I’m from Texas and have only seen snow twice in my life, but Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates transported me to a secluded cabin in the middle of a snowstorm where a group of strangers that soon realize there is a killer among them.

This was a fun thriller/mystery/horror/suspense story that has twists and turns that are so unexpected. There were some Agatha Christie vibes though this book leans a bit more towards suspense/horror. So, this was right up my alley!

I spent a couple of nights unable to put this book down, staying up way later than I should have! This is the second story that I’ve read by Darcy Coates and am looking forward to reading more of her work.

Thanks so much to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Christa and her boyfriend, Kiernan, are lost in a blizzard, trudging through the snow until they get separated.

We learn that they had been on a bus, heading to a remote lodge, when the bus got stuck on a mountain road.

Eventually, Christa finds her way to a cabin where the rest of the passengers are huddled against the cold. With no cell service and no way out, they settle in for the night. But where’s Kiernan?

Then people start disappearing…and dying. Is one of her fellow travelers a murderer, or is it a stranger in the woods? Christa has to fight not just the elements, but an unseen enemy, to survive.

This book was just ok. While it was well-written, there just wasn’t any tension for me. The characters were one-dimensional; maybe there were too many, but I honestly didn’t even think the protagonist Christa was very well fleshed-out either.

I just didn’t particularly care about the characters, didn’t feel any tension building, or feel any surprise at the ending (it did, however, leave me irritated because of loose ends).

It was a quick read, and I didn’t DNF because I kept thinking there would be a big twist that would redeem it.

Even though this one missed the mark for me , it was well-written enough that I wouldn’t hesitate to try another book from this author.

A very scary book. I loved it. Warning, once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop. I love locked door thrillers
This was one of the best I’ve read. I’ve read quite a few. Thank you Netgalley and publisher for providing this
advanced copy.

Intense, violent, scary, fast reading, hard to put down. Those would be some of the things that I would tell people about this book. This is a first time I have read anything by this author, but I intend to look up some of her other books and see if I like them as well. An interesting plot, 11 people headed for a resort are derailed by a freak snowstorm and end up in a cabin, picked off one by one. But why? What could a bunch of strangers have in common? And who will survive, if anyone? There are a lot of people to choose from to be the "bad guy" and a lot of red herrings. I thought I knew who the killer was, but I was wrong. Thank you, NetGalley and Poison Pen Press for the chance to read this book.

Fast paced and twisty! This book had me hooked from the start and I for once I didn't guess the ending until it came. I loved how all my questions were addressed and I cannot wait to recommend this to thriller and horror readers!!
Thank you for the opportunity to review this book and be prepared to tell everyone about this when released!

This is certainly a different foray for Darcy Coates! This was still in the vein of horror but more in the Final Girls sense and not haunted houses and things that go bump in the night. Ms. Coates seemingly understands that people can be monsters too and some times what we do to each other is the real horror. Go into this one with an open mind, fans.

💕 Snow storm + secluded cabin full of strangers = the ultimate setting 🔪
💕 absolutely brutal murders! People were dropping off one by one every time they went to sleep
💕 Suspects on suspects on suspects. You won’t know the killer until the final chapter. A perfect example of a whodunnit thriller!
💕 Suspenseful + scary
💕 Alexis’ journal with the hieroglyphics was a fun Nancy Drew-like addition 🕵🏻‍♀️

READ IF YOU LIKED:
⁃ One by One by Ruth Ware
⁃ Five Total Strangers by Natalie Richards
⁃ No Exit by Taylor Adams

This is one book that would be GREAT for a
⁃ map! For the cabin and the surrounding area to give us an idea of the layout
⁃ Character directory with images or their “hieroglyphics”

👎🏼 a lot of characters to keep track of. Simone and Blake were similar and I had trouble remembering who was who
👎🏼 a lot of description about the surroundings, but I had trouble envisioning it. This is why I think a map would’ve been really helpful

Another outstanding story by Darcey Coates. It keep me glued to the pages. I just love her writing and will read anything she writes!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my ARC!

Thank you to Poisoned Press, Darcy Coates and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC of this novel. Dead of Winter is a fast paced, tense thriller with endless red herrings that will keep you guessing until the end. I had my suspicions of how this wild ride would end and though I was mostly right it did not detract from how much I enjoyed this story. I will definitely be checking out more of Darcy Coates books in the near future!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. The suspense really keeps you interested. Darcy Coates is amazing at writing different characters, and the character development never disappoints me. I am so thankful for my ARC copy of this from Netgalley.

In Dead of Winter Darcy Coates presents a version of the tried and true scenario of "And Then There Were None." And she does so by dropping you right into the mix from the first sentence in a runaway train that goes along at breakneck speed with few respites along the way. After their vacation tour bus gets stuck in the mountains, Christa and boyfriend Kiernan take a walk, only to soon find themselves lost in a sudden blizzard. Krista eventually finds herself in a remote cabin, sheltered with the other nine members of the getaway. But as the storm rages, the tour guide goes missing, only to have his severed head found later staked to a nearby tree. As the snow and wind continue and tensions rise, the survivors begin to get picked off one by one. And they soon begin to suspect one of those among them to be the brutal killer.
This was one intense nail-biter of a novel. The premise may not be the most original, but the execution is absolutely spot on. There are misdirections and red herrings, and everyone's a suspect. And just when you're sure you've figured it out, you find out that you were wrong, oh so wrong. Except.....I wasn't wrong. Not to toot my own horn too much, but I totally knew who the killer was and (generally) why they did it very early in the book. There were two key clues that I picked up on, and I was totally right! Except Coates did such a good job of shifting the suspicion around I eventually forgot that I had figured it out early, and attributed my suspicions to the wrong character later. But before the ultimate big reveal, I knew once again that I knew it! Which in absolutely no way detracted the powerful story laid out in this novel. This is a real tour de force from Darcy Coates. 4.5/5*

Shout out to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This was a finely crafted thriller that had all the twists and turns. The winter/ snowed in setting was well done and created a "locked room" type mystery. This would be an excellent winter read. The characters were very well developed and scored high on the believably chart. I really connected with the main character and was rooting for her the whole way. There was a fair bit of violence and gore but nothing overly gratuitous.

The pacing of the novel was very quick and that coupled with the easy reading style made this one a very quick and satisfying read.

Wow! Wow and OMG! This thriller is amazing. It's the first Darcy Coates book I've read, and it definitely won't be the last. This goes on my list of author's who've hooked me after one book.

This book is gripping. Once it gets a hold on you, it won't let go. I love books that are able to use a small footprint to write a thrilling tale, and this does just that. Most of the action centres around a small cabin in a snow storm. A group of people, most are strangers to each other. A bus that is stopped in the snow. The cabin is a last resort for safety until help arrives or the storm clears. The people are hoping for a fortnight vacation in a lodge. What could go wrong?

For Christa, she thinks it's a dream. She's with Kiernan, her boyfriend. But she's got a strange feeling something bad is going to happen. Queue the first body, and you have yourself a thriller with a huge twist. Is one of people on the bus a killer?

The author does not flinch from giving you enough detail to make you squirm and also hook you in further. This story is chilling, and not just because the setting is in the middle of a snow storm. It will send shivers down your spine, while making you turn those pages to reach the end. And the ending is a ripper!

I want more from Darcy Coates. I'm on the hunt for her books now.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for a free copy of this book for an honest review. All views are my own.

I love this book! The atmospheric details make it seem as if you were there. Darcy Coates never disappoints.
When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she's hoping for a restful vacation.. Catastrophic events force the group to take shelter in a claustrophobic abandoned hunting cabin. Who can you trust when stranded with a group of strangers?

This was a little too predictable for me and I struggled to stay interested but I enjoyed the short chapters and style of writing.

Read if you like:
❄️ Short chapters
❄️ Some gore/horror elements
❄️ Winter/snow settings
❄️ Unreliable characters

This is a chilling, gripping, page-turner of a story. Christa and her boyfriend are taking a trip in the Rocky Mountains and a tree blocks the road. A terrible winter storm is brewing. All the people on the bus end up in an abandoned cabin. After the first night they discover that one of them has been murdered. Who is next and is one of the people in the cabin a murderer?

This is a story the will keep you reading late into the night. The story will grab you and you will be on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next. This book has the potential to make a great movie. I would definitely recommend reading this book.

Thank you to #netgalley, #DarcyCoates, and #PoisonedPenPress for a copy of this book.

This was my first book by Darcy Coates, who I have heard a lot of good things about, and it did not disappoint. This was a thrill ride from start to finish, and while I did guess one tiny part on my own, there were numerous twists and turns that kept me from being able to predict where things where going to go.

This was a nice balance between horror and thriller, but be warned if you're queasy or sensitive in any sort of way, there are a several pretty gory parts throughout. Overall, this was a super exciting thriller that I could easily see people finishing in one or two sittings just because it's the type of book where you immediately want to know what's going to happen next.

This is a definite recommend and one of my fave reads of the year so far!

Too many characters and an easy to figure out suspect made this very confusing and not enjoyable for me. Giving it 3 stars because I can see why others would love it. It just didn’t hit a home run for me.

Christa and Kiernan are excited for their two week vacation in the mountains. They are taking a bus filled with a handful of other tourists up to the lodge when a fallen tree in the road stops them in their tracks. The tour guide reassures them they can quickly take care of the tree and be on their way, he encourages them to walk around but not go too far because there is about to be a horrible winter storm. Despite his warnings, people venture off and find themselves in danger. Trapped in the middle of a snowstorm, the group of tourists find an unlocked cabin and take shelter and from there, the snowy, isolated nightmare begins.

This is the second book I have read by this author and her ability to completely freak me out is insane. Just like her other book, I found myself holding my breath due to genuine fear. My *only* complaint was I had a hard time keeping track of characters at first. There were 9 other tourists on the bus and I just don’t think they were well developed enough for me in the beginning to keep track of their names and who they were within the story. It wasn’t until I was about 70% in that I could finally recall who was who. I really enjoyed how short the chapter were, it made the read super easy! The plot twist was INSANE and I was amazed with how the author brought it all together.

This murder mystery/ whodunit was filled chilling, filled with gore, suspenseful and terrifying. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.2 from me!

Darcy Coates, as always, delivers an amazing read. Christa finds herself trapped in a cabin in a snowstorm and chaos and death ensue from there. I couldn’t put this one down and highly recommend you read it for yourself!