Cold to the Bone: A Nicole Cobain Mystery

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.