Corey Curtis and Thayer Reynolds are more than happy to put the days of their turbulent courtship behind them. With the holidays upon them, they’re looking forward to celebrating with friends and family, intimate moments alone, and festive surprises.
And in Corey’s world, nothing says Christmas quite like a frozen body. One that Corey must defrost in order to close out her next case. The discovery of the deceased’s possible connection to Thayer inflames the still healing wounds of their recent trauma and sends them both reeling back into a world of uncertainty and turmoil.
With her best friend in tow and the police not far behind, Corey ends up in the unlikeliest of places—a church. Along the way hate and violence erupt while corruption abounds. But from the ashes new relationships are kindled, and even the darkest moments are no match for Corey and Thayer’s love.
Zero Chill is the highly anticipated sequel to Dirt Nap and Gallows Humor.
GCLS Goldie Awards
Zero Chill — Finalist, Romantic Blend.
FROM THE AUTHOR
"This is the book that I never planned. The Curtis and Reynolds series has been loosely mapped out in my mind from the beginning—titles, covers, and rough plots—and Zero Chill was never part of the plan.
When I sat down to write what I originally intended to be the third book, now the fourth, I kept getting hung up on the fact that I skipped Corey and Thayer’s first Christmas together. I tried out some flashback ideas to cover the time, but nothing ever worked out like I wanted. Still, I thought it was just too big a milestone to leave out after everything that happened at the end of Dirt Nap.
The only thing I knew about the story before I started writing it was that it was going to be centered over the holidays. I’ve never ‘pantsed’ so hard in all my writing as I did with this book."
—Carolyn Elizabeth
NetGalley
Betty H. - I had so much fun reading Zero Chill by Carolyn Elizabeth. This is the third book in The Curtis and Reynolds Series which includes the novels Gallows Humor and Dirt Nap. I totally enjoyed the first two books in the series, and this newest story fits in well with the other two.
The third novel begins a little while after the second book ends. Corey Curtis and Thayer Reynolds are getting ready to celebrate their first holiday season together. They are both still recovering from their very unusual and tumultuous romance in the first two books. For Corey and Thayer, though, Christmas means a frozen body in the morgue and a new mystery to solve.
I fell in love with Corey and Thayer in the first novel, and I really enjoy getting to revisit them with each new book. This story is a little less tumultuous than the first two, but there is still a mystery to be solved that includes more than just the frozen body. We also have a few blips in the romance between Corey and Thayer. Thayer especially has some issues to overcome from trauma she suffered in the past. I liked the way the author showed how she worked through this, and I liked how her character grew in this book. We even get a bonus possible second love story between two of the secondary characters that looks very promising for the future.
Zero Chill is a wonderful mystery and medical romance with beautiful characters, just the right touch of angst, and a fair dash of dark humor that we’ve come to expect in these books. Ms. Elizabeth has written another winner of a novel to add to this series, and I can’t wait for the next one.
NetGalley
Jules P. - Sound the horns, Thayer and Corey are back, lighting up the pages with their scorching hot chemistry in a new mystery that also sees their relationship evolving into something deeper. One of my favorite aspects of the book is that the couple experiences their first bumps which is expected. Doubts and miscommunication mix with love and commitment into a nice angsty mix.
Main characters are the bread and butter of any story but memorable secondary characters means there is never a lull in the flow even if the mc’s are not the focus in the moment. Gruff Sgt. Collier, Thayer’s sharp Nana, sexy new couple Rachel and Nora, and even a cameo from the saucy lawyer upstairs, Carina Mancini, keep the energy high.
I LOVED the detailed autopsy description. Many kudos to the author for not watering down that scene because it was important to show Corey in her element. Both serious and slightly irreverent, it was perfectly fitting for dark healthcare humor.
A solid addition to the series.
NetGalley
Meike Z. - 4.25 stars. Carolyn Elizabeth never seems to disappoint, she keeps writing these awesome books! Corey and Thayer hold a special place in my heart, so I had to read this new book in the series immediately. This book has a slightly different tone than the previous ones, but it worked perfectly for me.
While Dirt Nap is still my favorite book in the series (it will be extremely difficult to top that one) I think Elizabeth made an excellent choice by making this one more introspective than the previous books. As Elizabeth indicates in the acknowledgements, this is fully written during the pandemic, which was not always easy, and you can feel some of the effects. Being cooped up in my house all the time made me retreat more in my head and reevaluate things and I got that feeling with Corey and especially Thayer as well. They were clearly struggling and a bit aimless. Perhaps it’s me, but I could relate to the feeling. It leads to a nice change of pace compared with the previous books, there is more character development and it increases the general believability, and let’s be honest, if every book follows the same formula it becomes dreary. There are some serious topics, but there is also still plenty of banter and medical procedures happening to keep it interesting and fun.
This is a series and to understand the characters and what they go through you want to read them in order. It appears there is more to come and I can’t wait to read more of their ‘shenanigans’. Highly recommended.
NetGalley
Carolyn M. - I loved this book, the third in the series.There is less physical danger to our main characters this time around, but the threat of it has not totally dissipated. Unfortunately, there are always folks willing to hurt others, and that's no less true this time around. Thayer and Corey have grown as individuals and as a couple, and it was nice to see that they can disagree and yet work things out in a mature way. Zero Chill is a mature, satisfying and humourous extension of the series that I've greatly enjoyed, and I can't wait to read the next book!
co2f2e –
Carolyn Elizabeth has become one of my favorite and must-read authors. There’s just something about her pacing, character development, and storytelling that keeps me enthralled and Zero Chill is no exception. While not as action-packed and on the edge of your seat as her two previous books in this series, Gallows Humor and Dirt Nap, Zero Chill kept my attention and I couldn’t put it down until it was finished with its mysteries, the progression of Thayer & Cory’s love story, some sweet and funny scenes with Nana Lil, of course the witty banter between their band of friends, and the begging of a new love story between our favorite coffee connoisseur Rachel and Minister Nora (who totally need their own spin-off, *hint* *hint*). I can’t wait for the next installment in the Curtis and Reynolds shenanigans!