TOUCHED BY ICE (Ice Breaker Cold Case 4) by Cynthia Eden

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 28, 2023

Cold case. Hot romance.

Aiden Warner has power, fame, and money. What he doesn’t have? Answers. His twin brother vanished when Aiden was a teen, and the mystery has haunted Aiden for years. He will do anything, pay any price, to learn the truth. Luckily for Aiden, there is one woman out there who can help him solve the mystery from his past.

She deals with the dead.

Dr. Antonia “Tony” Rossi has a reputation—she finds the dead. She’s an expert when it comes to discovering remains and identifying the deceased. Someone has to give justice for the missing, and she’s made it her life’s work to be the voice for those who can’t speak. Tony’s a loner by nature, uncomfortable with attention, and definitely not a woman who seeks the spotlight.

He thinks he can buy her. Newsflash, he can’t.

Aiden is used to getting what he wants, and what he wants now? Antonia. He figures he can pay her to do the job, and the case will be closed but…he’s wrong. About her. About himself. From the minute he meets her, Aiden is obsessed. He expected Antonia to be brilliant, but he doesn’t expect the hot surge of desire he feels for her.

Someone will kill to keep the past buried.

But now Aiden’s attention has a killer focused on Antonia, too. Someone who will not allow her to uncover any of his dark secrets. And if he has to, he will bury Antonia so deeply that no one will ever find her again.

It’s not the past that can destroy you. It’s the present.

When Antonia is threatened, Aiden realizes that nothing matters but protecting her. For years, his heart has been locked away, but she’s brought him to life again. He will not lose her. Will he fight for her? With everything he has. Would he kill to protect her? In a heartbeat.

Together, Aiden and Antonia will hunt for the murderer who has been hiding and waiting to strike again. The dead are going to speak, and Antonia will make sure she gives them justice.

•••••

REVIEW: TOUCHED BY ICE is the fourth instalment in Cynthia Eden’s contemporary, adult ICE BREAKER COLD CASE romantic suspense series focusing on the men and women who work for Ice Breakers, an online team of crime solvers whose goal is to solve cold cases. This is forensic anthropologist Dr. Antonia ‘Tony’ Rossi, and thirty-two year old, billionaire casino owner/businessman Aiden Warner’s storyline. TOUCHED BY ICE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: For fans of Cynthia Eden, there is a slight cross over with the author’s Wilde Ways series.

Told from third person perspective TOUCHED BY ICE follows the building romance and relationship between forensic anthropologist Dr. Antonia ‘Tony’ Rossi, and thirty-two year old, billionaire casino owner/businessman Aiden Warner in the wake of Aiden hiring our heroine to find his twin brother. Aiden’s twin brother Austin has been missing, and presumed dead, for close to fifteen years, and Aiden has been desperate to uncover the truth. Dr. Rossi’s reputation for ‘finding’ the dead has drawn Aiden to the woman with whom he will fall in love but Tony isn’t interested in taking on any more cases until Aiden reveals he knows more about Tony than she could have ever imagined. Tony will agree to help locate Aiden’s missing brother but all does not go well when our couple are targeted the closer they get to uncovering the truth. What ensues is the building relationship between Tony and Aiden, and the potential fall-out as Tony begins to suspect everyone in Aiden’s life, including the man, himself.

Aiden Warner lost everything the day his twin brother Austin went missing but the amount of blood and destruction in the family’s cottage meant something bad had happened to his brother. As Aiden and Tony begin investigating the who, how and why, it becomes apparent that several of the locals know more than they are willing to say. The murder of a local real estate agent, and the poisoning of Tony’s dog proves that our couple have been targeted, possibly by the same person or persons responsible for killing Austin Warner.

The relationship between Aiden and Tony begins acrimoniously as Tony refuses Aiden’s attempts to convince her to help. Tony is overwhelmed in the wake of a recent discovery, and finding another young body brings up too many memories of crimes long ago but Tony knows that Aiden will never rest until his brother’s body is found, and in this Tony is hoping the truth will bring some peace to the man with whom she is falling in love. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

The secondary and supporting characters include Aiden’s right hand man and security specialist Smith Sanders; as well as police chief Barrett Montgomery, veterinarian Levi Russell, his assistant Sharon, and real estate agent Melanie Rodgers. We are reintroduced to Memphis Camden (Falling for the Ice Queen 2), and his brother Saint Camden (Ice Cold Saint 3). Smith Sanders story is next in TRAPPED IN ICE.

TOUCHED BY ICE is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, greed and addiction, forgiveness and love. The fast paced, action packed premise is captivating and intriguing; the romance is seductive and provocative; the characters are desperate, determined and dynamic.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Frozen in Ice
Falling for the Ice Queen
Ice Cold Saint

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy