Cold Island

A Novel (Detective Tommy Kelly, Book 1)

By: Peter Colt

Narrated by: Chris Ciulla

When the remains of a young murder victim on Nantucket Island are discovered after thirty-five years, a detective begins to unearth the dark secrets of a community gone silent.

Massachusetts State Police detective Tommy Kelly is called to Nantucket Island, where a boy’s skeletal remains have been discovered at a construction site—interred for thirty-five years. The crime is especially gutting for Tommy, the father of two boys. It’s also the beginning of a grim mystery. Because no child during that period was even reported missing.

Tommy is partnered with Nantucket PD’s best detective, Jo Harris, who first chafes at the idea of a mainlander encroaching on her territory. And their work together is only raising more troubling questions. Then a possible link is found to the decades-old case of a serial killer—a vigilantly hidden part of the past that this tight-knit community would prefer to forget and never speak of again.

The secrets in their silence are so shocking they soon pull Tommy into a very dark place. Suddenly, offseason on Nantucket has never felt so cold, so isolating, or so dangerous.

©2025 Peter K. Colt. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Police procedural fans [will] look forward to the follow-up.”—Publishers Weekly

What a great listen

Can’t wait for the next book. I ran across this title and thought I’d give it a try and was glad I did.

Review of Cold Island

Had some difficulty with the reader's presentation, but the story itself was an interesting and enjoyable listen. was not expecting the end twist.

Moves slowly

The ending is interesting but it moves slowly and I’m not sure the payoff is worth it.

The plot

I didn’t love the reader. He sounded breathless at times, like he was trying too hard.

It held my interest slowly at first and continued to hold throughout

The narrator and the story. Although slow at the beginning with the switch back in fourth in time it made since as the story unfolded. The surprise reveal is what kept me reading. It was critical to the story and contributed to the action or active narration. I would definitely recommend it as a Good read.