In Cold Blood (Beatrix Rose, #1) (2024)

Sean Peters

742 reviews118 followers

June 15, 2015

Let's mention one thing first, I started this book only three days ago, and have finished already, and have ordered the next two in the series.

A fast paced, action packed, thriller, with a great female action lead Beatrice Rose.

REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD

The new book from acclaimed writer Mark Dawson , IN COLD BLOOD is an action-packed thriller about ruthless betrayal and bloodthirsty vengeance.

Beatrix Rose was the most dangerous assassin in an off-the-books government kill squad until her former boss betrayed her. A decade later, she emerges from the Hong Kong underworld with payback on her mind. They gunned down her husband and kidnapped her daughter, and now the debt needs to be repaid. It’s a blood feud she didn’t start but she is going to finish.

Beatrix has already crossed one name off her Kill List. Her second target is a mercenary being held hostage by Somali terrorists. Can she infiltrate the most dangerous failed state on the planet and scrub him off the List, too?

Packed with explosive action and page-turning suspense, this is the must-read first novel in a brand new series and I look forward to reading Mark Dawson's successful series of books on John Milton series.

An easy four stars for me, and highly recommended

Ivonne Rovira

2,216 reviews232 followers

March 17, 2016

Author Mark Dawson introduces a new series featuring English assassin Beatrix Rose who has recovered her kidnapped daughter after an eight-year absence and is ready to slay, one by one, the six people responsible. She’s already slashed the throat of one (Oliver Spenser) in Russia. And she’s got a rose tattoo to commemorate it. Five tattoos — and deaths — to go.

At 170 pages, In Cold Blood still seems too long. Perhaps it’s because so much of the novella is taken wholesale from Quentin Tarrantino’s bloody Kill Bill sagas — right down to the female protagonist’s name, which is Beatrix in both cases. Well, except for the plotline dealing with the Somali pirates. That’s lifted from Captain Phillips.

Still, it’s not really fair to blame In Cold Blood for not being The Count of Monte Cristo or The Princess Bride. Like beach reads and fan fiction, In Cold Blood and its five sequels (one for each assassination target) will provide mindless fun for those who want their heroines kick-ass and not too introspective.

Lastly, I want to thank my Great Escape sister, Lisa G, for picking a book completely unlike my usual read. Thank you for stretching my boundaries! You and all of my Great Escape sisters simply rock!

Pierre Tassé

537 reviews69 followers

September 18, 2022

I found this book action packed and edge of the seat excitement. I don’t give out 5 stars easily- this one gets it. You should read the books before this one to understand what is going on otherwise a lot of questions go unanswered.

Steve

962 reviews107 followers

July 19, 2016

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars.

Mindless action in a revenge plot. Good for beach or poolside, I guess. I don't think I'll continue this series.

    early-review-netgalley mystery read-in-2016

Tulay

1,202 reviews2 followers

March 1, 2017

Really can't recommend this book.

Mark Dawson John Milton series are much better. Didn't care for Beatrix Rose character, she is more like a Super Woman. This short story didn't even engaged me.

Lisa

1,365 reviews

March 13, 2016

2.5 stars
I am reading this with my group friends so I don't want to influence their opinions on this book even though this is not a spoiler - PLEASE LOOK AWAY NOW GIRLS!!!

Ok, for some reason this book completely threw me because it wasn't at all what I expected. I was thinking Kill Bill style girl revenge yeahhhhh! But no, it wasn't really that at all.

Beatrix (ha!) is very serious and very deadly. I loved all the action with the details of weaponry and strategy but I did not feel her pain enough to really care about her mission. She was too tough and too good to let me get a good look at her.

Excellent action but I want more from Beatrix - perhaps a bit more individual style and flare and a bit more use of womanly advantages (!?) - I will carry on with the series because all the elements are there for me to love (think Nick Stone & Jack Reacher) but I didn't love this one and was left feeling a bit frustrated that I hope will be resolved in future installments / missions.

Richard

2,056 reviews168 followers

May 12, 2017

As with all Mark Dawson's books, I loved the sense of place he creates in his writing whether the roof tops and souks in Morocco or the threat and expanse of the sea.
Some will have met Beatrix Rose previously; the three earlier set novellas in Hong Kong are very good. We now meet her with her daughter after a eight year gap. The ability to survive through use of your wits, guns and tradecraft she now wishes to pass on to Isabella for although she seeks revenge on those who killed her husband and kidnapped their child she realises they have a self preservation reason to try to get to her and Isabella first.
When Michael Pope approaches her it seems her quest and their stategetic needs are similar after a group from Somalia intercept a container ship off the coastline.
Aided to get close to the border Beatrix is on a mission but as far as the british government she is a rouge element in play, an ex-operative who is deniable if she fails, gets caught or killed. The odds are stacked against her other than her training, arsenal of weapons and personal drive to seek out and revenge her family. I loved the action and drive that Beatrix's mission gave the book. It is very credible and plays on the current circumstances of our troubled world. It is good to see the comparison between those who fight for a cause and those whose work and circumstances take them. Beatrix Rose is a bit of both, with a reason now to kill. She is single-minded but not cold hearted to everyone she meets; but to those who have crossed her the world isn't big enough to hide from her zeal and sense of destiny. You would rather have her as a friend than an enemy and Pope and the British government are playing a dangerous game.

    own

Wayne Stinnett

Author54 books499 followers

October 18, 2014

My only complaint about In Cold Blood would be the redness of my eyes the next day. I couldn't put it down. As an action/adventure novelist myself, I found Dawson's first book in this series so compelling, I immediately bought the next one. Guess I'll get all the sleep I need when I'm dead.

Beatrix Rose is a very believable character. A former agent with MI6, she's meticulous in her tradecraft and raising a daughter that may well take her place one day. Not all warriors and special agents are men. Being forced to go on the run after fellow agents kill her husband and take her daughter, she plots revenge for eight years. She'd be in the same classification with Mitch Rapp, in Vince Flynn's novels, so you can guess the outcome. The level of excitement was maintained throughout the book, building to a satisfying climax, filled with gunfire and explosions.

Javir11

609 reviews248 followers

August 8, 2020

5,75/10

Historia de venganza de las de toda la vida dentro de un contexto de espionaje actual. De primeras la combinación no tiene mala pinta, hasta que uno se pone a leer y se da cuenta de que hay poco de lo que promete, acción muy justita, y va cargada de clichés, tanto en los personajes como en el desarrollo de la trama.

Su punto a favor es que es cortita y se lee rápido, pero lo cierto es que le falta un poco de todo para destacar y convertirse en algo apetecible.

No me ha dejado con ganas de continuar la trilogía

J.F. Penn

Author47 books2,212 followers

August 25, 2014

I love reading kick ass female characters who get the job done better than their male counterparts. In hiding from those who would kill her and her daughter, Beatrix Rose goes on the offensive, tracking down one member of the team she escaped. She heads to the al Shabab controlled pirate area of Somalia, but will she make it in time?

    thrillers

Sensei_cor

277 reviews102 followers

July 14, 2020

Thriller de acción con no demasiada acción. Podría ser una peli de Liam Neeson, aunque en este caso protagonizada por una mujer que en el aspecto de que tiene una lista de gente sobre la que busca venganza recuerda a Kill Bill.

Es necesario saber que la protagonista es un personaje sacado de otra saga, porque al señor de la otra saga lo nombran varias veces y se supone que de ahí viene toda la historia previa, la motivación de la venganza de la protagonista de este libro.

No aporta nada nuevo, no destaca en ningún aspecto, está hasta las trancas de clichés del género. Lo bueno es q es corto y no se hace pesado, aunque este que escribe no va a continuar con el resto de trilogía.

Aunque no sea un tipo de literatura que destaque mucho, si te gusta el género thriller de acción con un asesino invisible, super mortífero y con tecnología que sólo alguien riquísimo se podría permitir, antes que esta trilogía te recomiendo los de Evan Smoak (huérfano X) escritos por Gregg hurwitz, que aunque también estén llenos de tópicos, son mucho más entretenidos.

    thriller-acción

Neil

543 reviews52 followers

September 6, 2015

The author introduced the main character, Beatrix Rose, to the reader during the John Milton series (Ghosts), and now she has a trilogy all of her own. Like Milton she was once the number 1 assassin for the British government, but unlike Milton who tried to retire, Rose was marked for termination herself. Her husband was killed, she herself was shot, and her daughter kidnapped. Now she wants her revenge, and Beatrix Rose is not the type of person you would want hunting you down.
The character differs from Milton, as Rose is more driven and focussed, whereas Milton is more introspective and still trying to atone for his previous employment. There is still plenty of action along the way, and some unusual locations. Once again the writer has crafted his characters with skill and attention, making them seem believable. Perhaps the pacing of the storyline is not quite as fast as the Milton series, but this was another book I thoroughly enjoyed, and i am looking forward to reading the next part of the trilogy.

Kevin Dowson

107 reviews3 followers

May 17, 2019

I enjoyed this book a lot, but I have to confess to feeling slightly cheated. It is announced as the first Beatrix Rose book, which is certainly is. What wasn't clear, though, is that it links in or follows on from the John Milton series, which I have not yet read. I'm not sure how much background those books give to this one, but there are a lot of references or hints to events from those books which have led to this story.

Don't get me wrong, this stands well as the beginning of a series, but I'm a bit OCD about reading things in order, so I'm wishing I had read the other books first to fill me in on the background. There is almost a smugness about the way the author ladles on these references, as if taunting those of us who haven't read the previous books by giving us snippets without the detail in a sort of "if you know, you know" way. I found this a little annoying at times.

Back to the story. This is a standard revenge thriller, our heroine, Beatrix, who has endured more than her fair share of injustices, is on the trail of the people who betrayed her many years ago. She has connections with the super secret organisation for which she once worked, and gets an unexpected tip to the whereabouts of one of her targets. The problem is, he's in a hostage situation in a Middle-East terrorist enclave. To get to him she will ironically have to stage a rescue, in secret parallel to the official rescue attempt, get what she wants and get out again without getting killed by either side. All this with no official sanction, no backup and no allies on the ground. Luckily she is a resourceful woman, not to mention absolutely ruthless and extremely skilled in the art of killing.

My favourite book of this type so far is Jet, by Russell Blake, and while there are some similarities with Beatrix, I found I didn't warm to her in the same way. While Jet is very much a victim trying to live her life and driven to do extreme things, Beatrix Rose is consumed by revenge to the point of bitterness, and it makes her a less appealing heroine. She could concentrate on enjoying life with the daughter she has regained, but instead puts her whole focus on hunting down these people. It makes for an entertaining story but a less pleasant character.

My first Mark Dawson book, although I already have a few more om my tbr list, I will follow Beatrix but probably not until I've engaged with the first couple of John Milton tales to attempt to fill in the back story. On that point, I suppose Mr Dawson has won - I'll be spending more of my hard earned money on his books! 3.5 stars, enjoyable but read Milton books first is my advice.

Lori Grace

Author5 books17 followers

March 26, 2015

It's all been said, many times, but I'll say it again. This is a well done, well written, well paced, well developed, well.. you get the idea. It's a good, good book. I immediately liked Beatrix. She has more character flaws than San Andreas, is a quirky parent at best, and it all works very well. I also loved the protagonist in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - another quirky (very different) female hero and Beatrix holds her own in comparison.

The action is good, she is an over-the-top but not too much hero that we can not only cheer, she is also believable. Part of the believability comes from the combination of who she is, the essence of her mission and the external focus in time constraints that make it a do-it-now or forget it situation.

This is my first, will I read the others? Silly question... of course I'll read the next two and ask Mr. Dawson to keep writing in this series.

Bottom line (literally and figuratively) This is a series and an author to follow.

David Dalton

2,696 reviews

May 27, 2014

Another well-written thriller by Mark Dawson. Not a slam-bam action fest as I first thought it might be (after all, it is an homage to the Kill Bill movies). A short novel and it gets to the point very quickly: Rose is out for revenge and will take on a deadly mission to Somalia just to knock one more guy off her list. Surrounded by Somali pirates and Navy SEALS, Rose is ready to go. My only gripe would be to make her story a tad longer (but nowhere near as long as a typical Clancy novel). With a built in time limit, Rose only has so long to complete her revenge.

    action assassin-s female-lead

Mike (the Paladin)

3,147 reviews1,981 followers

September 14, 2018

Well...what can I say here. I'd say that I liked this book, but it had some long stretches of, yawnnnn.

The hook on this one is that Rose (her nom de plume so to speak) has been betrayed...badly. Rose does not forget as this was not a minor betrayal. She is going to track down the ones who betrayed her. There are however complications. These complications put her under a time crunch she can't beat and also involve the responsibility of...a daughter.

The story of Rose is actually engrossing, however more than half the book sets up the events that will give us a confrontation/climax at the end. We are told the story of a piratical hijacking and hostage situation. Believe it or not this actually slows the book down.

Why?

Mainly I thin k because we've all been there so often before, the characters (especially the antagonist) are so cliche...even paper-cutter. I mean this "bad guy(s)" could have come from Antagonists are Us.

So, good book nice read but it hits some slow points, at least it did for me. I will probably follow the series at least for another book or 2 as I'd say there are more positives than negatives.

    action thriller

Jennifer (Jaye)

899 reviews35 followers

February 5, 2024

*Beatrix is on the hunt*

Continuing her revenge plan Beatrix is after the agents who did the unthinkable and worked for the very secret ‘Group Fifteen’ they are who you call on behalf of the government when all else fails. She was their number one agent until she was betrayed and she is on a mission to make them pay. She walks into any situation that most would run a mile from, she shows no fear and possess the most cold, dead eyes that most flee from.

She is not the one you want to cross and she will take you down and shows no mercy. I pity the ones that she is going after and they will not even see her coming, I look forward to the next instalment, this was thrilling

    crime favorites mystery-thrillers

Eric_W

1,937 reviews409 followers

January 5, 2016

So I started this book about a year ago, dropped it in the middle for whatever reason, and then recently began reading Ghosts, #4 in the John Milton series, which I enjoy. In that one (see my review) Milton is helped out of a jam by the Russians who want him to locate Beatrix Rose, who had been #1 in “Control’s” British secret organization of assassins. Hence the backstory in the beginning of Ghosts wherein Rose’s husband is killed after she discovers that Control is running his own little personal operation. With me so far?

So now we’re back to Beatrix Rose #1, In Cold Blood, in which she, having discovered she has cancer, has embarked on a journey of revenge to get those operatives who were involved in the killing of her husband. So she proceeds to take on hordes of Somalis bailing out an entire SEAL platoon in order to kill Joyce, #10, who had participated in the killing of her husband. She, in turn, gets rescued by the fortuitous presence of Michael Pope (more later) who is monitoring everything and uses some drones to take out some more bad guys. I never said this would be easy.

Surprisingly, the Milton book, Ghosts, does begin to tie things together. Kind of clever on the author’s part to relate the series together like a mosaic. The two series should probably be read concurrently and in order, starting with the John Milton books. They get better as they go along and the author does have a nice vocabulary. Mine is pretty good but I had to look up about half dozen.

Toni Osborne

1,504 reviews46 followers

September 14, 2015

Book 1, in the Beatrix Rose trilogy

Be warned, once you start with the first book you will flip pages till you have reached the final chapter in book 3. This is a great series where the author takes the time to set up the stage in order to hook you up in his world then bang he pushes you into gritty action and one of those thrilling moment you will not want to let go. Yes that good.

Beatrix Rose, the protagonist, is an assassin with six names on her hit list. She has pay back on her mind and in “In Cold Blood” she goes after her first target, a mercenary held hostage by Somali terrorists. Although this is the first installment there is a whole back story I seemed to have missed out on. Mr. Dawson does allude to the past from time to time but not enough to fill the void. I guess those who have read other books may know more about Beatrix and conclude this series is a spin-off of another series. Time will tell for the novice.

This is a quick read, not taxing at all and packed with explosive action from start to finish. This propulsive thriller has an interesting lead character in Beatrix, she is direct and all business she plain does her move without a second thought and as the most dangerous assassin in a government kill squad she is not a kind of person you want to play with. Following her on her deadly quest is exciting and very captivating.

Very good quite entertaining

Pupottina

584 reviews61 followers

March 27, 2017


È il primo libro di Mark Dawson che leggo ed è anche il primo che ha come protagonista Beatrix Rose, ex spia del servizio segreto britannico in cerca di vendetta per un paio di ottime ragioni: il rapimento della figlia e l'omicidio del marito. Beatrix Rose è decisamente bella e sexy. Ha il fascino delle donne indipendenti: quelle che sanno il fatto loro e anche molto di più. Beatrix è un di quelle che hanno spodestato gli uomini dai loro ruoli d'azione. È una donna d'azione che nella pianificazione, nella strategia e nell'attuare una missione non ha niente da invidiare ad un uomo. Il suo è il classico ruolo dove solitamente c'è un uomo. Ma lei non stona per niente. Anzi. Ha quel qualcosa in più. Il suo valore aggiunto è rappresentato dalla sensualità del lato femminile e dalla capacità di essere protettiva come soltanto una madre sa essere.
Dal primo libro, che la vede protagonista, apprendiamo che Beatrix Rose sta pianificando la sua vendetta. Però, molto di lei è appena accennato. Forse per accrescerne il fascino, l'effetto sorpresa. Mentre la suspense cresce e vengono delineate le situazioni, da più punti di vista, ci accorgiamo a malapena e contro voglia di essere giunti alla fine del libro. Molto ancora è in sospeso e tutto può ancora accadere e, in attesa del seguito, da bravi lettori, rimaniamo a ipotizzarne i futuri sviluppi.
Ottimo action thriller di attualità sconcertante. Scritto bene, si legge con crescente coinvolgimento.

    action-thriller alfabeto-autore avventura

Astra Berry

16 reviews

August 10, 2015

This story is a combination of Kill Bill and Captain Phillips. I enjoyed both of those movies, but just couldn't get into this book. It was boring to me, and the protagonist Beatrix Rose was someone I was not really rooting for. Instead of spending her final days, weeks or whatever due to cancer with her daughter she chooses to get revenge. On top of that she has to teach her daughter to become an assassin essentially because of her revenge plot. If it was Beatrix alone getting revenge with no one she cared about in the line of fire that would be ok, but she is willingly putting her child in danger. The whole killing of Beatrix's main target in this book was anti-climatic, I was expecting much more considering the build up. Overall, I will not be continuing this series unless it's a free deal.

This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.

Jim A

1,267 reviews74 followers

April 20, 2014

Another very good action thriller from Mark Dawson. This one is a spin off of the John Milton series, featuring Beatrix Rose, who was first introduced in Ghosts featuring Milton.

For those who have not read Ghosts, Rose's back story is filled in about a third of the way through this novel so nothing is really lost to the reader.

This is the first of what will be a continuing series featuring Rose, or at least as long as Dawson can keep her alive. She is already dying of cancer (not a spoiler). Also given her propensity for the down and dirty action of killing, she may not live long enough to complete her revenge on those who tried to kill her (Ghosts).

A very quick, action packed read.

Sue Wallace

6,725 reviews96 followers

March 18, 2016

I received this as an arc from net galley in exchange for an honest review.
Beatrix Rose was the most dangerous assassin in an off - the - books government kill squad until her former boss betrayed her, her husband was gunned down and her daughter kidnapped.
Wow. OMG. Wow.
Absolutely fantastic read.
CNPID.
I loved the story and the characters.
Beatrix Rose was my favourite character.
She was bad ass.
Boy was she bad ass.
She could look after herself ok.
I loved the ending too.
Can't wait for next part.
This is a must read and I would highly recommend this book.
Definitely worth more than 5 *.

Michael

51 reviews3 followers

April 21, 2014

Another great read from Mark Dawson.
Mark Dawson has given us a first class spin-off from the John Milton series. With Beatrix as the former agent bent on revenge the action is fast-paced and the story extremely well written. Looking forward to the next instalment.

Dawn

2 reviews

April 19, 2014

Great new book by Mark Dawson. Interesting plot, adventure and great characters set in areas of the world that are in the news today.

Karsyn

2,334 reviews43 followers

March 27, 2016

Meh. It was ok. Mainly boring. Beatrix is unlikable, probably because there really wasn't any character development for her.

    audiobooks-read-2015

Bennett

466 reviews3 followers

January 8, 2023

Highly recommended

A good exiting story and with a promise of more to come in the series. Good characters and just the right length.

Dee

226 reviews

January 15, 2023

She is coming!!

Now this is a woman I’d like to know more about, I’m so excited 😆 it was a bloody start but I’m here for all of it

Deby Brown

13 reviews

April 6, 2024

This genre is fairly new to me. Plenty of descriptive writing so I feel I know the places mentioned. Although this book is about the main character, Beatrix Rose, chapters switch between the other characters. I'm not a fan of this style of writing but I get it's needed. I will read the next one because it looks more interesting.

Jim

176 reviews2 followers

June 1, 2021

Full review: https://girlswithguns.org/in-cold-blo...

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. A woman called Beatrix, who has made her living as a killer for a shadowy group, find herself betrayed by them, with her husband killed and daughter kidnapped. Escaping their clutches years later, she vows to take revenge on them, one at a time, working up the chain to find the man who ordered the heinous deeds. Yeah, this sounds just a little like Kill Bill, doesn’t it?

In Cold Blood (Beatrix Rose, #1) (2024)
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