Thank you to Netgalley and Darcy Coates for letting me read the ARC for this! This is my 3rd or 4th DC book, and as per usual, hit the spot with all of my sub-genre tropes I love. Isolated cabin in the woods, snow, whodunit type of thriller. I read this while it was snowing, added to the atmosphere! The ending got me, tbh. Not in a *good* way, either. Not saying spoilers, but as the ending was unraveling, and the who and why came out I kept going "This is absurd. All that effort. Really? This is over the top. YIKES". Overall, I did enjoy it for the type of book it was!

This book is tense, scary and gripping. Everything you want in a horror book. Love it! Christa goes on a trip with her boyfriend, and a group of strangers. They never make it to the lodge and one by one, the group is killed off. Great book!

In a life threatening blizzard, Christa and boyfriend Kiernan struggle to find shelter after leaving the tour bus but become separated.. She miraculously finds her way to a cabin where the other bus members are holed up but Kiernan’s presumed dead. From there on you have the plot of And Then There Were None, as one by one the bus members are killed. Even the ending is similar. What really saves the book for me is Coates descriptive writing. I feel like I’m struggling though hip deep snow, developing hypothermia, experiencing the death of the others,

When Christa and her boyfriend Kiernan join a tour group head for the remote Blackstone Lodge in the Rocky Mountains, she’s not sure what to expect. Two weeks of mountain views, spa treatments, relaxation and maybe…an engagement? What she gets is far different. Terror, horrific deaths, horror and above it all, the steady cold, hissing wind, and freezing temperatures of a blizzard. Eleven adventurers travel to the Lodge. They won’t all return. Without spoilers. I can’t say more about this plot.

However, there are rules. 1. Do not start Dead of Winter unless you intend to finish it in one sitting. 2. Do not read Dead of Winter at night or if you are alone. 3. Do not read this book in winter unless you have flashlights and blankets at hand. You will think you need them. And 4. Read Dead of Winter! This is the first book I’ve read by the talented Darcy Coates and it won’t be the last. I just need to calm down a bit first. 5 snow-covered stars!

Thank you to NetGalley,Poisoned Pen Press and Darcy Coates for this ARC.

"We are all going to die here."

I was about a quarter of the way through my current read, when I just needed a change.

Scrolling through Netgalley, I found the latest book by Darcy Coates. This is my 2nd book by Coates, the first being Gallows Hill (3⭐). The fact that I didn't love that book did not deter this old bag.

Kiernan and Christie are on their way to a remote vacation in the mountains when their charter bus hits a snafu and gets stuck. While waiting for the bus to be fixed, Kiernan wants to check out the views with Christie. Fast forward about an hour when Christie wakes up in a remote cabin getting medical attention and Kiernan is missing.

We've seen this trope before. A group of people get stuck together, each is killed one by one and the question is who needs psychotropic meds?

I do like a good whodunit story. I enjoyed the fact this story took place in a remote winter cabin rather than a sun drenched island.

The writing was atmospheric at times, and a little more gruesome than most whodunit books. ✔️

It had short chapters and I would consider it suspenseful, but when "the butcher" was finally revealed, I felt like the story dragged for way too long.

In the end, I enjoyed this more than Gallows Hill, and would definitely read another book by Darcy Coates.

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.

Available 7.11.23

⭐⭐⭐💫

Everyone stop! Darcey Coates just pulled out a total "who dunit" in this totally engrossing thriller! I had it about guessed at 75% through but kept on reading and when I was totally disappointed that I was wrong she threw another break neck twist in that left me lingering on afterwards. My only negative is the ending, I would have loved an absolute ending to this gripping tale but sadly was left with more questions then answers. Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Released on July 11, 2023

4.75 stars. I LOVE.

Dead of Winter is an incredibly suspenseful and genuinely scary action-packed thriller. It’s the perfect book to read on a cold winter evening; the blizzard setting is obviously horrible for the characters but it’s perfect to get into as a reader.

It has countless twists that will leave you constantly questioning your own theories. It’s fast paced with short chapters and the writing style is simple and easy to get through. And the main character, Christa, is a total baddie and will have you on the edge of your seat urging her to keep going.

I can expect that some readers might not like the book as much, perhaps for them it’ll feel too drawn out, unexciting, predictable, etc. But I personally didn’t find it to be any of that and loved the read from start to finish.

I wouldn’t recommend this for readers that dislike gore and prefer lower stakes kind of mystery books. But if you can tolerate gore and love a well-written, high stakes, winter themed thriller? HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

’m a solid Darcy Coates fan although I’ve only now read half a dozen of her 40+ novels. She’s got a smooth and captivating way of writing horror thrillers that continually keep me creeped out and forever guessing the outcome.

Dead of Winter is a serious page-turner; a read you don’t want to put down until you finally get to the bottom of the chaos.

As a constant traveller who is terrified of being lost or trapped in a vast wilderness, this read freaked me out! And Stranger always equals Danger in my mind so yeah, this was scary 😧

Thanks to #netgalley and @poisenedpenpress and of course @darcybooks for this awesome ARC opportunity👊🏻

Dead of Winter is EVERYTHING I could have ever wanted from Darcy Coates. It's gory, it's gross, it's brutal, and most importantly it's unforgiving (in some ways). I found myself blown away by Darcy Coates latest novel. So let's break it down -

It's gory:
- This book tells you from the get go that a head might be found on a spike and it is. This is the first time in a Darcy Coates adventure that I feel like the gore and viscera was exactly what I've wanted in other stories. Don't get me wrong - Coates is the MASTER of the ghost stories at this point, but this gave a level of gore that I was very pleased with.

It's gross:
- This book had a few moments of giving me the ICK and I think readers will love that. Did I mention the gore and viscera? Okay well let me also give you the messed up idea - prepare for a desperate cold including frostbite to scare the warmest reader.

It's brutal:
- Okay as mentioned above the gore and gross factors are going to combine together to pack a punch. And the twists and turns of this story are BRUTAL!

It's unforgiving:
- This book is going to make you feel things. It's going to gross you out, it's going make you wince while reading, you might read this book with your mouth wide open like I did. All in all for a book where there might be a lesson on forgiveness hidden within the text, this book is also unforgiving.

I can't say enough good things about this story. So run, don't walk to pick up your copies!

I did not want to put this one down. And when I did I found myself waiting to get back to it. The writing style of this book you will find yourself invested in these characters! I was completely submerged in this book. I’m this book we follow Christa and her boyfriend on a tour up into the Rocky Mountains. As weather conditions worsen the bus comes to a stop due to fallen trees. Taking shelter in a near by abandoned cabin. Waiting the storm out the next morning the group find the severed head of the tour guide atop of a tree out front and shit gets SPOOKY!! The accusations start to fly , snow starts to pile, and the body’s start stacking. What happens next?? Pick up Dead of winter and find out i promise this book is a ride and a spectrum of emotion.

Wow. Slightly disappointed at the very very end of the book but otherwise fantastic novel. The whole thing was deeply unsettling for me and most books don’t tend to unsettle me this much. Fabulous job!

Christa isn't a fan of a trip into the mountains during winter but her boyfriend planned a trip to share where he grew up. She can't say no to that. She keeps an open mind about it and tries to enjoy herself. They meet some of their fellow guests on the bus ride out to the cabin and she can tell they won't become overly friendly with any of them. The winter scenery is beautiful and when a tree blocks the path, Christa and her boyfriend decide to hike up to beautiful viewpoint. That's where it all goes wrong. A winter storm comes up suddenly and seperates Christa and Kiernan, her boyfriend. Christa wasn't prepared for this weather. She isn't the outdoorsy survivalist type. She needs to find the group. But everything just keeps going from bad to worse.....

This book was phenomenal!! A completely spellbinding thriller that had me questioning everyone's motives. It's a secluded killer/thriller that grabs you from the first page and never lets go. Highly recommend!!!! My heart was beating out of my chest and the twists just kept coming!

After reading The Haunting of Ashburn House, I've instantly become a huge Darcy Coates so naturally, I couldn't pass up the chance to read her other books.

Dead of Winter is another masterpiece by Darcy Coates. This is the story of guilt-ridden Christa who joins a tour group with her boyfriend Kiernan in the Rocky Mountains with 6 other people. Little does she know that time supposedly spent relaxing in the mountains is going to end up becoming a fight for survival.

Gripping, creepy, and unputdownable, the book got my rapt attention from the first page until the last. I had my theories while reading the book but when the killer was finally revealed, I was proven wrong and that's a good thing but no one likes a predictable book, right?

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press, Darcy Coates and Net Galley.
Well, I'll tell ya' what. This damn story got me! Seriously, got me! The cold. The butt jobs that I shared the cabin with. "So, maybe it was a character, but it felt like I was there!"
Me? Hell, I'd have been looking everywhere for a weapon! People who can't find weapons? Phtts. That's nuts!
Truly? I adored this damn book! Ms. Coates is often hit or miss with me, but good god, y'all! This was some decent story telling!

3.75
I wanted sooo bad to love this book and give 5 stars.
The concept and beginning sucked me in and excited me. The first incident found surprised me. I happily read on. The atmosphere was great and the suspense. However, for myself, I found after that I never cared about any of the characters. They did not have depth and I just felt they were pawns for the story. I did not really care when or how they would go really and i knew they would. I also knew the main character had some experience that would be a main plot point so none of that excited me any. I did like the few surprises and struggles but not enough to stay invested in the parts that dragged as they wondered who did it. I love Darcy coates writing so much but is not my favorite one.

This book started out very strong, grabbing your attention from the very first sentence. This is a fast pace, edge of you seat thriller. The middle of the book felt slightly repetitive but picked back up again towards the end. At one point I had guessed the twist at the end but then talked myself out of it. By the time I got to the twist, I was only slightly surprised.

i like to read my books with a monthly theme so this is on my tbr shelf for now. excited to read this i know the author has some popular books out already

WOW! WOW! WOW!
I knew it, I just knew it! Or maybe I just wished I knew it but wasn’t shocked, just happy after going back and forth that maybe I was wrong. Such a great murder, mystery, horror book.
Please write more like this, because I enjoyed it so much. I finished it in under 24 hours, would have been sooner if I could have escaped life around me.

Amazing writing, hard to put down, page turner. The suspense was killing me and I loved it.

10 people head to a lodge in the Rocky Mountains. An isolated 2 week vacation far away from civilization and surrounded by snowy blizzards and mountains. Their bus stops because of a tree across the road, just before they reach the Lodge.

Some go off to see the scenery and get lost, while others are cutting the tree. Some get lost and some find a small cabin to see refuge. Cold and frozen they stay the night, lost, hungry, tired, cold,1 is hurt, so they stay the night. What awaits them as they wake up the next morning is gut wrenching and horrific. Things keep on happening as they try to survive. You will not be able to put this down!

OMG, my kind of book, movie and murder mystery!! Absolutely loved it.

I have read a lot of Darcy Coates and most of them have been of the supernatural variety. I was intrigued by a story that didn't involve the supernatural and was sucked in just as quickly with this as I have been with all of her others.

Every time I felt like I had figured it out, something would happen and I would be back and square one. I am sure that was the intent. I was fully engrossed and couldn't put this down. While I did have to suspend belief, I do that with almost all books I read and simply let the author tell me their story. Each character had their own personality and I would get mad and frustrated just as I would if I was interacting with them. I connected with some and was like "yes, yes, do that!" while reading.

* I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

5/5
This eerie novel ‘Dead of Winter’ by Darcy Coates follows Christa who travels with a tour group into the Rocky Mountains, but a snowstorm forces them to stay in an abandoned cabin and wait for the storm to pass. However, as morning comes one person is dead and the murderer is among them. They must ask themselves who can they really trust!

I have to admit that I love anything that has a cabin in the woods trope. What made it even more exceptional was the fact that I couldn’t guess the killer! This book had me on the edge of my seat and it was filled with many twists and shocking surprises.

Thanks to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for this incredible ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Keep watch for this chilling novel is due for publication on 11th July.