This novel is such a fun combination of genres. If “And then there were none” and a good slasher movie had a baby, it would be this book. It is creepy and the pacing would put the most pulse-raising thriller to shame. After unspecified problems, Christa is finally willing to rebuild her life with her boyfriend. The first step is for them to join a trip to a remote, snow-bound lodge. On their way there, their bus breaks down and the group barely makes it to an abandoned cabin, where they will have to survive. It is hard to imagine how the author will maintain the mystery and the suspense when, inevitably, their numbers start dwindling, but somehow, she does. Maybe it’s because of the characters. As happens in real life, some are more likable than others. Christa is smart and a born fighter, but she was not the only person I was rooting for. Ex-army ranger Simone and mysterious Alexis were easy to like, even if it wasn’t clear whether they could be the baddies. The novel is claustrophobic and atmospheric all at once, and I really, really liked it. If you’re looking for a book to cool you this summer, this one will give you chills.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Poisoned Pen Press!

For an author who normally writes ghost stories, she did a fantastic job on this locked room thriller! Cabin in the woods, freezing temperatures, missing people, what's not to love? The character development was really thought out, I like the way it came together in the end. Highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me an early copy. Here's my honest review:

Darcy Coates, you hooked me with this one. I'm going to have to go back and read the rest of the stuff you've written! You have a new fan.

I absolutely loved this novel, and definitely would love to see it translated to the big (or small) screen somehow. The characters are fantastic, and the setting is perfection. The storm and the cabin and the neverending snow almost feel like a second antagonist, creeping in around the characters, holding them hostage, aiding the Butcher to take them out, one by one. It's got a very Agatha Christie kind of vibe - the "locked room" type mystery, the cast of easily suspect-able characters, the confusion around every turn. While it's a little more graphic than a Christie, it's definitely drawn some inspiration from the Empress of Enigmas, the Mistress of Mystery, the Queen of Crime.

I'm not going to lie - I figured out a lot of what was going on early. That's one of the pitfalls of reading lots of mysteries and thrillers and way too many movies. But that really didn't stop my enjoyment watching it play out, and having Coates nearly convince me I was wrong a few times.

Absolutely recommend. This was a gem!

What a Horrible Plot. I have not read this Author before. If this is indicative of their work it is not for me. The countless beheading's were at the point where the shock value was not even there. The Story was very fast moving and kept you guessing is the best thing I can say about the story. Even at the end, the few that survived is left as a question mark. Why would someone have so much grief that they would Kill innocents like the cabin owners? Awful.

This book is high action & intensity from the very first scene and and barely let's up! Expect suspense, gore, twists, and brutal deaths. Definitely don't read this if you're squeamish, as there is an abundance of gruesome details. The ending isn't obvious, but it's also not surprising.

First of all, thank you NetGalley for this great opportunity. Darcy Coaster was one of my fav thriller author, and this chance to read the ARC was truly my honor.

At first quarter part of the book, it goes slowly but a victim following the confusions within. Honestly, boredom caught at the next part, when our main character fighting for searching her partner.

After the half-through, interest growing on me, again. The next victims, the way its placed by and how the execution was. It's good, actually, I'd enjoy it very much. The pace, the setting, I love the little journal that Alexis has—also become the whole quandary.

Unfortunately at the last minute, I already know the murder. So, 3.5 stars for this book. But this is a wild ride. I would recommend this, because of the thrilling aspect. Again, thank you NetGalley.

Christa and her boyfriend, Kiernan, are on a tour bus with eight strangers headed towards an extravagant lodge in the middle of the Rocky Mountains for a week of solitude, adventure, and relaxation. Kiernan grew up near these mountains and is excited for the trip, but Christa isn’t an outdoorsy person, she’s silently dreading the thought of spending time in the wilderness.

When a tree blocks the path of the road, everyone steps off the bus for fresh air but a snowstorm swiftly consumes them and everyone is separated from one another. When Christa and the eight strangers find safety at a nearby cabin, they realize nobody is safe in the eerie forest. When those around her are being killed one by one, it’s hard to trust the strangers beside her. Is the killer sleeping right beside her or is there a serial killer lurking in the woods?

This was my first book by Darcy Coates and I’m so glad I read it while staying at my cabin in the woods, it added a bit of creepiness and a few frightful nightmares. It’s a great claustrophobic thriller that brought the chills, gore, and mystery. I loved that most chapters ended on a cliffhanger that kept me glued to the pages. I did guess a few twists but the adventure that followed kept me on the edge of my seat.

I read this whole book in about 6 hours total, once I started it I could not put it down until I was finished, my jaw dropped. I do not want to spoil anything for anyone so I will just say GO PREORDER THIS BOOK!

I had the best time with this book. It was nonstop action, suspense and intrigue from the first few chapters. The pacing felt familiarly formulaic but it didn’t take away from the overall enjoyment. The isolated, wintery setting, the mysterious group of strangers trying to survive while an unknown person picks them off one by one. All of this is very well done and I loved it. I do wish the ending had an epilogue but that’s just a personal thing. I wanted JUSTICE!


Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for allowing me to enjoy this book early in exchange for my honest review.

I have always wanted to read a Darcy Coates book and I’m so sad that I waited this long because this book was so good. It had a mystery that kept me turning the pages nonstop. I want to go back and read everything this author has written!!!

Well. Darcy Coates is my new favorite author. I read a ton of thrillers and this is by far, at the top of the list. What a brilliant and well written whodunnit...so creepy, so dark.......and lots of twists too. I did guess the ending but I did second guess myself on it multiple times. Even with guessing the ending, it was still really well done, and really, it was the perfect ending for this book. I don't want to give away too much because this is a book you need to go into knowing very little to get its full impact. Read it! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC. I will be buying all Ms. Coates' books from here on out.

"From bestselling author Darcy Coates comes Dead of Winter, a remote cabin in the snowy wilderness thriller that will teach you to trust no one. There are eight strangers. One killer. Nowhere left to run.

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 night, 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. One of them kills for sport...and 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."

It's July, you need some chills and thrills to cool off and Dead of Winter will do the trick!

This book was totally different! I’ve read so many Darcy’s books and they were mostly paranormal horror, but this one was gruesome!

A group of strangers on trip get stuck during a storm and one by one heads are gone. Who’s the killer? You’ll be guessing who’s the killer is till the very end.

I was so stoked to get this ARC. Darcy Coates is one of my auto-read authors. I love her haunted house stories, and Dead of Winter is an intriguing departure from the stories I'm used to seeing from her. Without losing her unique voice, Coates managed to create a completely different vibe for this book. The setting is just as atmospheric, but the stakes feel even higher and the remote, frozen setting hit all of the best scary buttons for me.

The story follows Christa, a young woman with some past trauma who is learning to trust herself and others again through her relationship with boyfriend Kiernan.

Kiernan persuades her to go with him on a small-group tour to a remote lodge in the Rockies. Their romantic getaway goes immediately awry when the bus is stopped by a treefall and a blizzard rolls in. Christa and Kiernan go for a walk while the tour guide and some of the other tourists work to clear the road, but they get lost in the storm, and when the group ultimately finds and rescues Christa, Kiernan is nowhere to be found.

Unfortunately, this marks only the beginning of Christa's troubles.

Stranded in a cabin with few supplies, the group hunkers down until people start disappearing...and turning up dead.

This book blends thriller with slasher, survival horror with locked door mystery.

If you liked the isolated settings in Lucy Foley's the Guest List or the Hunting Party, this book could be right up your alley.

I'm excited to see this new direction in Coates' writing, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

This book was the perfect combination of horror and thriller. We jumped right in as Christa is stranded in the Rocky Mountains during a nasty winter storm with her tour group. Being stuck is not the biggest of their worries though, because something more sinister is lurking within their midst's. Darcy Coates takes you on an exciting ride with this story, and is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

I am always excited to read a locked in mystery with a twist! This book started out with drama and it never stopped! I was very invested in trying to figure out who the killer was but I could not figure it out. Well done!

A thrill ride! Cant beat an isolated location, a murder victim, and lots of twists and turns. Keeps you guessing! Thank you to net galley and the author for allowing me to read and review. Can t wait to continue to read more by this author.

Christa and several strangers are on a bus to Blackstone Alpine Lodge in winter when they are stopped by a fallen tree across the road. Christa and Kiernan are on the trip so he can share with her the memories he made with his family at Blackstone Alpine Lodge in years past. The two wander off while the other bus passengers work on moving the tree. A storm hits and Christa falls out of Kiernan’s reach. She’s found later by the rest of the group but Kiernan is lost. The group soon discovers that a killer is in their midst when they’re taken out one by one and their heads are displayed on the large tree next to their cabin shelter. Creepy and surrounded in mystery to the very end! 5 stars!

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the double layer mystery, the creepiness factor and suspense. I thoroughly enjoyed the twists.
Mature content: gentle kisses
Violence: R for several bloody deaths by decapitation and heads being displayed on tree branches.
Language: PG-13 for 16 swears and no f-bombs.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! This book creeped me out! I loved it! I was suspicious of everyone. Really good book that I couldn't put down. I rate it a 3.9

I know Darcy Coates for her horror books and this thriller didn’t disappoint. Addictive and intense, it was impossible to stop reading.

A tour group is heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains. Christa is looking for a chance to put old ghosts to rest, but things don’t exactly go has planned. A snowstorm leaves the group stranded halfway to the resort, and they are forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Things go from bad to worse when their guide goes missing and they find their head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. There’s a killer on the loose, and they seem to be just in the beginning of a killing spree. One by one, the number of survivors dwindles, and Christa must decide who she can trust and identify the killer before they come for her.

Darcy Coates is a great writer and an expert in creating atmospheric and creepy settings. The claustrophobia, the mounting psychological pressure, and the horror of not knowing if the killer is part of the group or not, it created the perfect winter horror story.

The chapters are short, and the pace of the story is great.

We see it all through Christa’s POV, the protagonist. She’s a great main character and very believable. She has her own demons but decided to face her fears and take this trip, only for it to be a complete nightmare. Even so, despite her moments of pure fear and panic (I mean, who wouldn’t?), she remains rational and doesn’t stop trying to think of ways to keep them alive and find out who is killing them and why.

I had my suspicions about who the killer was, but in the end, it was surprise and so was the motive.
Creepy, atmospheric, and addictive, I recommend it to anyone who loves a good thriller.