Summary - Christa is part of a tour group headed to a remote mountain resort for a two-week vacation with her boyfriend. However, after a fierce snowstorm derails their drive to the lodge, Christa and her group of eight fellow travelers are forced to take shelter in what appears to be an abandoned hunting cabin in the woods. The path forward seems simple - stay put and wait for the storm to pass. Until their tour guide is somehow brutally murdered overnight, One by one, the mysterious killer seeks to eliminate each member of the group which forces Christa and the others to figure out if the killer is someone in their own group.

I loved that this book had not just one big twist at the end (which it absolutely did), but at countless other twists throughout. It kept the pace of the story fast and it kept me turning the pages. There was a new twist and reveal at least every other chapter, and it gave the story a very chaotic and frenetic energy. The thing that makes a thriller effective for me is when you can't see the final twist coming at all, and that's exactly what happened. All the pieces fit together in hindsight, but the twist is completely blindsiding!

This was the kind of book that makes you want to stay up all night reading just to find out what happens, and it was so worth the read!

I enjoyed this book. I like that it didn’t take long to get right into it and definitely had me guessing until the very end.

A group of strangers heading into the wilderness for a retreat find themselves trapped in an abandoned cabin. As they wait for the winter storm to pass; they start disappearing one by one. The tension was unbelievable and the ending is top notch. I could not put this one down. Thanks to NetGalley and @SimonSchuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Darcy Coates is such a great writer and I love almost everything she reads. And this book is no different. Its pretty great .

4.5 Stars 🌟

This was such a thrill of a story to read. It was incredibly claustrophobic and Darcy Coates does such an amazing job setting the scene. I loved the setting of a snow storm in the middle of nowhere.

This story follows Christa, she's with her boyfriend on the way to a winter lodge retreat with a group of others when their bus gets stranded in the snow. Christa and Kieran some how get separated from the group and the book open with them lost in the wilderness. Then they both get separated from eachother.

Christa is able to randomly find a log cabin where also the other people from the bus have also come across. Everyone except Kieran he is still lost. Christa has a bad feeling that they all will die and never leave this cabin. Just like her a premonition one of the others disappears and is found mutilated. Now they're stuck in the snow with no hope of rescue in sight. Anyone could be a murderer or is there an outsider taking them out one by one,

I had so much fun with this book, The writing style quickly pulls you and never lets go, I really appreciated also the short chapters. Coates does an incredible job setting up the claustrophobic atmosphere and engaging the reader. I was terrified for these characters.

My only con was that some of it was a bit predictable and sometimes felt very repetitive. This didn't take away from my overall enjoyment.

I would specifically highly recommend this book to isolation thrillers lovers or fans of Then There We're None. It's a really fun time and will make a perfect winter read,

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

I will be posting my review to my Instagram page the.floofs.booknook and retail sites close or on publication date.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Dead of Winter.
Wow. This is a book I could not put down.
Christa has met the man of her dreams and they are on the way to a lodge nestled in the Rocky Mountains. Two weeks alone with a great guy he could be the one.
But the trip to the lodge is halted as the bus they are on is stopped by a tree in the road.
Eight others are on the bus and they are still miles away from the lodge
Christa and her boyfriend Kieran decide to take a walk while the others are moving the tree but a storm ensues and they are lost in the storm.
Christa somehow survives but Kieran. Is lost and she makes way to a small cabin where the others have found shelter.
But soon the survivors start to die and one of them is a killer.
Christa is determined to survive but as the others become victims she knows she may not live to see another day and she may die in the wilderness. But why is someone targeting this group and Christa will fight to find out
Great till the ending. 4 stars

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC. I don’t know what my deal with this book was, but it just wasn’t grabbing me. Maybe it has something to me reading it in Minnesota. I may have to circle back in the summer.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Dead of Winter releases July 11, 2023


I just cant say no to a claustrophobic winter thriller! I really enjoyed reading this book, the wintery, chilly and creepy atmosphere was just amazing and I really could imagine myself in the little cabin in the middle of nowhere. Shivers! I highly recommend this book for lovers of claustrophobic thrillers.
I wish the characters had more depth and were more worked out. That is my only critique.

#netgalley #arcreview #deadofwinter #darcycoates

Definitely not one of those books you pick up to read during an all-night readathon. Well that’s exactly what I did and here’s my little suggestion: don’t read this in a dark room at the middle of the night.

Dead Of Winter by Darcy Coates is an eerie, fast-paced, crime thriller revolving around a series of strategically planned murders. The book is very atmospheric and the way the story unfolds is quite a roller coaster ride. The spooky, hair-raising vibes prevail throughout the storyline. You just keep turning pages to find answers to the multiple questions arising in your mind and before you know it the story is done. It is the the same trope as the infamous Agatha Christie novel- “And Then There Were None”- a group of people being stranded in the middle of nowhere, with a killer in the midst of them and the search for who the killer is.

The book had everything that my little crime-horror thriller loving mind adored. It was fast-paced, creepy, and dark(And I really mean it, the way of narration did send shivers down my spine). I did figure out the killer somewhere near the mid-part of the book, but that did not steal the thrill that came along in the further pages.

I would definitely recommend this to people who like dark-themed, atmospheric, horror entwined crime thrillers. Great narration, perfect pace and a grasping storyline.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the copy of the book in exchange for a honest review. All the ideas expressed above are my own and based on my personal preference in books.

Dead Of Winter

Review

Coates has such a phenomenal way with words, eerie, & atmospheric storytelling. I’ve read many of her stories and Dead Of Winter is my now new favorite. This is wonderfully written whodunnit had me pondering, pointing, and wondering. Highly recommend! I can’t wait to pick up a hard copy!



📚Available July 11, 2023📚

❤️Thank you Poisoned Pen Press, Sourcebooks, & the brilliant author Darcy Coates. I’m super appreciative & gave my honest opinion❤️

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Darcy Coates has become one of my favorite authors who never disappoints. So when I seen this new one pop up, to say I was excited to start it, is an understatement! In true Darcy Coates fashion, this thriller leaves you with the best chills. It was so beautifully atmospheric, keeps you on the edge of your seat and drops your jaw at the twists it presents. This would be the perfect read with a nice cup of hot chocolate during a blizzard.

There were a few minor set backs for me though. It was a bit of a slow burner in the beginning half of it (which isnt necessarily bad) and even though there weren't that many characters, it felt like there were- they were almost two dimensional for me. I kept finding that I had to remind myself who was who to keep up with the plot. The redeeming factor for me was the second guessing yourself on who was the one who did it. Just when you think your guess is right, you need to rethink it.

This was a great read overall and even better during the last 50% of it. I will definitely be recommending this one!

This wintery thriller by Darcy Coates will be coming out in July of 2023. Set in a cabin in the middle of the woods, it follows a tour group who gets stranded in a snowstorm and must survive until help can arrive. Unfortunately for them, the storm is the least of their concerns. A mystery killer is brutally murdering them one-by-one, and, as isolated as they are, it seems impossible that the killer could be anyone but one of the members of their group.

Essentially a closed room mystery, but with a snowy twist, this was an enjoyable thriller. Unfortunately, it was a little too predictable for my tastes, and I knew who the killer was when I was barely a third of the way through the story. I still enjoyed it though!

I recommend snuggling up and reading this with a hot chocolate.

Thanks so much to Darcy Coates and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC through NetGalley!

Wow, what a ride, a frightening one too!
You could not pay me to accept an invitation to an isolated ski lodge in the middle of the mountains!!! LOL!!!
Christa and her 6 months boyfriend Kiernan are on a 2 week vacation on a private tour bus to the Blackstone Alpine Lodge somewhere deep in the Rocky Mountains.
The bus has eight other guests that she does not know.
Along the route, a snow storm starts and the road get blocked by a fallen tree. Naturally, the group decides to find shelter and the series of horrifying events starts to unveil where it soon becomes obvious there is a killer amongst them with a penchant for decapitations...
The winter snowy backdrop of the storyline is amazing. You are there with poor Christa trying to make sense of these horrifying events. The book is written solely from her point of view and the pressure is on...
Absolutely fabulous read but don't read it at night before bed unless you are prepared to get little sleep...

Darcy Coates is a master of the deeply disturbing. Dead of Winter is creepy and calculating and I was hooked from the first page. The twist at the end was something I didn’t see coming at all. So good!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

What an incredible book! Five stars, and well deserved. I finished this book so quickly, so excited to find out what would happen next, and the next pages never disappointed. But nothing could prepare me for that final 15% of the book, I have never held my breath like that while reading before. I will be thinking about this book for a long time!

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this eARC.

Crista and her boyfriend, Kiernan, are going on a two week vacation to a lodge essentially in the middle of no where with 8 strangers. Unable to get to the lodge through the snow and a fallen tree in the road, they decide seek refuge and find a small cabin. The next morning they wake up to a dead tour guide.. but which of them is the murderer? Or is it someone else lurking in the trees that wasn’t part of the trip? Despite the groups best efforts of keeping themselves and each other safe, people continue to be slain and everyone is a suspect.

This book was SO good. I had been looking for a book with a similar plot and this definitely lived up to expectations. I couldn’t stop reading because i NEEDED to know what was going to happen next. Around 80% i figured things out but still doubted myself until the end. It was such a good mix of thriller and horror. I’m not put off by any kind of gore but there was times that i was genuinely frightened by the suspense. Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book to others!

I received this book from Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review. This statement is always true. I’m not given compensation to discuss a book and I’m not told how to rate a book. I am given a book in exchange for my opinions on it, and I am truthful in all my reviews whether I loved them or not.

This book was intense. I would recommend it more as a psychological thriller first with an overlap of horror. This book was full of twists, turns, and surprises.

8 strangers lost in the middle of nowhere during a snowstorm of a lifetime. No houses, no stores, no form of transportation, no other people around, no way out. They need to learn to trust each other, as one is branded a killer. Who that killer is? No one knows. Is it the shy, quiet, Alexis or is it the take charge Simone, maybe it's the boisterous Steve or the laid back Grayson? Or could it be a psychopath living in the dense snowy mountains, hiding until he catches his or her prey alone. With so many options, slimming down night after night as each one is picked off one by one. Right from the beginning, the pace picks up, accusations thrown around. No one knows who they can and can't trust. Tempers boil, fights break out, how will they or do they survive?

Ms. Coates really put the thrill in thriller with this one. This is the first time I had read any of her books. One of the great parts I really liked about this book was that there is absolutely no guessing who the killer is until the very end. Just when you think that you know who did it, you better check again. Ms. Coates definitely left me in suspense. The action picks up pretty quickly. There was no beating around the bush and no fluffy filler stuff. The development of the characters were well thought out, they had their own personalities, all which differed from one another. Her writing put me in the story and I felt like I was in the book. Her details, her descriptions were right on target. I was able to play each scene as a movie in my head. I saw nothing lacking and the intensity continued throughout the whole book. There was never a dull moment.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for the honor of being able to read and review this book

Wow! This was a thrilling suspense that had me guessing until the end! With the perfect wintry setting and a series of horrifying events, this book kept me entertained and wondering what was coming next. I thought I’d figured it out about two-thirds of the way in, but the author kept throwing curveballs that made me second-guess myself! Trigger warning: this one contains gruesome violence and lots of blood, so consider that before beginning. If you’re a fan of horror, though, you’ll love it!

Thanks for the opportunity to review it in advance, NetGalley!

This edge of your seat, heart racing thriller will keep you up all night as you race to the end and through the harrowing snowstorm that sets the backdrop of this isolated group of people when someone starts picking them off one by one.

With elements of 'And Then There Were None' Darcy Coates manages to create another atmospheric and intense story you won't want to miss.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to say a thank you for allowing me to read an ARC of Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates.
This is the story about Christa and what she thought was going to be a romantic getaway with her boyfriend Kiernan at the Blackstone Alpine Lodge. The tour bus gets stranded due to a snowstorm and mayhem ensues. There are lots of twists and turns in this (pretty much) isolated setting horror novel. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and flipping the pages until the very end!