ARC Review: Cold Burn by A. J. Landau

Cold Burn
Author: A. J. Landau
Series: A National Parks Thriller (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur Books (April 29, 2025)

Description: Agent Michael Walker returns when multiple deaths at Glacier Bay National Park are just the first steps in a potential global disaster.

National Park Service investigator Michael Walker is battling smugglers stealing priceless artifacts when he’s dispatched to Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, where, in the first stage of a potential global disaster, a team of scientists has gone missing.

Meanwhile, in Florida’s Everglades National Park, FBI special investigator Gina Delgado traces the murder of an environmental science intern back to another U.S. Geological Survey team’s ongoing experiments that are decimating the fragile ecosystem. That is before she’s dispatched to the scene of a sunken U.S. nuclear submarine, the entire crew of which has inexplicably been killed.

The connection between these disparate investigations lies in a deadly prehistoric organism, frozen for thousands of years in the ice until global warming brings it back to life in what could mean the death of all life on Earth. An organism that a rogue billionaire sees as the ultimate fuel source and a Russian strongman views as the ultimate weapon that can shift the global balance of power forever. Against that backdrop, Walker and Delgado find themselves desperately doing battle across multiple fronts against an ancient, unstoppable enemy.

My Thoughts: This was another excellent thriller starring National Park Investigator Michael Walker and FBI Agent Gina Delgado. When the story begins, Michael is in Alaska trying to track down smugglers of Native artifacts and Gina is in Florida looking into the death of young man associated with the US Geological Survey. 

Michael learns, after the people he was shadowing were murdered, that there was a mysterious substance in many of the artifacts he was tracking. Gina learns that the USGS in the Florida Everglades were experimenting with the water temperature to ease global warming. They were also using a mysterious substance. 

Another viewpoint character in the story is multi-billionaire Alex Cole who will do anything to fulfill his dream of going to Mars and who sees the mysterious substance as the key to his successful journey. And still another viewpoint character is a Russian general who wants to take over Russia and return it to what he sees as its glorious past. 

Since the mysterious substance has the potential to wipe out vast quantities and species of life, Michael and Gina need to find a way to stop the Russians from weaponizing it, the billionaire from misusing it, and elements from within the government from using it for political gain. Michael is aided by a Tlinglit microbiologist who got wealthy for her discoveries and has come home to her village in Alaska. 

I liked this story very much. It was packed with action. One quibble is that a number of chapters ended with the viewpoint character making a discovery but not saying what it was until their viewpoint chapter came around again. It did add to the suspense, but I still found it annoying. 

Fans of ecothrillers will enjoy this one. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.