A perfect creepy read for spooky season! I love that the author is able to take traditional ghost story tropes and make an unexpected story. I also enjoy that the FMC doesn’t make poor decisions or reckless choices. Her decisions are well reasoned and well intentioned, even if they don’t always work.

The setting is exceptionally morbid - a young woman returns to her family home and winery after her parents unexpected death. That winery? It is located on the land that was once used to hang criminals. The last 100 pages were riveting and made me slightly uncomfortable being home alone

I was hooked from the first page. I had to stay up late to find out what happens next. The author, Darcy Coates, created a storyline that slowly built up from an ominous dread to a frenzied climax. Even as you feel a sense of trepidation building up, you have to turn to the next page.

The tale of Margot's life post-inheritance from her estranged parents is so much more than a haunted house story. This is an authentic horror novel that leaves your nerves on edge. You will be thinking about it long after the last page.

For lovers of the horror genre, Gallows Hill is not to be missed. Be sure to pick up a copy in time for Halloween.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Publishing for the advanced copy. I now have a new favourite author.

I have been a fan of Darcy Coates for years, ever since I read Craven Manor. I loved Gallows’s Hill, it was exactly what I needed. It was extremely creepy and the perfect read for spooky season,

I loved this book. I am a big fan of Darcy Coates and this one is one of the good ones. I felt myself being spooked more often than not. I feel like the setting was described so perfectly that I could see it in my mind's eye. Loved loved loved it.

think Darcy Coates is great at imagery. She had a few scenes that were genuinely creepy and were described perfectly. With that being said I did not enjoy the story. It had a very rushed ending. And after everything Margot endured all the zombie-ghost-curse needed was an apology and it would go away?! No séance or ritual? Just an apology for a murder her ancestor committed 200 years ago.

Gallows Hill was a unique masterpiece and probably one of the most intriguing Darcy Coates books that I have read to date. It was filled with a unique story that was a bit more slow paced than some of her other books that I have read. However this slow burn built into a haunting conclusion that really makes one think about the price of success and what you are willing to live with to be considered successful.

Margot has come home to her hometown of Gallows Hill under sad conditions. Her parents have passed and she must attend to their funeral. However Gallows Hill does not lack for mysteries, memories, and bodies. Darcy Coates writing is full of emotions that the reader will pick up on. Themes of loss, and the cost of legacy abound in this story. In addition, this book has all the classic Darcy Coates scary imagery that we know and love.

Check this book out! Thank you to NetGalley and PoisonPenPress for this arc!

I was expecting so much more out of this book. It had potential but it just didn't get there.
Margot is called back to her family's wine business after the death of her parents. She finds out that the land is cursed. Thanks to Net galley for the ARC and the publisher Poisoned Pen Press.

An atmospheric read with multiple horror elements, to boot. Ms. Darcy, as in her previous books, never fails to build tension, character, and story plot - that make for a creepy read. Her storytelling kept me reading well into the night and promptly had me coming back to the book, the next day.
Recommended!

Queen Darcy does it again! Another fantastically written atmospheric horror novel about a haunted winery and the many generations of secrets that are kept there. I really loved Margot's character and found her to be extremely relatable throughout the various terrifying events. I feel as if this one really stands out from Darcy's other "haunted place" trope books as it brought in many different elements I hadn't seen in her writing before, so this is definitely one of my new favorites from her. One of those last scenes in the cellar will be stuck with me FOREVER.....if you know you know. I absolutely loved this one and will look forward to recommending it to anyone who will listen.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my review copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review this eARC.

Once again, Darcy Coates delivers! Gallows Hill initially appears to be just your average haunted house story but she give you such horrific elements that leave you with chills! There are no questions left unanswered. This would be the perfect addition to your spooky season TBRs!

Grab your PSL and shacket because this is the PERFECT way to start your spooky season reading!

Gallows Hill follows Margot, who has to take over the family winery and spooky house after her estranged parents are found dead. Horrible things start happening and she has to figure out what exactly her family history entails.

We’ve got:
- Family curses
- Creepy town hangings
- Underground passages
- Award winning wine
- A very good boy golden retriever

This has the perfect amount of suspense, a great cast of characters and plot that keeps you guessing.

Honestly, I think this is my favourite Darcy Coates so far! The queen of haunted house stories strikes again!

The disappointment is real. This was needlessly long (read that way too) and there was zero plot until about 60% in. Just atmospheric, establishing, long and drawn out prose about the house doing weird shit. The twist in the end was not worth reading almost 500 pages with barely any useful action.

Gallows Hill was a very chilling read for me. It was perfectly atmospheric and, from the very start, I felt myself gearing up for a scare. I appreciated the little details (e.g., TV guide from 1997) sprinkled throughout that made this story, going back a quarter millennium, feel modern and more realistic.

I will say that there were a few scenes that I found myself getting very frustrated with Margot, and also a few that left me scratching my head, but every thread that I could find was tied up in the end.

As for the ending - I really wasn't sure how this was going to end, and I was pleasantly surprised by it!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for sharing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

e-arc review.

Darcy Coates is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. She is the queen of building up suspense in her horror novels. I honestly did not want this book to end.

The characters and the plot all tie together nicely and the twist at the end I did not see coming. I think it’s best going in to this book completely blind. More shock value.

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Spoiler free 😬
Synopsis: The Hull family have owned Gallows Hill Winery for generations. Their wine is quite famous and has won awards frequently. Their families business and family are thriving until Maria and Hugh Hull die under mysterious circumstances.

Locals believe that the place is cursed and avoid it. Margot Hull returns to bury her parents that she barely remembers after being sent away and to uncover how her parents really died and what this apparent curse is.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Darcy Coates and Poisoned Pen Press, in exchange for an honest review.

‘Gallows’s Hill’ by Darcy Coates gets released on the 6th September 2022 👌🏻

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4 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have read numerous Darcy Coates books and this one may be the creepiest. I really enjoyed it overall! I felt like the story was well thought out and paced really well. I was worried there would be unanswered questions by the end, but she seemed to wrap everything up well. Pacing started slightly slow, but picked up pretty well. I found myself wanting more back story on Margot though. She was a likeable character, I just felt like I didn’t quite know her well enough.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This one is definitely a good one for Halloween coming up!

For generations the Hull family has owned Gallows Hill Winery. They live on the property with their staff, and everything seems fine until Mr. and Mrs. Hull are found dead in their beds. Margot, their daughter has inherited the home and winery.

Gallows Hill has an infamous past. It is the site where hundreds of convicts were hanged. Locals say the ground is cursed. Margot hasn't been to the home in a decade but as she settles in, she begins to believe the curse is real and that may be next!

The beginning of this book was a slow burn and I struggle with slow burns. I kept waiting for something - anything scary to happen. The later part of the book brings on the frights. It occurs in stages but once you hear the bells, you know things are about to get real- real fast! Finally!

I would have loved more action in the beginning of the book, more tension, but as I mentioned things do pick up the second half of the book. This was not my favorite book by Coats (my favorite being From Below) but I did enjoy the book once things picked up.

Coates is great at weaving tension and chills in her books. There are things here that go bump in the night, there is a curse, family secrets, and a dark history tied to Gallows Hill. Plus, there is a golden retriever in the book!

Although this book was not my favorite book by the author, I can't wait to see what she writes next.

When I say that this book scared me enough to say 'okay I need to put this down for the night', I mean it scared me enough to probably need to put it down for the night... but I kept reading. GALLOWS HILL is that addicting, that creepy, and a super fun horror read. This is my second Darcy Coates book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The suspense slowly builds at a well done pace, and it is easy to care for our main character, Margot, as she is thrust back to the childhood home she left when she was just a small girl when her estranged parents die. The history of the Gallows Hill Winery is slowly revealed, as the creepy moments come faster and harder, and this haunted house story has unique elements and some dread filled moments that really worked for me. I also really like how Coates isn't tempted to end with open ends or ambiguity, and things are well and settled. I feel like in a lot of horror stories lately there is temptation to maybe keep options open in this way, but with this book you get what you get, and I liked how that worked and how it all wrapped up. It was very satisfying.

I need to go back and read more Darcy Coates. I've thoroughly enjoyed both books I've read, and GALLOWS HILL is a perfect Halloween read for the upcoming Season of the Witch.

Coates is a great writer, overall. Her stories always have good descriptions. However, I never actually feel scared. I am also never invested in her characters or interested in them at all. I think maybe it’s a personal issue, since as I said, her writing isn’t a problem. Just preference as a reader I guess. I could either push through and finish it or stop reading and be fine. I never feel fully sucked in with her books and this one was the same.

This is the 3rd book I've read by Darcy Coates and unfortunately her books just aren't for me. Gallows Hill is another haunted house book with a main character that inherits the house and continues to live there despite the obvious hauntings. Coates' books are very formulaic and tend to have main characters that I just can't connect with. This book is a painstakingly slow burn and I did't become invested in the story until about 65%. I did enjoy the ending but ultimately this was just another ok read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The setup of Gallows Hill is fairly traditional as haunted house books go; an inheritance from estranged family, unexplained happenings, generational secrets, a curse upon the land... you get the picture.

That being said, what Darcy Coates lacks in originality of plot, she makes up for in immersive writing. The action sequences prey upon our innate human fear of the dark and the unknown while introducing a variety of horrific elements, making it a very heart-pounding experience at times. These nighttime sequences were extremely terrifying, and very cinematic.

A few of the events did seem a bit repetitive, like the protagonist constantly losing/breaking/dropping their phone or falling from high places. This took me out of the book a bit, mainly from sheer annoyance (for the love of God give the main character a flashlight instead of their phone PLEASE).

I also feel like it was a bit of a missed opportunity to have glazed over the wine-making aspect of Gallows Hill so much. A bit more detail would have added some much needed flavor and uniqueness to the book, as well as enhanced opportunities to allude to the big reveal at the end.

Overall though, a very creepy read. This will be a perfect addition for anyone who loves a good haunted house tale, or anyone gearing up for spooky season.

Crossposted to goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4933505543?ref=ru_lihp_lk_rv_0_mclk-up10814507075