Cover Image: Dead of Winter

Dead of Winter

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Member Reviews

I’m obsessed with loved room mysteries, and this one did not disappoint. Christa and her boyfriend are traveling on a Rocky Mountain tour group when their bus is stopped on by a tree in the road. The group hikes to a nearby cabin for shelter. One by one the group is picked off. But who is the killer, and why? Whoa this was insane. The killer was twisted and this book contains a good amount of gore. There are quite a few different characters, but once I got going, I couldn’t stop. A great horror read for a winter night. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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This is my first Darcy Coates novel, and now I am excited to find more! I really loved the snowy, trapped-in setting and mysteries to uncover. It was great to try to figure out where the story was going, and who you could trust. I read through this one quickly, because it kept my interest and I could not wait to find out how things wrapped up! I highly recommend this to my thriller-loving friends!

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I couldn't connect with the characters. Even though I liked what was going on and the atmosphere, there was something about the characters that didn't resonate with me, although I'm not sure if it was the writing style or the pace, fast or slow at times. I do want to read the author's other books, but this one wasn't for me.

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Thank you to Darcey Coates, Net Galley, and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC! I have loved many of Darcey’s books so I was so excited to read Dead of Winter. This novel was a good mix of thriller and horror with many tropes that I knew I already loved. I am a sucker for an isolated setting with a one by one style story, and this one did not disappoint! While some of the answers were easy to guess at in this story, there were several twists that had me on the edge of my seat.

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Another great book by Darcy Coates. I enjoy every book she writes and I add them to my classroom library. My students are also fans. Thank you for continuing to produce readable material that we can have lively discussions about.

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This isolated thriller really worked for me. I was hooked from the very beginning. I needed to know what would happen and how the ,Ian character would fair throughout this harrowing tale.

There are some areas of the story where the reader has to almost suspend their disbelief in order to enjoy the ride. Not everything is completely plausible but the dramatic effects that those events hvae on the overall story are well worth it.

This was my first Day Coates. I have been wanting to check out her work for quite a while. I’m so glad I was able to get a taste for her writing in this book. I really enjoyed the way she structured sentences. Her vivid descriptions kept me fully immersed within the story. I can’t wait to check out more of her work!

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I would like to thank NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

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I really enjoyed this, it was written well and was very tense and creepy to read at times. The characters were likeable enough though I didn’t feel attached to them.

I will say that I guessed the plot twists, they were quite predictable but that didn’t take away the enjoyment of reading them.

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So, with this being my 4th book that I have read now, by Coates, it was another that I thought was not well written. It was like reading a bad 'chick flicks' script for a BAD Lifetime movie. Sorry cannot recommend this as horror and will not read anything else by Coates.
2 ehs.

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Wow! What a gripping, edge of your seat thriller! I was hooked from the very first chapter and devoured this book in a day!
If you are looking for a locked room winter thriller, look no further! A group traveling to a remote vacation lodge in the Rocky Mountains gets stranded in a snow storm, and things very quickly take a deadly turn as they get picked off one by one.
It was entertaining, fast paced and had lots of fun little red herrings. I did guess who the killer was early on, but still enjoyed the premise despite it!

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

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I was really pumped to read Dead of Winter. I had really high hopes that I would love it. I love "stranded in a cabin with strangers" mysteries. Unfortunately, this one did not live up to my expectations. It was OK... but not great. I called the ending very early on because the "twist" was glaringly obvious. The story is told only through the eyes of Christa. I think this was a mistake. The suspense would have been better had we had more than one point of view. I also found Christa a bit tiring to spend time with because she made really bad decisions sometimes. The one thing I did really like was the level of gore and the cold creepy atmosphere. I haven't had a good horror novel with good gore in a while. It's not a bad book, it's just not what I was hoping for. I think fans of this author will really enjoy this one.

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I live in a vert remote area, so reading this alone at noght was not the best idea. How Darct Coates comes u with these things, the headds I dont know. But I'll keep reading every book she writes.

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*4 stars*

This was a chilling, tense, locked room type thriller. A group of strangers embark on a trip to a remote Rocky Mountain lodge but end up stranded, being picked off one by one by a mysterious killer.

While the twist and plot was somewhat predictable, it was still very propulsive and fun to read. If you’re looking for a good winter popcorn thriller this will definitely do the job!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this work. All opinions in this review are my own.

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Wow! This was a classic edge of your seat thriller that I absolutely devoured! It’s tagged as a horror which gave me pause since I tend to avoid that genre entirely. But don’t let that hold you back! IMO it’s more of a heart pounding thriller! Just to add to the atmosphere…I saved this for my mountain vacation and so glad I did!

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This story is about Christa who joins a tour group in the Rocky Mountains but due to a snowstorm their group has to take shelter in an abandoned building. One by one the members of the group is getting killed and Christa is sure that there is a killer among them. I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved the ambiance of this book as it is set in a snowy remote cabin. The story is fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. Overall it was an entertaining thriller and I'd definitely recommend it!

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Very atmospheric and I loved the Agatha Christie vibes. I love a good survival story and this is definitely a great one. I figured out the whodunnit half way through but it still felt the story enjoyable and intriguing.

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My first, but not my last from this author. Great description of the landscape. I felt the cold. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to review.

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This was my first Darcy Coates book and it won’t be my last! I loved the way she twisted together the turns and suspense with each page! It genuinely kept me engaged until the very last page!

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This book was fantastic! So many twists and turns, and it flowed so smoothly with the way the story unfolded and we learn WHY everyone is there on that trip. The characters were all well developed and the ending was almost perfect. My only complaint is that it ended without us learning the fate of two of the characters, but other than that it was phenomenal!

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Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates is a wild ride! Exciting and suspenseful, I couldn't put this book down! Will dig into this author's backlist now.

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