A retelling of the rather common story of rather desperate couple comes across suitcase of money in sketchy circumstances and makes increasingly poor decisions attempting to hang onto their newfound wealth which has come with baggage attached.

Whilst it doesn't add anything new to a pretty common story line for the genre, it is a pretty entertaining retelling of such. The book is an easy and fast read at a mere 273 pages.

If there's one thing I took from the story it's that it is not advisable to make deals with religiously fanatic meth addicts, oh, and also take advice from locals when they give you road directions.

Whilst I wouldn't say its worth seeking, out if you do come across it, it's not a bad way to spend a couple of hours relaxing. ( )

Every once in awhile I'll come across a novel that seems like it may have been easy to write. It's usually short, written very plainly, with a tricky plot and not a lot of deep knowledge needed in any particular subject. 'The Cold Kiss' is like that. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice, tight affair that was engaging enough for me to finish in a day, but the prose is very straightforward, there's no real character development to speak of, the dialogue is fairly boring, but the plot is strong with very few holes. All-in-all, John Rector will never be mistaken for Elmore Leonard, but it's a credible start to a hopefully long career writing sharp mystery/suspense novels.

I won't go into detail on the plot- a guy and his girlfriend are driving to Reno to start a new life, they meet a guy who buys a ride from them, it turns out to be a really bad decision on their part, and many complications ensue. As mentioned, it's nice and short and it'll hold your interest. I recommend it and look forward to getting deeper into his catalog.

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All Nate and Sara want is a new life in a new town, away from the crime and poverty of their past. So, after being approached at a roadside diner by a man offering $500 for a ride to Omaha, they wonder if their luck might be changing.
At first it seems like easy money, but within a few hours the man is dead.
Now, forced off the road by a blizzard and trapped in a run-down motel on the side of a deserted highway, Nate and Sara begin to uncover the man's secrets. Who he was, how he died, and most importantly, why he was carrying two million dollars in his suitcase.
Before they know it, Nate and Sara are fighting for their lives, and in the end, each has to decide just how far they are willing to go to survive.
The Cold Kiss is an everyman psychological thriller that pits a young couple against moral corruption, greed, betrayal, and love. More simply, for two characters who may have used up all their chances, it's the classic final trip down the dark tunnel that might lead to heaven, but drags them through hell. This is A Simple Plan meets The Getaway, with a pulse-pounding plot and a twist ending.


My first John Rector book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Such a simple idea, ordinary people making bad decisions that end in tears and much worse. Well written, tightly plotted with great characterisation, it is the kind of book you read between your fingers saying "No! Please don't do that...." Great entertaining read.
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Audiobook. A good thriller must have several things going for it to keep me entertained: I must care about one or more of the characters; I have to want to find out what happens in the end; and it has to be reasonably well written. If the characters are relatively normal people, i.e., don’t have the superhuman powers so common in some thrillers today, that's a plus. My crap-detector swings into overdrive when our hero manages to take on twelve bad guys with one six-shooter and gets all of them. Sometimes two criteria out of three works; sometimes not. Cold Kiss meets all three.

This book reminded me so much of A Simple Plan (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39543741) by Scott Smith. Nate and his fiancé find themselves driving into a blizzard on their way to Reno to get married. At a rest stop they meet a man, obviously ill, who offers them $500 to drive him there also as his car needs some work. They agree but as the snow worsens they are forced to stop at a motel in the middle of nowhere with heat but no power. They discover the man has been shot, and, he has a suitcase full of money. One thing leads to another and soon the man is dead, the motel’s handyman is suspicious, the snow is worsening, and everyone is getting greedy.

Paul Michael Garcia reads with a laconic, slow tempo that drives the tension effectively. ( )

This book isn't brilliant but it is a decent read. ( )