Cold Query is an engrossing mystery, with an engaging central protagonist, an interesting cast of characters, a convincing setting and a light romance sub-plot.

Main character Ivy Rose is a high school literature teacher and aspiring crime author, who lives in a amongst a community of other literary-minded souls in Port Ripley, Ontario, a fictionalised setting inspired by Slovenian-born Canadian author Ivanka Fear's visits to the town of Goderich on Lake Huron's eastern shore. Ivy has been a member of the Port Ripley community for eleven years, but is living with a new identity after escaping with her children from a traumatic past.

When a series of apparently accidental deaths occur in Port Ripley, Ivy becomes suspicious, as each of the victims is a member of the "Murder Club", the group of local crime fiction readers and writers to which Ivy belongs, and the circumstances of the deaths seem to mirror those depicted in the manuscripts of group members, Ivy's included. When a Detective is sent from northern Ontario to consult on what are quickly determined to be linked suspicious deaths, Ivy is stunned to recognise the man as a friend and colleague from the life she left behind. Is it possible that she and Scott Evans might finally be able to forge a future together, despite the shadows of the past?

Most of the narrative is from Ivy's first person perspective, although some chapters are told in the third person from the point of view of Detective Scott Evans, and others reveal the progression of a critique partnership within which a cunning and manipulative killer seeks to blur the distinction between fiction and real life.

While I'm not a crime writer myself, I believe Ivanka Fear accurately depicts the challenges that face aspiring authors in making the leap from writing for pleasure to publication. I enjoyed the mystery storyline and the fact that the reader was kept guessing about who might be the villain right up until the end. That said, I was concerned about the relentless sexual pressure the male lead, given he’s portrayed as a “good guy”, continued to exert towards his female counterpart, despite her clear “slow down” messages. It might be a realistic portrayal of how many men behave in romantic relationships, but it repelled me and I found it jarring to my enjoyment of the book. Nevertheless, I'm intrigued to read Ivanka Fear's Blue Water Mystery Series (2 books so far), which seems to feature similar settings, themes and some of the same characters as Cold Query.

My thanks to the author, Ivanka Fear, publisher Level Best Books | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.