"She Escaped Her Past—But Someone Isn’t Ready to Let Her Go"
Reviewed by Annetta Sweetko
Posted September 8, 2026
Romance Suspense
Harlow Frye is a surgical/trauma nurse living in Knightly
with her sisters at heart, surrounded by the Sierras. Her
reason for living there is partly to escape her past and her
parents β a senator and his wife who believe they are
above the law. Despite trying to live her own life, the past
can never be completely gone. She is receiving threatening
letters, but that is not anything unusual in the political
field; there are always those who donβt agree with a
certain stand. Even her photograph a friend displays of
FROST AND VENOM gets attacked.Β On top of losing a friend to a strange toxin, she finds
her CIA operative Hawkin Wilder nearly dead on the trail
leading to her home. He was among a number of operatives who
were ambushed and he is determined to get the Harlow. He is
also determined to get her to acknowledge their attraction
is real and lasting β something she just doesnβt
believe in from the childhood she endured. FROST AND VENOM takes readers back to Knightly,
California, where it is known for the trails, bouldering,
rock climbing, and β¦ killers. Author Christine Feehan
brings to life a lovely friendship, amazing romance with
danger and intrigue that will keep you on your toes. Never
think that you will sit and read a chapter because hours
later you will find yourself still sitting with this book in
your hands.Β Harlow and Hawkins make an interesting couple. Both
suffered from childhood trauma in very different ways.
Harlowβs was a life of privilege but horrible secrets;
Hawkins was a childhood that should never exist for any
child. Both come through with guarded hearts that were able
to open up with only each other.Β FROST AND VENOM is not action-packed; it is more of a
look into life and love after the world has given an
unwanted kick. It is sold as a single release, but we have
met most of the other characters in past singles by Ms.
Feehan β MURDER AT SUNRISE LAKE; RED ON THE RIVER and
DEADLY STORMS β all set with the same group of women
who have come together to be a family.Β I might warn those who are not real fans of spiders that
there is quite a bit of information on those little
creatures. Something I could do without, as they are not my
favorites to even think about.Β FROST AND VENOM is another page-turning winner by an
author who knows how to keep her readers glued to the
pages. Β SUMMARYDeception and danger lay in wait in the beautiful, harrowing California backcountry in this gripping suspense novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan.
Surgical and trauma nurse Harlow Frye loves the small town of Knightly, where breathtaking views of the Sierra and a tight circle of female friends provides a refuge from her professional life. But lately, it's Harlow's personal life that's causing all the chaos.
First, a series of anonymous threatening letters are left in her mailbox. Then, Harlow is dealt a blow when her friend Lawyer dies after reacting to some sort of toxin. And to top it off, Harlow finds her secret obsession, CIA operative Hawkin Wilder, bleeding out on a mountain trail.
As Harlow turns her home into a makeshift hospital, her infuriating, attractive patient insists on distracting her. But even in the face of their increasing connection, there's no way Harlow can ignore the escalating storm, when someone else close to her is struck down by the mysterious toxin.
With little more than intuition to go on, Harlow turns to the five friends who have proved themselves to be a better family than her own flesh and blood. As the women attempt to unravel the killings, they will need to rely on their instincts and their connection to each other‑or else they'll lose everything they've come to hold dear.
EXCERPTHarlow cursed herself for being so emotional. She’d been raised to be stoic, to never show her feelings, but lately, she fell apart the moment she was alone. Now, Wilder had come at the worst possible time. She’d given herself permission to fall apart, to cry, scream, rail against injustice, believing she would be alone at three in the morning on a trail in the middle of nowhere.
Still, she was a nurse, and a darned good one. The scandal didn’t matter, only the fact that this man was injured. She took a deep breath, forcing air through her lungs. She could handle this. More, it was Wilder, and he was injured.
“Let’s get you to the garage. I can take you to the hospital.” She managed to keep her voice steady. In charge. She should have known it wouldn’t work.
“Not going to the hospital, woman. If I wanted to go there, that’s where I’d be. I was coming to you so you could fix me up.”
She matched her pace to his. Normally, Wilder moved with easy, fluid steps, but he was awkward. Hunched. Arms wrapped around his middle. One hand was pressed hard against his side. “Where is your car?” She hadn’t noticed one sitting in any of the parking places.
“Don’t have one.”
That didn’t make sense. “How did you get here? You’re injured.”
A faint grin sent her heart into overdrive. His smile was stunning yet terrifying in the way she reacted to it. She just didn’t—couldn’t—have such intense chemistry with any other person. But Wilder?
“Happy you finally noticed I could use a little assistance. It hurts like a son of a bitch.”
She kept walking, ensuring she didn’t move too fast. A fine sheen of sweat glistened on Wilder’s face. He hunched even more as they made their way slowly back toward her house.
“Ran into trouble on a mission. Parachuted in to you.” His low, velvet‑toned voice was barely discernible. “Don’t want to take the chance of paperwork in the hospital that would lead straight back to me. If this is inconvenient . . .” He shrugged.
“As if I’d ever turn you away.” She wasn’t going to point out she was risking her license, depending
on how bad it was. She could get in trouble if he’d been shot. That was something she would be obligated to report—not that she would, and she was usually by the book.
As if reading her mind, he took one hand and ran it down the back of her hair as they walked. “Things go wrong, you need anything at all, you reach out to Rainier. He has the pull to get you out of trouble.”
Her heart stuttered. “You stay here. I’ll go get the car.” Something was very wrong. She should have realized Wilder would never be sweating or stumbling the way he was if the injury wasn’t bad.
He kept walking. As he did, he slid one palm to her lower back and pressed gently to keep her moving. “Let’s just get there, babe.”
Under any other circumstances, she would have objected strenuously to being called babe by him. Now, she just wanted to get him safely to her home.
“Distract me. Talk. Tell me why you were out here when you know better and why you were crying.”
She heaved an exaggerated sigh. “I don’t understand how you can manage to be annoying even when you’re clearly seriously wounded.”
He flashed that faint grin of his that could melt the panties right off a woman. “It’s a gift.”
Harlow was slightly ashamed that she reacted to that little grin. He was wounded, and it seemed a little perverted that she was thinking of sex when he was most likely bleeding to death. His skin had a grayish hue and was beaded with sweat. He might act confident, but he was severely injured. Ordinarily, she would have taken charge, but Wilder wasn’t a man she could manipulate or control, not even when it came to his health. She kept walking, determined to get him to her house as soon as she could.
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