A Cold Day in Hell

by Lissa Marie Redmond

Overview

Cold Case Detective Lauren Riley is hired by Frank Violanti, a defense lawyer she’s had heated court battles with in the past, to help clear the name of his godson who’s been accused of murder. The arresting officer is Lauren’s abusive ex-fiancé. Lauren takes on the case, but is she more determined to get back at her ex than find the truth?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781448305698
Publisher:	Severn House
Publication date:	07/01/2021
Series:	A Cold Case Investigation , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Lissa Marie Redmond is a retired cold case homicide detective. She handled a number of high-profile cases and has appeared on numerous television shows including Dateline and Murder by Numbers. The first book in her Cold Case Investigation series, A Cold Day in Hell was published in 2018 by Midnight Ink Books. Her short fiction has appeared in Buffalo Noir, Down & Out: The Magazine, and other publications. A member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers, she lives and writes in Buffalo, NY with her family.

Editorial Reviews

01/01/2018
Buffalo, N.Y., cold case detective Lauren Riley, the heroine of Redmond’s promising first novel and series launch, is also a licensed PI. It’s in that latter capacity that lawyer Frank Violanti, with whom Lauren has tangled in court, hires her. His 18-year-old godson, David Spencer, has been charged with the second-degree murder of Katherine Vine, a customer at the store where he worked. He claims she lured him into her car one night and was still alive when he left her after an hour of wild sex. Lauren is dismayed to learn that the lead detective in the case is her ex-fiancé, the abusive Joe Wheeler, who, after discovering she’s working for Frank, punches her in the face. In contrast, Lauren’s married ex-husband, Mark Hathaway, with whom she’s having an affair, is glad to provide information about the victim and her husband, whom he knows socially. Redmond, a recently retired Buffalo PD homicide detective, keeps everything moving nicely in this well-constructed crime novel, marred only by the cartoonish Joe. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Recommend this one to anyone who loves courtroom dramas where lawyers tear into witnesses like pit bulls. And to anyone hot for a police procedural where tired cops make mistakes but slowly, relentlessly—and with morbid humor—get the job done. Redmond delivers both in one package...The real attraction here is a keyhole view into a world that turns our expectations upside down—a world where a bullying, quasi-fascist cop can be the only one with a handle on reality. Keep your eyes on Redmond, a retired cop who knows how to write."—Booklist

"Redmond, a recently retired Buffalo PD homicide detective, keeps everything moving nicely in this well-constructed crime novel."—Publishers Weekly

"An excellent police procedural combined with a psychological thriller."—Kirkus Reviews

"A Cold Day in Hell is a fine first novel and Lauren Riley is cool new addition to the world of PI and cop protagonists. A retired detective, Lissa Marie Redmond gives it to the reader without the sugarcoating and lifts the veil off how the system really works...or doesn't."—Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times bestselling author of What You Break

"Ex-cop Lissa Redmond has a sure hand with police procedure, which should be no surprise. The joy of A Cold Day in Hell comes from her equally sure hand with storytelling. This is a welcome new voice on the crime scene."—SJ Rozan, bestselling author of Ghost Hero

"Redmond has concocted a well-crafted story with plenty of twists, but more importantly good characterization."—Mystery Scene Magazine

From the Publisher

2017-10-31
A detective's complicated past catches up with her when she investigates a murder.Together with her partner, Shane Reese, Detective Lauren Riley of the Buffalo Police Department has a great record clearing cold cases. Now a hot one is about to change her life. Frank Violanti, a cocky lawyer who's been her enemy in many a court proceeding, begs her to use her PI license to investigate the murder of Katherine Vine, which took place outside of the Buffalo police jurisdiction. His godson, David Spencer, who admits to having had consensual sex with Katherine in her car, parked near the store where he works, shortly before she was strangled with her own scarf, has been arrested for the murder. Since Lauren's two daughters from her youthful first marriage are both in college, she has some time on her hands. Against her better judgment she takes the case, at least in part because the arresting officer is Joe Wheeler. During the short time she dated him after her first husband bailed, she realized that Wheeler was a bad cop who was physically abusive to her. Unchanged by time, he expresses his rage over her interference after the first court hearing by punching her in the face. Although Lauren divorced her second husband, Mark Hathaway, for cheating, their sexual chemistry flares up when they meet again despite Lauren's reservations. After Mark, who runs with the same crowd, tells Lauren that Katherine's wealthy, well-connected husband has been having an affair, she comes up with plenty of information casting doubt on the case against David but also learns a few unsettling facts about his past. Stalked by a furious Wheeler and harassed by the unhappy district attorney, Lauren has all she can do to keep her life together.The first in a planned series by Redmond, a retired police detective, is an excellent police procedural combined with a psychological thriller.

Kirkus Reviews