'Cold Girl' was a debut novel and the first book in what is now a six-book crime series by R. M. Greenaway. I picked it as one of the books for my 'Cold Comfort Reads' challenge because I wanted a book that would take me back to winter in the mountains. 'Cold Girl' certainly delivered on that, the story has a strong sense of place. I could feel the cold and sense the endless woods pressing in in the dark.

I found 'Cold Girl' to be a strange but compelling story. The story is framed around an RCMP investigation into the disappearance of a local woman in a rural BC town but it is written less as a whodunnit and more as an exploration of the character, motivations and limitation of two of the RCMP officers investigating the case and to display the lives of a small group of friends in their local habitat.

I loved the writing. R. M. Greenway has a gift for taking the reader right inside the main characters' heads without dropping into the first person. After a couple of paragraphs of sharing a character's thoughts, I had a clear view of who they are and some empathy for their situation.

She uses this talent mostly to take us inside the minds of the two investigators, neither of whom is typical. The RCMP lead, a detective called Leith, is convinced of his own mediocrity. He's a plodder who knows he can't see the big picture but who gets results by working the details rigorously. He has an ambition to move to a homicide unit in Vancouver but doubts that he has the political savvy to get there. Dion, one of the Constables assigned to help with the case, is not who he seems to be. Even he is not sure who he is anymore. He is recovering (probably recovering - he's not sure how to tell) from a brain injury that has turned him from a hotshot detective to a man who has to take notes to remember the names of his colleagues but who still has moments of deep insight and an uncanny knack for ending up at the centre of things.

I enjoyed seeing the case from the eyes of these two men and seeing them misunderstand and clash with each other.

The secondary characters - police chief, an ambitious but ruthless local constable and band members from the missing woman's band, are all well drawn. I felt as though I was meeting people not just suspects or plot devices.

The plot surprised me a few times. I didn't see the ending coming but I believed in it when I got there. What I liked most was that the people powered the plot. This investment in the people meant that R. M. Greenaway could give a realistic portrayal of how much of a grind an investigation can be without becoming dull.

It looks as though future books also feature Leith and Dion, although, based on how the first book ended, I'm not entirely sure how that will come about. I'm going to read the next book in the series, 'Undertow' to find out.
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3.5 Stars

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

A coming singer goes missing. Has she fallen prey to the serial killer who's at work in the region, or did something completely else happen.

For the biggest part this was an interesting detective story. The local police itself has a lot of problems, some of which didn't get enough closure at the end. Speaking about the ending, it left me very confused and I wanted to have another book to read exactly what is going on with Dion and what he's getting at at the end.

Although it might not have been the most original of stories, it was a very pleasant read and many of the characters were interesting. The big twist was not really a big twist in my opinion but I didn't mind. It worked. I would like to see where exactly the story is going from here in a next book.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I applied for a copy of this book as I live in Northern BC (although not that far north) and always enjoy a read that takes place at a location I am familiar with. The book was much better than I had hoped! A good, suspenseful story with great characters. It is a 'meaty' read. Highly recommended. ( )

Review below

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1417674738 ( )

Death and darkness in Northern BC

A missing singer and a killer dubbed the 'pickup killer' already having claimed three lives.
A complex, edgy and dark read with some moments of unexpected rays of light. Featuring a cast of the lost and found. Lost on their path and found in many other ways. Of being on the brink, of trusting and not trusting feelings. Of friendships and family--working together and gone awry.
Happenings as stark as the surrounding country of northern British Columbia--beyond Port Rupert, towards Hazleton before Smithers, a four hour drive away complete with logging roads and mountains in the depth of winter. (I looked at a map to get a further understanding of the area and distances. By the way, there's a very good reason why most of the map is white! Having flown into Port Rupert and caught the Marine Highway ferry north I do understand the isolation and 'tyranny' of distance.) The writing really pulled me in as the chill of the landscape settled into my bones.
Seen through the eyes of two different RCMP officers; a recovering injured big city detective, now a cop in the small western Canadian community of Smithers and the lead detective from Prince Rupert.
Dion, whose head injury has left gaps in his communication and thought abilities, but who's intuition sometimes cuts clearly through the clouds of fog, and David Leith, who has performance anxiety when Detective Sergeant Bosko from the Serious Crime Unit, joins the team investigating the disappeared 'hillbilly princess,' Kiera Rilkoff whose star was on the rise.
The behaviours of the rugged small town inhabitants come under the microscope as the team race to find the singer, as do the prejudices and behaviours of the various members of this task force, as they come together.
A complex and fascinating crime story.

A NetGalley ARC ( )