by Ashley Kalagian Blunt
Publisher: Ultimo Press 2025
Review
by Robyn Pryor
Get ready for the chilling Cold Truth. When I saw the icicles on the cover, one of them dripping blood, I knew I was in for an entertaining read. Cold Truth surpassed my expectations.
The first page set the tone of the story. The protagonist, Harlow Close, had planned to drive home and sit by the fire with Tim Tams and a magazine. “Instead she was gripping the steering wheel with both hands, dread spreading through her gut.” I battled the snow along with Harlow on the first page, and didn’t leave her side until the last.
Desperate to find out what had happened to Harlow’s father, Scott, I powered through the story as quickly as I could. When I finished, I went straight back to the first page and read slowly to savour every word. It’s rare that I read a book twice, but I got just as much pleasure the second time. It gave me a chance to pick up on all the clues I missed in the first reading.
The truth behind the story is indeed chilling. Most of us use social media in some form. It’s a great way to connect. But through Cold Truth and her first book, Dark Mode, Ashley spells out the other, terrifying side of cyberspace. More than ever before, we must do our research, use our powers of rational thinking, and take nothing at face value.
The setting, with its the endless snow and extreme wind chills, was fabulous. I felt like I was in Winnipeg, my own cheeks stinging with frostbite; a huge contrast to the Australian outback where I grew up and the East Coast where I live now. It was hard for me to imagine that people thrive in such conditions when the risk of hypothermia is ever present. Many people from other countries express their fear of visiting Australia with its oppressive heat and dangerous animals. While reading Cold Truth, part of me felt that same fear of Canada, while another part was eager to book the next flight there for a wild and new experience.
The action starts on the first page and ramps up all the way to the end. I loved the way Ashley weaved the bad guys through the story so that I could keep up to date with Scott. But I couldn’t figure out who was behind his disappearance. I worked it out, then changed my mind many times, but the Cold Truth wasn’t revealed until Ashley was ready. Very clever.
When you pick up Cold Truth, be prepared for delicious intrigue and terror. Ashley nailed this.
Publisher’s blurb
When you can fake anything, how do you know what’s real?
Harlow Close has made a career as an influencer uncovering the secrets of Winnipeg, dubbed ‘North America’s strangest city’. The region is renowned for its sub-zero temperatures, dropping to minus 40 degrees – sometimes for months at a time. Yet, it’s not just the frigid winters and geographic seclusion that render Winnipeg peculiar.
When Harlow’s father mysteriously disappears amid a brutal cold snap, suspicions of foul play arise. It’s not like Scott to miss phone calls – and he’s been even more cautious since that time he was catfished by a romance scammer. Unhappy with the pace of the police investigation, Harlow launches her own search, enlisting her sister Blaise’s reluctant help.
As Harlow struggles to uncover what happened to her father, she’s forced to question everything and everyone around her – including herself.