I started spooky season off with the perfect gothic horric read! Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and of course the author for an advanced copy of this book.

It starts off with a creepy vibe, taking place at the funeral of Margot's parents, who suddenly died of heart attacks in the same night. Margot was estranged from her parents at 8 years old for unknown reasons and forced to live with her Nana. Her parents left her their business, a winery, 12 employees, and of course the house with all of their possessions. The story navigates through Margot learning about Gallows Hill Winery and the house. Margot tries to figure out if she wants to stay and run the the winery or sell and move on with her life. What she encounters is the morbid history of Gallows Hill and the reasons her parents kept her away.

This is my first Darcy Coates book, but most definitely will not be my last, as her disturbing imagery and storytelling throughout were on point.

Gallows Hill is a masterpiece of gothic horror, about an estranged daughter who comes home to inherit much more than the family business. But the family business itself is interesting. Coates's voice is more immersive and vivid than ever in her latest, spun with beautifully macabre imagery and a growing sense of dread. So much happens to Margot alone that a less skilled storyteller might lapse into bloated expositional prose, but Darcy Coates shines in what may be her best novel to date.

Interview with the author to come on Rue Morgue.

Creepy house ✔️
Sinister history ✔️
Main character that wants to stay is said house with said history, while creepy things happen, rather than heading AWAY from the Hill. Also, ✔️

I don’t read much horror and books Gallows Hill, are much of the reason why. CREEPY.

Margot inherits a house and winery from parents she barely knew, after they both die from a heart attack in the same night. During what is a very bone chilling, slow burn, we follow Margot, as she discovers who her parents were, the unique way the wine is harvested, and what exactly happened on Gallows Hill.

This book made my hair stand on end. I get the prickles just thinking about it. I’m not a fan of a slow burn unless the reveal is worth it. (It is I might add) There was much world and story building, leaving me both frightened and anxious. I suggest starting this spooky season with this boooook 👻 but only if you aren’t afraid of things that go bump in the night.

I’ve seen some say it’s a bit dry or slow and I agree. This isn’t really for anyone who wants to jump into the action immediately. However, I really enjoyed these aspects of the book. It was strange and paced in a way that had chills crawling down my spine. It was awesome to read on my kindle with the lights off. Sure, there were moments where it lulled and took some convincing to pick back up. The MC could be very aggravating. But I still had a good, spooky time.

I read this book in one sitting, it took about 4 hours. I don't usually do that but this one really resonated with me. I love a good horror story and this one is definitely that.

Margot Hull is back after her parents' deaths to Gallow Hills Winery, just in time for the funerals. I didn't learn until about halfway through that the reason there were no open caskets for her parents was the abject look of horror on their faces. What could have caused that?

Margo meets the inhabitants of the Winery, but they are evasive about the questions Margo has regarding her parents. She gets a tour of the winery and other buildings on the grounds. This is her inheritance, the winery, and the house. Does she want it? Not really. She does not remember her parents as she was removed from the home at a young age.

The first night in the house, besides being creepy is filled with noises and things that go bump in the night. Subsequent nights are even worse with dead bodies coming to life and they come after her.

She learns that there is a curse on her bloodline of family. She learns about the curse and must devise a way to break that curse and keep herself and the other people on the land safe.

I had not read a good horror story in a while and saw this one and it piqued my interest. I am glad I did. This is a story that sticks with you for a while. Good and scary! Darcy Goates can sure tell a story and I will be sure to be reading more of her titles that I have on my Kindle.

I give the book 5 stars! Loved it1

Gallows Hill follows Margot who inherits the family wine business after her parents die. Margot has not seen her parents in years. Margot moves back into her childhood home. But there is just one little problem: the house is haunted. And some say the house is even cursed. Soon strange things start happening and Margot starts to believe that the curse is real. 

This was a really good horror book. I over all really enjoyed it. I also think it is a really fast read. If you are looking for a good book to read during spooky season I would suggest this. Thank you NetGalley, Darcy Coates, and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of this book.

At the age of eight, Margot was sent away to live with her grandmother. Now after more than a decade away Margot is coming home to Gallows Hill, a place she barely remembers. With the passing of her parents, whom she’d hasn’t seen or heard from since being sent away, Margot has inherited the family home and business: Gallows Hill Winery. While it’s a successful business, Gallows Hill has a dark past (it’s the site where hundreds of convicts were hanged), and is a place the locals fear to tread. And while she is supposed to be the only one staying in the old house at the top of the hill, is she really alone?

Gallows Hill is another excellent tale from Darcy Coates. The introduction of Margot and the subtle reveals of the events that occurred on the property is a perfect slow burn, building up the suspense and horror. Read this one alone at night with minimal lights on and see if you don’t find yourself more than a bit unsettled. Thanks so much to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Gallows Hill.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R39PSBVW43PESL/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This is a great book for individuals looking for some creepy paranormal activities, but it is a pretty slow burn that becomes a little to repetitive for me. Some of the scenes that made this book enjoyable are the relatively scary ghost/paranormal parts. They really made this book fun.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates is a horror novel.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Poisoned Pen Press and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Margot has just inherited Gallows Hill which includes the family business (a small winery), and her parents estate.  They both died of heart attacks in bed on the same night. Estranged from her parents since she was 8 years old, Margot had been sent to live with her Nanna, and had no contact with them since that time.  She barely remembers her time as a child living in this mansion.

Moving back into the house in which she spent the first 8 years of her life feels strange, and she isn't sure she really wants the house or the business.  However, she feels responsible for the employees working on the estate, so she decides to play it by ear.

Her first night alone is almost enough to scare her off.  Between the bells that start ringing and the nooses that appear, it seems that the morbid rumours about the place being cursed may be true.  Apparently Gallows Hill was once the site where hundreds of convicts were hung.


My Opinions:
WOW, simply WOW.  This is horror at it's best.  Talk about a haunted house!.  Graphic, spooky, and tense, definitely an atmospheric nightmare!  

It did start a little slow though.  However, once it got going, it was fast and furious.

I loved Margot.  Actually I enjoyed most of the characters.  Let's count the house as one of them, the grounds as another....

The plot was good, and I felt it had a rather original take to the curse and haunting.  I liked the dual aspect.

So, if you want a creepy horror tale....this one's for you!

Trigger warning: it may be obvious from the title, but there is hanging/lynching episodes and noose imagery throughout the book. The book is not set in the American South where the history of racial violence makes such imagery extremely unsettling, but as a reader from there, it put me off a bit. The end tries to make up for it, and honestly would be some good advice for cities across the American South, but it was all very unsettling.

I really like Darcy Coates, and I was thrilled to read this to start off September. Gallows Hill has all the hallmarks of gothic fiction: a decaying house with a dark past, an orphan young woman, mysterious deaths, and pretty much anything else you might want from a book to start spooky season. Margot, the protagonist, returns to her childhood home after inheriting it from her deceased parents, only to find herself expected to run a business and to deal with a curse. Everyone is cagey about the mysterious bells and locks throughout the house, and it almost costs Margot her life.

About halfway through the book, I figured out the twist, but it didn't detract from the rest of the story. I sat on pins and needles waiting for Margot to figure it out. I didn't know the second part of the reveal (no spoilers), and that made up for the wait.

One part of the story drove me crazy. I once broke my wrist and had a cast for three months. The things one character was able to do with a broken arm in a cast are probably not possible. That aside, I really enjoyed this book.

I received an ARC through Netgalley for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley & publishing team for letting me read this book for free! I have always been a big fan of horror and all things spooky! So naturally I am always on the look out for a good spooky read. Darcy Coates has never disappointed. She lives up to the hype. I enjoy her books, and Gallows Hill was no exception! It was a quick read for me and it was just the right amount of spooky and mystery.

I received this ARC from Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.

Gallows Hill is about Margot Hull, who had to leave her family behind as a young kid and was raised by her grandmother. When her parents die under mysterious circumstances, she inherits the family home along with the winery run by her parents, and swiftly moves into the house. But as might be expected, strange things start happening around the new place.

The story itself is nothing special and quite ordinary, as seen in lots of other horror books/movies. Despite that, the author excels at creating a very suspenseful atmosphere around the house and everything that is happening there, by conjuring very creepy images and situations that had my heart racing while reading this book at night in a dark room. The writing was very descriptive, which at times helped create the chilling atmosphere, but sometimes just dragged the story on way too long. As the characters were quite shallow and I did not enjoy the turn the book took in the second half, I honestly just stopped caring about what was gonna happen to them, which in turn had me pretty much bored at the end. The conclusion wrapped up nicely, but it failed to engage me, as I just did not care anymore.

So overall 2.5 stars from me, as I liked the first half along with the ambience the author created.
I'd recommend this book to anyone that is looking for atmospheric house horror and doesn't care too much about an original story/developed characters.

Gallow's Hill is a slow-burn horror story that will leave you with chills and sleeping with the lights on. I've read other books by this author and found her usual level of scares and frights. The first half has a lot of build up and introduction but the scary environment and supernatural elements will keep you entertained as the books climbs towards the action packed horror thriller conclusion. I really enjoyed this spooky read and will be continuing to check out more by this author.

Omg what a bloody ride! I loved this book. It was my first Darcy Coates read. The creepy and spooky settings she created felt like you were there! St times I felt like jumping into the book and helping Margot figure everything out. I can’t wait to dive into more Darcy Coates books.
Side note: don’t read this book at night!

Gallows Hill is a fun creepy story perfect to ease into Spooky Season.

This is the second novel I’ve read by Darcy Coates and I’m really enjoying her cozy horror vibe. I like the way she blends warm character relationships with some intensely creepy scenes.

I suggest going into Gallows Hill knowing nothing more than the basic opening: Margot Hull has no memory of her childhood with her parents, except for scars on her body and the knowledge that she was given away to her grandmother. She returns home to inherit the family winery after her parents’ mysterious death.

This one’s a slow build, but once it gets going there are some incredibly tense scenes. I highly recommend this one for a late night read (in the dark if you have an e-reader) to really enjoy scenes where Margot creeps around the Hull house trying to figure out what the heck is outside her window…or walking across her kitchen… I was *so* tense reading two major scenes in the middle of the novel.

There were a few aspects of the novel that didn’t totally work: Margot is a bit of an enigma as a character, and I wanted to know more about her current life, though I wound up invested in her by the end. And the ending felt a bit simple. But this book is so, so worth it for how much fun the suspense is.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my review copy of Gallows Hill.

After the passing of her estranged parents, Margot Hull returns to her childhood home in hopes of understanding her past. She has not seen or heard from her parents since she was a young child and has no memory of why. Upon arrival at Gallows Hill she finds she is now the owner of a winery that has won awards and is world renowned…and also has tainted the town with it’s dark history. What will she uncover about her forgotten past? Will this become her new life? What exactly was that noise coming from upstairs?
This is a fantastic haunted house with a side of mystery story. I feel that the pacing was great and I couldn’t wait to discover the truth with Margot. Darcy Coates is a powerhouse of an author and this novel illustrates this perfectly. If you are into supernatural horror like I am, RUN to get this. This is atmospheric horror that also has a heartbeat. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this beautiful novel.
#netgalley #supernaturalhorror #GallowsHill

I have to say, from a young age I have loved horror. But, not slasher where it is just gore for gores sake. Think more like the Conjuring Universe.

I don't find I get the same kind of scare in a book. I might feel suspense, but not the same fear as when I'm watching a movie. This book however was terrifying! After I finished I was jumping at shadows and looking under my bed.

It felt a bit slow at first, but when I got to about a third of the way in you could start to see the story developing and it started to become much more frightening.

I enoyed how this story developed. The MC undertook such a journey to understand her ancestry and the impact her distant ancestors ended up having on generations to come. The ending was very unexpected, the path that the MC chose to take in the end was so courageous.

Beyond being a horror story, Gallows Hill demonstrates what lengths people can go  in order to maintain wealth and prosperity and how the consequences can be justified.

In horror movies characters continually feel the need to investigate the creepy sounds they hear, alone, in the dark and the audience is left wondering why? I thought it was great that the author addressed this early on and I loved the explanation the MC gave of fearing NOT seeing more. This allowed us to understand her motivations more.

Overall, if you love a really good scare, this book is absolutely for you!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this e-arc for my honest review. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read and review this book.

I love Darcy Coates and was so excited to get my hands on her newest book, Gallows Hill. And she again wrote a great ghost story! Unlike some of her other titles, there is a ton of lead-up story and background information that the reader gets. We really get to know the main character, Margot, before the action begins. We learn about her history with her parents before we go to their funeral and Margot inherits the house, business, and land her parents owned. The other characters are great too. While we don't learn a ton about them and they don't have much depth, we know just enough to care about their well-being. The action really gets going in the second half of the book and this is where Coates really shines. Her detail is great and really gives me goosebumps. This is definitely a great book for spooky season and for already fans of Coates!
Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Darcy Coates is the current reigning queen of the modern horror story. Is this great, highbrow literature? No, but I can always count on her for a helluva good time.

Where Coates excels is in a creating an eerie atmosphere that leaves the reader continually on edge in the anticipation of what will come next. And the scares always feel authentic to the stories and characters and never come off as a cheap gimmick. They are not there for the sole purpose of shocking the reader, but rather are enmeshed in the narrative so that they feel natural.

This book, unlike the others I have read, was at times a bit repetitive and this slowed the pace and detracted a bit from the overall experience. Still, subpar Coates is still far good and this is the perfect time of year to indulge in her delicious sense of creepiness.

For the full scary experience I recommend reading this one at night (if you get scared too easily then don't do it).

This wad a slow burn horror read and I loved every second of it. It was truly scary and mind blowing.

Highly recommend.