Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates is a haunting story of a woman, Margot, returning home after both of her parent’s deaths on the same night & discovering a house that might not want her there full of secrets from her past, including why she hasn’t seen her parents since her childhood. This is one of the scariest books I’ve ever read. Darcy Coates writing is brilliant & full of vivid imagery that creates a truly spooky tale. It’s a stomach turning & wickedly disturbing story that I consumed in two days.
This is a horror novel that’s so perfectly scary you can practically hear the background horror music play throughout the scenes as you read it. It’s a perfect unraveling of a slowburn horror novel that intertwines a horrid history with a prettifying present.
There were a few moments that I wanted to fast forward a bit, but I do have ADHD so that’s not uncommon. Overall, I am a big fan of Darcy Coates & loved this book!
Gallows Hill is going to be the perfect book to curl up with during the fall.
Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates comes out September 6, 2022!

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for giving me the opportunity to read an arc of this in exchange for an honest review!

Trigger warnings: This book mentions &/or contains murder, gore, violence & drowning.

I will post this to my social media as it gets closer tk release date & add links once I do.

For a truly uneasy experience, read this one at night. Bonus points if you have an ereader and can turn off all the lights.

A slow burn horror with a foreboding and tense atmosphere. I felt very unsettled while reading this. Especially the scenes after dark. The characters are fantastic and the storyline had my immediate attention. My only wish was that it had an epilogue.

And that reveal!!! My mind was absolutely blown. So Well Done!

I'm a huge Darcy Coates fan and couldn't resist hitting that request button on Netgalley as soon as I saw this! This is the fourth book I've read of hers. I need to get my hands on her backlist!! It's a big one!

Highly recommend!

Thanks so much to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for my gifted copy!

Horrifically excellent writing that makes you feels like you're a character of the book! I could not believe how tense I become while reading this truly suspenseful and thrilling book.

This book was good, I’m glad I got to read it early and can’t wait to tell others about it .
I think they are gonna enjoy it just as much
Thank you

Review to come August (end of) on blog/goodreads/etc.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I was so so HYPED when I saw that Darcy Coates' newest books were on Netgalley. I just adore her work and so I had had to request it! I am thankful that the publisher allowed me to early read both books! First up was Gallows Hill because I was in for something haunted house/spooky!

In this superscary book we meet Margot! A girl whose parents died and now she has inherited the house and the winery... but the problem is? She hasn't seen her parents since she was a kid. You can imagine her feelings towards her parents. She is both curious and angry. But she is willing to give it all a shot. She doesn't have much left in the city she came from. But right from the first day.. she sees things. Hears things. There is a scary statue downstairs (of which I never could grasp how big or small it was, for me it was a tall tall statue). There are eyes shining in the dark. You can imagine she isn't too excited about the house and it is just the beginning! Margot was a really great character, though, haha, also a bit too much like your standard protagonist in a horror. Ohhh, I shouldn't go to the scary thing, let me go to the scary thing. Oh the attic. Yes, let's go! But I was proud of her because she tried to do things, she tried to learn more about the curse, about her family. 

The curse? Especially when it started really kicking in? Welp, the book went from scary bells to seeing things to OH HEY look the dead are rising! Fun! NOPE. We learn a lot more about Gallows Hill, about the Hull family (and the two brothers), about why Margot spend her childhood at her grandma, about the house and a lot more. I was invested. And I was wondering why people who just stay! But as we find out... leaving isn't so easy. Especially not if you are the owner/family. It definitely made things even more spooky and scary and at points maybe also a bit hopeless. Because you cannot run. You cannot hide. You just got to play tag with evil (though you shouldn't be tagged, but you get it XD). I was definitely terrified while reading it. Haha, I thought I could read this at night, but I definitely wouldn't recommend that. XD There also some gore parts that had me feeling queasy. 

We also have other characters, Kant, Nora and Ray, Witchety, Marsh (succcchhhh a good boy). I really liked the side characters cast! They each were special and I really liked learning more about them. And boy, I would love a novella just all about Witchety! She was such an interesting and sweet character!

At around 80%-85% I was a tad worried. Because it didn't seem like an ending was coming. Would we be getting a second book? But I couldn't find something about that! So I kept going and as we neared closer and closer to the end I finally saw something that promised a real ending to come. While I was in the end quite happy with the ending (it was quite scary and shocking), it also felt a bit abrupt. Sudden. I think it would have been better if the book was either a tad longer (yes, really) or if things were just better done time-wise. 

As I said the ending made me happy, well it shocked me as well. That this is the truth about the curse. WTF is wrong with these 10-11 generations to choose that? WTF! I was feeling slightly sorry throughout the book for the families.. but after that revelation? No. OK, maybe for the kids unknowingly dragged into it. But the parents. Heck. They deserve things. 

I would have loved to see an epilogue. Maybe something taking place a year from the ending? I would have loved to see more of Margot and see if she achieved what she was planning on doing! 

All in all though, this was once again a very epic and scary Darcy Coates, she did it again!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Margot Hull inherits Gallows Hill Winery after her parents die unexpected.ly. she's been estranged from them since she was sent to live with her grandmother as a child. As she returns to her former home and the business, she discovers that nothing is what it seems and her own life may be in danger.

This book was paced awfully. It was so slow. I had a hard time even getting into the creepiness of it because it felt like it dragged on and on and on. The ending felt a little contrived as well and unrealistic. The more I thought about it, the less it made sense to me. Yes, there were creepy moments but overall, it was just too slow and too out of left field for me to suspend belief that much.

I am a huge fan of Coates. I recently read From Below by them and it was great. I started out reading their haunted house/spooky ghost stories, and while this one was good and on brand for them, it felt like it was missing a bit of the creep factor? I think it definitely had it's moments/was creepy sometimes but it just didn't feel like their was enough to really label this as anything more than a mildly unsettling work of fiction. I'll still always give anything Coates writes a go, but this one just wasn't my favorite. If you're just getting into Coates I wouldn't recommend starting with this one, as I don't think this would be the best introduction, but if you're just missing Coates' writing/want more from them after you've read everything then I think this would be a good piece to give a shot. Not bad, but ultimately not great.

super creepy haunted house book.. i wish there were a few more characters to follow , since it tended to be a lot of the same inner thoughts for such a large book. I will be interested to see more of Coates books in the future.
5 stars for creepy, 4 stars for length.

This is my first read from Darcy Coates, my partner kept telling me to give them a go, so when I actually got this I was surprised and happy to try their book out! Unfortunately, it didn't work out for me. I felt bored reading it, like there was something missing to make it a better experience for me. Yes, there was "creepiness" to it, but not enough to identify/class it as a horror novel.

Rating 2.5 rounded to 3

Family secrets - shrouded mystery - an ages old curse! To be trapped in a curse that you can't escape from, and now you know all the secrets - maybe you were better off not knowing ... Another great mystery from Coates!

An atmospheric slow burn that gave me chills. Coates has written yet another winner. A creepy old house on a lonesome hill. A daughter given up by her parents as a young child now returns upon their death. They left behind secrets, wine, and ghosts. Fantastic, engulfing read.

4⭐
This was another winner from Darcy Coates. This woman writes atmosphere, uneasiness, and that real sense of dread like no other.
We follow Margot as she goes back to her childhood home after her parents death. There she inherited a winery along with some extra house guests. This was such a great atmosphere, slow burn goodness.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I have always heard that Darcy Coates is the Queen in her field of horror. Gallows Hill is my first venture into Coates territory and it sure does not disappoint. Gallows Hill starts off strong, hits you in the throat, and never lets go. We meet Margot Hull on her way to a funeral--for her parents, both of them. Margot has inherited her parents' winery after their sudden, mysterious death. The reader is left in the dark about a lot of information--why has Margot not seen her parents since she was a small child, why was she so shocked by her parents" faces in their caskets?
Coates has the gift to write scenes that would normally be considered odd and turn them into such skin-crawling creepiness. I honestly had trouble reading this book at night (on my Kindle in the dark). This will appeal to fans of Coates and readers that enjoy slow-burn horror.

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and to Netgalley for providing an ARC of Gallows Hill.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC of Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates.

Another beautifully, terrifying book by this author. Her books never fail to keep me up at night and be scared to sleep in the dark. I loved everything about this one aside from the ending. It was still good, don't get me wrong, but I just felt it was a little bit corny at one point. Overall it was an excellent read and I cannot wait to read more from this author.

Margot was sent away from Gallows Hill, the family winery, at the age of 8. She has no idea why she was sent to live with her Nana, has no memories of her childhood before she left, and had no contact with her parents, even when Margot grew up. The novel opens with Margot, now an adult, attending her parents funeral. The caskets are closed, and the cause of death for her parents is unclear. She inherits the winery, felt to be haunted and cursed by the locals, as criminals were hung and buried on the site back in the early 1700s.

The book is one slow burn of a horror novel, and maintains a increasing sense of dread through the whole novel. I had a really hard time putting it down. Superbly plotted and written, and all the characters are well developed. Very enjoyable read.

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and to Netgalley for providing an ARC of Gallows Hill.

I’ve recently discovered this author and I am so very glad I did. I have loved every book I have gotten my hands on to read. This book was fantastic and I look forward to reading many more of her books!

Darcy Coates is a master at horror, and Gallow Halls is no exception. Read this during the day, or light every lamp at night. Deliciously chilling.

I'm beginning to think I don't fully vibe with Coates' writing style, though here it was fine enough, just not immersive at any point. The story was interesting, though I felt strangely distanced from the main character even multiple chapters in.

4 stars

Margot Hull was sent away from her home on Gallows Hill at the age of eight. Now she remembers very little of what life was like there. She is hurt and confused why her parents sent her away and never wrote or called . Now, they have died and she must attend their funerals.

Although the cause of their deaths on the same day was listed as “heart attack,” their condition necessitated closed caskets. The funeral was very odd. Many people attended, but they stared and whispered around Margot.

Arriving at the sprawling home, Margot meets Kant. He has worked for the family for over thirty years. As manager, he knows much of what goes on at the winery. But, he doesn’t know it all. She also meets Andrew, the financial director and Nora and her husband who run the little wine store on the property. There are also several regular employees who work there. And don’t forget about Witchity and her loyal dog.

Margot did not realize that she was inheriting a business.

Strange things begin to happen. Kant and the others are reluctant to speak of it at first. However, as the story goes on, they tell Margot some of what they know, but there is much that they don’t.

Horrible creatures haunt the estate at night. The inhabitants are not allowed to leave. Mysterious deaths have occurred throughout the centuries since the Hull family first purchased the property.

Margot and the others are attacked and injured. Margot must come up with a way to break the curse. With the aid of a child’s diary, she might have a chance.

While a little slow and repetitious in places, this book is a good ghost story. It is well written and plotted, save for a few minor typos. I liked Margot. She was a little quick to hysterics, but showed her grit in the end. Kane, Andrew, Nora and her husband are great additions to the story. I liked the book and went to Amazon to look for other novels written by Ms. Coates.

I want to thank NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for forwarding to me a copy of this scary book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

I will start out by saying, don’t read this home alone at night! Margot Hull was called by an attorney to let her know her parents had both died at the same time. The Hull family has owned Gallows Hill Winery for generations. She was an only child, last of the Hull family line, so she inherited the Gallows Hill Winery. She did not remember her parents or the house. She was sent away at age 8 to live with her grandmother. When she was shown the house, no one told her the secret and horrors the Gallows Hill Winery held, and the Legacy that went with it.
It had a lot of scary parts, but I couldn’t put it down. So many twists and turns that were not expected. It was such a wonderful book.
Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me to review Gallows Hill.