The Cold Kiss, John Rector
The Cold Kiss, John Rector
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The Cold Kiss

Author: John Rector

Narrator: Richard Powers

Unabridged: 7 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/06/2010

Synopsis

All Nate and Sara want is a new life in a new town, away from the crime and poverty of their past. So when they are approached at a roadside diner by a shady hitchhiker offering $500 for a ride to Omaha, they wonder if their luck might be changing. At first it seems like so much easy money—but within a few hours the man is dead.Now, forced off the road by a blizzard and trapped in a run-down motel on the side of a deserted highway, Nate and Sara begin to uncover the man’s secrets: who he was, how he died, and most importantly, why he was carrying two million dollars in his suitcase. Before they know it, Nate and Sara are fighting for their lives. In the end, each has to decide just how far they are willing to go to survive.The Cold Kiss is an everyman psychological thriller that pits a young couple against moral corruption, greed, betrayal, and love. For two characters who may have used up all their chances, it’s the classic final trip down the dark tunnel that might lead to heaven but drags them through hell.

About John Rector

John Rector is a prize-winning short story writer and author of the novels The Cold Kiss (optioned for a feature film now in development), and The Grove. He currently lives in Omaha, Nebraska.

About Richard Powers

Richard Powers has published thirteen novels. He is a MacArthur Fellow and received the National Book Award. His book, The Overstory, won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Paul on September 11, 2017

GENRE FICTION VS. LITERARY FICTION Readers of genre fiction have got one big advantage over readers of literary fiction. They know that in every one of their novels something happens. Whereas in literary fiction trying to find an actual event is like looking for Amelia Earhart. I refer to Thomas Bern......more

Goodreads review by Richard on January 11, 2016

Yep. This guy John Rector is the real deal. I very recently enjoyed his novella, Lost Things: A Novella, and now I LOVED his second novel, The Cold Kiss. He writes the kind of thrillers that I enjoy the most: dark suspense stories featuring ordinary people caught in extraordinary situations, mak......more

Goodreads review by James on December 30, 2010

Nate and his pregnant girlfriend Sara are driving from Minnesota to Reno, seeking a new life for themselves and their baby. On a snowy night in Nebraska, they see a man in a cafe who is obviously very sick. Sara takes pity on the man and when the stranger offers them $500 for a ride into Omaha, the......more

Goodreads review by jennyliest on December 25, 2022

Sehr spannend & kurzweilig, passt perfekt in den Winter 👌🏻 Könnte ich mir auch sehr gut als Film vorstellen! Das Ende war allerdings wirklich fies … 🙈😅......more

Goodreads review by Kemper on August 22, 2016

Noir in Nebraska?? Yes, and it’s pretty damn good noir, too. Nate and Sara have loaded up their car and are headed to Reno from Minnesota to start a life together. At a diner in rural Nebraska, they meet a man named Syl with a wicked cough who pays them $500 for a ride to Omaha. A severe blizzard for......more

Quotes

“Tense, taut, throat-grabbing. John Rector is far more accomplished than his years. Reads like a cross between No Country For Old Men and Deliverance. Terrific to the last drop—of blood.” Eric Van Lustbader, New York Times bestselling author of First Daughter

“Dean Koontz fans will find much to like in Rector’s debut…Rector takes a stock noir setup and makes the most of it through clever plotting and spare prose.” Publishers Weekly

“Garcia does a darn good job at keeping the tension high in this terror-filled mystery.” AudioFile

“Characters gradually reveal alarming proclivities, and portents of disaster accumulate like wind-driven snow. Rector’s spare, unadorned style makes these portents and proclivities even more jarring. A sly and very accomplished first novel.” Booklist

“The Cold Kiss is a slice of tragicomic noir Americana, a spiraling tale of bad luck and viciousness leavened only by author John Rector’s savage glee at the ever worsening state of his protagonists’ circumstances. One of the best debuts I’ve read in a very long time.” Scott Phillips, award-winning author of The Ice Harvest

“I absolutely loved this audiobook…This story takes so many twists and turns…I finished this audiobook in record time! I couldn’t wait to turn it back on and follow the story more. The Cold Kiss is packed full of suspense…Paul Michael Garcia is wonderful…a great choice in a narrator for this book.” Audiobookfans.com

“The story opens with Nate and Sara heading for Reno, looking for a fresh start…[and] ends in a thunderous crescendo of double-crossing, murder, and a few surprises. Paul Michael reads in a comfortable, familiar, yet dramatic way, appropriate to this wickedly entertaining debut novel that will keep listeners guessing until the very end.” SoundCommentary.com

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