Darcy does it again! I love Darcy Coates. They are able to really set a tense atmospheric setting where the character has to fight their way through till the end. I could feel by BP rise each chapter and I love that. I'm always ready for more from this author!

First of all I would just like to thank, NetGalley, Darcy Coates and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC of “Dead of Winter” in exchange for an honest review.

This book is essentially a “who dunnit” that is set in a beautiful, but deadly, winter environment.

When Christa and her boyfriend travel with a small tour group to stay at a luxurious lodge in the snowy mountains, they already have their doubts about their trip when a fallen tree blocks their path. But when shortly later their tour guide’s decapitated head is found outside their cabin, they soon realise it is only the beginning of all the terror that it is about to unfold.

I devoured this book in one sitting. It has everything that is needed to be the perfect thriller. From short and tense chapters to carefully littered horror elements throughout.

I loved Coates’ writing style, it was the perfect balance of description and colloquialism without being too overwhelming.

Unfortunately, much like Christa’s own instincts throughout this book, mine told me very early on who I thought “the butcher” was. And like her, I tried to ignore them so as to not spoil the experience. Honestly, I think I only have myself to blame for that though, as I often go hunting for explanations very early on in books.

I struggled a bit towards the end as I felt the story was becoming a bit drawn out. There were sparse amounts of dialogue toward the conclusion of the book, so as a result it became a bit more difficult to read, whilst also lacking closure.

However, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it kept me captivated and engrossed throughout. I really empathised with our protagonist, Christa, and during more emotional scenes I found myself to be on the verge of tears.

Very much recommend to fans of thrillers and horrors alike. I hope you enjoy it!😊

“Dead of Winter” comes out on the 11th of July!

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this chilling thriller that I received as an advanced reader copy. Imagine a tour group headed into the wintery, cold unknown, and here is the book for you. Christa hopes to move past what she is going through and go on this trip to forget. She is hopeful, and then the snowstorm happens, and everyone is trapped together. What will happen? How can they survive? Christa feels all will work out, but she is wrong.......when the tour guide vanishes and from there, the situation turns into a thrilling ride; they are being hunted. If you like a thriller that turns into a mystery and a whodunit or who is being hunted, grab it!

Thank you to #netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC to give an honest review.
I loved this book, it was very suspenseful and had me guessing until the very end, and what an ending! This novel kept me thoroughly engaged I could not put it down.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves suspense and intrigue and a book that will keep you guessing.

Thank you to the publishers at Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for my e-ARC of Dead of Winter!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
❄️ love the winter
🩸enjoy serial killer reads
🚌 have ever taken a trip with your SO
🌪️ like multiple twists in a book

• 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄

Christa and Kiernan are taking their first trip together, but when a snowstorm sweeps in, they end up separated from their group. Christa finds herself alone until stumbling upon the rest of the group where they begin being slowly picked off, one by one.

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

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. Eight drops to seven and it becomes clear that someone in the group is killing for sport. 

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

I loved this story. The pacing, the short chapters, and the suspense all wound together perfectly. I really had no idea who the killer was and actually guessed someone completely different because of what I thought was a smoking gun. I was still wrong, pleasantly so! Looking back though, I should have seen it sooner, as all the pieces were there. Darcy does an amazing job of putting in little hints and clues that eventually come together when the truth is revealed! There were a few plot holes but I can’t say much more without spoilers. I’ll leave you with this though: don’t assume that the narrator, Christa, is feeding you unbiased, factual information. She’s only sharing her POV. Happy sleuthing!

A thrilling page-turner that will keep you guessing in this cold and twisted murder mystery punchbag.

I read this over a few hours. I could not put this down, when I tried to I found myself another chapter down. The main character is very likeable along with a strong supporting cast.

An unexpected 4/5 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very reminiscent of <i>And Then There Were None</i> but set in a cabin the middle of the Rockies instead of a deserted island. Our main character Christa travels with her boyfriend Keirnan to a 2 week getaway with a handful of others. However, disaster strikes and they're forced to take shelter in a tiny cabin. They wake up the first night and their tour guide is missing - they find his severed head in a tree (not a spoiler since it's in the book description). Then, others start to get picked off. Christa has to decide who's doing the killing and who she can trust.

It's a very well written book. It took a bit to get used to who all the characters were but overall, the author does a great job of differentiating everyone. I also appreciate how the author just stuck with Christa's POV. The last few books I've read have all had shifting POVs and sometimes you need a good murder mystery from a single narrator.

I guessed the murderer very early on. The author tries to give evidence for and against each character so it wasn't too obvious other than that I read a lot of murder mysteries, which made it obvious. Though I was doubting myself at various points because of the evidence against this person. I was very excited when the murderer finally was revealed and I nailed it.

This was definitely a well thought out and engaging story. I'll throw a bit of a gore warning out there - it wasn't too bad but if you are very squeamish, you'll want to avoid this one (which probably was assumed by "his severed head impaled on a tree" in the book description). It was very enjoyable to watch as Christa tries to figure out what's going on. It was a little predictable and followed some of the horror movie tropes, but still a good read.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

This was my first Darcy Coates book and woah!! First of all, I'm never taking a trip to a lodge in the woods in the winter! The way the book is written made you feel like you were actually there and freezing right along with the characters. I did kind of guess who the killer was in the beginning but I was still so enthralled by the story that I finished the book in 2 days because I had to know for sure. Great story!! Definitely recommend.

What a great ride this was!!! Darcy Coates has weaved together an incredibly intense and shivering story here that I won’t quickly forget. It had me turning the pages to finish it . I had to pause on it due to a surgery that came up for about two weeks but it was super easy to jump back in. The cast of characters are all easily likeable and there isn’t anyone who was annoying or overly cliche. It kept me in constant suspense to try to figure out who the killer was. I had an idea that it may have been who it ended up being but I still didn’t 100% guess it correctly. The atmosphere was excellent and I could visually see what was happening here. This is definitely a thriller I could read again because of the wonderful details and story telling. Kudos! I’ll definitely be checking out more reads from Darcy Coates!
Also a plus was no foul language or graphic sex scenes! That gets an extra star from me! Definitely pick this one up when it’s released!

Thank you yo NetGalley for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was horrible. Boring, long and with highly predictable end twist. Honestly, I don't get the hype surrounding Darcy Coates. In the subgenre of isolated thrillers, "Shiver" by Allie Reynolds is so much better. Even "One by one" by Ruth Ware - which I rated 2 stars- is better than this.

What a wild ride this book was! Darcy Coates has such a way with words to make you feel everything the characters are going through. Her descriptive and gripping storytelling had me invested in this mystery that was full of suspense and the gore/horror she’s known for! We follow our main group of characters stuck in this blizzard as they’re picked off one by one by some deranged murderer. Each character at one point or another seem to be the guilty party and the end takes such a wild turn with a story wrap up that I wasn’t able to guess!!

Again Darcy knocks it out of the park. When Kiernan and Christa embark on a vacation in the Rocky's their trip is suddenly haulted due a tree blocking the road. Deciding to wander a bit, Kiernan takes Christa NE up a hill in which they get overtaken by snow and wind. Christa is on the brink of death when she awakes, in a small run down cabin along with the remaining tour members. Kiernan is no where to be found. Then everything goes downhill from there, starting with the decapitation of their guide; Brian. Darcy has such a great way of bringing you in, I devoured this book in a single afternoon.

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨

Genre: Suspense / Horror
Pages: 384
Goodreads: 4.1

The best kind of suspense/mystery books are the ones that keep you guessing the whole time and Darcy Coates did just that.

I struggled with keeping interest in the first half of the book simply because of the repetition. Once things started rolling though, I didn’t put it down. I NEEDED to know the answers! And boyyyyy was I not ready for that ending 😳

Dead of Winter publishes in July this year and is a great book to pick up if you like the final destination movies, enjoy a good suspense that will make you question everything, or like short chapters.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

From a remote cabin in the snowy wilderness, you learn you can’t trust anyone. 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. One of them kills for sport...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.

As always, thank you to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for the digital ARC. I appreciate it more than you know and I can’t wait to read more!

Dead of Winter starts off by pushing you to the edge of your seat and absolutely keeps you there until the very last page. This novel is tense, claustrophobic, exhausting, chilling, and stressful. Darcy Coates does not waste a single word on the page writing such a descriptive novel truly capturing the biting cold and tense situations, vividly describing the environment, emotions, exhaustion and physical pain these characters are experiencing. By the end of the book the reader themselves will feel they have been on this exhaustive journey as well. The book follows a small tour group on their way to a resort in the Rocky Mountains, but they hit a roadblock in their trip when a snowstorm prevents them from continuing further causing the group to have to take shelter in a small cabin. Their tour guide goes missing overnight, to be discovered dead in the morning. Tensions run high as the bitter cold begins to take effect and a lack of food supply is of growing concern and the fear of which member of the group will be picked off next. Every time things seem to be settled Coates ends up tossing in more that just keeps you guessing as to what is going to happen next. This is an absolutely claustrophobic and anxiety inducing novel with everyone packed together in the confines of a cabin, with persistent inclement weather, venturing outside, brings vision down to almost nothing. You can feel the tension dripping from every page, truly not knowing who to trust and which direction you’ll be turned towards. A solid work of art, “Dead of Winter” truly is such a well written thriller that will keep you in a chokehold from page one until the very end. A “chilling” novel in every sense of the word!

An absolute, without a doubt, 5 star read!!

"Dead of Winter" has an expected publication date of July 11th, 2023 by Poisoned Pen Press

Darcy Coates? Locked room thriller? Say no more.

When Christa's new boyfriend, Kiernan, suggests a 2 week mountain getaway, Christa is thrilled! After a tragic accident 2 years prior, it's taken her quite a while to feel like she deserves to be happy. But when a fallen tree and a snow storm block their way to Blackstone Alpine Lodge, their party is stranded in a run down hunting cabin. As members of their group start getting picked off one by one, no one is safe from suspicion.

This book is claustrophobic, heart-pounding, and will keep you guessing all the way until the end. The queen of horror has once again, left us with a thrilling story that will keep you awake well into the night turning pages as she brings the story to a riveting conclusion.

Christa and Kieran, along with seven other strangers set out on a week long holiday touring trip to Blackstone lodge deep in the Rocky Mountains. Suddenly their tour bus stops as there is a huge tree blocking the road. While the tour bus guide is figuring out how to get the tree out of the way, Christa and Kieran set off down a trail to site see. Suddenly a blizzard comes out of no where and the pair become lost and separated. After hours of wondering the land and searching for Kieran, Christa comes across a cabin where the other seven have already found shelter. And so the story begins. One by one, someone disappears and is found murdered in gruesome ways. Soon Christa realizes, no one gets out alive!!!

Until I read the terrifying underwater horror From Below which also featured on my Horror DNA Top Ten of 2022 I had avoided reading Darcy Coates as I had pegged her as an author of ‘cosy’ horror. Darcy is very prolific and so she has plenty of other novels to choose from, with her latest Dead of Winter blending a who-dunnit style thriller with horror. This book is far from ‘cosy’ as the setting is an isolated part of the Rocky Mountains and although much of the violence takes place off screen enough heads roll (literally) to keep the horror end of the thriller market entertained.

Fans of locked-room thrillers of old-school style Agatha Christie mysteries will have a lot of fun with Dead of Winter where the killer is either one of the characters in the room or somebody else lurking outside which is being kept hidden from the reader. For the most part the story kept the reader on their toes and it could have been either of the scenarios until far into the novel. The narrative was in the first-person present tense and did not deviate from one character, I felt this was a weakness as it limited the scope of what could be done with other characters as either suspects or victims. If we the reader are given a clue it is only because the narrator Christa picks up on it and because of this we never really get to know the ensemble of other characters/suspects as well as we should have.

This novel will definitely have you turning up the central heating as almost all of it is set in biting cold temperatures, where is the killer does not get you the weather definitely will. Darcy Coates does a great job of recreating the Rocky Mountains, with treacherous weather, every bit as well as she did deep under water with her ghost ship in From Below. There were some vividly drawn sequences when members of the group were out searching for a disappeared colleague and could not see further than the end of their noses with the danger level rocketing the party might not find themselves making it back safety to the cabin. However, considering the book was set mostly in the same location it did feel slightly too long and took too long to end. Having said that Darcy Coates does her best to avoid the Final Girl trope, but as the main character is the narrator it is relatively easy to see the direction the plot heads into (even if you don’t know who the killer is) and this kills suspense somewhat.

The story kicks off with a group of holiday makers heading for a lodge in the Rocky Mountains, the weather is terrible and a fallen tree causes them to work together to try and move it. Christa goes for a walk with her boyfriend Kieran and they get turned around in the weather and get lost. The rest of the group find an uninhabited cabin where they hole up. After a terrifying ordeal in the snow Christa finds the cabin but loses Kieran (I found her whining over his disappearance to be very repetitive). Not long after, when the group are waiting for the weather to improve, their tour guide disappears and his severed head is found in the snow close to the cabin. What follows is a diverting survival novel blended with a murder mystery.

Clues are thrown (via Christa’s narrative) thick and fast and at various times you will undoubtedly change your mind on who the killer is. All the characters seem slightly dodgy in some way or another and in finest Agatha Christie tradition Christa (who has her own secret history which is told in flashback) begins to wonder whether everybody is connected in someway and they are being targeted for some reason. Although I did not immediately guess who the killer was, I did find some of the plot to be rather telegraphed, but the claustrophobic setting and short chapters made up for it.

This novel indicates that Coates is equally skilful with non-supernatural content as she is with her more familiar haunted houses. The concept of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of strangers is a scary prospect and as Christa is not particularly outgoing and seems reliant on Kieran, makes for an intriguing scenario.

Christa joins her boyfriend on a vacation to Blackstone Lodge, deep in the snowy Rocky Mountains, but when an unexpected snowstorm suddenly sweeps in, the group of strangers have to seek shelter in an nearby abandoned hunting shack, and soon Christa finds herself trapped in the small isolated cabin. When their tourguide is discovered the following morning, with his decapitated head impaled on a tree branch, the surviving group must decide who to trust, or they'll never leave this mountain.

My favorite Darcy Coates tends to be the ones with no ghosts, I know right who even am I, like From Below, Hunted amd now this. This is a fast paced, dark, bloody, claustrophobic and twisted read that keeps you guessing at every page. You think you know who the killer is, but you dont. The atmosphere in this book is exactly what it feels like to be trapped in a tiny shed with strangers, no one of them able to escape the snow covered mountain, while anyone of them might be a cold blooded killer...

I enjoyed this well enough.

The setting was great, and it got off to a great start, but some parts felt a little long winded and a book that should be a real page turner took me quite a while to get through.

There was a lack of depth to any of the characters, I just wasn't invested in them and I wish I'd been rooting for them.

Thank you for the arc!

This was my first Darcey Coates and I’m blow. Away! She’s so descriptive in her atmosphere, I felt like I was freezing along with the character! I’ll definitely read more of her books!