This one started out on a great note and although it was a bit slow at some places it still kept me invested. Some really creepy factors and loved the tense building throughout the book. A good one for those that do Halloween reads. The story kept flowing with quick to know characters and that ending was epic.

For an entertaining read, that’s not just for young adults, Lois Duncan’s Salem Witch Trials novel, “Gallows Hill,” may be just right.

This enjoyable iread about a serious subject from American history features a strong female protagonist.

Although uprooted, she is fearless and independent with self-knowledge beyond her years. Her control in the face of rejection on multiple fronts is commendable.

For readers who like magical fun, Gallows Hill also features some esoteric past-life regression, crystal gazing and mass hypnosis for levity.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Lois Duncan, and Publisher Laurel Leaf Press for this advanced reader's copy for review.

This is single handedly one of the scariest books I’ve ever read. If you’re already a Darcy Coates fan, this is some of her best work. It left me unable to sleep because I just kept feeling watched. The ending is so perfect.

I really don't read enough horror and I definitely need to go back and read Darcy Coates' back list. She really knows how to create an atmosphere and set the mood. My heart beat a little faster at the start of this one. Seriously as she explored the house and the bells going off in the middle of the night. I may need to sleep with a light for a while.

A haunted winery. That's a new one for me. This does start out a lot slow but it does pick up and more than make up for the start. Once revealed the backstory is original. There's even a dog in this one. Filled with family secrets and wrought with tension this eerie book reminded me why I love horror.

Darcy Coates is an amazing story teller. Her stories are beautifully written and you can readlly place yourself in the stories. This novel was no diffferent. I love stories and movies about haunted houses. This one gives you a chill that follows you throughout the story. It does start with a slow build but still kept my attention. If you like gothic horrors with a slow build definitely check this one out.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

The beginning of this book was a slow burn and I struggle with slow burns. I kept waiting for something - anything scary to happen. The later part of the book brings on the frights. It occurs in stages but once you hear the bells, you know things are about to get real- real fast! Finally!

I absolutely loved this book! The atmosphere was everything I hoped for and more! If you're looking for a book to give you creepy and unsettling vibes while reading, this is it.

I think I will give up on this author. This is. The third book in a row that I just didn’t like. I found the story boring .

I guess this author’s books just aren’t foe me .

Margot’s family has owned and operated Gallows Hill winery for generations. But when Margot’s parents die suddenly, she stands to inherit. But she doesn’t want it. Why would she want something when her parents didn’t seem to want her?? She goes to see it and get a sense of what she wants to do with it. It’s here she finds out the land the winery is on is in fact cursed. But does she really believe that? Well, she’s about to…

This was a good and intense book at times! Definitely had a Walking Dead vibe to it! I understood Margot’s hesitancy with wanting to keep the winery but also understood her want of figuring out the cursing and trying to break it. I enjoyed that there was an element of history to it along with the need for healing and forgiveness! This is an author I will continue to read! Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review!

Another fantastic read by Darcy Coates! This one is a slow burn, very unsettling and it has a bit of mystery going on. I didn’t see the ending coming which made me very happy! Great book

Darcy Coates is one of my auto-buy authors. I enjoy the gothic dark atmospheres that she creates. “Gallows Hill” is a supernatural gothic slow burn with a great setting. The atmosphere surrounding the haunted winery is dark and eerie. Being claustrophobic, the scariest parts to me were the underground tunnels. When Margot falls into a collapsed tunnel, with no way out but narrow dirt-filled passages, it is terrifying and anxiety-inducing.

The characters and the first half of the book were where I struggled. The characters were not as dynamic as I would have liked them to be, and the first half of the moved very slowly.

Margot was an interesting character. There is just not a whole lot to her, and she tends to come off a bit dry. Her character does pick up a bit in the second half of the book when things start to pick up. In. my opinion, it did not redeem her. The supporting characters are fairly standard.

The story moves at a slow pace. The last quarter of the book picks up speed. The story has lots of confusing details. Some things didn’t add up at the end. There were some creepy moments with the restless and angry spirits but the repetition took away some of the enjoyment.

I am excited to pick up the next Darcey Coates book.

Margot Hull returns to her childhood home, a prosperous winery called Gallows Hill, after her parents' sudden deaths. The locals whisper that the deaths were because of the curse that has haunted the many generations of owners of the winery, but Margot is unaware of these stories of violent deaths and loss.

After spending a terrifying night at the old house, Margot is told about the history of the hill upon which the winery sits, and about the bloody past of the Hull family. Violence runs deep on the hill, starting from when it was used for many years as an execution site, before the Hull family bought the land. When the winemaker Ezra Hull and his whole family disappeared, to be replaced soon after by Ephraim Hull and his family, there were rumours of murder, but nothing was ever proved. Each successive generation of Hulls, while prospering, has lost many of its members to sudden violence or illness.

Margot, after learning this decides, despite her terror, to do something about the genuinely terrifying presences haunting the house and its grounds. In the process, she decides to change the legacy of her family.

I wanted to love this book, but I did not. I found that Margot and the supporting characters didn't capture my imagination they way Keira, Mason and Zoe did in the author's "Gravekeeper" series, which has a nice mix of humour and horror. I think humour was what I was missing from this book, realizing fully well that this standalone is a different beast from the other books, and is meant to evoke different emotions from the reader. The atmosphere in "Gallows Hill" is wonderfully chilling, and there are several scary scenes in this story about the legacy of violence, and how the evil and nastiness has seeped into the very ground of the hill. It's an interesting use of the genius loci idea, and I wish I had enjoyed this story more than I did.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

It was a good book. I always love Darcy Coates books. A little long, but overall, enjoyable. I love the setting and the History of the location of the book.

This was my first read of the author and I did not know it involved paranormal elements. I have to be in the right mindset and know beforehand to truly enjoy a paranormal story.

For me, this started out slow and I struggled to finish, but I think that is just because I wasn’t prepared going in.

Overall, a great story.

I love a haunted house and this is no exception. I thought Coates' writing was superb, and I was so chilled throughout - I definitely had to read with the lights on!

Holy spooky. Coates knows how to write something to give you the creeps. It’s tense and dreadful. I love the way Darcy writes her atmosphere. Definitely don’t read with the lights off.

Darcy Coates' books should have a cautionary label, something like: "WARNING: High Voltage Horror. Read with caution and in daylight. Not for the faint of heart." However, his stories are like the habanero pepper: if you like it, you will always want more.
Gallows Hill is an excellent read, which I inadvertently started reading late one night, but couldn't stop reading until I knew the ending. Miss Coates' style is recognizable from the first chapters, her characters are strong, the setting is superb, her plot catches the reader like a spider's web, the environment envelops the reader and her endings are unexpected but very appropriate and satisfying.
I recommend this and all of her books to strong-hearted readers who want to spend a few hours on the edge of their seats and watching their backs to the slightest rumor, real or imagined, they hear.
I thank Ms Coates and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The opinion I have expressed above is based solely on what I think and feel about this book.

Ok, so I loved this book a lot! It was creepy and suspenseful and full of mystery. Darcy has a fantastic imagination to create something this amazing! I read this book in two days.

The main character's parents die so she takes over the home and vineyard but is told not to leave the house at night. Lots of mysterious things happen. This book is so good. Just read it. Trust me. You'' love it!

I couldn’t get hooked on this book. It was too slow paced for me and the horror element didn’t really stick. :( I really wanted to like this.