Be prepared to sleep with the lights on.

This book was a good reminder of what a real horror novel should be like. The author wrote the story with a heavy, evil, darkness style which translated well to the written page. Bone chilling and heart racing moments throughout the story with an ending that was pure genius. I highly recommend for anyone who loves to be scared while reading and lingers even after you close the book.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions expressed are
my own.

At the age of eight, Margot was summarily sent away from home and parents to be raised by her grandmother. She never saw them alive again. She hasn't forgotten nor likely forgiven. Summoned to their funeral (they died in the same night), she is astounded to discover she is the inheritor of Gallows Hill Winery and owner of a bone-chilling residence.
This novel reads like British Victorian Gothic, and immensely weighted with foreshadowing and atmosphere, yet it disappointingly didn't hold my attention.

Yes! A frightful book just in time for spooky season!

Margot inherits the family winery. Despite wanting nothing to do with it, she returns to her childhood home to be exposed to a lot more than just family secrets. Blood runs thick on the grounds of Gallows Hill, and it seems that Margot just might be it's next victim.

Gallows Hill if full of it's fair share of ghosts, curses, frightening moments, and dark family secrets. The second half of the book really kicks all that into gear to the point I was wrapped up and actually had to stop reading it before going to bed. Coates does a wonderful job of interweaving the story with plenty of tension and horrors. This is definitely one title that I will be adding to our library collection and my personal collection as well.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates.

I have never read this author before, and was excited to read this one. I had heard many good things about Darcy Coates before. However, I found this book just wasn't for me. For starters, the book was just too long. The descriptions of the house and the atmosphere-building went on way too much to a point where I was bored, and I just wanted some action, or to start finding things out about the house. It took over half the book for anything to happen. The classic trope of "the house was built on cursed grounds where a bunch of people died" is usually a pretty great base to build upon, I just wish we had more history at the beginning instead of set-building. I did love the final unveiling of the bodies in the barrels (very Edgar Allan Poe-esque). I think one way this book could have been more interesting is hearing more about Witchety and the weird effigy. I actually thought she was going to turn out to be an ancestor that was cursing the home (using the effigy), and this would have been a more interesting turn of events, in my opinion. The "returned" bodies themselves were pretty scary, but once you establish they can't be killed unless the curse is lifted (and you can't hide from them), there's not much else you can do with the story, so I guess that's why the book waited until the end. I would have liked to have heard more about Margot's parents and more backstory with her as a child with them (other than the videotape). All in all, this book just didn't really hold my interest, but I may try Darcy Coates in the future.

If you're looking for a creepy read, Darcy Coats books are the ones to grab!
In the newest book Gallow Hills, you find all of the spookiness along with a great story.  I tried to read this book a few times at night but just couldn't do it. It was that creepy. So, it took me a few days, during daylight, to get through the read.
In typical Darcy Coats fashion she has brought everything that makes a good horror/thriller together.
Set at Gallow Hills winery, with a history of death that shrouds it. When Maria Hull inherits the property from her deceased parents she hopes to find out secrets as to why they sent her away. What Maria finds out about Gallow Hills, its history and her parents are beyond what she expected.
Maria is a kick ass character along with the others running Gallow Hills, together they just have to get through the night.

4 Stars ~

I finished this book about 3 minutes ago and I am lost for words at that unexpected ending.

Margot inherits her family's home and winery after both her parents suddenly die, after being shipped off to her grandmother's house as a child. Margot returns to her parent's home and the unexpected happens and more.

Gallows Hill was previously used as the grounds to hang and bury criminals in the 1700's and the Hull family turned the land into a profitable winery, although generations of the Hull's have been dying mysteriously. Margot doesn't know why or how until she spends a few nights in the home for herself.

All I can say is, that Margot is a lot braver than I would be. That is a huge NOPE from me. And what a beautiful person Kant is, awww. I felt for him a lot.

I did find this book to be a bit of a drag in areas, chapters upon chapters just happening within one night which seemed unnecessary. But it did get my heart pounding at times, which is what I want with a horror novel.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Gallows Hill, for the return of an honest review.

If you feel like a good horror story this is a definite read for you but beware; don't read this after dark.......that is when the Dead come out to play......

For some strange reason, Margot never knew her parents. When she was 8 they sent her off to live with her grandmother and she never saw them again. Now Margot is at their funeral. They left their winery and estate to her but the creaky old house is full of mystery and soon unexplained things start happening. There are weird noises, the sound of footsteps, a horrible-looking effigy that scares the living daylights out of her, and let's not even start with the ringing bells!

She discovers that the house and winery were built on a hill where, several hundred years ago, people were hanged and where their bodies were buried.
This is no ordinary house. This is a house with history. A history that wants to come back and destroy everyone and everything
because Gallows Hill is cursed.
The people that were hanged from the trees and buried in the ground are coming back. Nobody knows why but they will hurt you if they can get to you.
And when the hills got you there's no way out; not for you or anyone else because that is part of the Gallows Hill curse. If you stay too long, you will never be able to leave.

I loved how it started off quite normally. (although we had a hint at the beginning with a sinister line from the funeral director when she asked to view the bodies..."We did the best that we could, but...... ")
Soon the horror starts seeping through the cracks (literally and figuratively speaking!)
I found myself speaking out loud to Margot and telling her off for not running for the hills (although in this story it might not have been a good idea!)

A toe-curling good horror that I can definitely recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and Poison Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

“Gallows Hill” by Darcy Coates had me spooked to my core! I couldn’t read it while home alone! I enjoy the thrill of scary stories and this one was top-tier for atmosphere. The perfect book to read at the start of spooky season!

Margot, who hasn’t seen her parents for most of her life, finds she inherited their home and the family business, a winery, after their suspicious deaths. When Margot arrives at Gallows Hill, she discovers a curse on the land and fights for her life to escape the same fate as her parents.

Despite the story feeling a tad long at times between the action, this was such a thrilling read. I LOVED the atmosphere of the old, creepy house and the history. The plot is good, but the atmosphere was the standout for me. Not to mention the ending had my jaw dropped to the floor! I would have loved the end to be expanded upon because it was so interesting, but it was still satisfying nonetheless.

I would recommend this book if you enjoy thrilling, spooky, haunted reads that will keep you up at night. It was so fun following Margot on her journey of discovering the life she may have lived if she grew up on Gallows Hill.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

4-4.5 stars

This is the perfect read to get you in the mood for spooky season!

When the owners of Gallows Hill Winery pass away suddenly, their daughter, Margot, inherits the family business. But it’s been more than a decade since Margot has stepped foot on Gallows Hill, a land that is said to be cursed for its dark history. The more time she spends in her childhood home, the more convinced she is that there may be some truth behind the rumors of the curse and that she may be it’s next victim.

I don’t often read horror stories, though I do enjoy them a great deal, but this one definitely grabbed my attention. It was clear that Margot was creeped out by what was happening on the grounds of the winery and in her parents’ home, and I felt my heart pounding right alongside her. But I loved the history behind what had happened there, as horrible as it had been. The fact that the employees who remained there just accepted it for what it was and tried to help Margot deal with it was more for their own survival, but Margot wasn’t willing to let it take over her life. She was the first one to really tackle the history of those who lost their lives on the property and show them the respect they’d never been given, and I really admired her for putting her life at risk to do so.

Highly recommend!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing a copy of this book to review.*

This supernatural horror follows Margot Hull as she returns to her childhood home for the first time in a decade. After the death of her estranged parents, Margot inherits the family home and world-famous winery on Gallows Hill. Margot, with the help of the winery employees, starts to learn about Gallows Hill's dark and bloody history as she tries to decide what to do with this new life she wasn't expecting. But when she's alone in the house at night, Margot is forced to confront that past history face to face and she realizes she may be the next victim of Gallows Hill.

TW/CW: parental abandonment, death of a parent, animal death

This might be the scariest book I've ever read and I absolutely loved it. There's something about these gothic haunted house horror stories that just gets into my brain and hits my overactive imagination just right. This is my first read by Coates but it 100% will not be the last. I absolutely loved her writing style, descriptions, and the way they came together to really sink me deep into the story. Coates has my absolutely favorite writing style where it feels like the words melt away and a movie starts playing in my head while I read. And for someone with medium-severe level aphantasia is really saying something. I also know that this writing style seems, on the surface, as very simple and easy but there's significant skill involved in crafting the sentences and scenes so it doesn't even feel like I'm reading.

I really loved the setting and lore behind Gallows Hill. I feel like for these gothic/haunted house stories, the setting is foundational to setting up the rest of the story. The name alone is absolute perfection as far as simply setting a certain mood. The name, along with the cover art, made me picture a sort of Tim Burton-esque set up with this creepy house at the top of a hill that the whole town whispers about. I loved the way the history of this location was sprinkled in throughout the first 50%ish of the book so we didn't have one big info dump. Margot learns new details about Gallows Hill as each of these new strange events occurs. We do have a pretty well developed cast of characters that help Margot get answers to some of her questions (but for most of the tense moments, Margot is alone). I loved the way we get pieces and layers of the lore throughout the story and they all come together perfectly at the end.

The horror elements in this were fantastic and I loved the way they were balanced and paced throughout the book. I was expecting this to be more of a slow burn gothic horror but we get some really great build up very quickly in the story. But these moments are well balanced with the outside narrative of Margot trying to figure out this new situation she finds herself in when it comes to this new business and figuring out if she wants to live in this new house permanently. There are also some really great internal logic of the horror elements that allowed the story to have these natural ebbs and flows of the tense moments which really helped the overall pacing. Coates also knows exactly when to drop those particular lines that immediately jack up the tension and scares 200% (I almost threw the book across the room at the doggie door line - iykyk). I read this book at night when my boyfriend was out of the house and I had to turn on a podcast in the background so I wouldn't feel so alone because I was getting so freaked out.

As with many haunted house stories, there's a bit of a mystery element to this one where Margot is trying to figure out what really happened in this house hundreds of years before and how that might connect with what is happening now. I really enjoyed how the mystery investigation was handled and how well it was mixed in with the escalating horror scenes. I also appreciated that the ending was not a Scooby-Doo type ending where the ending deflated the scares and horror that had been building throughout the story. Instead, we do get answers and the answers elevated the horror elements for me. I do wish the mystery was introduced a little earlier because it did feel a little rushed at the end and I think if the same plot points were just spread out a little more it would have worked a bit better.

I do wish Margot was a more developed character when it came to her life before coming to Gallows Hill. We get some details about her life but it felt more like a bullet point list of facts about Margot rather than a well-rounded character shown to us on page. Since Margot has some pretty intense family stuff intertwined with suddenly dealing with this creepy house, I think some of the reveals later on would have hit way harder, emotionally, if we had a better sense of who Margot was before. Maybe if the story was a little slower burn in the beginning so we could really spend some time with Margot settling into this new life while processing her complicated family background.

Thanks NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC. Publication date was September 6, 2022

Gallows Hill is the first book I’ve read by Darcy Coates, and I will be reading more. While it didn’t have an extreme scare factor for me, there were definitely creepy moments and Coates ends the chapters perfectly to make you want to keep reading just one more chapter!

Once we got into the story I do wish some of the characters were a bit more developed. Some of them seemed to be there just to give us some clues about the mystery of who the restless spirits were and to what may have actually happened on Gallows Hill to make them so angry.

Where Coates really shined was with the maze that was contained in the house and all the craziness that would jump out after dark. I did also enjoy the final reveal since I had my suspicions but Coates was still able to add another layer that I hadn’t thought of.

This book was definitely on the slow side from what I personally tend to appreciate. I will say, I am positive there are readers out there who will definitely love and appreciate this book, especially in the upcoming spooky season. I’d say pick this up if you love creepy and horrific ‘I’m sorry I’m reading at night, alone, in the dark’ reads!!

The story follows Margot after her parents death. She inherits their home, grounds and winery… and so much more. This story is atmospheric and gloriously gothic. The descriptions of the grounds and the winery were creepy. I am a fan of Darcy Coates’ writing and find this type of horror very enjoyable especially during fall.

As many of you know, "spooky season" is upon us. What better way to kick off the season than with a Darcy Coates novel, because lets be real, no one can top Darcy Coates when it comes to giving the reader everything they never knew they needed....

I have been a huge fan of Darcy Coates since I first read The Haunting of Ashburn House. My love grew with each book I read, including Hunted, The Whispering Dead, The Ravenous Dead, The Haunting of Gillespie House and of course, my favorite of all time, Craven Manor. So the decision was simple, you see a book by Darcy Coates and you do what you have to do to get your hands on it and your nose in it.

Gallows Hill, easily became my favorite Darcy Coates book of all time and I don't even know how that is possible as I have rated each book previous with five stars.

Its possible, because it happened....

I can say with full certainty that I am not sure when I will be capable of sleeping with the lights off. I am horrified to say the least.

Gallows Hills is a twisted tale that surrounds a haunted house. I will never get tired of these horrifying haunted house books! There is something about Coates books that just speak to my little black soul. I hang on every word and I just can not get enough. How everything comes together in the end is beyond satisfying and just makes your body ache for more.

Gallows Hill is not a book you want to miss and if you have the opportunity to read Coates, back log, I highly recommend that as well.

Five stars!

I love Darcy Coates so thank you to net galley and the publisher for allowing me an arc for my honest review. Fall is my favorite time for horror and there is nothing better than a creepy old house with tons of secrets! Very spooky and will have you looking over your shoulder! Highly recommend for those fall creepy vibes!

I'm a third shifter with a night off, so I decided to delve into this book. Right from the start, there's an ominous feel to the book what with the closed casket funeral of both Margot's parents and subsequent inheritance of her family's winery. She was sent away as a young child to live with grandparents and still has bitter feelings and no memory of the house. The winery, built on the hill where the town would hang their criminals, has the infamous old hanging oak as their logo and the land is believed to be cursed. Left alone for her first night, she's nervous of the creaks and groans of an old house. And then the bells start to ring and you're just flat out terrified, not knowing what's going on... just like poor Margot! As more information was explained and the threats kept increasing, I found myself sneaking over to close my doors and windows left open to the summer night and jumping at the creaking in my own house! Just so deliciously scared! I can't believe I raced through this book in one night! This is only my second book by this author and I'm excited to see how many more she's written... bring on the terror, lol!
I received an advance reader copy of this book. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

This is the story of a young woman who inherits the family winery after the death of her parents. Parents she barely remembers as she was sent to live with her grandmother and never heard from them again until she received word that they had both passed away. Gallows Hill has been in her family for 11 generation, and she inherits it all, along with its ghosts.

This book was one of Darcy's best! I loved the characters and how they all stood by to help Margot. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a well written ghost story.

Go Darcy, It's your Pub Week! Absolutely LOVED this story! But then again I have pretty much enjoyed everything she has written. Knee deep in Quarter to Midnight which is absolutely chilling to read! So, yes, this book is legit CREEPY! And I do not creep easily. Gothic horror at its best is what you will find when you pick up any of Ms. Coates works.

If you want to dive into Haunted homes, cursed land, Ghosts, Ghosts and maybe more Ghosts well then what are you waiting for? Go on and get to the book store and start reading this chilling tale! And pick up the rest of her creepy collection while you are at it!

Enjoy!

This one is tough to review.

Most Darcy Coates books are quick reads for me - a couple days of enjoying the comforting haunted house formula.

I had so much trouble getting into the book. I decided I needed to finish it, and I'm glad I stuck with it, but it took a couple weeks of picking it up until I finally got into it.

The first half of the book could be called "Margot is a Moron." Nooses show up on your porch? 🚩 Creepy lights that look like eyes? 🚩 CALL THE POLICE AND GET OUT OF THERE!!!!

She doesn't even consider calling the police until after the 50% mark, which is bonkers.

BUT....................

After the halfway point, Kant, Nora, Ray, and Andrew finally share what's actually going on, and it all makes sense. It's logically consistent with the rest of the book (though Margot should have called the police and had the police say, "Yeah, there is no way we're coming to help you..."), and I enjoyed the creepy aspect. I hated Margot, but I'm glad I finished the book.

... but that's where I come back to this book review being hard. I'm glad I finished the book, but I regret starting it. It was fine, and I enjoyed the ending, but I didn't enjoy the ride. So... two stars?

Sorry Darcy! I usually love your stuff. This one just didn't click with me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest (if unflattering) review.