Ten years ago in Duluth, Minnesota, Police Lieutenant Jonathan Stride handled the worst murder/suicide case of his career. He's never been able to forget how he failed to protect a young mother from her abusive ex-husband. Stride found their six-year-old daughter, Cat Mateo, cowering under the porch after hearing the brutal crime. The incident still haunts Stride, especially now after finding 16-year-old Cat, drenched and trembling, hiding in his extra bedroom.

After hearing Cat's explanation that she needs protection from a stalker who's trying to kill her, Stride feels obligated to do what he can for her. Unofficially investigating the situation, Stride enlists the aid of his partner Maggie Bei, who is not so easily convinced of Cat's story. It doesn't help Cat's credibility that she's homeless and selling her body to support herself.

As Stride and Maggie seek answers from different angles, there's a fine line between fact and fiction. It soon becomes obvious that someone is messing with their investigation, setting up obstacles to lead them astray. Who is the stalker? And what is it about Cat that's so important someone wants to kill her?

Brian Freeman brings back the incomparable Jonathan Stride for a sixth time in THE COLD NOWHERE, an intensely compelling police/crime thriller. Stride is a flawed, but honorable, protagonist supported by a highly realistic cast of characters in a storyline filled with enough twists and turns to occupy readers' interests until the final page.

Book Summary

Lieutenant Stride goes home to his cottage on the shore of Lake Superior, where he is confronted with a crime he cannot ignore. He discovers a young woman, Cat Mateo, hiding in his bedroom, scared and dripping wet from a desperate plunge into the icy lake.

The girl isn't a stranger to Stride; she is the daughter of a woman he tried and failed to protect from a violent husband years ago. When Cat asks Stride for protection from a mysterious person she claims is trying to kill her, Stride is driven by guilt and duty to help her.

Stride's police partner Maggie Bei doubts the homeless orphan, who has been supporting herself as a prostitute and living rough on the streets of Duluth. She marvels at how easily the hard-bitten young girl, who sleeps with a knife under her pillow, has won Stride's trust.

As Stride investigates Cat's case off the record, Maggie's suspicions solidify and a single question haunts the void between them: should Stride be afraid for – or of – this damaged girl?

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