@netgalley and @darcycoates THANK you so much for this twisty turny page turner that I enjoyed tremendously! I have a few of the authors books on my shelves and started reading one of the books but wasn’t able to finish. Not because it wasn’t good but because I had a bunch of books come in that required feedback. I’m definitely going back and reading all their books!

I did find that the middle of the book dragged a bit and it could have been a bit shorter but overall, I loved this story, it was very original and kept me guessing right until the end!

Thank you again for the advanced copy and I definitely recommend this to any horror, thriller, mystery book lovers

Imagine if you will........ Agatha Christie if she added 80's slasher movie themes to And Then There Were None and you would have this book. I had a blast reading it. Horrific weather conditions, isolated cabin, strangers locked in said cabin, no one can trust anyone, severed heads in trees........ what's not to love, right? Christa and her boyfriend are on a tour bus, bus gets stranded, the group ends up in a remote cabin with no form of outside communication and people keep getting murdered. I had a pretty good idea who the killer was early on, but this was still a fun read. It was gorier than what I usually read but I understand that the author is primarily a horror writer, so I am not faulting her for that. Kudos for the atmosphere! I really felt the cold. I would read more from this author if she were to write another mystery.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Darcy Coates and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Instagram and various other retail and social media sites upon publication.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.25 out of 5 stars.

I love suspenseful horror: I cut my teeth on Dean Koontz and Phil Rickman before I hit middle school. But it's been a minute since I've assaulted my heart in this manner. I've been reading almost everything else: magical realism, fantasy, memoirs, poetry, thrillers, general fiction.

With a job, a weekly volunteer event, my children, my dogs, all my in-laws living around us, working outside because it's spring, working on a certification course quickly so I can go back to school and finish my BA this fall.... My reading time can sometimes be limited to an hour or so before I fall asleep.

Let me tell you. I forgot how books could my heart feel like it's going both forward and backward and up and down and going way too fast and my ears get all cottony because of the suspense.

Christa is heading to a mountain lodge in the Dead of Winter with her boyfriend (hopefully soon to be fiance) Kiernan. They are on a bus with Steve and Miri (an older couple), Blake (a severe woman), Alexis (a surprisingly quiet and withdrawn young woman), Hutch (a DJ), Denny and his son Grayson (very tall and intimidating father and his brooding, emo-ish son), and Simone (secretive woman who seems to like being in charge).

Their guide, Brian, stops on a mountain road on the way to the lodge because a tree has been felled, blocking their path. It should be a quick resolution if some of the passengers help him cut it up. While that is happening, Kiernan asks Christa to walk with him up to a ridge, and Christa is fairly certain that he is going to ask her to marry him.

But high up in these mountains, winter storms can roll in quicker than one can imagine unless they are used to the place, and they are devastating and severe. Suddenly lost and caught in freezing gale-force winds, Christa and Kiernan start trying to find their way back to the bus. Trying to take a shortcut across a ledge, Christa falls, Kiernan grabbing her glove and taking a scratch of her hand with it.

Christa comes to covered in snow, and after a terrifying moment of being uncertain which was was up, she is able to climb out. She is hurt - her hand bleeding and her hips sore, but she starts going in a direction she hopes is back toward the bus.

Meanwhile, Brian and the others have found shelter in a hunting cabin, and Brian has gone out to try to find Christa and Kiernan. Christa is found but she is in and out of consciousness. She awakens in the cabin, someone huddling over something by the fireplace, someone pointing at her hand and recommending it be amputated, the others talking about someone dying.

When Christa awakens clear enough to ask, she finds that everyone else believes Kiernan dead. The storm is too much for too long - no one can survive out there. Christa is certain that he could if anyone could.

Then the travelers start dying in very gruesome, very violent ways, and it is painfully clear that the killer Christa comes to call the butcher, is doing things in a way to create the most terror in the current survivors.

But is it one of them? Is it an outsider? One by one, I thought it could have been anyone, but as the bodies start piling up, the list of potential butchers becomes smaller and smaller.

A thrilling whodunit in a vicious winter storm in the mountains far away from any civilization, I could not put it down, even reading it in waiting rooms at doctor's appointments, on lunch, and during a family cookout.

This is my first Darcy Coates read, and I must say, I was impressed. I imagine I will be reading more of her in the future, but I will definitely have to space them out so I don't read myself into an actual heart attack.

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates is a gripping thriller set in the snowy Rocky Mountains, where a tour group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin during a bitterly cold snowstorm. But when their tour guide goes missing, only to be found with his severed head impaled on a tree outside the cabin, it becomes clear that someone in the group is killing for sport.

The has well-paced plot and unexpected twists, which kept me on edge and guessing until the end. The character of Christa was particularly relatable and likable, and I found myself invested in her survival and the outcome of the story.

Overall, Dead of Winter is recommended for fans of psychological thrillers and murderous mystery. It is a well-written, chilling story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

I love locked door suspense mysteries! I liked how we’re in the first person perspective because we see everything through Christa’s eyes. We feel the same paranoia, suffering and heartache as Christa. The twists and turns this book put me through as a reader was fantastic. Never a dull moment. Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen and Darcy Coates!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book. This book was supposed to be a locked room mystery. This is sort of true. It is mostly a bloody, outdoor mystery. Chrissy, who is traumatized and we don’t know why at first, and her boyfriend Kiernan, go on a bus trip to a lodge out in the Rockies. They haven’t been dating long and this is a big step in their relationship. The trip is supposed to be a time for them to get to know each other better. The story starts out with Chrissy and Kiernan trying to get back to the bus in a blizzard. They get separated and Chrissy is found. The group manages to find shelter in an abandoned cabin, nothing like the fabulous lodge that is their destination, and then it starts to get crazy. People die one after another. This is not the locked room mystery that you are expecting. People start dying by having their heads cut off. UGH. There was a lot of gratuitous blood and gore. Not really my cup of tea but I am sure it could be a slasher movie. If you want that, read this. If you don’t, go to the original, And Then There Were None.

This is my first book from the author.

The setting was right (though something that has been used a lot of times before), the twists and turns kept coming (some predictable, some not) but overall the story dragged in places. A good pacing is key to a book like this and the author flags at times.

A good read overall though.

This is my second Darcy Coates read, and I have mixed feelings.

A group of strangers take a private tour bus to a remote lodge in the Rockies. After a bad storm, they find themselves stranded in a one room cabin off the beaten path. One by one they're viciously killed off and come to suspect the only option is that one of them must be the killer.

Pros:
- This stressed me out. As intended.
- I'm indecisive enough that I did not guess the killer correctly bc there was lots of doubt and red herrings thrown in.
- The setting is inherently scary. As said in the Hunger Games, "exposure can kill just as well as a knife" or something like that.

Unsure:
- Ick factor like 8/10. Very visceral.

Cons:
- Is this not And Then There Were None but like in a winter cabin? I guess it's different enough technically, but like, idk... it feels too similar.
- There's nothing graceful about trekking through feet of snow (or climbing trees...) in full winter gear, and I find it really hard to believe these murders would be executed and staged so cleanly. Not to mention, snow gear isn't made for running. There's so much running and not enough tripping and falling.

Over all I really enjoyed this book I could not guess the twist at the end. I gave it 3 stars because I thought the beginning was slow and with about 9 or so characters to remember it was a little different to follow at times. The description of the setting was scary beautiful because it was a place any reader could see themselves curled up by a fire with a good book yet it was the scene of a heinous crime. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates.
Dead of Winter follows Christa and her boyfriend Kiernan on what is supposed to be a romantic getaway in a remote cabin. However, it turns out to be anything but the trip that they envisioned. Stranded by a snowstorm on the way to their destination, the group is faced with an unseen threat that begins killing them off one by one.
This was my first time reading a book written by Darcy Coates, and I was hooked from page 1. The tension and suspense were well written and had me on the edge of my seat. The descriptions of the characters, surroundings, and the gore made it easy to visualize exactly what was happening. I was invested in the story from the first chapter and continued to guess who the killer was until the very end. I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars, as I feel it ended abruptly without a complete wrap-up of some of the storylines.
Overall, I found this read extremely enjoyable and tense. Look for this book to be released on July 11th.

This is the first book I have read by this author. I will be reading everything she writes from now on. This book had so many twists and turns from the first page to the very end. I can not stand being cold or cold weather so I don’t know how they survived as long as they did. The way she wrote this book made me feel as if I was stuck freezing with them. I will definitely be telling everyone I know to read this book!

I’lol read anything by Darcy Coates, and Dead of Winter did not disappoint. I had a feeling I knew who the culprit was, and managed to ignore the red herrings throughout the book.
It was descriptive, the characters were well thought out, and I immediately clicked with Christa. I’m also a huge fan of locked room mysteries, and this one will be recommended to everyone.

It’s best to go into this book without knowing much. This review will be as general as possible about my overall thoughts.
I loved the atmosphere of the story, the author did a fantastic job building the sense of isolation. I felt on edge a lot of the time right along with the characters. The setting was the perfect backdrop.
The characters were fine. I didn’t find myself particularly attached to anyone. I find it difficult when books have a large cast of characters. I found I didn’t really care about any of the characters even as the story progressed because I just didn’t get to know any of them well enough before they started getting killed off.
The story did have several twists and turns that ended up surprising me. I found there were several instances that the story was really dragging. It took me almost 20 days to read this book when I typically finish a book of this size in 1-2 days. I just wasn’t enthralled and kept picking up other things instead.

This was a disappointing read for me. I had higher hopes. I was hoping to have fun. The description of the book definitely reeled me in but as soon as I read the first chapter I knew it wasn't going to be a five star read. Firstly, I felt that many parts were over written and did not flow. Too wordy and filled with unnecessary adjectives to try and dramatize the story as much as possible. It became annoying fast. Secondly, I was able to guess the mystery murderer almost immediately. The author tried to confuse us not once, not twice, but three times. I just felt it was overdone. It all felt very surface level.

Even though this wasn't the book for me I could see it satisfying others. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Dead of Winter had me from the very first page. I just knew I was going to love this one. From the title, to the cover, to the characters. Very well written!

Darcy Coates knows what she's doing. She's the queen of haunted, scary stories and Dead of Winter is no different.

A locked-room sort of mystery with a bunch of snow and people who keep dying, one by one.

This is a not to be missed thriller.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Darcy Coates’ words have a way of creeping into your mind and channelling your imagination.

From the first page itself, her descriptions are so vivid that you can clearly visualise the scene. I loved reading about the setting regardless of how extreme the weather conditions were.

Once the murders begin, the writing becomes jarringly gory. If you are easily put off by such details, I wouldn’t recommend this book to you.

Even though I didn’t connect with Christa’s character, I could feel her angst, fear, and frustration. I chalked it up to the narrative being so well-framed that you can’t escape its impact.

One aspect of this book that worked superbly to heighten my apprehension is how the author uses human intuition in the storytelling.

Christa often has these powerful gut instincts that guide her. And the moment you read her thoughts, you know that something horrible is going to happen. Somehow this technique of foreshadowing was more thrilling than, say, if there had been paranormal elements in the plot.

There are so many plot points that work in tandem to tap into your survival mindset and elicit a reaction, such as:
- everyone is trapped in an uncomfortably small cabin
- the outdoors being unsafe
- but then the indoors aren’t safe either because there’s a serial killer among them
- they’re completely isolated from civilization, and there’s no help coming

The book is written from a third-person omniscient point of view. And you’re essentially following 10 characters as they struggle to deal with the circumstances.

This might seem a bit too much for some of you, but I felt that the author eased into the story without making the presence of all these characters too overwhelming.

Plus, there are certain aspects of their characterisation that distinguished all of them.

To make the narrative more layered, the author keeps hinting at some incident in Christa’s past that weighs on her conscience.

Unlike the wonderful ambience of the book itself, the build-up about her mysterious past wasn’t as atmospheric as I would’ve liked. Probably because of how much is revealed to us through short glimpses; the sense of mystery is lost.

One other thing that prevented this book from being a 5-star read for me is that I guessed who the killer is WAY TOO EARLY. That part of the puzzle stood out like a sore thumb throughout the novel.

All in all, Dead of Winter was certainly an engaging read. Moreover, I really like Darcy Coates’ writing style, so I have discovered a new author whose works I plan to binge-read.

I love Darcy Coates' books and this was just as enjoyable as the rest. Loved the winter vibes, the anxiety, it's a definite yes from me. Great book.

The synopsis is absolutely fantastic: You have eight strangers who are forced to take shelter in a brutally cold and snowy winter. But, unfortunately, them being there is no accident as someone starts killing them one by one. Horribly bad….. Like chopping off their heads bad and hanging them on a big ole tree right outside the cabin they are trapped in. Like a messed up Christmas Tree.


Darcy Coates is a gifted writer. This book is deeply atmospheric and creepy. When they are outside the cabin you feel just as lost as the characters do in the freezing snow. The chapters are short and the pace of the book is perfect. She is truly a great horror writer and this book is a entertaining read.

And the bad: While this is a fun book to read somewhere around the middle you realize you really don’t care who lives or dies in this one. There is really no character depth at all. Even with the main character you're kind of just going through the motions with this one. And holy predictable ending! I’m not going to even going to go there. Just be prepared to be let down. But at least I warned you……

This was my first read by Darcy Coates and I liked the story overall.
Trapped in a snow storm, a group of people start getting picked off.
It had all the creepy vibes and I loved it.

hanks NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC that will be released July 11, 2023!