Dead of Winter
By Darcy Coates
Pub Date: July 11; 2023
Poisoned Pen
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
What a thriller this was:
I highly recommend it, just don’t read it on a night when you can’t sleep and the cold winds are blowing.
The plot revolves around a group who find themselves stranded in a dangerous wintery setting .
The narrator did an excellent job of describing the situation.
Try it!
4 stars

Darcy Coates is an auto buy author for me. I love all her books, especially her haunted house books. This isn’t a haunted house book, but I absolutely loved it. It’s also summer and not winter, but I am currently on a mountain so I feel like that’s close enough.

A group of strangers take a trip to a ski resort in the Rocky Mountains. Bad things start happening before they even get there. A tree fell on the road and is blocking their path. Two of the guests take a walk while the tree is being removed and get lost in a snowstorm. Everyone is forced to take shelter in a one room cabin until the storm passes. Then one of them is murdered when they go out for a bathroom break. Then another. And another.

This is a page turner, but it’s definitely more horror than thriller. People will ask me if a book is scary and I can rarely answer that question because I read so much horror. If you don’t read a lot of horror, I think you will think this is scary.

If you love horror or want a good scary book, then I highly recommend this one.

I always enjoy anything that Darcy Coates writes, and Dead of Winter was no exception. A great premise, great pacing, and a great ending. I love a good thriller, and this did not disappoint.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

As is usual, I could not put this Coates books down. Dead of Winter was immediately captivating, drawing me in right away. As I have written in several of my other reviews for books by Darcy Coates, I was not disappointed. What I love about Coates's books is that I typically know what to expect, yet it's somehow always different or surprising. Dead of Winter is worth the read, whether you've read her before or this is your first sampling.

"Dead of Winter" by Darcy Coates is a chilling and gripping thriller that blends the suspense of a locked-room mystery with that of a horror book. Christa joins a tour group going into the remote Rocky Mountains to get away from her haunting past. When an unforgiving snowstorm traps them in an abandoned hunting house, emotions rise and the atmosphere feels stifling. As the night goes on, the tour guide strangely leaves, and the next morning, his terrible end is found. The group is getting smaller by the second, and it's clear that a cruel killer is hiding among them.

Coates tells a scary story of survival and betrayal that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from the beginning to the end. Setting the story in a snowy desert adds to the drama and makes the story even more interesting. The author's ability to mix mystery, horror, and excitement makes for a book that will get your blood moving and your heart racing.

"Dead of Winter" is an exciting change from the usual spooky house stories, and it shows that Coates is a master at what she does. This USA Today best-selling horror author shows once again why she is a force to be reckoned with in the genre with a fast-paced plot and surprising turns. "Dead of Winter" by Darcy Coates is the perfect book if you want to read something that will give you chills and keep you up all night. Just make sure to keep someone who makes you feel safe close by as you go deeper into this snowy nightmare.

***A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.***

This was a fairly by the numbers, locked room/isolated setting thriller where the characters are eliminated one by one. More brutal than the average Darcy Coates book, which I appreciated and I enjoyed the setting. I found the plot a bit too predictable and the characters were a bit one-dimensional. Overall, this is an enjoyable read that doesn't do anything wrong but won't necessarily stick with you either.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Another riveting, chilling read by Darcy Coates.

As with all this author's books, I was on the edge of my seat from beginning to end, unable to look away even as the bodies start to stack up and the fear of the remaining characters grows ever higher. The background of the frozen landscape and the desolation of the cabin lent to the feeling of terror. I've said it before and I'll say it again, this author's stories scare the shit out of me, but I can't help but keep coming back for more.

Another great read. Highly recommend if you enjoy the horror genre.

Published by Poisoned Pen Press, "Dead of Winter" by Darcy Coates is an icy and atmospheric thriller that flits between moments of sheer terror and deadly banality. This chilling novel takes readers on a gripping journey of suspense, horror, and total isolation.

At its heart, "Dead of Winter" is a story of trust — or, more specifically, a profound and chilling lack thereof. We follow Christa, a woman in search of catharsis and healing from her haunted past, as she joins a group of adventurers into the snowy depths of the Rocky Mountains. When Christa's fiance disappears during a snowstorm and the group find themselves stranded in an abandoned cabin deep in the wilderness, the book takes on the claustrophobic feeling of a "locked room mystery".

Coates' narrative grips like the cold, a beautiful and horrifying mélange of fear and suspicion. The storm outside the cabin mirrors the rising one within its occupants. They are all suspicious of each other, and each seem to be holding onto their own pain, grief, fear or anger. Yet, the relentless snowfall isn't the only threat to their survival - one amongst them is a killer. As the group's number dwindles with alarming speed, trust becomes as rare as warmth in this tale of icy suspense.

While this book was extremely engaging, Coates' narrative can sometimes feel repetitive. The novel falls into a pattern of discovering another body, a brief bout of terror, and then talk of escape - and repeat, etc. This rhythmic predictability somewhat dilutes the experience that was building.

I did guess the huge twist fairly early on. And it's a great one. It didn't detract from my enjoyment - mostly because I wanted to know if I was right! I wasn't sure who Christa should trust - even down to herself. She always seemed to be teetering on the precipice of a breakdown, and no wonder.

The characters are also another area where "Dead of Winter" shines. Most of them are exceedingly unlikeable, but somehow, I did care about their untimely demises. A lot of what they did made me shake my head (STOP GOING OUTSIDE ON YOUR OWN). However, their descent into paranoia, driven by cold, fear, and suspicion, is hauntingly portrayed, making it impossible not to share in their terror.

By the end, I wasn't sure how Christa was still standing, so props to her. A great horror thriller, perfect for reading INSIDE, far from severed heads. To that end, I thought it was a missed opportunity not to make this a fall release. This would have greatly improved with a glass of wine and snow outside!

I just finished Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates and here is my review!

Running from the ghosts of her past, Christa and her boyfriend join a tour group heading deep into the rocky mountains to unplug from the real world. On the way there, bad weather has them stuck on the road with snow falling like heavy blankets…

During the night their tour guide goes missing but in the morning… the group finds his severed head… Suspicion falls on everyone in the group and worst still….. Maybe it is someone they have upset… out there.

I have to admit, I was so curious about this book. Darcy Coates writes horror and I love her horror books so to see she had written a thriller with her old school horror edge… Had me beyond excited. She nailed it. Truly nailed it. I had gotten to the point where thriller books were all starting to feel the same and this one really felt like it opened the thrill of the rush back to me again.
Christa was involved in an accident years before and she was barely hanging in there. Her boyfriend wanted to take this trip together so they could get out and do something together. The character development was really well done. The way Christa felt was so tangible and realistic, that I could not help flipping through the pages as fast as my eyes could read. You get to know all the people on the bus and that helps to give a real well rounded book cast!
I’m not a huge fan of snowy plots because cold temps are always a given but I felt this one had something that made it feel unique! I am not going to lie. I guessed the ending. I’ve read so many thrillers in my time and it’s hard to deke me out. I knew from the middle of the book what was what but I am in the minority. It is an epic rollercoaster ride and I was glad I took it.


I would have liked more from the ending. I just needed to know the after effects from Christa but it wasn’t needed to complete this brilliant book.
5 stars! Thank you so much to @netgalley and poisonedpenpress for my gifted copy

<B>I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

If you need trigger warnings, this is not the read for you.

My Review</b>: What you need to know is that this author's already famous, and has done this work for over twenty books now. This means there are Expectations from Darcy Coates readers, plus the hook is baited with care and attention to the creation of more Darcy Coates readers. This effort is successful, and pays off. The sentences flow past you, making perhaps only a modest impression separately. The cumulative effect, like the river's flow of my metaphor, is powerful and impressive. I'm not all that impressed with the author's effort until I step back and consider what the journey I've been on has left me to feel and think about.

There are always, always comparisons of "stranded together, death stalks them" stories to And Then There Were None. Inevitable; unfair. The standard-setter of the subgenre will usually win because that's the nature of literary analysis. When one is held up to a known standard, one is seldom going to be the one coming out on top in the comparisons. So let's get this out of the way: Darcy Coates isn't Dame Agatha. And you know what? That's just fine with me. I enjoy the set-up enough to get the story on its terms, not my literary snobby standards.

One of those standards is mysteries don't reveal the gore; thrillers do. Author Coates, then, delivers a thriller. Given a lot of her work is horror, that isn't in any way out of character. Also notable is the truism that thriller characters live to die, and more often than not aren't givena lot of development before or after their deaths. Another tick in the thriller column.

The freak-storm trope always decreases my pleasure in a mystery/thriller. If it was unexpected, how did the miscreant plan and execute (!) all these elaborate endings? How were these people, all with vile secrets that meant I was utterly indifferent to their murders (in a couple cases, actively pleased they'd died horribly), assembled with the assurance that they'd be incommunicado? That was always the flaw in my own pleasure when reading this particular set-up by anyone. It means I've literally never rated one of these reads above four stars.

Looking above, you'll see all four of those stars. I loved the experience of being chilled to the bone by Author Coates's wintertime evocation. I was, ironically, delighted with the nurderer's choices of victims. The issue for me was there were too many of them for the sketchy chsracterizations to keep me interested in their fates. Being inside Christa's head made the technique inevitable. The use of very short chapters suits the need to keep the story moving but ultimately make that action, propulsive as it is, feel more repetitive than it should in order to propel the story to greater-than-the source heights. The tragedies, as I've said above, seem less effective as character establishing mechanisms than as justifications for the briyality inflicted on these rotters because there isn't the scope to do more than report them.

Cavils like these aside, I join the chorus of Goodreads readers wondering where the hell the movie is—I can already see it, done by (say) Guy Ritchie...it's got his blend of violence and moral ambiguity and visual power.

Book Review

-Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates
Pub Date: 7.11.2023

Such a good read. This was my first read by Darcy Coates (even though I have like 3 of her other books on my shelf).

The suspense, thrill, mystery was all there. I enjoyed the short chapters. Right amount of horror. I absolutely was hooked from beginning to end. I had my suspicions of who it could be but then it keep switching through the book and was not expecting who it actually was.

Do check trigger warnings on this.

If you love a good mystery, camping/outdoor setting this is the book to read.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by Darcy Coates & I very much enjoyed it! The writing is easy and engaging and really works for this type of a book. While I did have the killer figured out right away, I thought the way the story was told was interesting to keep me turning the pages. I would've liked to know if the other two people survived, but that's just me, It wasn't necessary to the story! I'll be checking out Darcy's other books for sure!

Darcy Coates had me until the last head rolled and that was fantastic and very unusual. This dark and disturbing, graphically suspenseful novel had me so wrapped up I couldn’t stop reading until the last word was read.

I don’t even have the breath to scream. My face is to the sky, my back to the empty white void beneath me as I plunge, carrying a wave of snow in my wake.

And that is only the beginning of Christa’s nightmare. Nine people begin the tour and only one person will be left standing. I figure…it has to be her…doesn’t it? But, how will the others be taken out and who is the one doing it that is the question.

At first I rated Dead Of Winter by Darcy Coates a four, but as I wrote this review, seeing the novel had everything I could want in a suspense novel and an ending that deserves a star of it’s own, I had to raise my rating to a 5. I mean, I love a good storm, whether in the cold climes leading to a blizzard or the warm climes leading to a hurricane, an isolated location, a killer amongst them, bloody, gruesome and graphic deaths…I mean, what more could I possibly require for a mind numbing thrill ride into the depths of depravity and revenge?

We have those ‘don’t go out there’ moments…and I love it.

The writing and pacing keeps the suspense at a high level, the story flowing seamlessly. The list of suspects included all of the tour goers, Darcy Coates making me suspicious of them all, at one time or another. I couldn’t eliminate anyone, except Christa. Did I see who the villain was and the need for revenge? Sure, there was a hint or two here and there of the reason, but it did not lead me to the villain…until Darcy Coates exposed him. I bow to her for a job WELL DONE.

OH, I forgot to mention the gorgeous cover and the intriguing title that screams, “Read me!”.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com

I spent this book on a ride to guess who the killer was. I guessed in chapter two. I was right and only thought I was wrong for about half a chapter. There were far too many clues to guess the killer.

That being said, as always I loved Darcy's writing style and her ability to give you the absolute ick factor in any situation. The cold and the crowded room feeling and the dread were put across the page so well here. That definitely added to the fun. On the other side, this was not my favorite work of Darcy's. I think I prefer her haunted house stories to this.

Like many locked room (in this case locked snowstorm) mysteries, the clues are there from the beginning to figure out whodunnit. For me, this one was pretty obvious from the start. But I am well-read in my Agatha Christie, so maybe it comes easier to me. I did enjoy the ride and seeing if there would be a final girl at the end. This is a bit gorier than classic AC, so if you're looking for a a cozier read, this is not the book for you.

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

I am convinced Darcy Coates is the queen of horror, and nothing can convince me otherwise. Her books are horrifying in the best way. I think this might be my new favorite of hers!!! I do wish it came out closer to fall or winter to get the full affect of the book, but reading it in July was awesome too!

I can’t believe that this was my first Darcy Coates book!! I own several of her books but this was the first time I’d read anything and whoa.. I read it in two sittings staying up until 4AM the second night because I couldn’t be pulled from it!

I mean, EVERYONE was a freaking suspect in this book! And the ending? I so did not see that coming. I doubted everyone from the main character to the snow itself in this book.

Dead of Winter is a must read if you’re looking for a quick and intriguing thriller. You will not be disappointed one bit when picking this book up!

Wow just wow!! Dead of Winter is a crazy whodunit is a thrilling ride that will keep you guessing until the end. This book has a lot of characters but it’s told from Christa’s POV.
Kieran takes Christa on a tour into the Rockies in the middle of winter. From the start of the tour things start to happen and people start to die one by one. Don’t even want to say anymore than that bc I’m afraid I will spoil the book.
I could not put this book down today!! There were so many twists and turns up until the very end. I had an idea who the killer was from the beginning but throughout the book Darcy made me second guess myself…a lot. The only thing I wished is that it wouldn’t have left you guessing or using your imagination at the end. This book has made my favorite thriller list for 2023.
Thank you Darcy Coates, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an advance copy of Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates. I really enjoy books by Darcy Coates as they are spooky thrillers, often with ghosts. This one was different from the others I’ve read in that there is no haunting. A small group of people are heading for a relaxing vacation in the mountains when their bus gets stranded on the road. A winter storm comes in and they are forced to find shelter in an old house. One by one, people start to disappear and show up murdered. The main character, Christa, tries to figure out who is targeting them and why. It was a good story, a little gruesome in parts so if you don’t like that kind of detail, you may want to skip those parts. Overall, I enjoyed it. I thought I knew who the culprit was early, but the story had me second guessing myself until the end. I recommend it!

Christa and her boyfriend Kiernan are on a bus traveling up the mountainside to spend a few days in a beautiful retreat. A fallen tree stops them, then a horrible snowstorm hits. Christa is separated from Keirnan but is able to make her way to a small cabin where she finds the rest of the tour group. Christa’s primary concern is getting back out there and finding Keirnan, but the murder of the trip guide changes her focus.
Unexplained things continue to happen with cruel regularity. The days go by, the food runs out, and the remaining few are infighting. Just as you think you’ve figured out this “Agatha Cristy” type of tale, the author throws a wrench in your theory. The pace is super-quick, the actions and thoughts of Christa keep you on your toes, and the description of the cold is painstakingly descriptive. If you love who-done-its, this is your next read.
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date was July 11, 2023.