Ice Cold Liar (Ice Breaker Cold Case 14) by Cynthia Eden-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 24, 2025

She is beautiful, charming, and guilty as sin.

Ebenezer “Eb” Jones is in the mood for deadly payback. He knows that Naomi Romano killed his friend and former CIA partner. The cops suspected her, the DA wanted to charge her, but the woman was far too smart for them. She slipped away from justice. Or so she thinks. He’s about to make certain that she pays for her crimes. A life for a life. He will absolutely wreck her life. Promise made.

He’s dangerous, conniving, and cold-blooded to the core.

Lying is second nature to Eb. Pretending to be someone else is as easy as breathing. So he works to slip past Naomi’s guard. To learn her secrets. And he will learn those secrets. Even if he has to seduce them all from her beautiful, lying lips. Does that make him cold-blooded? Guilty as charged. It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

Another enemy is stalking his prey.

Eb isn’t the only predator who wants justice. Naomi is being hunted, and Eb has to step in and shield her from a series of deadly attacks. Everywhere she turns, Naomi faces danger. He pretends to be the good guy, the savior that she needs. She breaks before him, desperate for help, and Eb realizes the woman is either one very fine actress…or maybe she’s not the killer he thought.

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REVIEW: ICE COLD LIAR is the fourteenth instalment in Cynthia Eden’s contemporary, adult ICE BREAKER COLD CASE 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 former CIA operative Ebenezer ‘Eb’ Jones, and Naomi Romano’s story line. ICE COLD LIAR can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual omniscient third person perspectives (Eb and Naomi) ICE COLD LIAR follows in the wake of the murder of Eb’s former CIA partner Hudson Wyatt. Married only a few hours, Hudson Wyatt was found murdered , and his new wife was the prime suspect but there was not enough evidence, and the DA never pressed charges, therefore Ebenezer Jones was determined to get justice for his friend and partner Hudson Wyatt, targeting Naomi Romano himself. From the outset , Ebenezer struggled to trust or believe Naomi’s proclamation of innocence but when our heroine is targeted, Ebenezer become guardian and protector of the woman with whom he is falling in love.

The world building focuses on Naomi’s struggle to prove she is innocent, and Ebenezer’s need to seek justice for the friend whom he lost but all was not as it appeared to be-someone was taking aim at our story line heroine. With the help of Ice Breaker investigators Hunter McQueen and Memphis Camden, Eb is determined to uncover the truth but a deep dive asks more questions than answers, and our couple find themselves at the mercy of a potential killer.

The relationship between Eb and Naomi begins acrimoniously as Eb is single-minded in his need to take down our story line heroine but, once again, there is something about Naomi that calls to his heart, and his inability to trust, threatens the life of the woman with whom he is falling in love. The $ex scenes are passionate and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of energetic, dynamic and often questionable secondary and supporting characters from law enforcement, organized crime, and an embattled MC including Ice Breaker agents Memphis Camden, and former US Army Ranger Hunter McQueen; CIA Handler Madeline Desalt; and Detective Clark Anderson. The requisite evil has many faces.

ICE COLD LIAR is a story of secrets and lies, power and control, betrayal and vengeance, obsession and murder, acceptance and love. The character driven premise is dramatic and edgy but I suspected the who and why of the guilty party(s) early on; the romance is spirited; the characters are stubborn and determined.

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
Cruel Ice
Forbidden Ice

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy