Cold & Deadly
4 Stars

Rookie FBI agent Ava Kanas is convinced that her recently deceased mentor was murdered. Yet none of the higher-ups are willing to entertain the idea until a sniper attack results in the death of another agent. Now Ava joins forces with hostage negotiator Dominic Sheridan to get catch a predator who has the FBI in their sights.

Series note: This is the first book in the Cold Justice spin-off series focusing on a new set of characters. Nevertheless, characters from the original series play significant roles and as such, it is recommended that readers begin with [b:A Cold Dark Place|49987667|A Cold Dark Place (Cold Justice, #1)|Toni Anderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563821948l/49987667._SX50_SY75_.jpg|40351596]

An action-packed suspense plot and an engaging romance.

Ava is a rather prickly heroine. Despite her strength and intelligence, she has a chip on her shoulder and finds it difficult to trust others. This is problematic for a fledgling FBI agent as her impulsive actions and imprudent comments often get her into trouble.

Dominic is the exact opposite. As a member of the Crisis Negotiation Unit, he is always calm, collected, and in control except when it comes to Ava. They have great chemistry and it is entertaining to see the stoic agent discombobulated by his feelings.

The suspense plot is intense and exciting. There are several nail-biting moments and the ending is particularly satisfying. Although there are some good red herrings, it is possible to figure out the identity of the villain by paying careful attention.

Overall, a solid beginning to the spin-off and I look forward to reading the next book, which takes place in an uncommon setting - Indonesia.
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A great read with quite a lot of action and strong characters. However, the mystery wasn't so unguessable(at least not in the second half) even though the action kind made it up for me. The romance was sort of a slow-burn (but not too slow, mind you). The writing style had me engrossed. All in all, it was a satisfying kinda read and I'll definitely be trying more books by Toni Anderson. ( )

Cold & Deadly is the first novel in the Cold Justice: The Negotiators series by Toni Anderson.

Plot:
Ava Kanas always wanted to become an FBI agent and she just became an agent. When the one guy who has always helped and mentored her along the way dies, Ava is convinced that there is more to it. But nobody seems to believe her – until there is an attack at the funeral service. It is there that Dominic Sheridan, experienced hostage negotiator and friend of the deceased, starts to believe that Ava might have a point. As the two start to investigate, they realize that there might be a target on their own backs. And things get more complicated still when they admit their growing attraction to each other.

Cold & Deadly isn’t the kind of thing I usually read. While I definitely like romance novels, crime thrillers are not so much my thing. But this was included in a free set of romantic suspense novels I downloaded a while ago, and I thought I’d give it a go. For it not being my cup of tea, it worked pretty well, but overall it didn’t quite win me over.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2021/11/19/cold-deadly-toni-anderson/ ( )

A great read with quite a lot of action and strong characters. However, the mystery wasn't so unguessable(at least not in the second half) even though the action kind made it up for me. The romance was sort of a slow-burn (but not too slow, mind you). The writing style had me engrossed. All in all, it was a satisfying kinda read and I'll definitely be trying more books by Toni Anderson. ( )

Cold Justice - Crossfire: FBI Romantic Suspense Book 1