Cruel Ice (Ice Breaker: Cold Case 12) by Cynthia Eden-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 28, 2025

The sins of the father…are coming back to wreck his world.

Make no mistake, Declan Flynn is not a good man. He’s never claimed to be. He’s rich, powerful, dangerous…and, apparently, on someone’s kill list. When he wakes up one night, tied to a chair in a dank basement, Declan is certainly less than pleased—and in a killing mood of his own. Then she appears. His most unlikely savior.

Marley Jones never expected to be the guardian angel to a man most people consider the devil.

But fate is often funny, and she’s in the wrong place at the right time in order to save one very ungrateful and gorgeous billionaire. She’s a low-rent PI, he’s crime royalty (if you believe the gossip) and she may have just stumbled onto the first big case of her career. Now her job is to protect her new client—and in order to do that, she plans to stick to Declan like glue. He’d better get used to having her around. Intimately close.

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REVIEW:CRUEL ICE is the twelfth instalment in Cynthia Eden’s contemporary, adult ICE BREAKER: COLD CASE erotic, romantic suspense series focusing on a group of men and women who work for Ice Breakers, a former online team of crime solvers whose goal it is to solve cold cases. This is billionaire tech businessman Declan Flynn, and junior PI Marley Jones’ story line. CRUEL ICE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from three omniscient points of view including Declan and Marley CRUEL ICE follows in the aftermath of the rescue of Declan Flynn. Upstart PI Marley Jones witnessed a possible abduction outside of a local bar. Following the suspect vehicle, Marley goes in search of the potential victim, and comes face to face with her future in the guise of billionaire tech giant Declan Flynn, the man who was drugged and is meant to die but Marley called law enforcement for help, and Declan was struggling with the possibility of a betrayer or someone from his past. Meanwhile, Marley is targeted in the wake of her new found relationship with our story line hero but Marley is determined to prove she is worthy of protecting the man that she loves.

The world building follows several paths including the heart breaking back stories for both Marley and Declan. Declan is the son of a mobster, a psychotic killer and abuser; Marley is a survivor that has left her a little bit broken.

The relationship between Declan and Marley is one of immediate attraction but Declan is a killer, and struggles with his attraction and need for our story line heroine. Determined to protect Marley, Declan claims Marley as his fiancé, in the face of law enforcement accusations directed at our story line couple. The $ex scenes are provocative and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

The secondary and supporting characters including Declan’s security team : James, Cade and Hunter, as well as Declan’s brother Royal Boudreaux (Brutal Ice 11). We are introduced to Marley brothers, Ice Breaker agents Jacob and Eb Jones. The requisite evil has many faces.

CRUEL ICE is a story of betrayal and vengeance, greed and murder, family and relationships, acceptance and love. The character driven premise is intriguing, dramatic, action packed and detailed; the romance is seductive and fated; the characters are determined, dynamic and twisted.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Frozen in Ice
Falling for the Ice Queen
Ice Cold Saint
Touched by Ice
Trapped in Ice
Forged From Ice
Buried Under Ice
Ice Cold Kiss
Savage Ice
Locked In Ice
Brutal Ice

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy