Scary. Creepy. Plays with your mind. I love these kinds of books. Darcy Coates never fails to make me keeps the lights on at night. Gallows Hill did not disappoint.

If you want to read a ghost story that will keep your heart pumping, this is the one! The storyline kept me interested and I was glad I read this one during the day. I couldn’t put it down and I can’t wait for Coates’ next read!

I'm glad I read this one because it helped me figure out that this type of horror is not for me.

When Margot receives the news that her parents have died, parents that she has been estranged from for many years, she rushes to her childhood home for the funeral. Once there, she also discovers that she has been left their life's work, a world-renowned winery and the surrounding property, Gallows Hill. However, the more time Margot spends on Gallows Hill the weirder things become and the more terrified Margot becomes of her new home and the answers to many questions.

There was nothing inherently wrong with this book and I would definitely still recommend it. There were parts that scared me alone in my room at night. However, I did have some personal issues:

1. Everything felt very obvious
2. 1-dimensional characters
3. Lack of exciting plot twists
4. Plot felt repetitive
5. Nothing poignant to say
6. Everything wrapped up in too tight of a bow

I don't really have much to say about this book besides the fact that I wasn't for me. There wasn't much going on here.

Although this book & genre isn't for me, as I have discovered, it doesn't mean that it won't be for you!! That's why I am opting out of a star rating for this one! My problems with it are too personal and I don't want to bring the average down with a low rating based on my own personal issues.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Darcy Coates for an Arc in exchange for an honest review!

"It's the house. The land and its history. The stories have gotten into your head. You're not used to living in the country, and it's making you paranoid."

When she was eight, Margot Hull was sent away from her house and winery on Gallows Hill.
Now, she has returned after her parent's shock death. Both died on the same night of a 'heart attack'.

Everyone is acting odd, whispering around her and huddling their children away. Even the winery staff is jittery. No one mentions the curse placed upon the land that causes the past inhabitants to rise from the ground and stalk the home during the night-time hours. Only running through the house reminiscent of the Winchester Mystery House in the dark can keep the dead ones away.

The read was on the slower side and incredibly repetitive. There probably could have been a lot of cutting done to some of the nighttime scenes and it wouldn't have made too much of a difference in the chill factor. Margot herself wasn't anything special. I didn't connect with her like I normally would, but she wasn't unlikable. So that was a massive plus.

The saving grace was the twist and shock value of the last 10-20%.

This one will be a hit and miss, you will either love it or you won't, especially for long term fans of Darcy. I think some of the descriptions need to include some form of the living dead, if I'm prepared for reanimated corpses, I tend to read them better. Recommended for fans of creepy non-brain eating zombies and twists and turns. If you want to cuddle up with a candle with all of the lights off - this one is for you!

**Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, Darcy Coates and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.**

This book was SOO good! By far one of my favorite Darcy books that I've read yet! It kept attention from the first page to the last and was extremely hard to put down! I even read it while riding in a car even though I am prone to motion sickness!

Gallows Hill is a slow burning, atmospheric, creepy horror story that relies on the readers emotions, previous spooky experiences, and campfire tales to create the dramatic story that it becomes.

The Hull family own a winery, one that grew up on a very bloody land. The winery Gallows Hill (and aptly named at that), was inherited by Margot after the tragic deaths of her parents.

From the moment Margot comes to town for the joint funeral and to check out the house, the atmosphere of a strange and quiet town rests heavily on not only her but the reader as well. The story feels like a semi-gothic ghost or haunted house story but as the spooky moments unfold it turns out the story is much more than that.

I loved the slow, dark, heavy feeling the story provoked in me. I used to be obsessed with horror movies and this was a story that I would have watched with gusto. It has that same experience to it. The ending is a bit of a shock and I loved how connected to the previous events within.

This is an adult horror as there are some triggers that are woven into the story, but those moments really add to the creep and scare factor.

I received an ARC via NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press and I am leaving an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read, enjoy and review this haunting story, 4.25 stars.

"Gallows Hill" is the second book I have read by Darcy Coates and I really engaged with the both the plot and the setting.

The plot is both intriguing and distinct. Usually when reading a horror novel I can bring two or three similar stories or movies to mind but I found that wasn't the case with "Gallows Hill".

Rather quickly, I found myself genuinely caring for the supporting characters though it took to the end of the story for me to warm up to Margot.

There are several scenes and images that really stand out and I that the horror fan in me absolutely loved. (Wine, anyone? 😉 )

Unfortunately, I felt the pacing and, on occasion, the writing didn't do the story justice.

The pacing in particular let down the story and actively worked against it at times, especially at the end. The story gains momentum but then peaks prior to the climax. There's a substantial lull between the two that made me so impatient that I reverted to speed reading just to get to the conclusion of the story.

One thing I felt the story failed to do was cement the house, and Gallows Hills, as a character in its own right. I think that would have given the story a much greater depth and atmosphere.

I also felt that the story was weakest at the start and gained strength as it went. I think if I hadn't previously read a book by this author, I may have stopped reading.

Some of my notes from the beginning of the story included:

• The amount of attention Coates is paying to Margot's lips, tongue, and teeth could easily be turned into a drinking game. It seems like Margot is always running her tongue over her teeth or pressing her lips together.

• Also, as fun as "loamy" is to say, surely it doesn't need to be used quite so much.

• Margot is too neurotic for me. Her reactions to things are over-the-top and almost always irritational. As someone who has OCD and multiple diagnosed phobias, I understand that people can have unique and irrational responses to things but Margot hasn't been portrayed as having any genuine reason for her reactions, except for her stated fear of being underground. Perhaps there is meant to be a greater sense of an ominous atmosphere that's failing to come through? I don't know, but without there being some sort of cause for her actions, either situational or mental, it just makes her sort of annoying. Hopefully, once things start to actually happen then it will make more sense and stopped feeling so fatuous.

I'm glad that I did stick it out though because despite my personal annoyances and the couple of short-comings, "Gallows Hill" is a good horror novel with an interesting premise.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Darcy Coates is one of the few authors that never does me wrong. I have read many of her books and loved them all. I can rely on having a spooky time when I’m reading one of her books.

Gallow Hills is the classic Coates story. Inheriting a big old house (my dream) and discovering ghosts! Only on this one, the ghosts don’t just float around to scare you. These ghosts might take you down with them!

Margot is a lovely character. She’s strong and while she does accept help from others, she doesn’t spend the whole book being frail or weak. I also love that this book doesn’t have her immediately falling in love. Instead, she finds family and friends.

Gallows Hill is the perfect spooky read to get you ready for Halloween. Or if you are like me and celebrate Halloween all year long! I found myself actually scared at several parts in this book. Few books do that for me!

I highly recommend Gallows Hill if you are looking for an eerie read that makes you have nightmares! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read it. I have written this review voluntarily.

Sadly, this book wasn't really for me. I had previously read a book by Darcy Coates and really loved it but this one wasn't quite my type. I should have liked it more, given the subject matter, but I struggled a little while reading it. It just didn't draw me in as much as I had hoped for. The story in itself was fine, although the rules of the curse were conveniently changed/adapted throughout the book. Plus, and I don't know how to describe this correctly so bear with me, the main character got kind of stupider throughout the story. Like, at the beginning she was really quick to realize that something was of and had more of an intuition about what to do and then instead of growing stronger she kind of grew weaker until she miraculously figured out how to stop the curse at the end. But that may just be how I read it.
Anyways, a good idea but I wasn't that satisfied with the execution.

One thing I always knew was that even though her books were hit or miss for me, I’d keep seeking out Darcy Coates’ new novels simply because the way she wrote previously told me that with time, something great would happen. And here we are. The added length gives us a more in depth story with characters that feel real. The story roots itself deep and feels sturdy. Nearly all my little complaints about her other novels are nonexistent with this one. Was it perfect? No. But it was really freaking good and one of the best haunted house stories I’ve read.

I've become a Darcy Coates fan over the last couple of years and have read quite a few of her works. I find them to vary greatly in quality, but even the ones that I would rate the lowest are still good reads that I don't regret reading. Coates has a true talent for writing scenes that you can see as you read. Gallows Hill is unlike any Coates novel that I have read to date. The exception being that the protagonist fails to fully explore a creepy house she is staying in before going to bed on the first night. This happens a lot in her books and considering I usually do a walkthrough of my own, familiar house at some point before bed, this jars me every time one of her characters does it.

I digress. Gallows Hill begins with Margot Hull making her way across the country to her estranged parent's winery following their mysterious deaths. She learns that she is now the sole owner of a successful business and a large, if creepy, house. I will admit that I started off pretty bored. The first half of the book dragged a bit when compared to the quick pace I am used to from Coates and I was originally going to knock a star off for that, but it picked up very quickly in the second half and I was sufficiently blown away by the ending to return that star. I can't really express why I liked it so much without spoilers, so forgive my vagueness. There was one majorly unrealistic element at the end. Yes, I'm nitpicking realism in a ghost story because it was an unnecessary plot point. The realistic version would have had the same impact. Besides that, there was a really timely and thought-provoking ending as Margot evaluates what she needs to do in order to break the curse that she has found herself under.

I've seen a few early reviews that criticize the abrupt ending or the lack of an epilogue. While I normally would agree because I don't love ambiguous endings, I think it really worked in this case. It is up to the reader to consider what the outcome would be and if they would have made the decisions that Margot made. Overall, this was probably the best novel by Darcy Coates to date.

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

REVIEW!
First, Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press & Darcy Coates for the E-ARC of Gallows Hill in exchange for an honest review!

Synopsis: Margot Hull has been living with her Grandmother since she was eight years old, when she gets the news that her parents have died, she leaves the big city to attend their funeral and discovers that her parents left behind a legacy... and a curse.

Review:
Plot: Overall, I loved the concept. Orphan girl who knew very little about her biological parents discovering she is not the sole Heir to the Vinyard. A very famous and profitable Vinyard... So why did her parents send her away as a child? The mystery surrounding this question is one of my favorite types of mysteries to read about.

The Curse: The price the Hull family pays for their fortune... this I was not so impressed with.. the Curse seemed very... convenient- as in - Oh if you spend too long on this land you can't leave... unless you're a child... or you've only spent a small amount of time there.. .oh unless you're the heir... Then, once you're there, you can't leave. Seems like the Curse's rules changed to fit what was happening in the story at the time.

The Scaries: Of all the Darcy Coates books I've read (Almost all of them) this one is on the less-frighting end. I am still not sure if the monsters are Ghosts or Zombies. A majority of the time the ghosts/zombies are active, Margot spends that entire time running away from them. Tho there is a scene with an old VHS tape that gave me chills!

Romance: None. Not even any potential for one - AND THAT IS OKAY! It didn't need any.

The Book Cover: LOVE. One of my favorite Dacry book covers to date!

Overall Rating: 3 Stars.
This was not my favorite of her books but for a woman who has written so many, and so many I have LOVED- I will never stop reading her books. Rock on!

Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates hits stores on September 6, 2022

It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on violence, cannibalism, murder of a child, violent crime, parental abandonment, & others.

When Margot is summoned to Gallows Hill—her childhood home—after the sudden death of her parents, she is faced with a blank slate & no seasoned abilities to deal with any of the responsibilities or changes she is forced to confront. An absurd series of events follow her arrival on the hill accompanied by the furrowed glances of townspeople as they intentionally induce a cone of silence around the inauspicious presence of the girl who got away—at least, for a time.

This is the third book from the author that I have read & I have come to realize that I am perhaps not the ideal reader for her work. Please read the rest of my review with that in mind. I acknowledge that the general formula & approach that Coates takes in her books have attracted a sturdy fanbase & I am glad that the books she has worked to publish have received the praise they deserve. However, the formula in question does not consistently deliver an excellent book, which brings me to my experience with this story.

Margot’s introduction to the reader leads one to believe that she might be an outlier in the adult community; someone who is at once ignorant, naive & pointedly stupid, she remains a problematic character to root for. We are around the same age & this leads me to feel conflicted when reading the accounts of her chosen action—why would you approach so much of the unknown with so little gumption? There is something to be said for crafting a flawed character. There is also something to be said for character growth, leading the reader to watch as the slug-like individual grows into the fully formed human being they are meant to see guiding them throughout the story.

However, there is little praise to be given when following a character who makes decisions that are ridiculous & who overdramatize every single instance in their waking life—what does this add to the story? Readers will be approaching this book hoping to be drawn into the looming haunted house; reading pages that dictate a gloomy abode where Margot’s parents met their demise. Yet the atmosphere that Coates so flawlessly employs is nowhere to be found in this book. One might argue that due to Margot’s continuous exuberance of dramatics, the suspense that Coates is famous for employing within her stories, is dead in the water.

There are several instances wherein Margot decides to do something imbecilic. Such as wet toast, she drifts into the recesses of the river of her mind & pays no heed to any warning signs that might be flashing around her. I acknowledge that people will not always approach instances in a unified fashion nor will they always make the best choice—our judgement has been prone to flaws. Yet, the force with which Margot is written as stumbling over every crack in the road leads me to feel like a third party of another town entirely; left with no reasons for which to care about any of what is happening, whatsoever.

When Margot wakes at 1 o’clock in the morning she drowns about it feeling like a ‘dangerous’ time to be awake. I will gamble that many a human being has found themselves awake at such an hour of the night therefore, what makes this particular instance dreadful? Nothing. Save for the fact that Margot is in a home that she has actively refused to explore for both her own safety—should there be windows open, lamps left on, etc—& for the betterment of everyone else on the property—lest the house catch fire because Margot hasn’t even found a bathroom for over two (2) days while living in the house—her feelings towards the hour remain an enigma.

That same night she decides, being someone who fears the darkened corridors of this new house, 1 am is the perfect time to wander the halls in search of the kitchen to make herself food so that she can induce a digestive coma upon herself so that she need not face the night. Finding herself, once again, at the crossroads of a situation, she cannot explain & which she has refused to explore we see her press ‘play’ on a VHS tape that was conveniently placed in the player, waiting for her to stumble into the living room in the middle of the night.

I would have loved to see Coates’ writing style employed here yet, up until this point the story is obscenely dry. Nothing is happening to intrigue the reader. Why would Margot’s first reaction upon watching what is very obviously a home movie be that it was a recording of a children’s TV program? This makes no sense. There is also no need for her actions to be written out with such detail while she is attempting to rewind & pause the VHS at the appropriate moment. I cannot begin to think of why any editor would have allowed this scene to proceed to distribution as is. The repetition of the obvious absolutely annihilates the suspense that could be building. Why are we reading things we already know? Why does it take Margot an entire chapter to figure out that it was her parents that made the VHS tape for her when her name was on the cassette?

Why does Margot do any of the things she does? Why is she constantly wandering around a property whose landscape she is unfamiliar with while her phone is below 50%? This is unsafe & yet she continues to choose to do things that lead her to be in harm's way. Falling into a giant pit is one example but there are plenty. Would it be so horrible to read about a character who had their head screwed on right? I think not.

This brings me back to the formula that Coates uses in her books. There is a great deal of atmosphere build-up & world-building—at least this is what I have noticed in the three (3) books I have read, therefore should their other work be completely different, please take this with a grain of salt. I certainly appreciate a slow burn & I adore it when a world is built to perfection, leaving me no reason not to trust in the leadership of the main character. However, this book felt rushed & superfluous. The initial setup lasts for well over 50% of the book & when the reveals are presented they do nothing to lessen the blow of reading so many pages without gratification.

I do not find it very rewarding to read about a character who jumps at the sight of their own shadow in an attempt to flounder the reader into doing the same. When Margot thinks she sees movement in the woods I could not help but sigh…have you no knowledge of wildlife? At this point, I found the story excruciating to follow. Why is Margot constantly thinking about the worst possible scenario? Her character was not presented as anxious or quick to misjudge, she is simply rooted in the dramatics of not understanding that her footsteps will produce an echo when she is running down a tunnel.

Arriving at what many reviews have claimed to be the worthwhile twist I was abominably bored. What is abysmally disappointing is that this reveal could have been superb has Coates shortened the first half of the story & rendered her main character to be a bit more stiff-lipped. Ephraim killed his brother’s entire family with an axe & put their bodies into the wine vats that Ezra had made from the old tree, previously used for town hangings. Wonderful. What is scary about that save for the obvious? Nothing. We see Margot read a couple of entries of a child in the attic who was hiding during the killing spree & then she decides that what will stop this bizarre curse is to expose what everyone knew already happened.

For centuries, the town refused to go to the hill because of the judicial approach of murder to all those who found themselves hung & because they were almost 100 percent certain that Ephraim murdered his brother’s family. Yet, here we find ourselves trifling through pages on end as Margot fights off the zombies of the deceased in an attempt to bring them ‘justice’. The reader is meant to believe that no single descendent in all those centuries ever saw the decomposing corpses in the wine vats & thought it repulsive enough to call the authorities. No single person ever thought that decomposing flesh & organs were something that shouldn’t be put into liquid given that there were probably larger than ignorable follicles of said flesh, in the wine.

Not until Margot comes along, the same girl who never charges her phone when she goes wandering around at night, does this crime ever come to light. Would no one have thought to check the vats at some point if the bones & larger organs began clogging the spout? Did no one think it appropriate to possibly clean the inside of the vats? Did no one realize that the colour of the wine was changing drastically from one batch to another—due to the decomposing bodies inside? There are ample questions to be asked yet, all remain unanswered.

This is a work of fiction so one is often requested to suspend some of their disbelief & I genuinely don’t have a problem doing that when it makes sense circumstantially. What drives this point home is that an entire group of people allowed Margot to return to the home that they knew was haunted by literal zombies because they didn’t want to talk about it for fear of making it worse. I suppose it was truly beyond lucky for them that Margot was too caught up with wandering at night to think to ask relevant questions when she met with any of the people that lived &/or worked on the property.

When all is said & done this book would profit by being edited by a stricter set of eyes. Coates is a good author but this book did not feel fully fleshed out nor did it feel ready for publishing. The evidence that constantly pointed in the opposite direction to the one which Margot was facing grew tiresome & evaporated the morbid tendrils that the plot had to offer. Imagine my surprise that Margot should forget that children are curious creatures when she stands stark still, stunned at the inquisitive nature of the young boy in the grocery store. Having all but forgotten that she frolicked in the garden with a family of zombies that attempted to kill her, twice.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press & Darcy Coates for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Can we give darcy coates a standing ovation. Because her books never miss a beat. Each one gets better and better. Im in love with her writing. And the way she makes a creepy atmosphere. Her words stay with you for months after you read her novels. And always leaves you in a book funk because nothing compato her novels. She writes the best horror ghost story novels of her time.. beyter than stephen king himself

THIS BOOK DOES NOT DESERVE FOUR STARS BUT I'M DOING IT. The first 50-60% of this book was just kind of annoying. Nothing was really happening. Margot keeps alluding to things, and thinking she sees things, and being afraid of things, and being creeped out by things, and oh yeah, she thinks she sees something, and I was like MAKE.SOMETHING.HAPPEN.

Also, a note to authors: stop saying that your character can see someone's pupils from across a crowded church. No, they can't. Do you know how close you have to be to see someone's pupils? But alas, "There was something in his eyes. Margot frowned as she tried to read the expression. Some kind of...distress? The pupils, hidden behind thin-rimmed glasses, were more constricted than the dull light should have caused." Stop saying you can see the color of their eyes from across a crowded church. No you can't. Don't say things like "tang of pollen." Or "The room was dripping in heavy moonlight." Stop using 10 words when 2 will do. The adjectives are OVERWHELMING.

So I'm going along with this book, thinking that surely something must happen soon, AND THEN IT DOES. AND IT'S CRAZY. There was one part of the ending that I guessed, but OH DAMN, this book got crazy, and I stayed up to finish it. But why would you leave that to the end of the book? WAY too much build up. But I'm gonna give you those four stars, because that was crazy. But I wish we could have had the reveal and then gone back and revisited the past and how everything came about and more about Margot's parents.

🍷 B O O K • R E V I E W 🍷
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Title: Gallows Hill
Author: Darcy Coates
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (Rounded up to 4 Stars on GoodReads, NetGalley and Amazon)
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Swipe for synopsis.
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I saw that Darcy Coates had a new book releasing in September, and I love her work so I immediately hit that request button. As soon as this one hit my NetGalley shelf, everything else went on the back burner and I dove in head first completely blind (my new favorite thing with books).
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This story follows Margot, who inherits her estranged parents winery after their untimely deaths. Though strange things begin to occur at night, leaving Margot to dig into not only the lands past, but into her families past as well.
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This one was actually much different that what I’m used to for Darcy Coates. I felt like this was a much slower paced book. Slow burns are perfectly fine, and this one was good, I’m just so used to her books being much faster paced. This one maintained her usual creepy/horrifying atmosphere and I loved it! This definitely is not one I recommend to read at night - especially when you get to the night parts in the book - (IYKYK). I found myself absolutely terrified at parts of this book, while also intrigued by the mystery while simultaneously yawning at others. The mystery surrounding the grounds and her families past was really very interesting, I just wish there was more time spent on that than some of the other fillers throughout the book.
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The ending was okay for me, nothing too shocking. I understood the significance of the ending, but at the same time it felt a bit unrealistic… I liked how this one wrapped up, though I do wish there was an epilogue to really dive into what happened with these characters after that final night. I feel like I became so connected to the characters that I would have liked more closure with them.
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Overall, this was a good read, and I enjoyed it, reading it in just two sittings. Darcy Coates will always be an auto buy author for me. I definitely recommend her work, this one is good, just not my favorite.
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Gallows Hill will release on September 6, 2022. Be sure to grab your copy! Huge thank you to @netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my unbiased review.
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Do you like to go to winery’s? What is your favorite kind of wine?
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#netgalley #netgalleyearc #netgalleyreview #threeandahalfstarread #horror #pastmeetsthepresent #gallowshill #darcycoates

This was the most terrified I’ve ever been while reading a book! There were so many parts where I was on the edge of my seat, trying to read as fast as I can to find out what was gonna happen. Darcy Coates is definitely my favorite author! Every book I read of hers just keeps getting better and better. Never a review less than 5 stars.

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.*

I love Darcy Coates' other work and was so excited to be granted an ARC! I fell in love after reading The Haunting of Ashburn House and have been working my way through her other novels. Gallows Hill, the latest gothic novel from Darcy Coates does it once again: creepy, smart, unputdownable, and such beautiful storytelling

Margot hasn't seen nor heard from her parents since she was 8. Decades later, she is brought back to her family home on Gallows Hill after both of her parents passed of apparent simultaneous heart attacks. Margot must immediately help with the funeral arrangements, move into the house, and oversee the small but profitable winery that runs on the grounds. As the name suggests, Gallows Hill was the site of hundreds of public hangings in the 1700s, as well as the brutal murder of the Hulls, the first family to live on the Hill. Things get very scary (and very dangerous) for Margot very quickly, leading to the on-site winery staff divulging a curse on the land. Now that the curse seems to be ramping up, they all just want to survive the night.

As always, our main character is such a smart, caring, well flushed out character. The early planting of certain unexplainable phobias and mysterious scars works so well and comes back around to add more depth to the hauntings and the curse itself. I thought the pacing was good, if a little slow in the first 30ish%, but the exposition and character building was mostly needed for later revelations, so I can't complain too much.

I absolutely love how Coates adds just a little bit of heart and light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel (no pun intended?) moments that make the horror seem not only like all the long nights and absolute terror are worth it, but that something better is coming out of horrible tragedy. Margot struggles with the sins of her ancestors, finding a way to make Gallows Hill a monument of remembrance rather than a tourist site.

Honoring the land we live on and those who came before us is probably a value we could all embrace more often and more fervently. 4.5 stars, I thoroughly enjoyed Gallows Hill and will absolutely be preordering a physical copy.

Gallows Hill by Darcey Coates is a story about Margot, who comes back to her family home when her parents pass away. We soon learn that she doesn't know them, and our first mystery is presented. As she stays on and figures out what she is going to do next, keep the family business or sell it, it soon becomes apparent that there a rules about this house and more going on.

Darcey Coates manages to accurately represent being terrified in a house, from how she writes her characters thoughts, intense dread and the stress of having to make a decision about using light. In these moments, I couldn't stop reading. These moments get creepier and creepier.

I really enjoyed the reason why Margot couldn't leave the Hill. It was unique in a ghost story. It really makes you think about what the land has seen before you step on it, the hidden history. I liked Margot, she seemed down to earth. I enjoyed the other characters too, they're so nice. I love how the characters are written in every book of hers.

The background of the winery was very interesting and I loved the setting. The underground tunnels were creepy as!

Thank you to the publisher poision pen press and Darcey Coates for a free ebook in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thankyou NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and the author, Darcy Coates, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Gallows Hill in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
Such a good, creepy read.
The storyline sucks you in and leaves you with chills up and down your spine.
Well worth a read.