This was my first book by Darcy Coates and while I thought it was very entertaining and full of suspense, I found myself a bit disappointed in the ending as I did predict the big “whodunnit” pretty early on in the book.

I did, however, enjoy everything else about this book - the writing is fantastic, it really connects you to the characters and makes you feel like you are apart of everything that’s happening. This is definitely a book that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish!

I recommend this and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC copy of Dead Of Winter.
This book had me hooked from the beginning. Who wouldn’t be excited to head off on a two week vacation in the Rocky Mountains with the man who has made you feel whole again? Christa was so excited for just that, but what happens when you soon begin to wonder if you are going to be the next to die? Everyone around you is dying one by one, but who’s the killer? Twists and turns with constant wonder of who’s next and who’s behind it all?
I really enjoyed this book, kept me guessing the whole time! I’m excited to read more by this author!

Christa joins a tour group going to a lodge for 14 days during the Winter. When the group is stranded before they can reach the lodge, people begin being murdered. Christa does not know who to trust or where to turn. This book kept me guessing until the very end!!

I COULD NOT GET ENOUGH OF THIS!!!
I’ve been struggling with finding a book that grabs my attention & this book out of literally so many books FINALLY got my attention & ran with it

*adds “trapped in a cold environment” to list of favorite tropes*

This is my very first thriller mystery book I’ve ever read & I have no idea what’s taken me so long to read one but I’m so glad I started with this one. I love Darcy’s writing style & her ability to come up with twist after twist!! 🪓

I kept go back and forth with my predictions of the ending & it’s was a tad predictable but definitely didn’t disappoint me either way!

Darcy, you’ve gained another fan !

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*thank you netgalley, poisoned pen press + darcy coates for earc*

5 stars!!! I was on the edge of my seat the whole. My heart is still racing while I type this! It kept me guessing the entire book. This is my favorite book by this author! Excellent!!

I originally requested an arc of Dead of Winter because although I had never read anything from Darcy Coates, I had heard nothing but FANTASTIC things about her books from watching horror book reviews on Youtube, and this cover for this book was really eye-catching. I am a shallow type of reader in that a book cover's design is a make it or break it for me. I would be proud to display this book in my library. Whoever did this cover art, keep them!

Now, onto the book itself. Even though I had heard only flowing things about Coates' writing, I still wasn't sure how much I was going to like this book. Luckily, I ended up absolutely LOVING IT!!! I was utterly gripped from the first chapter of this book I couldn't put it down. The only other time this happened with me was when I read Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. I am SO HAPPY that I found another book that was able to pull me in so quickly!!

I really enjoyed the icy, snowy, Rocky Mountains atmosphere that the retreat was set in. Horror + winter setting is my favorite sub-genre of horror. This story was very reminiscent to Agatha Christie book that I have read in the past:: I couldn’t decide who was guilty. No one person in particular stood out. Once I thought I had figured out, NOPE! Like Miss Christie, this book swerved in an entirely different direction.

I did NOT see the end coming (which I LOVE!!) and I was actually sad when it was over. This was my first Darcy Coates read but it will not be my last. Absolute 5 star read and I will be purchasing a hard copy of this for my personal library when it is released in July. Just fantastic and such a fun read and a nice escape from reality!

Looking for a murder mystery set in the winter at a remote cabin? Dead of Winter is for you!

After moving on from a traumatic event, Christa is finally feeling good about things. Heading to a winter retreat at an exclusive lodge with her boyfriend seems like a dream. But that quickly becomes a nightmare. As things go off course and the first body turns up, Christa needs to find the killer fast before she becomes the next victim.

Thought this book follows a fairly common thriller/murder mystery style, I still really enjoyed this book! Darcy Coates is one of my auto-purchase authors. I pre-order most (if not all) of her books. She will always be at the top of my recos list!

Christa and her boyfriend embark on a group tour where everything starts to go wrong until they discover that there is a killer in their midst.
Darcy Coates recreates the sensations very well and achieves an atmosphere of tension right from the beginning of the book. The final chapters, where everything is precipitated, are thrilling and give the reader no rest. I recommend it to all lovers of terror, mystery and adrenaline.

I can see why people are loving this one. An 'And Then There Were None' style whodunit set in a tiny hunters cabin in the middle of winter.

I am not one of those people unfortunately, I found the book predictable, and the characters painful to read about.

Not for me, but I get it- I do.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the arc

📚Book Review📚
Dead of Winter
Release Date: July 11, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was such a fun ride!! Was it gory? Yes. Was it murdery? Of course. Did I guess the end? I thought I had it figured out but I was wrong!

I loved every single page of this crazy adventure! If you like high stress, suspenseful books that keep you up all night, this is the book for you!

Thank you @netgalley @poisionedpenpress and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Yet again Darcy showed she was the queen of cozy horror! Her writing style makes you feel for the main character and others in the story. She leaves you feeling as if you are watching the drama take place right in front of you. Great job Darcy! Keep it up!

This is my first book by Darcy Coates. She is a horror writer and most of her books are titled “The haunting of _______” From what I understand she is primarily a YA author but this one is definitely a adult 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.

Sold!

There is much to love about this book. First of all you have to give credit where it’s due……. 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……

So in short: Very entertaining read. Lacking in......."something"

I really appreciate Poisoned Pen Press for giving me the opportunity to review this book for free for a honest review and it has a publication date of July 11, 2023.

Darcy Coates has written another incredibly suspenseful thriller! From the 1st page to the last page. The twists kept me up reading way too late! Just when I thought I had the killer picked I was wrong again and again! Seriously well written and one of her more suspenseful books!

I may have figured out the killer pretty quickly but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t still getting whiplash from the twists and doubting myself every other chapter. By the end, I was so engrossed any small noise around my house had me jumping out of my seat and then returning back to reading frantically to get to the end.

Love, Love, Love a Darcy Coates story!

I believe I’ve mentioned before, I’m a sure in for the “stranded”, “lost in the woods” and “need to survive” story. Now combine that with Darcy writing it can’t be anything but fabulous, right? An easy sell. I was so thrilled to be given this eARC.

A group of travelers are on their way to a remote getaway end up stopped and stranded in a snowstorm. Obviously, they can’t stay out in the elements so they must make their way to finding shelter. Well, they find an abandoned cabin and all figure they will wait out the storm! Wrong!

Our protagonist is Christa, and the story is revealed through her POV. She is injured, her boyfriend is missing, and she and other travelers are holed up when they discover their guide murdered, brutally so, the next day. Now they look at each other with anger, impatience, fear and suspicion.

Tension begins to mount, suspicion is palpable and fear is mounting. One by one, they are being killed, brutally. Who? Why?

Darcy, you’ve done it again! This novel moves at breakneck speed, the characters are likable, the atmosphere is claustrophobic, the landscape harsh, the cold unforgiving and the killer vicious. The twists were not overdone,
And it kept me guessing until the end.

I will say, this novel does have the gore factor! The reader need not use their imagination, it’s laid out right there. I, as a lover of all things horror, didn’t mind, but if gore is not your thing, be forewarned. However, the book, the author, I cannot recommend enough.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Gripping, chilling, tense, and eerie. I did not want to put Dead of Winter down! It all comes down to a bus forced to stop, travelers seeking shelter, a frozen landscape, and danger - lots of danger. Who doesn't love a good finger pointing "It was you with the Axe!" book that keeps you on your toes, flipping the pages and on the edge of your seat? I love it and Darcy Coates delivered!

Christa and her boyfriend along with a group of travelers are heading deep in the snow-covered Rocky Mountains to a lodge for a getaway. As the wind and snow continues to hammer the area, their bus must stop when there is a tree blocking the road. Stranded in the bitter cold, the travelers must find shelter and fast. They find an abandoned cabin and take shelter hoping to wait out the storm.

I do love that trapped in a cold environment trope in a book! Woohoo!!!

After she is injured and her boyfriend goes missing in the snow, Christa wakes up in the cabin with the other. Sometime that night, their tour guide goes missing. Did he go for help? Has he found a way to get to the lodge? NOPE! His severed head is found impaled on a tree outside the cabin. This was not the getaway they signed up for! Let the finger pointing begin.

Tension mounts as anger flies. The travelers begin looking at each other knowing they are the only ones there. One of them must be the killer! As the snow keeps piling up so do the bodies. One by one, they are being killed. Why, how and by who???????

WOWZA! This was so good. I loved the tension and watching as the travelers/survivors being looking at each other as their suspicion grows. No one is safe and all are afraid. How do they cope? Who can they trust?

This was so nicely done! I had no idea who the killer was. Darcy Coates takes readers on a snow filled, twist filled, shocking ride! I also loved how the cold landscape was very much a character in this book as well. It was unrelenting, unforgiving and the perfect tomb. The characters are an interesting bunch and had me pointing my own fingers at them while reading. Very nicely done!

I can see this being made into a movie. That is how it played out in my mind while reading.


Well thought out, well written, and perfectly paced. This was such a chilling page turner!

As a reviewer, I may be known as someone who loves a "locked room" mystery and one that is set in a winter storm is my absolute favorite so I could not wait to read this book. I enjoyed the atmospheric writing and character development throughout the story as well as the plot twists that came one and after another. I do not like to give out an spoilers but I have to say you must read until the end.

When something is so good that you simply can't bother taking notes because you don't want to lose your train of thought..
It was that good and I don't say that lightly!
Desolation, isolation, ok...we've been there before but beheadings? Wait,...what?
This rural theme is often found in thrillers along with numerous escalating situations.
However, this one felt different with some attention grabbing moments that made you stand and salute for a job well done. Just jarring!
I honestly can't so much else without giving it away but to say my followers -when ya know ya know!
Grab this tight!
Thank you to Darcy Coates, Poisoned Pen Press, and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

This is a pretty good thriller. It’s not horror.

It’s also really entertaining and really, really derivative. This is yet another ‘And Then There Were None’…with Snow!

The reason behind everything is over-the-top. The killings are even more over-the-top. I never once (like, never ever ever once) thought the killer was anyone but who the killer turned out to be.

But the book is a fun and fast read, it doesn’t tax your brain, and it was definitely enjoyable.

Thriller-lite.

• ARC via Net Galley

I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery/thriller novel. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and was really surprised by the twist. I would definitely recommend this book to my other thriller lovers. The character develop was just enough to fit in with the horror and the connections among the character were a great contrast.