Cold & Deadly

This author has been on my tbr list a long time with this one getting to my attention. Loving shows like NCIS this one seemed to be right up my road. FBI agent special even Dominic will have his hands full with rookie Ava. They must work together to uncover a serial killer but that will not be all of course. What a thrilling and chilling beginning to a series. This will also have a bit of something to warm you up because of what they will think they need to fight but really they only need to fight the bad guys. Drama filled this one curses along with us strapped in for the duration, at times being like a fast roller coaster. Slap me silly on why I took so long to open one from this author but hopefully won’t be that again.

Ava who is a new FBI agent but knows Van someone who has been her mentor for a long time hasn’t committed suicide. She KNOWS this and can’t hold her tongue when she has the chance to tell her superiors. Van always told her she needed to practice tact but she hasn’t quite made it there yet.

When Dominic, another FBI agent in another unit talks to her because Van used to be his mentor too he can’t help but start feeling things toward her that isn’t supposed to be. He’s not supposed to feel anything towards a woman besides the need to get her into bed and then get her out. He’s definitely not supposed to feel them for someone that’s younger AND a fellow agent.

When they end up having to work together, there’s a fire between them that neither want to address until it’s too big to contain. Will the fire burn out or will someone snuff it out before it’s their time?

On the edge of your seat suspense, didn’t know who was behind it all, kept me guessing, loved it!

A surprise find which I think will lead me into a whole new series.

Special Agent Ava Kanas might be a rookie age but she knows beyond a doubt that her mentor, Van Stamos, did not take his own life. The problem is no one will believe her. After someone starts shooting at the agents at the funeral, Ava makes her beliefs known to the Director, which of course makes her boss look bad. That’s Ava’s biggest problem. She wants to be a team player but she doesn’t have the patience to wade through some of the bureaucracy. They told Ava specifically she cannot investigate Van’s death, but she isn’t going to let a good man’s reputation die with him. She intends to prove that Van’s death was no “accident” while the big bosses try to sweep the whole thing under a rug.

Supervisory Special Agent Dominic Sheridan is Ava’s total opposite. Sheridan is a seasoned agent and his job as a hostage negotiator means he always needs to keep a cool head and be ready to wait things out. Van was also a mentor to Sheridan once upon a time. While he wants to believe Ava that Van did not commit suicide, Sheridan knows that there aren’t always visible signs to give someone away. In fact, he is just getting tired of all the funerals that he has had to attend in the last year…which makes him realize that there have been way too many fatalities from his former FBI Office. But some of those deaths were nature and some were accidents, weren’t they? Could there be a connection? Could someone be targeting FBI agents? Or is Dominic just channeling some of Ava’s desperation to make sense of Van’s death.

Ava and Sheridan start investigating these sudden deaths on their own, even after being warned off by their boss, which might just lead to an amazing break in the case or might mean they lose their jobs.

I have been trying to grab some books from authors that I haven’t read before and sadly, I have been pretty disappointed with the stories I have read so far. This was on sale last month for $.99 (big spender that I am) and the description intrigued me. I decided to give it a try between deadlines and was happily surprised by how gripping the story plot was and how the characters drew me in. We had an interesting underlying story of FBI agents being targeted and while we did have small chapters from the POV of the killer, there really wasn’t much to give away who they were and I found myself quite surprised when we got to the ending. Just like in reality, Van’s death and the possible FBI target (which they weren’t supposed to be investigating) isn’t the only case which Ava and Sheridan need to focus on so we are constantly on the move in this story.

We see the bureaucracy in the FBI at work in the different ways Ava and Sheridan are handled/disciplined by the higher ups in the agency. Ava is a rookie agent from a working class family who always wanted to be an FBI agent. Sheridan is a seasoned agent but he also has a father who is a governor and a godfather who is the President. When things go sideways for them, Ava is threatened with suspension and Dominic is threatened with being reported to internal affairs. Even though no one would have been investigating these suspicious deaths without Ava putting her neck out with the higher ups, but her astuteness is considered a discipline issue for a female rookie. In fact, it is Ava’s ingenuity and her stubbornness that gets the right things happening time and time again.

The only thing I didn’t like is after constantly reminding himself that he was almost like her boss and getting involved with a rookie was inappropriate and would not been good for her career or his, Sheridan still managed a what can you do and they end up getting romantic in a questionably inappropriate place and time. It’s like me telling myself that I shouldn’t eat the chocolate cake, while I am shoving a piece in my face. He tells himself he has more control and hold himself to a higher standard but oops, gives in at the first opportunity regardless of any consequences.

We also meet some other characters who came in to assist when things heat up in the investigation who are from prior novels in the series which I am sure made fans happy and who intrigued me enough to want to read more on them. Surprisingly (not really) it appears that I already have copies of Books 1, 2 and 5 in the Cold Justice series which I must have purchased at some point. Cold & Deadly is the first book in a spinoff series or would be book 11 if considered part of the original Cold Justice series. I am going to pop the other books up in my TBR list and see if the rest of the series can bring as much excitement as this one.

It’s the second book by Toni Anderson that I’ve read and I’m hooked. Very suspensful story that has a lot of strong characters and some family drama as well. So it’s not just big, bad FBI-agents in the hunt.

This is a great series. Each book is interesting and has a great storyline.

Good story. Plenty interesting.

An excellent book and difficult to put down. FBI agents Dominic Sheridan and Ava Kanas try to track down a killer who has a list of FBI agents to eliminate and Dominic is next on the list. The story is face paced, the characters are amazing. I definitely recommend this book.

Great read! Filled with action and suspense make for a thrilling ride. Ava is on the hunt for who she believes killed her mentor and Dominic soon becomes a target in some murderer’s mind. The two work together to figure out the conspiracy and stop the killer. Enjoyed it! 3.5 stars

*****I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book provided by Netgalley******

Absolutely a Spectacular Suspense Romance. I volunteered to read and review through Netgalley a readers copy of Cold and Deadly .
I must say this story is everything you could want in a suspense romance/thriller . It captivated me from the beginning and held my attention all the way through till the end . This story is intriguing and entertaining . It’s full of twists and turns that keep you guessing . Such an action packed pulse pounding story . Dominic Sheridan is a FBI Crisis Negotiator he meets Rookie agent Ava Kanas at the funeral of a close friend and retired fellow agent . Soon it becomes obvious that someone is targeting FBI agents and making them look like accidents or suicides . Ava and Dominic set out to catch the killer with help of some friends . Their attraction makes things more dangerous to themselves , their jobs and definitely their lives . I absolutely love this story . I’m looking forward to reading more from Author . I highly recommend taking the time to read and enjoy this five star read .

Toni Anderson has written another winner. This book introduces the reader to the hostage negotiation division of the FBI. Dominic Sheridan is the seasoned negotiator and Ava Kansas is the rookie FBI newbie who speaks her mind, no matter what the cost. Their worlds collide at the funeral of a former FBI agent and mentor to Ava. His death looks like a suicide, but Ava is convinced he was murdered. Trying to get the FBI brass and Dominic to believe her is a challenge until other agents are murdered or are being targeted. Could someone have a personal grudge against the FBI and be taking revenge? As the story unfolds, that appears to be the case. The plot is action packed, smart, page turning and sizzling as Ava and Dominic fight their feelings of ‘crossing the line’ while tracking down who has put a target on their backs. The reveal is a real surprise. Its a brilliant sequel to the first book in the Cold Justice series: A Cold Dark Place. We meet up with Alex Parker, Mallory Rooney, and Quentin Savage again. Even though this is a standalone, my recommendation would be to read A Cold Dark Place before this book. The two stories merge together beautifully. Toni Anderson has done it again……another winner!!