I've been meaning ot read a book by Tessa Wegert for a while, and when I saw that stunning cover I knew it had to be this one.
I do love a mystery (or horror) story set at snowy landscapes or in the middle of the woods. Something about it fits perfectly to a murder or disappearing mystery.
And I'm quite surprised that I did enjoy this book. I've never read anything else from this 'series' and I usually don't like detectives stories.
But this one has such an intriguing plot (also love small communities) and such a cold and snowy atmosphere that it worked for me. Also, it was great that this is not a long book. So there was no significant time to drag on.
Like I said, before this one I had never read a book by this author before, but it'd make sense to recommend this one to whoever has read a book by her in the past and enjoyed it.

I wish I read this when it was snowing. I loved thios book because it was so atmospheric and it was such a good smooth read,

Another great Shana Merchant mystery. Ms Wegert's books just keep getting better each time. While the mysteries are always well-crafted, each one is better than the last. Having lived in Vermont, and now live in the North Country, I especially enjoy the familiar setting of these books. I first met Shana at the Clayton book store, and have enjoyed reading a book series set in our area that portrays it so swell.

I will say that I think it's time to give up the "Bram" story line. It worked well in the previous books as a continuing thread. But he is no longer here to torment Shana. I thought the story line where she thought an old case was linked to Bram and contacted a former co-worker to look into the case was out of place in the book. I found it more of an interruption to the flow of the investigation than interesting. Esp with the "twist" at the end., which seemed a bit contrived.

Overall, I enjoy this series very much and am looking forward to the next one. Thanks to NetGalley for this ACR opportunity.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Easily my favorite of the series. Edge of your seat thriller, almost a locked room mystery considering the island setting. The wintry atmosphere is a character itself. There's enough background from earlier books that you could read this as a stand alone but you'd be missing out on a terrific series with one of my favorite characters. Fingers crossed, this isn't the last we'll see of Shana, Tim and company. Highly recommend.

This is Tessa Wegert’s sixth installment in her Shana Merchant series and I was excited to read this one early. I had read the first three books when they were first published, but it was getting more difficult to continue reading the series through my local libraries. Thankfully one of the libraries had the fourth and fifth books so I was able to read those and get caught up before tackling “The Coldest Case.”

This book was slightly different than the earlier ones. In this book, the present day case is intertwined with one Shana was investigating four years earlier. In present day, a social media influencer has gone missing on a remote island in upstate New York. It’s winter and fewer than 10 people are living on the island. As Shana and her team search for the missing man, the reader learns more about a Jane Doe who had been murdered four years ago.

While this book could, technically, be read as a standalone, I would highly recommend those unfamiliar with Shana or her history to go back and read the previous books. They provide background knowledge that will be useful when reading this book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and hope there’s another book in the series for us to catch up with Shana. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

A great conclusion to a great series! I can't wait to read more by Tessa Wegert. I especially love the book store. ;)

When a social media personality goes missing on a sparsely populated island in the middle of a mostly frozen Saint Lawrence River in the dead of winter, Shana Merchant suspects foul play. But a potential murderer on the loose is not the only danger. The remote location and the deadly nature of the frozen river all create their own threats. The case reminds Shana of a cold case from her past that she decides to revisit.

This is the 6th book in Wegert's Shana Merchant series, and it's my favorite yet. Wegert's plot and prose are as taut as ever. I could not put it down. But the way she weaves the cold case into the current case is incredibly satisfying. Buy this book. You won't be disappointed.

Thank you to Severn House Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

I really enjoy this series. Wegert does a fantastic job bringing the Thousand Islands (an area I have visited on more than on occasion) to life. She manages to find unique ways to incorporate the small-town and even-smaller-island mentality to life in each book, capturing the unique nature of life up north, with a particular emphasis on the environmental challenges. I find this differentiates the series from a lot of other small-town police procedurals/mysteries. It adds an element of originality that I quite enjoy. I also enjoy watching Shana's world expand (and occasionally contract) as she grows into herself and continues to live with the aftermath of her past. This latest installment had a locked-room mystery feel, with a frozen island as the room, and it was eerie and cool at the same time, blending things you'd expect in a whodunit with the harsh realities of extreme weather, the relationship between social media and social isolation, and closed communities. It made for a unique and engaging story!

I loved this book!! The setting was so great, loved the character development. Now I need to read the rest of her books! Will definitely be recommending!

Well honestly I found this book extremely "cold", which I guess works well with its setting. Perhaps not having read any of the previous in the series was part of the problem? But I could not form a connection to the characters and found the writing style cumbersome.
I'll give it a few stars for thrill and action but I just couldn't get into this one (although, I have not read any of the others as mentioned and maybe that would have helped or at least had me ready for the writing).

This was interesting.
It was a bit slow for me in certain places but the overall story was good.
In some places it seemed like there was so much more detail than what was needed and others just kind of glossed over.

If you like in depth mysteries this will be a book you enjoy, I just personally wish it was a little faster paced.

Imagine investigating a deadly crime on a secluded island during the harsh winter where a small group of people overwintering are tight knit and deeply rooted in the Islands history. Imagine trying to break a wall of ice-no pun intended- of solving a murder under those conditions. No one can be trusted, no one is safe, everyone is keeping secrets and it is cold. Bone chilling cold. Yeah, that makes a great story-line.

Author Tessa Wegert does a brilliant job weaving all the senses of seclusion with an apocalyptic feel at times. Blended with psychological elements of the small Island’s community heightens the intensity of how vulnerable everyone is on the Island. This would also be the case for Shana Merchant and her team as they investigate the crime. You experience that with the characters throughout the book-particularly as the situation escalates.

Merchant’s backstory is an interesting one to say the least and this investigation is another test of her mental capabilities in solving the crime. I say this without reading the other books in the series, that is how well Wegert pens a good backstory.
This crime thriller takes dangerous conditions to a whole different level!

Stephanie Hopkins

Slow going to start, but didn’t stay that way luckily. This was my first book by this author and even though it was part of a series I feel it was fine as a stand alone. Loved the ending

I opened this book planning to just take a quick peek and get a feel for the story while planning out my fall reading list. That peek turned into me not coming up for air until I finished the book. This is a chilling, claustrophobic mystery that delighted me as a longtime fan of the series and will also work well as a standalone for new readers.

This 6th entry in the Shanna Merchant series takes her story in a new, fresh direction while also bringing closure to an ongoing story arc from past books. I loved the character growth and progression of Shana and Tim's story, The series feels like it has a lot of gas left in the tank and plenty of stories still to be told.

The Coldest Case is the ultimate binge read for those who love crime fiction with a remote setting and a small community of suspects. Add in a brutal winter setting and a blizzard further cutting our main characters off from the mainland and complicating their investigation, and the atmosphere is perfect to accentuate the tense storyline. This is easily one of my favorite entries in the series, and I'm excited to see where this series goes next.

I love this author and this series in particular. I recommend her to everyone I know! It’s that good. I think this might be my favorite installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for an eARC copy of The Coldest Case by Tessa Wegert.

Honestly, I had 100% bypassed the fact that this book was a part of a series. However, what I will say is that you don't have to start at the beginning to understand what is going on and past cases, etc., as they are backfilled rather well. It was also nice to read a book about some lesser parts of NY, so if you want to visit the Thousand Islands after reading this, you should book your trip.

This was a wonderfully well written mystery that will keep you turning pages until the very end.

Shana Merchant series #5. First of all, I have never read any of the others in the series, but back story was filled in quite effortlessly (no data dumps). There were ties to previous cases, but those turned out to be before the first book in the series as well, so I didn't miss a thing.
Merchant is a very pregnant Senior Investigator in the Thousand Islands who is learning to let her other detectives (like her husband Tim) handle the more physical stuff until after she gives birth. But when a man goes missing on one of the islands in the dead of winter, his partner will only talk to Shana, and Shana has to take the dangerous trip across the ice to the island to find out what's going on. Only a handful of people reside on the island year round, so once missing becomes murdered, the list of suspects are few. But they are diverse, and everyone is behaving in odd ways with motives abounding, so Shana and her crew have their work cut out for them. And it's winter, so no surprise, a storm is coming.
This was nice and twisty. The characters are all well-developed, the secondary characters as much as the primary, complex and distinct. You will not know who to trust. A case from her past comes to play as well, and manages to throw some more wrenches into the works. A very absorbing and exciting read. I will definitely be looking for her previous books.

👀GUESS WHO’S BACK 👀: Shana Merchant Edition

FINALLY the most bad ass Senior Investigator Shana Merchant returns in Book 6 of the series by Tessa Wegert, “The Coldest Case”!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Dangerous (and deathly) winter storms have reached the Thousand Islands and police are called to a small remote island called Running Pines. This island is home to six year round residents who are used to being cut off from civilization and bearing the freezing cold temperatures. This winter they are joined by two new comers (Sylvie and Cary) who are Instagram influencers documenting a year spent on the remote island.

Cary has gone missing while out ice fishing and the neighbours suspect that he has sunk to his death beneath the ice. His wife Sylvie REFUSES to help the police and will not speak to anyone BUT Shana. Shana notices that something is brewing among the island’s residents and it’s obvious that Sylvie isn’t tell her the truth. The clock is ticking as a sinister storm is on its way toward them as they fight to find out answers before Shana and her team get STUCK on the island!

OMG, THIS SERIES 👏!! I am telling you all that this is one of the best thriller series out there! The Thousand Islands setting is beyond perfect and who isn’t a fan of a small town mystery?! If you enjoy gritty police procedurals, fast paced thrillers and MCs haunted by their darkened pasts, then this book (and series) is for you to totally indulge in!

Thank you kindly to @tessawegert @severnhouseimprint @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on November 5, 2024!

A fast paced and twisty mystery set on a secluded island with a limited number of people.
Gripping, intriguing, it made me feel cold in summer.
Enjoyed it and had fun.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

It is always fun to pick up a new Shana Merchant book. This was a Sunday afternoon binge read, completely lost in this fast pace murder mystery. The setting of an isolated island with so much snow and ice was great and amped up the tension.

Shana is. Is 7 months pregnant and easing herself back from physical duty, much to her disgust. But when a witness asks for her especially she can’t refuse. A social media influencer has gone missing Running alone island and his girlfriend wants Shana’s help. At the same time we have a cold case that Shana has never been able to let go come to its conclusion with very surprising results.

If you haven’t read this series you need to change that immediately. Each book I feel can be read as a stand alone but why would you do that when this is such a great series.

Out on November 5th, thanks to Severn House for my advanced copy to read.