Darcy Coates does it again!

Coates is certainly putting her stamp on the horror genre, and I hope with this book she will get more notice because it is certainly deserved. The base of this story is not something new. People trapped together and someone is a killer. But wow she brought it to life in a new way, I think. The suspense was high, and I really just find her writing to be so readable. 10 out of 10 I would recommend!

Kieran and his girlfriend Christa set out on a trip to the Rocky Mountains with a few other people. They knew this wasn’t the best of weather but a peaceful time and lots of beauty to be seen. Brian is the driver of the bus and as they are heading to Blackstone Alpine Lodge there is a fallen tree in the road. Kieran and Christa decide to go looking around while some of the other passengers cut up the tree. In the blinding snow they get separated. Christa walks and walks trying to get back to Kieran she stumbles and falls. Next thing Christa knows is she is in a small cabin with the rest of the passengers except Brian the bus driver and Kieran.

One by one someone is butchering their heads off and displaying them on a tree. There is a father and son, a truck driver and his wife, a DJ, three other women and Christa that have to try to get out of this terrifying situation!

This was one of the most absolutely suspenseful book I have read for awhile. You didn’t know who to trust. Throughout the book you start to believe everyone has a reason to be the butcher.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Christa and her boyfriend of 4 months, Keirnan, are in the Rocky Mountains on a trip. It’s winter, so the lodge they are heading to is closed except for the small group they are with. A blizzard has started, and when the bus is stopped due to a downed tree in the road, Keirnan (who grew up nearby and knows the mountains) brings Christa for a short walk. Unfortunately, due to the blizzard, they get turned around and can’t find their way back. When they get separated, Christa manages (frostbite and all) to find a cabin where the others from their tour have holed up, but Kiernan is still missing. It’s not long after that their tour guide also goes missing… and one by one, not only do people disappear, they reappear later, decapitated...

I love wintery, blizzardy atmospheres in books, and this one did it really well. Initially, I thought this was a mystery/thriller, but there is definitely horror mixed in, as well. Be warned that there are gruesome parts. But I loved it! So suspenseful and everyone suspects everyone else. You think each of them is the killer at some point and the twists keep coming to the end!

This book was a fast-paced, locked-room thriller. From the very beginning, it grabbed my attention and would not let go until I finished it. The book can get a bit gory, so be warned but that did not take away from my enjoyment of it.

If you love books that give you that isolated feeling, cut off from the rest of the world, with a hint of slasher vibes... this book is for you.

Christa is stuck in a major winter storm in the mountains with a bunch of strangers. People are slowly being murdered and no one is to be trusted. She's scared, alone, and it's only a matter of time until she's next.

The plot is great and definitely enough to keep your interest, but there are times the book feels sluggish and repetitive. However, it will definitely scratch your isolation thriller itch.

Thank you to Poised Pen Press and NetGalley for providing me with this book to honestly review.

Christa is on a tour bus heading to a retreat in the Rocky Mountains when a fallen tree and a snowstorm force the group of 8 to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin.

Things soon turn dark though. The tour guide is murdered, with his decapitated head on display in a nearby tree. The group is now in crisis, trapped by a fierce snowstorm, dwindling supplies and no way to contact the outside world. There is also the question of who the murderer is. Is it one of the group, or a malevolent stranger?

I found this an entertaining read, if somewhat draggy in the middle. The characters were decent, but could have been more developed. Multiple POVs might have been good here. You also have to suspend belief a bit, as the murderer seems to be a bit superhuman at times.

Thank you to Poisioned Pen Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this locked-room mystery set in a remote cabin during a snowstorm! There was suspense and tension as we tried to figure out if there was some random person hiding out in the storm picking our survivors off one by one, or if the killer was someone they are stuck inside with.

There were twists and turns around every corner, and the claustrophobic feeling of the cabin was spot on. I had a great time trying to figure out who the killer was, and while I did figure it out before it was revealed it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the story at all.

I love Darcy Coates writing and can't wait to see what she's going to come out with next!

I received a complimentary ARC copy of Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates from Net Galley & Poisoned Pen Press in order to read and give an honest review.

… Dead of Winter feels more like a hybrid…Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” meets Friday the 13th movie franchise in this chilling horror suspense that is tension filled right to the last page …

When Christa’s boyfriend Kiernan whisks her away on a winter getaway after she has endured a rough couple of years she is thrilled. The lovebirds join a small tour group heading to the remote Blackstone Alpine lodge in the snowcapped Rocky Mountains for an “unplugged” getaway. The ten guests and their guide are driving through the Rockies when their journey is brought to a halt due to a downed tree blocking the road. Seizing the moment, Kiernan takes the opportunity to give Christa a surprise and they head out for a private walk while the tree is being moved. A brutally strong storm suddenly moves in causing them to lose their way back to the bus and when Christa falls down a rock face the last thing, she sees is Kiernan trying to hold on to her hand as her glove slips off and she plummets to the ground below. When she wakes up, she is in a strange cabin, the rest of the tour group staring down at her as one, Simone, is bandaging her hand. As Christa looks at everyone in the cabin her one fear appears to be true, Kiernan is nowhere to be found and is still out in the storm. With severe frostbite and the storm still at full force Christa and the others are cabin bound, forced to seek shelter in a tiny, rustic, claustrophobic hunting cabin without power and no means of communicating with the outside world. Stranded with the rest of the tour group and a guide she is left to grieve while waiting for the storm to pass. When their guide decides to step out for a few minutes and does not return, he is discovered in the morning, his severed head impaled on a tree just outside the cabin. When paranoia, fear and hunger run rampant in the cabin it becomes clear that there is a killer among them, and everyone is suspect. When Kiernan’s body is found, it takes Christa everything in her power to keep it together and battle a killer determined to kill them off one by one. Just when Christa is sure she knows who the killer is she is thrown for a loop, and she realizes her life has been leading up to this moment. To survive she must brave more than just the storm…injured and alone she must navigate through mountains, flee a killer, and make it to the lodge to call for help for herself and those who are injured.

Although not a usual fan of horror, this very atmospheric tale with a cast of multifaceted characters, a twisted plot, and the setting acting as a character in itself, I found this book an enjoyable read. Dead of Winter feels more like a hybrid…Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” meets Friday the 13th movie franchise in this chilling horror suspense that is tension filled right to the last page. I highly recommend it.

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coats is an absolutely INCREDIBLE thriller!
Locked room mystery in the middle of a storm with a group of 11 people being picked off one by one.

The story telling was excellent. And the slow burn was excellent.

Great characters and a fantastic mystery that kept me guessing until the end.

The most chilling book I’ve read this year, Dead of Winter takes the reader to the very edge of their seat as a group of 8 individuals that have been isolated in the mountains during winter storms gradually find themselves being taken out, one by one.
I hard a hard time putting this book down, and reading into the late hours of night, hidden under the covers.
The ending twist was NOT one I saw coming for sure!

Pub date: 11 July 2023

I was very excited to read this book, but unfortunately, the plot was a familiar one and the twists and turns were predictable. I was able to identify the killer early on in the book. However, it was very suspenseful, and the horror/thriller blend was good. I truly appreciated that the author didn't hold back on the gore!

I read this story during a summer heat wave, and it chilled me to the bone. Eight strangers are forced to fight for survival from freezing temperatures and a killer. Someone amongst them is picking them off one by one. Everyone is a suspect, and you can never tell who to trust. Dead of Winter was quite a page-turner and kept you struggling to figure out who the killer was and why they were killing.

I keep thinking that I will connect to this author's writing and I just don't. For me it dumps you in the action right away and I feel like I never get a firm footing on the characters or story. Maybe that is the point, but for me it makes it hard to enjoy it.

Christa Bailey and her boyfriend Kiernan are heading to Blackstone Alpine Lodge deep in the Rocky Mountains for two weeks of vacation with a private tour group. The other nine people on the bus are all strangers to each other, including Brian, the driver and tour director. The passengers are a mixed bunch: an older married couple, a father and his teenage son, and four people travelling alone – three women and a man. Late in the winter season, with heavy snow covering everything, they’ll have the luxury lodge to themselves. However, a fallen tree across a remote road stops the bus and the travellers are forced seek shelter in a nearby empty cabin where they should be safe, except that one of them is a killer.

This is a tense and chilling locked room mystery with Christie-esque vibes as travellers disappear and turn op dead. The freezing weather, snowstorms, isolation, lack of food and electricity and the claustrophobia of being trapped in a small space with strangers all added atmosphere and worked to turn up the suspense and fear factor. Christa is wary of trusting anyone as she desperately tries to work out who is doing the killing and wonders if any of them will make it out of the mountains.

Although this is an entertaining mix of horror and suspense, I found it a bit relentless initially with one person after another disappearing and not much else happening. It did become more interesting later in the book as the reason behind the deaths began to clarify and the killer finally stepped out of the shadows. I also wasn’t totally convinced by the killer’s motives and ability to carry out their plot. Overall, an entertaining read, especially if you like freezing cold, wintery scenes and a nightmarish locked room mystery.

This isn’t a genre I usually read, but as I’ve become interested in true crime lately, this story appealed to me. I’m glad I read it. I could not put it down. I plan on reading much more by Darcy Coates!

This Is an action packed, fast paced, Isolated, edge of your seat thriller. I love this Trope. I didn’t allow myself to read It at night, because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to put It down!

Christa and her boyfriend, along with a group of travelers are heading to the Rocky Mountains to stay at a lodge. When the storm moves in and continues to hammer the area, their bus has to stop and pull over. A tree has fallen over blocking the road. Stranded in the bitter cold, the travelers must find shelter and fast. When they set out, they find an abandoned cabin and take shelter trying to wait out the storm.

After Christa is injured and her boyfriend goes missing in the snow, Christa wakes up in the cabin with the other. Sometime that night, their tour guide went missing. Did he go for help? Has he found a way to get to the lodge? Or is there something more sinister going on?

Tension mounts as anger builds. The travelers begin looking at each other knowing they are the only ones there. Is one of them a killer? They must get out of there before It’s too late.
I gave this book a 4 star rating and would recommend to those of us who love Isolated thrillers.

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press, The Author,Darcy Coates as well as NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Dead of Winter.

*Thank you for the ARC!*

Even though I think the plot was a little obvious, I enjoyed the book. I'm a Darcy Coats fan, as her books are always quite riveting.
The characters were well written and likable (for the most part). The setting was also very well established.

A horror read that keeps you on the edge of your seat! Told from the perspective of the female protagonist, a group of strangers set off for a cozy vacation in the secluded mountains, but instead meet with horror and a fight for their survival. The writing is engaging and keeps you wondering how it will end, with many twists and turns. I highly recommend this read!

In this claustrophobic whodunit, Chrissy goes to the mountains for a weekend with her boyfriend Kieran for what should've been a great time. Instead, a snowstorm strands their group heading up to the Blackstone Lodge. First, Kieran is lost in the snow. Then the guide winds up very much dead. This chilly read from Darcy Coates is high key perfect on a hot day. It's paranoid. People are dropping left and right. It's based off a few different Agatha Christie novels, so it feel like a fresh take so it almost feels like an Easter egg when you find the links.

Thanks to Poison Pen for the arc! It was a fun read!

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
8 people snowed in a cabin with 1 killer. Simply amazing. This was my first “locked room” mystery and it did not disappoint. I’m sad that I guessed the killer early on but it was still an amazing ride. There were lots of her great twists throughout the story making me second guess myself. This was much more gorey than her previous novels so be warned if you’re squeamish. One of her best, I already want to reread 10/10 #netgalley #deadofwinter #darcycoates @netgalley @darcybooks