This book was as entertaining as it was perplexing. I spent half the time mentally arguing with the author for doing things that ruined my willing suspension of disbelief. Like, there's no way that could happen and no one noticed anything! Lazy writing!

Well, the joke was on me. It could happen, because the author neatly disguised a key fact, unobtrusively, and masterfully. Well done! It certainly could have been done better. There is some suspension of disbelief required. But overall, it's a decent read for a rainy day, and a good enough thriller.

If you enjoy horror/thrillers, pick this one up.

This book was fast paced and had lots of twists and turns. You definitely can’t trust anybody. It’s an And Then There Were None-esque closed door mystery set in a remote wintry location.

I was worried at first that it was going to be more of a surviving the elements type story but it was definitely a horror story in true Darcy Coates fashion and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Highly recommend picking this one up. It’ll be a great winter read if you’re OK with a little or actually a lot of gore.

Mind blown! This is an intricate thriller filled with nuance and lots of oh my goodness moments! What starts off as a winter vacation escape of one’s dreams turns exactly into that except that people often forget nightmares are dreams too. A group of strangers are all together for this adventure that turns into a murder mystery when the bus to their vacation breaks down. Which amongst them is the murder or is it someone that is following their journey? This one really had me guessing and the details were exquisite yet often gruesome as well. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this read.

What a perfect thriller/mystery to read in the winter! The writing was very atmospheric and you could feel the dread and isolation through the characters. The characters were not well developed and I guessed the plot twist very early on in the story but overall an enjoyable read.

Eight strangers, one killer, a tour bus headed to a cabin in the Rockies. Tour guide goes missing, a severed head. Great locked room mystery.

This was a wild ride! Grief is a very powerful emotion and it can drive people to do some unspeakable thinks! A group of would be strangers are on a trip to a secluded cabin far up in the mountains. The weather is moving in quick and becomes increasingly bad. There is a blockage in the road preventing passage but their tour guide seems to have everything under control. The passengers get off the bus to either help or look around. Two go wondering off too far into the dangerous terrain of the snow covered mountains. The group had no choice but to look for them. And now they are all at risk not just from the weather but from a killer. Who is doing this? Why them? A discussion later helps them see what connects them all. But no one trusts anyone and people are dying!! Will they manage to get help or figure out who the killer is before it’s too late? Will any of them survive or be rescued? Hang on and jump in. This book grips you from the beginning and keeps you guessing the entire time! Even when you think you’re sure you have it figured out, think again! Thank you to poison pen press for allowing me access to this amazing book!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Darcy Coates - 5 stars!

Christa and her boyfriend are part of a tour group heading into a lodge deep in the Rocky Mountains. But when a snowstorm sweeps in, the group takes shelter in a small abandoned cabin. Christa and her boyfriend had ventured away from the group, and she wakes up in the cabin with the others, injured, but her boyfriend is missing. Soon, the tour guide goes missing and is found dead. Christa is now with a group of 8 strangers, none of whom she trusts, and one by one they are dying.

Wow - this was a heart-pounding thriller that I couldn't put down! The abandoned cabin, the snowstorm, the strangers, the bleakness of the situation will have you turning the pages as fast as you can to figure out the locked-room mystery of who is behind the gruesome deaths. I had no idea who the culprit was and loved feeling suspicious along with the characters. Great book!

Really enjoyed this snowy, locked room thriller about a group of travelers who find themselves stranded in the middle of the Rocky Mountain wilderness as they are trying to get to a remote lodge.

Okay, but they are adaptable. They find a remote cabin and take shelter. Then they are targeted by a killer, one by one. Who lured them there and why?

Chilling fun!

Okay book but slow pacing in the beginning. It was good but I wanted more from this particular author.

This book was gifted by Netgalley & the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Dead of Winter is following in the aftermath of a winter storm that leaves a group of people secluded in the middle of the storm with one small setback. A killer. Oh and an abandoned cabin in the middle of the storm. They’re going to be fine right…..?

I think that this book confused me slightly, It should have been released during the fall/winter. It did not give the summer vibes that I was wanting to read this time of year, because its hot outside. I think that hindered my enjoyment slightly, which isn’t the fault of the author. I would recommend that mood readers hold off on picking this up until it vibes with winter.

Otherwise, I thought that this was a pretty good book. It wasn’t anything that I haven’t read before, but Coates did a fantastic job of setting the scene and making it slightly spooky!

3.75 stars. Thanks to Negalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the E-Arc. This book really surprised me it had me on the edge of my seat the whole way. I knew nothing the FMC was literally the one telling me what to think and I loved that since sometimes you can usually figure out what is going on. The only thing I did not enjoy was the ending but other than that it was a super solid read

Super short review bc I am a fan of the author but this one didn’t really work for me and it should have-wintery isolated setting, closed door whodunit mystery- it checked lots of my boxes and yet it still fell flat. The characters in particular fell flat and the storyline was predictable. Maybe lots of others will enjoy it more, and it won’t stop me from reading future books by the author, but I found myself going “yawn, skim, yawn, skim” through a good bit and even the big reveals weren’t anything big.
Christa joins a tour group going to the Rocky Mountains but a snowstorm knocks a tree down in the road making it impassable so they have to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. As the temperature drops when the storm rages, things go from bad to worse as members of the tour start coming up dead and christa is trapped with eight strangers and one of them is a killer.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

This is my second Darcy Coates book and I was so excited when I was given the chance to read and review it for NetGalley. 

From the very beginning, I was on the edge of my seat. The book starts with a snowstorm as the main character is fighting for survival on the very first page. The rest of the book continues this theme, although the storm is not the biggest threat out there. All I wanted was for her to be safe and sound, and well, warm. Instead, I got a horror story - and I loved it. Yes, it's gory and graphic. Yes, if I heard a sudden noise while reading this book I jumped. Yes, I wanted to finish it so I wouldn't have to close it and be scared for the characters anymore. 

These are all the benchmarks of a great book. If you're roasting in the sun this summer, I recommend picking up a book that will promptly remind you how awful winter can be, like Dead of Winter. And if you're somewhere cold, I recommend picking up Dead of Winter to be reminded that, while cold, at least no one is picking members of your group off one. by. one.

Darcy Coasts is quickly becoming a favorite. This fast paced thriller / horror brought back fond memories of And Then There Were None, but with some extra gore. The well described winter storm seemed to be working against them as much as the murderer. You could almost feel the bite of the snow. Burrrr.

Who is killing everyone? Why? Will it even matter if they all starve or freeze?

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Dead of Winter was the perfect book to read during the sweltering hot summer in SC. I was transported to a secluded mountain with endless amounts of chilling wind and blankets of snow.
The prospects of frostbite and hypothermia were scary enough. Our FMC then finds herself in an isolated cabin with a storm raging and her fellow travelers getting picked off one by one. You can feel the desperation and fear as she struggles to determine which of her companions is the killer and when they will be rescued.
I loved the atmosphere and tension created in this book. I did figure out the big twist and who the killer was fairly early but I did enjoy the journey to see if I was right. There was also a minor plot point that seemed hard for me to believe that is reflected in my rating. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone that enjoys thrillers.

My true rating is 3.5 stars

I have posted this review on Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5669288341

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/CurRHodAZv1/?igshid=YzcxN2Q2NzY0OA==

And Amazon.

A new approach to a classic genre, the author takes a locked room whodunnit and makes it a bit creepy. Enough information is given to lead the reader through the resolution of the mystery, but nothing is as it seems and this makes it a genuine page turner. Loved the characters and the writing style. A very polished effort.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (Rounded to 5 Stars on Goodreads and NetGalley)
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Happy Pub Week!!!
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Dead Of Winter is the perfect horror nod to one of my favorite Christie’s “And Then There Were None.” It’s told in single point of view from our main character Christa as she embarks on a trip she’ll never forget. Attempting to go to a remote hotel with a small group, a storm rolls in creating issues. They find solace in a little cabin, solace until they begin getting picked off one by one. By who? For what reason? Only time can tell.
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This was a chilling atmospheric read. It was much appreciated in the middle of a heat wave here in PA. I found the beginning to be a bit of a slower paced and wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about it, but then quickly picked up pace and I was hooooked. I devoured this in a day! The short chapters are absolute heaven. I loved every gory detail of the murder and the way that the killer showed their work. It was eerie, it was claustrophobic and there were plenty of times I felt myself panting out of fear for these characters. There were characters I hated and others I liked - the perfect balance.
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When I got to the end, I was literally floored. After picking my jaw back up, I started to think about all the clues Coates left for us throughout the story and was like “Wow how did I NOT see this coming?!” Regardless, I am super happy I didn’t catch on and the ending was such a surprise. Needless to say - I freaking loved it, it’s the perfect locked door mystery.
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Dead Of Winter was just released on Tuesday 7/11 and I highly recommend it to all my horror fans! It is pure perfection! Seriously, if you haven’t read any Darcy Coates books yet, I have no idea what you’re waiting for - she’s the queen of horror. Check this one out, let yourself be transported from the heat and into this chilling book filled with murder.

Thank you so much for the gifted e-arc!!

I love Darcy Coates books a lot!! This book was great!! I kinda wished I would of waited to read it till December since the snowy setting is perfect for that time of the year!! But this was a very fast paced book and I couldn’t put it down!

This one had me hooked from page 1. I like that Coates stepped outside of her traditional haunted house zone. This one gave me And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and One by One by Ruth Ware vibes. I can't deny that I had a feeling I had the killer figured out, but I didn't know how Coates was going to pull off the reveal.

A bus full of seemingly random strangers is headed to a secluded cabin in the mountains. The weather takes a turn for the worst and is quickly becoming a threat. If they can reach the cabin, they should be safe from the elements. However, they come across a tree in the road. While the guide tries to figure out a plan to get past the tree, the passengers disembark. Christa and her boyfriend decide to try to find a good sightseeing spot, but unfortunately, they get lost in the woods and end up separated. After wandering through the woods, Christa is able to find the rest of the passengers holed up in an "abandoned" hunting cabin. One by one the passengers start to disappear, and their heads appear on a tree. As the passengers start to dwindle, it becomes clear that they are all connected in a way that none of them could have anticipated. Are they random targets? Or is this a revenge plan? Who can be trusted?

A gripping story. You won’t want to put it down!! You feel like you are there in the cabin. The characters are well written and complex and the mystery keeps you changing your mind as to the culprit.