OK, so first off, I enjoyed this book. At times in this review it may sound like I didn’t. But I did.

I probably should not have read any book about snow after the winter I had. Giving too much away here, my town was one of the couple in my area that made the news with a once in a lifetime blizzard. We were snowed in behind 10 feet of snow for 3 weeks. My neighbor died. It was horrible. I may have read this with a tiny bit of PTSD. I do not say that flippantly. For me, though, it really heightened the tension of the snow and the murderer on the loose. I could REALLY feel it. Isn’t that the point of literature? It brings out feelings in us. I cam not hiding from those even when they are not pleasant.

On to the review. Christa takes off for a mountain adventure in a remote area of a snowy mountain with her boyfriend and a group of strangers. Things go horribly wrong and they end up hunted by a singularly minded killer.
Now, here is where it will sound like I didn’t like it. I was absolutely positive who-dunn-it for most of the book. I mean, the clues were all there. Every other character who seemed like a good subject would have resulted in a very flawed book. It had to be who it was. Otherwise, there would have been huge plot holes. One character makes a revelation and I wanted to scream, “Don’t you think everyone should know this?” “This is seriously important and could clear up some stuff, I think.” “Have you considered what everyone else has revealed and what it means to you?”

No more of that. I was enjoying the ride the entire time. I loved the final scenes. Reminiscent of classic King.

Read how: 📱
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Setting: USA
POV: 1
Theme: force proximity, cabin and murder

This was an okay read. I did figure out who the killer was from the beginning just didn't know the “why”. All the characters were very much one-dimensional and couldn't connect with any of them.
I know in stressful situations people make terrible decisions but be so for real. Going for a walk on their own because they want space while there's a killer on the loose. .

This book was non-stop action. The beginning and middle of the book kept me engaged and I couldn’t put it down. Towards the end it started to drag on and I did predict the end, but was still a good read.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Publication date: July 11, 2023

Dead of Winter is a psychological thriller told from Christa’s point of view. Christa and her boyfriend Kiernan are headed for an excluded getaway at a lodge among the Rocky Mountains.

The small tour group headed to the lodge finds themselves stuck in a storm and their bus cannot get through. They find an abandoned cabin and while not an ideal situation, the small group settles in until the storm passes.

One by one, members of the group are killed in most horrific ways. As the group learns more about each other they realize they may have something in common and someone in the group is out for revenge.

As the group dwindles and the storm rages on, the last ones alive get closer to the truth. Will they find the murderer before it’s too late? or will the murderer finish the job.

This book was good. I had pretty well figured it out by about the half way mark but there were enough twists and turns to keep me interested. This is a 3.5 star read for me and I would recommend for any psychological mystery/thriller fans out there.

#NetGalley #darcycoates #deadofwinter

I love Darcy Coates. Her books are riveting and this story kept me turning pages. Excellent suspense and terrifying twists and turns. I'll definitely read more of her books.

Wow. This book was so GOOD. The story was so well connected and the characters were flesh-outed masterfully. I was on the edge of my seat and found myself gasping out loud at times with the events that kept happening. This author constantly diverted my expectations and up until the very end I was still guessing who the murderer was, and let me tell you it was one heck of a reveal. I had so much fun reading this heart-pounding horror novel and will definitely be checking out more from this author!

I was SO CLOSE to DNFing this book down at the end of almost every chapter but the mystery was so compelling that I kept sighing and reading the next chapter. This is a fun, pulp-y read for a poolside/lakeside/beach summer.

This was my favorite of Darcy Coates books yet. I received this as an ARC and it was vastly different from her usual paranormal horror style. This story follows a group of tourists into a remote snowy mountain where one of them begins picking off the group one by one.

I'm not usually enthralled by whodunits, but I genuinely could not foresee the twists and turns this plot took. Not only did Coates do a great job at developing her characters to a point where virtually ANYONE could be the killer, but the plot was intricate, well thought out and the the background of the terrifying snowy landscape propelled the story in a magnificent way. I could not put this book down.

This was a crazy roller coaster of isolation horror and ‘who done it thriller’. I read this in almost one sitting and didn’t guess the twist until near the end.

Christa and her 8 travel companions (all strangers) get stranded in a mountain cabin during a fierce snowstorm. That would be horrific enough, without food or means of rescue. But then someone begins picking people off, one by one.

This gave me The Thing vibes with its wintery isolation and the every man for themselves attitude. Who’s the killer.? Who’s got motive? The characters were all well fleshed out and realistic. I really liked the main character, Christa, and her analytical way of looking at things. She could be a homicide detective.

Awesome book, great characters and terrifying setting!

Thank you netgalley and poisoned pen press for the e-arc of this book.

In this rollercoaster ride of a thriller we follow our main character Christa. Christa is on a trip with her boyfriend and other groups of people to the Rocky Mountains when due to unfortunate circumstances they slowly start getting picked off one by one.
I really had a great time reading this. This book is very action packed and will leave you on the edge of your seat.

Thank you Netgalley and Poised Pen Press for a copy.

“Something’s not right.
Not right.
Not right.
We’re all going to die.”

❄️Whodunnit
❄️Thriller/Mystery/Horror
❄️Gore
❄️Closed Room
❄️Atmospheric
❄️Short Chapters

I devoured this book in one day! It had me nervous, on the edge of my seat, flipping through page after page. It’s a thrilling horror of whodunnit. This author not only tricked me once but over and over again. Bravo, Darcy Coates! You nailed it.

My first Darcy Coates and wow! This was a horror-rific, bone chilling thriller. Filled with suspense with screams and chills.
I was afraid to go to sleep last night!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read this book early. Thisbook was amazing! It was fast paced. It’s about the main character and her boyfriend going on a trip to a lodge in the winter. A tree blocks the road. Things start happening and one by one they are picked off. Tensions rise the more this story unfolds. The ending was great! Definitely recommend this book.

I absolutely loved this! Reading a wintery book in summer wasn’t a vibe that I thought I was a fan of, but here we are!! Can’t wait to read more by the author.

Thank you @poisonedpenpress @netgalley for my digital copy. My thoughts are my own.

A group of strangers trapped in a remote cabin during a blizzard with no way out and a rising body count of GRUESOME murders…this one has all the elements I love in a thriller and it kept me turning the pages!

Christa and her boyfriend are traveling on a tour bus with 8 strangers to a remote lodge in the Rocky Mountains. However, when the bus stops for a tree in the road, a blizzard overtakes them and Christa’s boyfriend disappears in the snow. While many of the others have a callous attitude about his disappearance, some do help Christa search for him. The search is unsuccessful. Meanwhile, the group is trapped and forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin.

Late in the night their guide disappears and the next morning his severed head is discovered hanging on a tree. Everyone is terrified and one-by-one other members of the group are gruesomely murdered. Firewood is running out, phones have no service and the batteries are dying. Christa is worried about her boyfriend and she is trapped and doesn’t know who to trust.

Told from Christa’s point of view, this one WILL grab your attention from the terrifying first page! The other characters are all suspicious and you will love to hate them! I kept suspecting a character only to have them be the next one to die! The dramatic conclusion will surprise you. I highly recommend this one for lovers of murder thrillers.

A Winter themed Thriller that will have you suspicious of every character and guessing until the very end.

Another fantastic read by Darcy Coates!

While technically listed as a Horror genre, I think this fits better in the Thriller genre as this is what a Thriller SHOULD BE!

So Thriller writers, sit up and take note please. This is what I expect to read when I pick up a Thriller.

I’m still working on Coates’s backlog but am so happy to be reading this current release as well.

Thanks to @poisonedpenpress and @netgalley for the chance to read this #arc.

I will happily read any @darcybooks that she writes! 😜❤️

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates is a heart-pounding murder mystery that ratchets up the suspense and escalates the bloodbath until the final scene. Although I had correctly figured out the killer and their motive about half-way through the book, the twists and turns of the plot kept me guessing and second-guessing until the very end. This book is a bit more graphic and gory than I usually prefer, but fans of Ruth Ware and Megan Miranda will most likely enjoy this offering from Darcy Coates. A perfect read for a snowed-in weekend.

I absolutely loved this story...It was mysterious, kept me guessing , causing you to look over your shoulder with each page. What was meant to be a seemingly well planned couples getaway turns into a nightmare . Its a book about survival of the fittest and has you questioning everyone around you and their motives . It makes you view winter in a different way as well as makes you think about who you can trust when you have to put your life in others hands

Join Christa on her trip to the mountains! Except this is not the holiday she'd been hoping for when her bf an the tour guide go missing in a storm, this trip quickly turns into a nightmare. As Christa has to be confined in close proximity to eight strangers, one of which seems to think killing is a sport, she needs to sort out who she can trust and find a way to stay alive.

Thank you NetGalley for this suspenseful read!

Darcy Coates’ Dead Of Winter traverses familiar thriller territory, but does so in an assured and very entertaining way.

When Christa and her boyfriend, Kiernan, join a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she is hopeful that this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the tour bus is forced off the road by a fallen tree. After becoming separated from the group, Christa rejoins them in an abandoned hunting cabin. The plan is to wait out the storm and then go for help.

Deep in the night, however, their tour guide goes missing, only to be discovered the following morning, his severed head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. Terrified, and completely isolated by the storm, Christa finds herself trapped with eight total strangers. 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.

This is a first rate thriller. Darcy wastes no time in setting the scene and the pace never falters from the tense ‘lost in the blizzard’ beginning to the final twisty outcome. There is nothing startlingly new about the set-up, but Darcy does it very well. The claustrophobia of being stuck in the cabin with a possible killer is well conveyed and believable, and the cast of characters are nicely diverse and credibly flawed. The descriptions of the snow and are also evocative and Darcy really makes you feel the cold. Christa is also a good central narrator, who grows with the story.

Experienced thriller readers will probably be expecting the ending, but it is very well done and I could not put it down.
Rating rounded up to 5