A fresh twist on the closed door mystery trope. I really enjoyed this one. It started immediately with action and there was hardly any slow moving parts at all. I did guess the 'who' early on, but was absolutely surprised on the 'why'.

Once I started reading this, it was hard to stop. The action starts right away and the story kept me intrigued throughout.

This is definitely different from the other Darcy Coates books I've read (mostly her haunting books). This was a relatively fast paced thriller with a side of gore and plenty of suspense. As always, Coates does an excellent job of creating an atmosphere that sucks you into the story.

I loved the reveals and the little hints left throughout for the readers to figure out who the killer is. It was fun to piece everything together. I found that my theory about the killer was correct but it didn't detract from my enjoyment at all.

I'd highly recommend this if: you enjoyed other books by Darcy Coates, enjoy books about survival, or loved thrillers like No Exit.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Darcy Coates for providing me with an ARC for review.

I only recently started to get into mystery books, but Darcy Coates is going to become an automatic purchase for me as I add her entire collection to my collection. This book kept me on my toes, holding my breath as I turned the page quickly to find out what happened. This book is going to be released on my birthday and I can't wait to buy it for myself to celebrate.

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

Publish date: July 11, 2023
Publisher: Poised Pen Press
Page count: 384

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A big thank you to @netgalley for providing me a E-ARC copy of this book!

Short summary: A group of strangers are on their way to a winter retreat when they get stranded in a snow storm in the middle of the mountains. One by one they are killed off by a mystery murderer until only one is left.

Very much a locked room horror if I ever read one. If you liked Shiver by Allie Reynolds’s or The Sanitorium by Sarah Pierce you will like this one. What makes this one different from others is Darcy’s ability to draw you in with the unknown. I’d say she is a very talented Horror writer and the twist in this book was on point!

Trigger Warning: Graphic/gory descriptions

I liked the setting, and there were a few unexpected, but in general, the book missed the mark for me. The characters were underdeveloped, and the story dragged in many parts, which pulled me out of the story. A tighter edit could have helped. The plot was far gorier than expected. That may appeal to some, however.

This one kept me on my toes guessing who the killer was until the very end. This is the second book I have read from Darcy and by far this one is the best.

The setting in the remote wilderness, surrounded by snow a bus load of tourists on their way to a retreat in the mountains. The bus breaks down and they are stranded, no cell signal and then one by one they are killed in gruesome detail (I loved it) you feel for the main character and try to work out with her who is picking them off one by one.

Its a good, between the eerie atmosphere, the cat n mouse games and gruesome kills I was sold. It's a solid 4 stars from me. Thats to netgalley for my copy of this book.

Dead of Winter is a suspenseful, chilling, fast paced read packed with so many twists and so much tension.

Christa and Kiernan are going on an off the grid trip to a lodge in the Rocky Mountains with a group of 8 other strangers. The trip goes south early on when their bus gets snowed in by a monumental snow storm forcing them to find shelter in a cabin that was left empty for the winter, or so they thought. One by one the members of the group begin turning up gruesomely murdered, leaving the living members uneasy and trusting nobody but themselves. Heads are rolling, literally.

The amount of times I thought “I know who the killer is!” just to find out that I was very, very wrong is actually kind of comical. I definitely recommend this novel for anyone who is a fan of horror/thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced readers copy!

Thanks so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC copy of this book!

I have scheduled promotional posts around release day for this book and I will provide a full review on my Instagram once I am able to get to this read.

Rating 5 stars on Netgalley as a placeholder for me to update later once the review is complete.

Will also complete a review on Goodreads once read.

Thanks again!

Christa's boyfriend Kiernan invites her to go on a trip to an exclusive lodge high in the Rocky Mountains. The tour company suggests that everyone leave their electronics at home so they can enjoy getting away from it all. A downed tree on the road means it needs to be moved. While the other men in the tour group work on getting rid of it, Kiernan takes Christa on a walk. She loses him in the snow and stumbles upon an abandoned hunting cabin. By the time she arrives, the other members of the tour group are there, as well. Christa has some bad frostbite and she hears someone else in the group say they might have to cut off her arm. Kiernan is not there. Christa wants to go out looking for him (and does a few times), but does not find him at first. Then during the night, the tour guide disappears and other tour members soon follow.

"The Dead of Winter" by Darcy Coates was described as similar to "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie. This is true in that all the people on this trip to a remote lodge have secrets and the characters die one by one. This story, however, is far more graphic in its violence. The story was gripping and fast-paced. I figured out who the bad guy was before the end, however.

I got this thriller as an ARC (thank you @netgalley ) and i enjoyed that one so much! ❤ Its a kind of locked-room, wintery, murder mystery type thriller that has strong "and then there were none" vibes. We follow this group of people on their way to a lonesome retreat way off of civilization, when suddenly they can't move forward anymore due to a blocked street. They decide to stay in a nearby cabin due to certain reasons, when soon one person after the other gets murdered. But who is the murderer? Suspicions arise and yet you can never be sure... but they run out of time as their numbers dwindle more and more...

This was a pure pageturner and i practically flew through that book. It had all i want in a thriller: convincing characters, a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat and interesting twists. I had a thousand theories (and yes, one of them was true), but i was never sure of them until the very end (exactly what i want). The setting was so atmospheric and i loved snuggling up in my blanket while reading about that icy landscape.

I highly recommend this one to all thriller fans 🤗

the ANXIETY this book gave me was ✨ unmatched ✨
a suspense book and suspenseful it was. I was trying to problem solve the entire time I was reading and it felt like I had all the puzzle pieces but I could NOT put the puzzle together. Everyone was a suspect and my mind was constantly working to exclude people from my suspect list. Just when I confidently removed someone, they did something to make me throw them back on. They were all incredibly sketchy in their own ways which made it challenging to figure out who it was. But when you find out who it is? It’s one of those moments where you’re like yeaaaah that was right in front of me the entire time 🙃

The ending felt a little rushed in my opinion and also the last page left me enraged because your girl needs CLOSURE. I loved this book for keeping me on my toes. I struggled a bit to get into it but I think that’s mainly because this isn’t my typical go-to genre of books. So if you love a suspense, I would recommend!

Release Date: July 11, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Darcy Coates's books and this one is no different. It started from a high point and not once did it let up. I was hooked right from the start.
However, I did not care about the characters to be honest. I was engaged as I would in any other thriller, but because the characters were a little bland, this book seemed a little forgettable to me

I loved this creepy dead of winter thriller. You can tell the author writes a lot of horror but this book is so good . It’s one that you compulsively have to read
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Dead of winter starts off intense from the very first page and it sucked me in immediately. Had I not had to work, I would’ve finished it all in one sitting. I thought the characters were developed and well-written. Along with Christa, I genuinely suspected every character at some point of being the butcher. I thought the big reveal was really well put together and enjoyed the big plot twists. The only thing I wished for was an epilogue, even just a very small one. The end felt a little bit like a cliffhanger even if all the major questions were answered. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and now have a deeper fear of snow.

I don’t remember ever being afraid while reading a book. I have read thrillers. I have read horrific scenes (The Ruins, I’m looking at you). I have read really bad dialogue. But I have never had a book so gripping that it encouraged the same sensations as watching a horror movie. Btw - I’m a wuss and hide behind cushions during horror movies - harder to do when you’re reading them…

Christa joins a tour group, with her boyfriend Kiernan, on a winter exploration of the Rocky Mountains. The plan is to spend two weeks in a lodge retreat, nestled in the mountains, in an area like Kiernan grew up in.

There’s a trauma in Christa’s past, revealed during the course of the narrative, that had a significant impact on her; she quit her job, wouldn’t drive at night and rarely left her house. Things started to improve for her when she met Kiernan and, slowly but surely she’s learnt to trust again. That’s why this trip is so important to her - and for her relationship.

Their romantic trip away is derailed early on by an unexpectedly severe snow storm. The tour group take shelter in a nearby, abandoned cabin, hoping to wait out the worst of the storm before continuing to the lodge.

Then people start dying.

Now early on I had my suspicions - I’m a self confessed Poirot wannabe, so how could I not. But Coates’ writing is SO GOOD that you start to doubt yourself. Then you doubt your doubt. Then you doubt your doubt of your doubt - you follow - until you’re down to only three suspects and you’re still not sure…

My only criticism, and it’s minor in the grand scheme, is that the build-up towards the end was so intense that the actual final pages fell a little flat for me. To be honest though, I think it was an adrenaline slump…

If you like having your world turned upside down, if you like questioning everything you think you know or if you like reading stories that mean you need to keep the light on at night, this is 100% the book for you. If you’re just looking for an engrossing read - same.

Woo-hoo, what an intense, icy-cold, crazy who-done-it ride. Thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you, NetGalley for the great read!

After completing grad school, I looked forward to diving into a book that was not listed on a syllabus. Lucky for me, I received a review copy of Dead of Winter to wash away the business jargon I have been reading for the last 18 months.

In this thriller, Christa and her boyfriend are on a winter getaway to the Rocky Mountains. Plans go awry and Christa and the other vacationers are stranded in a winter storm with a killer who appears to be targeting each one of them.

This novel jumps right into the action pulling in the reader during the raging storm. Although I was able to figure out the killer pretty early in the story, there were enough twists and turns that left me second guessing myself. The way the author unfolds the story of the characters deserves much recognition. Too often exposition is simply announced at the start of a book but this was not the case. Coates doles out information in masterful way which allows the reader to care for these travelers.

If you are a fan of thrillers and trying to figure out "whodunnit," you might enjoy this read. There were a few instances where I was mentally screaming at the characters but it just goes to show how invested I had become in the story.


This ARC was provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a great thriller! The description of the cold weather was such that I was freezing by the end of the book. It sounds cliché, but the book kept me guessing until the end.

I love Darcy Coates books and this one will not disappoint. Even thought t he premise seems to be popular nowadays the way Darcy Coates writes makes you want to keep reading. Beware to be scared and love this thriller. Lock the doors.
Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this one.

This was my first Darcy Coates book, but it won’t be my last. This was a crazy ride!

I really loved the setting and atmosphere of this book. The snowy woods really lent themselves to the feeling of being isolated. Coates did a great job of fleshing out this cast of characters enough for you to have some strong opinions about them. Christa was more of a badass than I thought, and I really liked it!

It turns out I guessed the twist at the beginning, but there were so many red herrings that I was questioning myself the whole time. It was a great reveal.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!