This is an incredibly twisty story about a group of tourists on their way to a resort who get stranded in the Rocky Mountains. If you enjoyed "Ten Little Indians", this well-crafted story is a masterful telling of a group of potential suspects/victims being murdered. Just when you think one character is the murderer, the writer shifts your thinking to someone else, either through a murder or a clue. I couldn't put this one down because the story just kept moving and pulling me further into all the theories of the main character. All I can say is WOW.

Christa and her partner have embarked on an organised tour of the rocky mountains and he has gone missing. She tries to organise the other group members to conduct a search for him and they find their guides severed head skewered onto a tree outside the cabin. I found the writing really hard to take to and I had to give up at around 40%. It was a fairly quick read but the writing didn't grip me and I had to keep re-reading sentences.

A non stop thrilling novel about a group of strangers stranded in the mountains during a massive snowstorm. Time is not on their side as one by one they end up dead. So many twists it had me guessing till the very end. Couldn’t put it down!

3.5 stars round up to 4

I was excited to receive an eARC copy of Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates, thank you Poisoned Pen Press.

I flew through reading this because there is constant action, right from the first page. It reads like a blend of a psychological thriller and a traditional slasher horror which I loved but it was, in my opinion, a bit predictable.

📚 There is a lot of foreshadowing that is maybe a bit too telling as I figured out who the killer was nearly right at the start HOWEVER the constant action and desire to see how the reveal would play out kept me turning the pages!

🙋 The characterisation is very good, I like how it brought together a very diverse group of people and threw them into this situation together. It's interesting seeing how each of them responds to it.

📍For me the setting was the magic here. It's beautifully described and you can nearly feel the chill of the snow as you read. The isolation also reads in a very realistic way which is sometimes a failing of this genre.

👩‍🎓 This was a good, quick, easy read with loads of plot and just the right amount of introspection.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this and it would be perfect to curl up by a fire with on a cold day but I wish the twist had been a little but less obvious.

Claustrophobic with a hint of a closed room mystery in the middle of a snowstorm.

There are only a handful of characters in this story which I enjoyed as it made following the story much easier as your focus could be on the main characters. Kiernan was dating Christa who was loyal, likable, and strong. Brain was your typical tour guide, Hutch was easy going, Alexis was shy with a story of her own, Miri was married to Steve who was obnoxious, Denny was overbearing and his son Grayson was a typical surly teenager, Blake was bitter, and Simone was bossy and angry. And one of them was a murderer.

The plot was gripping and entertaining as the reader tries to figure out, along with the characters, who the murder is. I liked how the author let you form first impressions of the characters and then slowly gives you the backstory on each of them. The author takes you in one direction, and then an abrupt curve changes the whole scenario as you slip and slide trying to get traction again.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions are my own.

WOW! This book was a WILD ride! There were a few slower parts but the ending was amazing. I never guessed any of the twists. Everyone was a suspect the whole time! I wish I would have read this book in Winter but it was SO good!

Chrissy and her boyfriend, Kiernan, have joined a tour set deep in the Rocky Mountains. While driving there they run into a bad storm. Chrissy and Kiernan leave the stranded bus to hike a bit. They end up at a spot where Chrissy slips off, is rescued by Kiernan and then he disappears. She unsuccessfully attempts to look for him and discovers a cabin where the other nine people from the bus have gone to keep out of the weather. She has also gotten frostbite in one hand. People begin dying grotesquely and everyone is suspecting each other of the murders. Going further would lead to spoilers, but I got so involved in what came next and the plot twists that I read the majority of the book in an afternoon. Thanks to Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC for an honest review.

Dead Of Winter is a grim but riveting mystery. The characters are first introduced to each other as they travel together for a winter getaway. As the book progresses and the reader gets further inside their minds, the suspense builds. One by one they are killed in a very grisly fashion, but who is the murderer. The people know that they are in danger as they await who is the next victim. Unfortunately, the ongoing snowstorms make it impossible for any of them to escape. They doubt each other, search everyone for weapons, stay together, keep an eye on one another, but none of these works. The page-turning plot is well-crafted, and the ending is unexpected. Nothing less than a true gem.

This is a well-written, horror-filled whodunit that I just couldn't connect with. It was a struggle for me to finish it, and I didn't really care much about any of the characters. I absolutely can see its appeal - it just didn't resonate with me. Could I see this as a movie? Yes.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very dark murder mystery with some interesting twists. Even though I figured out the murdered in the beginning, I still found the book intriguing and intense.

I have read a few other Darcy Coates books and I will definitely be reading more of her books.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy!

I will start off by saying I am so mad at myself that this is my first Darcy Coates book! I will be reading her other books for sure.

This book was completely right up my alley as far as, creepiness, gore, setting, and character development.

Christa and her boyfriend Kiernan are taking a trip to Blackstone Alpine Lodge deep in the Rockies in the middle of winter. They get on the private bus tour with 10 other people including Brian the tour guide.

Of course, a winter storm comes in and blows them off path.

What follows is what would be anyone’s worse nightmare out in the wilderness with no help in sight. The first body turns up. Missing a head! Pretty soon, the bodies are piling up. No one knows who to trust. Someone in their midst is a killer. And not only are they fighting against the unknown person, they’re fighting for heat, and food during the middle of a snowstorm. No phone service, roads impassable, someone lopping off heads makes for a really atmospheric, terrifying read. This is one of those books that plays out as a movie in my head as I’m reading.

As a huge locked room thriller fan, I do know sometimes these can get a bit boring in the middle part. This one had NO boring parts at all. The plot was really meticulously planned out. The only thing I didn’t like as much was the very very ending part was abrupt. I wanted an epilogue.

Highly recommend this one. Thank you again NetGalley.

Darcy coates has done it again! This book was amazing ! I was hooked the entire time and just as I thought I predicted everything I was wrong. So good.

Eight strangers go on an adventure to the wilderness and all of a sudden, one goes missing. Then, another and so forth. This had me guessing all the way through and I could not put this book down. I really felt like I was in the woods with them! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published July 2023.

SHUT UP. Okay I’m not gonna lie it took me like 15 chapters to realllyyyy get into the book but once we got to the initial kill I was HOOKED. It kept me guessing going back between its a crazy person in the woods to no it’s definitely one of them. And the ending?????? I did NOT see that coming but made sense now knowing what I know now. 5/5 stars will be pushing it onto all my friends!!

Dead of Winter is a riveting locked room mystery with a nice helping of gory horror as well! the story is dark, twisted, and I really was on the edge of my seat for this. There were good twists that honestly surprised me and I am glad to say I didn't guess the killer (that to me proves the author knows what they're doing when it comes to suspense and mystery).

Christa embarks on what is supposed to be a romantic trip with her boyfriend to a remote lodge, but when a storm hits and a felled tree stops the bus, eight strangers are stranded in a remote location and one of them turns out to be a killer.

the story really jumps right in and wastes no time getting started. I appreciated that there wasn't too much time spent on backstory (and instead you learn pieces along the way). I felt that the story had a nice pace and I loved all the red herrings and clues. It kept me guessing until the end. The characters were also interesting. They all had something to hide but not what you might think and I appreciated Christa's perspective of the others.

my only note is that I wish there had been a little more closure in the end. I was disappointed that some of my questions were not answered and that left me wanting more.

overall, I truly did find myself wrapped up in this mystery and couldn't put it down. I will definitely be picking up other titles by this author!

thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me to read an early copy of this book!

I’ve read several Darcy Coates novels, and I’d never seen them as something other than kind of fluffy to read. They were basic, 3-star books that sometimes contained dialogue that felt really unreal. I think this is because she was quite young when she started writing and didn’t have enough life experience yet.

She’s gained a reputation for writing basically cozy horror, which is fine but isn’t my thing. This book looked like it might be different, though, so I decided to request an ARC. And let me tell you; Coates has finally arrived.

This book was written with real skill, and with a much better understanding of human nature than her previous efforts. Plus, there’s some really good gore-filled sections, too. If you like Coates as a cozy horror writer, you might want to skip this one. But if you want a horror whodunnit with so many twists and turns you’ll get whiplash, then this one just might be one of the better ones you read this year.

I loved the tension that Coates brought to this story. There were several moments when I realized I was holding my breath, lol. There were also a couple of moments that made me cheer.

Regarding the ending, this is another issue I’ve had with some of Coates’ other books. But this time, there is some ambiguity at the end, which I absolutely loved.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me to read this ARC. At first reading the description of this book it seems like many other books, until you get to the part about severed head impaled on a tree. This is what made me want to read this book; I love horror books. I like how each of the characters are described, each one is very different. The main character, Christa, is still recovering from a traumatic event that occurred two years past, and how the author ties that event into the story is fantastic! As the story progresses, she gets stronger and braver. There are so many twists and turns in the book, it kept me interested. I really enjoyed the ending; I didn't quite see it coming but had my suspicions. This book keeps you guessing all the way to the end, I would definitely recommend!

This book has all the elements of suspense, creepiness and the inability to stop turning the pages. I was hooked. I admit there were spots where my interest weaned a bit, but then something else would happen and I was right back in it. The twists and turns had me guessing till the bitter end. This is one heck of a story that makes for one interesting read.

I very much enjoyed Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates. I have read many of her other titles, and this newest entry was a solid addition. Dead of Winter is essentially a locked room mystery; the protagonist is on a holiday retreat that goes very wrong very quickly, resulting in a number of strangers holing up together in a tiny cabin, in an isolated area, in the freezing cold of winter. One by one, their numbers dwindle as they are gruesomely murdered. It’s up to our protagonist to try and figure out what’s going on, and survive.

Things I liked: the book was so atmospheric! I felt the claustrophobia, the biting cold, and the tension. This, to me, is where Darcy Coates excels. She really knows how to set the stage for her tales so that you as a reader are drawn in.

What I didn’t like: unfortunately it was very easy to guess the killer’s identity. I was suspicious of this person from the start, picked up a few clues along the way, and was unsurprised by the time the big reveal happened. That was a bit of a letdown.

Overall, I still enjoyed Dead of Winter. It was well done, as tense as I want a thriller to be, and it did manage to surprise me at a few points along the way. I look forward to the author’s next book!

Such a good read - I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!