraction between them or believed in it. Neggers did make effective use of the Vermont setting. I'm curious about the overall series arc but I doubt if I'll continue with the series.

[Ariel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This didn't do it for me. I couldn't bring myself to care for any of the characters, and there were quite a few of them. I also really, really disliked Elijah. I don't find jerks appealing. You're over 30, dude. Grow up and learn to communicate.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first exposure to this author, highly recommend her books! Very well written, easy to follow, lots of action, angst, some teenage angst tossed in, and corruption flowing freely.

The story mainly takes place in Black Falls, Vermont with some scenes taking place in Washington, DC. Secret Service, local cops, veteran reporter, and army and SEAL veterans from Afghanistan. Great meetings of the minds. Some romance with a hot scene or two.

4.5 stars and 2 thumbs up.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much romance and not enough action for me. Every couple of pages there was Elijah and Jo going back and forth. I think the premise was a good one, but nothing in my opinion was resolved. It seems this murder for hire group is still at large. Yes, some things were tied up, but Ms. Neggers left you wondering what happened.

I liked some of the ending, but again, too much romance for me. I am giving this 3 out of 5 stars and that is being generous as I almost gave up on this one.

[Julianne Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought Cold Pursuit was well-written, but it just didn't grab my interest or attention. I made myself finish it, but I realized half-way through that I really didn't care about the characters at all. I will probably try one of Neggers' other works, though.

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

With all the back stories, this felt like a sequel to a book I hadn't read. There was a fair amount of action and suspense... though no questions get answered! The ending... there isn't one!

[MostlyDelores · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dry, removed writing style combined with laconic Vermont-dwelling characters left me feeling disintered. Not bad, but not gripping. It should have been gripping.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Described as a Romantic mystery it pits a special ops soldier and a Secret Service officer from a small town in the mountains of Vermont, their home town. High school sweethearts but long apart they return home to find a mystery involving the suspicious death of the soldiers father, an 18 year old troubled girl who runs to the mountains on hearing of the death of her new step father, her real fathers new girl friend after her mother hooks up the stepfather before his death and the activities of a pair of assassins for hire. Winter is coming on and there are storms on the Mountain and troubles in the town. Not a bad read but not quite some previous books that I have read by Neggers.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I'll read anything this author writes, this wasn't my favorite. It was still a good and entertaining suspense for an afternoon read.

[Momma-Bear · Rating 4 out of 5]

She writes with alot of description but the storyline is good. First one I read of her books and I plan to read more.

[Juliana Kulak · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written chick lit. The heroine is a Secret Service Agent who is on leave following being the brunt of a prank by the V.P.'s son. The hero is her ex who is Special Forces and home after a serious injury. They are both in their home town in Vermont in winter and both are competent outdoors survivors. The plot deals with assassins, young people who are running from realities they don't like and the coming together of both.

[Loretta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah... the joys of political intrigue.

[Olivermagnus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Secret service Agent Jo Harper is on administrative leave because the Vice President's son pulled a trick on her and it turned into a viral YouTube video. Her former teenage love, Special Forces Sergeant Elijah Cameron, is back in Black Falls, recuperating from a mission. He's also investigating the suspicious death of his father, seven months ago.

A spoiled teenage girl is spending some time in town working for one of the many characters. After hearing that her stepfather has been killed in a hit and run accident, she grabs her winter survival bag and heads into the Green Mountains of Vermont. But Elijah and Jo aren't the only ones looking for her. The killers responsible for the deaths of both Elijah's father and Nora's stepfather are also on her trail.

We know who the killers are from the beginning even though we don't know why. I thought that added some tension to a book that looked good but that I quickly lost interest in. I recently read another thriller that was similar, but much better.

This book has a lot of characters. I think it's because there are a couple more books in this series and they want to fit them all in at the same time. The main characters had little chemistry and for a book that was tagged romantic suspense, very little romance. I didn't care about their past or their future. One of the things I thought so bizarre was the viral video. Jo's colleagues all turn their backs on her, refusing her calls and putting her on suspension for essentially grabbing the VPs son by the ear and yelling at him because she reacted to a pretend gun threat. I just didn't see it.

When the most interesting character is the killer I feel like the book is in trouble. I've read and enjoyed other books by this author, but I just can't recommend this one.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has all the trademark Neggers skill of making the reader feel the simmering tension right away, and maintaining that tension through 3/4 of the book, when it explodes into action, before she brings you down, calms and soothes you in the last few pages before you say goodbye. As with many of her romantic suspense, this one is heavy on the suspense though the romance is always there, just under the surface. She has a unique ability of making me root for the couple and yet more vested in them solving the mystery and making it to a place where they can explore or develop a relationship. Though many of the Harpers and Camerons are prickly, they are all believable and likeable and make me look forward to revisiting this series. Black Falls seems to be a fairly tight, small community but everyone has their secrets and their foibles. If everyone got along all the time, it wouldn't feel so real. For example, you can tell that everyone cares about Devin and wants to help him through his teenage angst, even though he pushes everyone away, lies and deceives them, and is accused of theft. I hope that we'll see more of him and his personal development in future installments to this series, along with the Harpers and Camerons.

[Jeannine Wickliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Falls, Vermont is normally a very quiet area. It is a haven for hikers and leaf peepers, but now things have changed. The day that a U.S. Ambassador dies in a hit and run accident in DC, his 18 year old step daughter takes off into the mountains around Black Falls. At first no one is really worried because she knows what to do, but then things start to get a little strange. Thankfully Elijah Cameron is back home in Black falls and he can use his military training to try to find her. Also Jo Harper, Secret Service agent is also in Black Falls, due to viral video of her grabbing the VP's 16 year old sone and reading him the riot act for a prank. These two are now drawn into a web of mystery and they each reach out to friends to find out if something is really going on and if even the death of Elijah's father is involved in it. There a lot of twists and turns and this will keep you going from the start.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad to finally be done with this book. The story itself wasn't bad- there was definitely a lot of potential there- the writing style just lacked flow. And the character voices all seemed to be the same.

Everyone had a sarcastic wit, which made it difficult to tell who was speaking until they were named. That was definitely something that bothered me.

You could tell this book was written by a former journalist. It was very dry and lacked a creative voice.

I think a different author would've been able to do this story justice.

With all the twists and turns, this should've been a much easier read.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secret Service agent Jo Harper is home in the mountains of Black Falls, Vermont after an embarrassing incident involving the vice-president's son. When the step-daughter of a murdered ambassador goes missing, Jo joins the search, which places her right in the line of fire from Elijah Cameron-hometown boy, military training, mountain rescue experience, and ex-boyfriend. Will the two be able to put aside their differences and work together to find the missing teen? And why does Elijah believe the girl isn't just lost, but on the run?

[Sami · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book seems like a romance mystery from the synopsis, I would want to notify readers (or want-to readers) that this book is a romance mystery but with a large emphasis on romance, more so than the mystery part. It was a good book overall, but with my expectations of a mystery coming into it, I can not ignore the fact that I was a little disappointed in the amount of romance in the story versus the amount of actual mystery. I feel like the romance was actually the star of the show while the mystery, while somewhat prominent, was shoved to the side.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense, fast paced suspense. Jo and Elijah were first loves when they were in high school but their parents pushed them apart. Now they are both back in their small town in Vermont. Jo to cool down after an embarrassing video surfaced of her reaming out the son of the Vice President. Elijah is healing from nearly dying in Afghanistan…but there is something else happening in their beloved mountains…killers are nearby.

[Karen Haaser · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disjointed, unresolved

I found myself having to go back and re-read the previous chapter to figure out what was going on and it still didn’t always make sense. There was never any explanation for Nora’s distrust, how the VP’s son got involved and why, why Grit and Martel were involved/connected, who the ‘master mind was and why all those people were killed. I’m not motivated to even buy the sequel which is probably set up to follow.

[Sharon Gallup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carla did again another outstanding writing. her mysteries novels leave you wanting more. a govt secret service agent has reprimanded a governor's son for a prank he had played on her while she was protecting him. She was put on leave so she went back to her home town.
while home she finds something is going on in her home town and she decided to find what was going on that was causing disappearances, death and anger among the town and relatives.

[Terri Borkgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book, the first in a series by Carla Neggers.Jo Harper returns to her hometown in Black Falls Vermont and is brought face to face with her first love While she's seeking damage control for her career, she and Elijah Cameron get pulled into an assassin's attempts to assassinate a group of fellow citizens and both risk their lives to make sure they survive.

[Ferne (Enthusiastic Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carla Neggers is well-known for her romantic suspense novels. Some of the novels are more suspense than romance and then this one is definitely more romance than suspense. I enjoyed it. Although I would define it as romantic fantasy of high school sweethearts and 15 years later both are single, still in love with one another, and no encumbrances of former/current spouse and/or child(ren).

[Reggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of the book was a bit confusing but I stuck with it and was rewarded with a pretty good story. Good ending with the HEA for Jo and Elijah but would have liked answers to the assassins network. Maybe that will come in future books. Still worth the read/listen.

[JoAnn Schaltenbrand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading

Great reading about Elijah and No. Elijah returns home after being injured in service and his father during. Jo is Secret Service back in Black Falls on leave but things are not what they seem. People are dieing and they need answers.

[Mary Cassidy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this out from the large print section of the library because it looked like an interesting mystery and the Vermont connection. Too out there for my taste. I especially don't much care for totally amoral people as villains and silly sex scenes. Won't read more fromher.

[Danm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I wasn't in the mood to read. Either that, or I need something true or very unique.