Excellent suspense! A woman goes on a "unplugged" retreat with her boyfriend only to end up fighting for her life as the rest of her tour mates are killed off one by one. All with a blizzard backdrop--perfect for a winter read! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

I really want to love this author's books but I always feel just ok about them. "Trapped in the snow with a murderer on the loose" is one of my favorite horror tropes so I was super excited about this but the ending and the motives behind the murder didn't wow me. I guessed who the murderer was very early into the book, like as soon as the second murder happened and none of the red herrings fooled me. Just like the main character suspected after catching "the butcher" none of it felt right. The big reveal about 3/4 of the way through was interesting and something I didn't see coming and it saved the ending for me. I think my biggest problem was that all of the characters felt like the same person. They were supposed to be distinct and have different personality traits but unless I paid close attention to who was talking, all the dialogue felt like a single person talking. I wish we got to know the characters a bit better and learned more about who they were as people, not just "this is my job". The setting was nice and I was hoping for references to "The Shining" since this book takes place in a very similar setting. Overall, I had a fun time reading this, but I did find myself having to force myself to pick it up every time I went to read it. I'll probably give Darcy Coates a few more times to wow me because she's supposed to be one of the greatest horror authors of this generation.

I'm a sucker for a well done isolation book, and this one did not disappoint!
It was the perfect combo of suspense, plot twists, characters that I enjoyed. When the first chopped off head showed up, I was hooked!
To me, a good thriller leaves me guessing till the end, and the Dead of Winter did just that.
Thankful for the ARC!

Incredible read. I am hit or miss with Darcy Coates reads, but this one hit the mark for me. It was suspenseful and entertaining. I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to finish each chapter. An easy and fast read for someone who is looking for a suspenseful thriller. Truly enjoyed this.

Christa is excited for a 2 week getaway in the woods with her boyfriend. After a traumatic situation 2 year prior, she finally is feeling a sense of happiness she didn't know she would ever feel again. When a tree falls in the road on their way to the lodge, their trip is paused while the guide and other people on the bus try to help get the tree out of the way. Christa and her boyfriend take a walk around and quickly become engulfed in a blizzard that pops up. When she gets lost from her boyfriend she is sure she will freeze to death. Turns out that may have been a better fate than what lies in wait in front of her.

I read a lot of thrillers and sometimes they become same ol', same ol'. That was not the case with this one! There was a serial killer aspect, as well as a lot of surprises I didn't see coming. It would have been easy for it to become boring in the same setting with all the characters being killed off one by one, but it was thrilling from beginning to end!

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Dead of Winter is the story of a group of people on a trip in a remote area of the Rocky Mountains when circumstances combine for them to get stuck in a cabin, together. One by one, they are picked off, murdered in horrendous fashion. Who is the murdered, how is everyone connected and who will survive?

Thank you to the publisher for my copy - all opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book - a deeply atmospheric, highly intense, gruesome, locked door murder mystery set in a remote cabin in the wild, during a blizzard. Literally all the ingredients for a very addictive and impossible to set down story.

Everything about this one is great - the mysterious and highly suspect characters, the deaths slowly piling up as the hours go by without rescue, the uncertainty about who the killer might be and their motive, the increasing desperation as the fuel, food and water continue to deplete...... honestly I just devoured this book in one sitting because I really, really wanted to see who the killer was.

It doesn't disappoint, and drives straight through to an action-packed conclusion. I cannot recommend this one enough to those who love a good closed door whodunnit, and equally to those who like a little gruesome death horror. A must for your 2024 lists!

Dead of Winter is a tense and creepy thriller. We are kept guessing as to the killer’s identity as one by one the stranded members of the tour group are murdered. The back story in each character was interesting, I cared what happened to them. The end was twisty and surprising.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an electronic ARC and the opportunity to review this book.

This was my first Darcy Coates and it was very underwhelming for me. The pace was slow and repetitive. I didn’t feel for any of the characters. The ending was okay and it was more gruesome than expected.

"Dead of Winter" by Darcy Coates is a thrilling and chilling tale that captures the essence of suspense and terror in a snowbound setting.

The story revolves around Christa and a group of strangers who find themselves trapped in an abandoned cabin amidst a fierce snowstorm in the Rocky Mountains. As the storm rages outside, the group discovers that there is a killer among them, leading to a gripping battle of wits and survival.

Coates skillfully builds a sense of unease and tension, creating a palpable atmosphere of isolation and fear. The character development is strong, and readers will find themselves fully invested in the plight of the characters as they struggle to outwit the unseen threat in their midst.

The relentless pacing and intricate plot twists keep the reader engaged, as the narrative skillfully navigates the complexities of trust and deception in a life-or-death situation. "Dead of Winter" is a riveting and heart-pounding read that showcases Coates' mastery in crafting a compelling and atmospheric thriller set in the unforgiving elements of nature!

I have been on a Darcy Coates kick for a hot minute.
I was hooked on this book from page one.
It was thrilling, tense, and had this ever-present sense of foreboding.
This was right up my alley, I loved these fight-for-survival themes. This one also leaned heavily on the whodunnit tropes, and trust me, my ass was guessing left and right and mostly getting it wrong.
This was a solid read, but, ya'll ain't gonna catch me chilling in a cabin-in the damn snow no less anytime soon.

Loved the locked in theme with strangers - predictable ending.
Christa and her boyfriend join a group heading to a luxurious resort, deep in the Appalachian mountains. The bus gets stuck. They get separated. Someone starts killing.
Held my interest.

Wowza this is definitely 1 of my favourite reads of the year!!

It is a chilling and atmospheric tale and the story immerses you into a haunting, snowbound setting that amplifies the suspense and eerie ambiance.

A group of people set off on a bus taking them deep into the Rocky Mountains to Blackstone Alpine Lodge for a 2 week break-away. It is a private tour with only a few people. Two weeks to de-stress and relax...... Right?
Before even reaching the Lodge things take a turn for the worse. A snowstorm sweeps in, the road is blocked and  Kiernan, Christa's boyfriend, goes missing after they go for a walk and get caught in the storm.
Christa is fortunate to find the abandoned hunting cabin where the other people from the bus took shelter. At this stage, you just know this is not going to end well!
Then people start dropping like flies and it is a race against time to find the sadistic killer but also to stay alive.

The descriptions and skillful pacing create a sense of dread and anticipation that keeps you engaged throughout the book. The characters' depth and the slow unraveling of the mystery make this a gripping read for fans of ghostly tales and atmospheric thrillers.

I did figure out the twists but only because I was really thinking outside the box and maybe because I have an evil mind! 😆
Thank you to Netgalley and Poisened Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

I started and finished Dead of Winter in one day. I could not put this book down and thought the plot advanced at a good pace. The characters were well-developed, and the tension and fear built up strongly. The writing was also atmospheric and good. I felt chilled to the bone while reading.

My one issue with the book was that I was able to guess, before the mid-way point, all of the twists and reveals. To me, the twists were incredibly predictable and felt rehashed from other works. I wish this had a few more original spins, because with those this definitely would have been higher rated.

Unfortunately, I just didn’t connect with this one. It started off strong for me and then just halted at about 30%. Maybe just the wrong book for me!

Non-stop page turning, this is what a thrilled needs to be! I enjoyed reading this one and will definitely be reading again.

I have really enjoyed Darcy Coates horror novels in the past and when I heard she was coming out with a new book set in a snowy, isolated setting (my favorite), I knew I had to pick up Dead of Winter. Unfortunately for me, I did not realize at the time that this latest work was to be a thriller and not horror. I tend to stay away from thrillers as I have great pattern recognition and pick up on the littlest things which usually means I know the "whodunit" from very early on. Dead of Winter was no different. I became frustrated with our main character, Christie, for not being able to see the same things I did very early on. She also came off, to me, as very immature and self-absorbed. Look, I get it, you're possibly going to die on this mountain, I would be a little self-absorbed too. But she had it in her head very early on that the whole situation and everyone's dying was some karmic punishment for something "bad" she did in the past. Nothing was pointed to that except her whoa-is-me attitude. Despite all my agitation with the MC and the lack of suspicion of who our killer was, Darcy's usually writing style did not disappoint with the suspense and intense moments. The slasher parts were very well done and kept me gripped and that is what keeps me coming back to Darcy.

I am giving this a middling 3 stars. Again, part of it is my fault for going into a thriller knowing I figure them out so that is not the books fault. The writing is style is good, but not the best I have seen from this author. I also know many other people (friends) who enjoyed this immensely and did not see the end coming so a solid 3 which is a "good" in my book.

A good gripping "locked room" style thriller with characters being picked off one by one while stranded during a snowstorm. Great twists and a good horror/thriller combination.

The descriptions are graphic, not just of the deaths , but of the weather too, leaving you feeling chilly just reading it.

I enjoyed this book a lot, some great characters in a hopeless situation, which you really do root for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press

3.5 rounded up to 4.

I really wanted this to be a 5 star read and don’t get me wrong I really did enjoy it. However, I think the biggest issue for me was that it dragged a little, I felt that the build up was a little too slow and then when things kicked off it all happened and was over too fast. I love Coate’s ability to create such intricate and in depth characters that you can really believe in and this was still the case here even if the majority of them were downright detestable (purposefully).

This was a fast paced thriller that was hard to put down... Ended up reading late into the night. I've read several Darcy Coates books, and this is my favorite so far. A locked room type mystery that keeps you guessing. 4 stars.