And Breathe!!!!

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates was an excellent book from start to finish. This book was so gripping and chilling it was hard to put my kindle down.

When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she's hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the small group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes they'll be safe as they wait out the storm.

She couldn't be more wrong.

Deep in the dark of the night, their tour guide goes missing. Only to be discovered the following morning, with his severed head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. So terrified, and completely isolated by the storm, Christa finds herself trapped with eight total strangers. One of them kills for sport. They're far from finished. As the storm grows more dangerous and the number of survivors dwindles one by one,

Christa must decide who she can trust before this frozen mountain becomes her tomb. WoW.....this book is Sooooooo good!

I highly recommend it. 5 stars for this book!

Big Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, Darcy Coates and Netgalley for my ARC.

Darcy Coates my fave spooky author! you can never go wrong with DC thank you for the free e-ARC. loved this read and definitely felt the spooky vibes which DC never disappoint.

One of my favorite thriller/mystery tropes is when people get picked off one by one. So, I was very excited for this one, when I heard about it. However, this one wasn't my favorite.

The pacing was not my favorite. We start so strong, but then too fast. And then it slows down too much for me.

It also become a little more surivial than I like. What I like about the one by one trope is the impending doom and tension of who is next, but this one seemed like we were checking bodies off of a list.

However, I did like Darcy Coates writing style and I will read more of her books. Especially her haunted house books.

It's still a good book, but just not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for my honest review.

OMG, I don't even know where to start!!

This was the first Darcy Coates novel I've read, and I can tell you, it won't be my last.

'Dead of Winter' is a horrorfest, filled with blood and gore, but it was the mystery that captivated me the most.

Just when I thought I'd figured out who the psychotic murderer was, I was thrown off the trail in a completely different direction.

I also found myself sucked into the story, almost like I was there, and began planning how and when I was going to escape.

By the end I was reeling, shocked at who the murderer was and how eight strangers had more in common than first thought.

But I neeeeeed to know, what the hell happened to the remaining characters in the end??????

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates is the first book I have read by this author, but certainly won’t be the last. This was a great murder mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I was hooked from the first page and couldn’t read it fast enough. I recommend this book and its shocking ending. Thanks Netgalley for this arc.

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates is a suspense thriller banger for fans of Ruth Ware and Agatha Christie. Main character and kick-ass Christa is traveling to a remote winter lodge with her boyfriend and several other supposed strangers. Something happens and they are stranded, then the deaths begin. Like similar books, this one could easily be adapted into a screenplay and at times you do almost have blocking for scenes, but it doesn't deter and helps to define the scenes. The fear and claustrophobia are real, this reader's bitten fingernails can attest. Overall this is a pretty good book and I would read more by this author and watch this movie!

Favorite quote:
"Life can be mean some days."

It’s so freaking hot out (STILL) so it’s the perfect time to take a mind journey into the snowy Rocky Mountains which is the setting of Darcy Coates’ most recent thriller. The story follows Christa who is traveling with her boyfriend to a remote lodge in the mountains. As they and the eight other guests wind their way up the pass, their charter bus is stopped by a fallen tree across the road. The skies darken and soon the snow starts coming down fast. The group luckily finds shelter in a small cabin nearby. Things go from bad to worse and Christa begins to wonder if any of them will make it out alive.

This locked-door thriller kept me on edge and flying through the pages to find out what happened next.

The characters are well-written with interesting backstories that keep you guessing what their motives are and where their loyalties lie.

Don't miss this one! I know Coates is mostly known for her ability to tell a great haunted house story, but her thrillers are just as good!

I think you can skip this one. Tori marries a charismatic popular minister she has know only a week because the sex is good. She takes her young daughter and moves from New York City to Maine where he has his church. Very soon the reader knows she has made a mistake because he is manipulative, controlling and possessive. Tori ignores all the red flags because the sex is good. When she does realize how much trouble she is in getting free becomes a difficult problem. For this reader, Tori's character was not well enough written well enough to develop any sympathy for her. I received this as an arc from NetGalley and am under no pressure for a positive review.

I'm a sucker for isolation thrillers/horror and have been wanting to read Darcy Coats for some time... so when I saw her newest book Dead of Winter I knew it was time!

Dead of Winter is a locked room murder mystery perfect to read over the weekend and getaway from it all, to remote cabin in the woods, where you’ll be guessing who did it until the very end... if you survive.

Christa and her boyfriend have planned the perfect getaway to the Rocky Mountains on a guided winter excursion. But things quickly go wrong when winter storm forces the group of strangers into an isolated cabin with no way to contact the outside world. Thinking the worst is past them the tour group believes waiting out the storm is their biggest challenge, that is until they wake up to find their tour guides head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. Now they must figure out who did it before they strike again. Will Christa figure out who she can trust to make it home alive or will the Rocky Mountains be her final resting place?

This was a fun whodunit, I do wish the characters were more dimensional, but for a quick chilly winter read to take a break from all the hot weather we've been having I had a good time with it, Coats held my attention and kept me guessing, leaving me in a constant "just one more chapter" mindset until the very last page.

Christa and her partner travelled with a tour group to Blackstone Alpine Lodge in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, where they planned to spend two weeks off the grid experiencing adventure. Brian, their tour guide and bus driver, bemoaned the violent storm that was surrounding them but also reassured them of their safety. When a massive tree over the road forced them to stop, Brian started cutting it down with the help of volunteers from the group. They sought refuge in a nearby cabin, hoping to get to the lodge the next day despite having little to eat, no place to sleep, and the ferocious cold as their only company.

But was there a murderer there or among them? Starting with Brian, their tour guide, the group was brutally murdered one by one. They were all in fear, but Christa was trying to figure out who she could trust because she didn't know any of them. No phone reception meant they were unable to call for assistance. They ought to remain confined to the hut together, alone as the storm rages all around them.

Goodness gracious! Dead of Winter by Australian novelist Darcy Coates, who I had never read before, was fantastic and had me racing from the first page. I found it difficult to put it down because of the electric, exhilarating tension. Fast paced, wonderful characters, and a gripping story made the icy cold feel real to me! Highly suggested.

Thanks so much to Poisoned Pen Press for providing my digital ARC through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

So Darcy Coates is a hit or miss for me, I am finding. Unfortunately this one was a miss for me from the beginning. I didn't like the setting, I didn't like a single character, (sometimes you find characters you "love to hate", I didn't even have that) I didn't like the story line, nothing. I did finish, because I kept waiting to love it. Or even like it. I just didn't. I will recommend, only because I have customers who I have recommended Darcy to before who love everything she writes, and that's fantastic so I will for sure recommend but this was not for me.

Spectacular! The writing really draws you into the setting, so much so that I needed to wrap in a blanket despite it being 100andfyou degrees outside at the time of reading. Great suspense, great characters that were slowly revealed as time went on. This would be a fantastic screen adaptation that I would probably drag my introvert self out to the theater for. Shining level winter creep factor.

I am no stranger to a Darcy Coates novel but dang this was something. I can’t decide if it was the best thriller/slasher I’ve read or the worst. Maybe that’s the point of the last two hours I’ve flew through this book. You’ll never see it coming, ever.

The storyline is genius and the plot really works. It’s pure insanity at its best. I probably won’t sleep tonight. This would make an amazing movie!

This was an honest review in exchange for an advanced reader copy.

First,special thanks to Sourcebooks via Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange of my honest review.

At this point, I am going to say Darcy Coates is something else! I already knew she has the unique way of driving my sanity to the drain all the while chasing goosebumps all over and yet, hitting the target even better by getting, um.. how do I say it? Well, how about a shot at morbidity! For the lack of better word, thank you very much! Let’s cut limbs and stuff!
Reading this at the height of summer with 100F on the thermostat was a little ironic but the writing is so good that it feels like I did get frostbite. The scene was so creatively set and like any isolation horror tales, this kept me over the edge of guessing who the killer will take next! I kinda have the feeling of “whodunnit” halfway through but hey, this was exciting!

just finished listening to this book, and I have to say, the prologue was really exciting! It instantly caught my attention. The story begins with a situation that happened six hours earlier.
The plot revolves around a group of people who find themselves stranded in a dangerous winter setting.
As the story unfolds, they start getting picked off one by one, which adds a lot of suspense and keeps you hooked. The storyline is quite interesting, and it definitely held my interest throughout.
However, I must admit that for a story with this kind of plot, I was hoping for a bit more intensity to really make my heart race. It lacked a certain edge that I was looking for. The last couple of chapters was thrilling enough and pulled it through but I would expect that throughout the entire book for a plotline as this one. The twist at the end was really good.
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the overall storyline, and the narrator did an excellent job in bringing the tale to life.
In conclusion, if you're into gripping prologues and an engaging storyline, this book is worth a read.
While it could have had more intensity, I found the story and narration praiseworthy. Give it a try!

The "And Then There Were None" trope, a popular classic in the realm of mysteries, has been used many times, and breathing new life into this well-trodden path can be challenging. However, Darcy Coates manages to break the mold by infusing this familiar setup with a relentless, action-packed narrative that races from the very beginning, injecting a spine-chilling dose of horror into the mix.
From start to finish, the story was a white-knuckle thrill ride, keeping me on the edge of my seat. Coates does not hold back when it comes to delivering grisly and horrifying murders that send shivers down my spine.

One of the highlights of this narrative is the choice of a locked-room setting in a remote, snowstorm-battered location. Coates expertly utilizes this backdrop to enhance the story's eerie atmosphere, further intensifying the horror element.

As the body count rose, my suspicions shifted from one character to another, keeping me guessing until the shocking reveal, and I found myself suspecting everyone until each character met their untimely demise. However, I did manage to deduce the identity of the killer before the final "And Then There Were None" moment. The revelation of the murderer and their motive was a delightful surprise, and I liked the intricate web of connections among the characters, lending an air of credibility to the story that paid off in the end.

Whether you choose to delve into this one in the dead of winter, as a spine-tingling Halloween read, or even on a scorching summer day, one thing is certain: it will chill you to the bone and keep you enthralled until the very last page.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for an ARC copy of this novel. I give this honest review voluntarily.


Wow! I just finished this novel and all I can say is that it is one chilling, thrilling ride. This is the first novel I've read by this author. I checked out her website and it says she writes horror and suspense novels. I would ask her to separate the novels into those two genres specifically- she doesn't right now. I say this because I do not care for the straight up horror genre though I don't mind a suspense novel flirting with horror as this book does. I would categorize this as bordering on the line between these two genres. I did guess who the killer is after just a few pages but that doesn't detract from the book at all. It is an exciting journey she leads us on but is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of blood and heads chopped off. Guns are not used to kill which I think makes the killing scarier. Her descriptiveness of the setting to the kills to the character's physicality and their personalities are all so vivid. She definitely enjoys writing this genre. I really enjoyed this novel and give it 4 ½ stars and definitely recommend.

8 strangers board a tour bus destined for the remote expanse of the Rocky Mountains. When the bus breaks down, they are forced to take shelter in a small hunting cabin.
As night turns to day, the tour guide is missing only to be found with his head severed and impaled to a tree outside the cabin. These 7 strangers soon realize one of them is a murderer and they all may just die out here.

The story is plausible and creepy with an ending you don't see coming. I loved how the author dropped little nuggets throughout the entire book and whilst I kind of guessed the final twist I would like to say that it was still done very well.
This is a fast-paced book with short chapters making for a super easy and entertaining read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Whoa. Dead of Winter is a masterclass in how a locked-room thriller should be done. It kept me on the edge of my seat, constantly second-guessing myself, and absolutely horrified right until the very end.

I did have my suspicions about who the butcher was, but with all the twists I was never completely sure. I will forewarn, that if you have a weak stomach or books with a lot of gore aren't your thing, skip this one. As fantastic as the story is and how suspenseful it is, it's pretty gruesome at times (as you would expect with a murderer called the butcher.)

My only gripe was the ending. It's probably just me but I wanted an epilogue, simply to explain what happened after.

Otherwise, it's a fantastic thriller that I couldn't put down.
Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the eARC!
4.5/5 stars

Ahh I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this one.

The perfect winter setting, isolated location and the suspense continues to build as person after person shows up dead. The characters were written so well and mysteriously that I suspected everyone of their motives

The plot itself was so clever and I feel the reveal and twists at the end were brilliant

This book was nice and action packed and slightly gory - the perfect mix with a mystery that slowly unfolds.

Highly will be recommending this book! Thank you netgalley, publisher and Darcy Coates for this book!