This was an absolute wild ride! Think “And Then There Were None” but more gruesome and survivalist.

Christa is going on a getaway to a winter resort with her boyfriend when a tree falls into the road, stopping their bus in the middle of a snow storm. When people start turning up ritualistically murdered, the group of strangers heading to the resort have to depend on each other and figure out who the killer is.

Dead of Winter was a totally different kind of Darcy Coates book. I’ve been really enjoying her new ventures into different kinds of horror and she can truly do it all! I couldn’t put it down!

Out July 11, 2023!!

This eerie, frozen horror story will entertain readers from start to finish. Coates embraces blood and gore in this story, which is a new element added to her tool belt. Another great thriller from Darcy Coates!

First off, thank you to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for my ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving my review!

Alrighty, I’m giving this one 4 stars. I enjoyed the very creepy setting of this book in an isolated location during a snowstorm along with the who did it murder mystery. Christa finds herself trapped with eight total strangers all trying to ride out the storm. Their tour guide goes missing that night and the next day they find him murdered outside the cabin. There’s a killer amongst the group and Christa needs to figure out who can she can trust to escape this scenario. This was a fast paced thriller with a pretty surprising twist at the end. I would definitely recommend adding this to your TBR for when this is released this summer!

blizzards, isolation, murder, horror, violence, gory, suspense, suspicion, dread, psychological-thriller, atmospheric, mystery*****

A little too much claustrophobic horror for my taste, but I've got some friends who are salivating and eagerly awaiting the release of this book.
I requested and received an EARC from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

Review: OMG! What a great book!! One thing that Darcy Coates is known for is the cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. They make you want to keep reading! That is what happened tonight! I kept reading until I finished the book. And I am so happy to share that I was right about who the serial killer was! I am so proud that I was able to figure it out. The last 80 pages had my heart racing so fast and I needed to know what happened!! Definitely one of my favorite standalones from Darcy Coates for sure!! Thank you @poinsenedpress @netgalley and @darcybooks for letting me read this early release of her new book!! This one comes out in July, so make sure you preorder it today!!

When a winter storm hits, a group of strangers on their way to a luxury lodge vacation become trapped in a small cabin in the middle of the wilderness with no rescue in sight. As if that isn't bad enough, one of them is found brutally murdered. And whoever did it just getting started.

This book is a fast-paced, twisting locked-room mystery-thriller that keeps you guessing. A locked-room can be hard to do purely because of the number of characters they tend to require, and "Dead of Winter" pulls it off exceptionally. We follow the POV of Christa, a young woman struggling with a dark moment from her past, as she uncovers clues as she tries to figure out who the killer is. It was an entertaining read that kept me sucked in and ended with a neat resolution to tie off a tight, well-framed plot.

All in all, I really enjoyed this and went right to my library website to pick up more books by Coates!

You might like this book if you like a locked-room style mystery and winter/wilderness/isolation thrillers.

This book was an entertaining read. The twist was pretty predictable if you've read a lot of similar thrillers. Lots of characters that were a little hard to keep track of at the beginning, but then brought all together nicely at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Dead of Winter.

The premise was intriguing so I was excited my request was approved.

First, the location is the real winner of the story. The isolation, the storm, being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of strangers while a killer stalks the innocent is very scary.

The author describes the cold, the frigidity, and the fear well, setting the somber mood and tone as the murders escalate and tensions and fears rise between the remaining survivors.

Second, being trapped in an isolated location with a bunch of strangers is nothing new.

That's why I guessed the reason behind why this group of people were gathered together from the start.

I also guessed the final twist at the end, but only because I read so many books in this genre. It takes a lot to stump me.

Third, the violence and bloodshed is pretty gruesome and gory. It doesn't bother me but it may bother sensitive readers so beware if that's you.

My biggest caveat was how I didn't like anyone; not Christa or Blake. No one.

There's a lack of character development and obviously, the environment and present circumstances aren't conducive for the characters to chat and get to know one another better.

We know what they do and how they came to be there, but we don't know them.

Some of the narrative could get repetitive, as Christa wonders who is behind all the murders and people keep dropping off like flies,

There are a few red herrings, but nothing earth shattering; it just gets the reader to go, "Oh, could it be this person or that person.'

Yes, the story takes a certain amount of disbelief suspension but that's the point.

If you're able to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride, you'll enjoy this locked-in-a-cabin-with-strangers-Agatha-Christie-has-done-this-many-decades-ago-and-the-copycats-won't-ever-stop type of story.

This is my first book by this author and though Dead of Winter didn't capture my interest the way I hoped it would, I'll check out her next book.

Christa and Kiernan join a tour group with eight strangers going into the Rocky Mountains. But unfortunately they happened to stay in a secluded cabin due to an avalanche. The quarters are claustrophobic and the temperature outside is rapidly dropping but Christa believes they will be safe as they wait out the storm. Later we come to know that them being there is no accident as someone starts killing them one by one.

Next day in the night the tour guide goes missing along with Christa’s boyfriend Kiernan. Only to be discovered the next morning his head severed and impaled on a tree outside the cabin like damn trophy case! Christa finds herself trapped with eight total strangers. One of them kills for sport and they’re far from finished. As the storm grows more dangerous and the number of survivors dying one by one, Christa must decide whom she can trust.
Again, Darcy didn’t disappoint me at all!. Darcy Coates is a gifted author. This book is so creepy and it gave nightmares. It feels so lively that you can feel the cold, snow, the wind, the gory scenes. The chapters are short which is for my delight and the pace is fast which is great.

The plot twist……….Well I had a hunch that the butcher must be this person but….ahem!
But through the ending of the book, I have few questions like,
Where was the butcher all this time?
Was he/she hiding in the hut or in the cabin?
What happened to Christa and the survivors?

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advance copy!

I think this is one of the better Darcy Coates books I have read to date. It is full of suspense and nonstop dread. The back and forth of figuring out who is the butcher in the group. You think you get it figured out and then you don’t.

Christa is on a trip to the Rocky Mountains in the middle of winter. She gets separated from the group and seeks to find shelter as soon as possible or she will die. Finally, she finds shelter and the rest of the tour group. She then spends a week with strangers in a tiny cabin while a killer is amongst them. 

I know this story is listed as a horror, but I find it more of a psychological thriller and a bit of a mystery. I suppose the horror would be that there is a killer and their methods are horrific. True to Coate’s style of writing, the story moves fast; you get attached to the main character, and the world building is superb. A fantastic winter story that will give you the chills.

Thank you #NetGalley and #PoisonedPen Press for a copy of #DeadofWinter by Darcy Coates

NEW FAVORITE @darcybooks ALERT!

From the very first page this book had my anxiety off the charts! And I mean that in the best way possible. This book was so intense, I felt like I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. This was an amazing atmospheric thriller/horror/mystery.

I’ve read about 4 other Darcy books before this one, and they all had to do with hauntings. So going into this one blind, I was expecting the same ghost/gore I have come to know and love. But, I was pleasantly surprised with it being more of a whodunnit, it had me guessing until the very last chapter. I loved this book and will be buying a physical copy when it is released in July.

Thank you @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've only read one other book of Darcy Coates but I really enjoyed it. And when I saw the description for this book, with one of my favorite horror/thriller tropes (snowed in),I knew I really needed to read this one. And, I wasn't disappointed.

I was hooked from the beginning. A group of strangers (although almost each of them had a loved one with them) on their way to a ski resort in a snow storm. They have to take a detour when a fallen tree is in their path and end up lost. They stick together to help each other stay warm and safe. But their safety is cut short because someone wants them all dead.

Fun to read, very suspenseful, a great whodunit with a side of gore! There were really only a couple parts that, to me, were unbelievable enough to take me out of the story for a minute or two. But it didn't take long to suck me back in!

This is a thriller that should definitely be on your tbr this summer!4.5⭐️ rounded up to 5. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for allowing me to have an advanced ebook copy of this book!

This creepy and atmospheric story will have you looking over your shoulder. Darcy Coates knows how to drop you into a setting and make it feel so real. A tour bus gets stranded in the Rocky Mountains when a brutal snowstorm hits. With nothing around them and people starting to go missing, the tension ramps up. Gruesome killings and a claustrophobic atmosphere will have you flipping the pages and questioning everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this title!

Holy hell, this was so intense! I've always heard Darcy Coates mentioned when I see people talk about horror but this is actually the first book of hers I've read. I'll definitely be seeking out her back catalog now, though, because this is easily one of the most batshit and stressful books I've read in a long time.

I love horror (especially graphic, gruesome horror), and I love a locked-room mystery, and this book combined BOTH of those things in a way that was super fun to read. The characters didn't have a TON to them, but they really didn't need to in my opinion, so it didn't feel like anything was really lost. The cast still managed to be easily distinguishable, though, which I find tends to be something that stories struggle with when there's a large cast of characters!

This made me gasp out loud and go fully hand over mouth in shock at least twice, and the writing is engaging, the descriptions of the gore are graphic, and overall I just had a TON of fun reading this!

📚 Book Review 📚
Title: Dead of Winter
Author: Darcy Coates
Genre: Mystery / Thriller / Horror
Date published: July 2023
Primary Setting: USA 🇺🇸

A huge thanks to @netgalley and @Poisonedpenpress for a digital ARC in return for an honest review.

📚Synopsis:
A small tour group headed for a remote lodge in the rockies gets sidetracked by an impassable road and winter conditions. When the group discovers a small cabin they can take shelter in, they are convinced help will be on it’s way if only they can survive the night. When the first of them goes missing, they begin to realize there may be a hunter among them who is killing for sport, and in this group of total stranger, no one can be trusted.

✍️ My review:
A secluded “and-then-there-were-none” meets “The Shining” read. A fast paced who-done-it with just the right amount of hints and twists to have you suspicious of everyone and guessing up until the end. Not my regular reading genre, but I do enjoy a good horror every once in awhile and this one with its desolate wintery vibes and characters who were running away from their own traumas worked for me.

💕You might like this book if:
🔹 You enjoy locked-room mystery / horrors
🔹 You are ok with a cast of characters that begin to disappear and die-off (yes, there are some horror-worthy details)
🔹you like trying to figure out which characters to trust and if there is any motivation for the madness

This was the first Darcy Coates book that I've read. It will definitely not be my last, that's for sure. I loved this horror book and will definitely be buying a copy. I received an e- arc from netgalley and sourcebooks in exchange for an honest review.

A solid suspense thriller about a group of strangers trapped by a blizzard in a cabin in the middle of nowhere who start getting murdered one by one. Exactly everything you think it’s going to be, no more, no less, so if this is a story you want to read - read this story!

I love a suspense thriller but I tend to be disappointed because I have high expectations. Maybe that’s unfair - not every book can reinvent the genre, can say something profound about the human experience, can change how its readers think about something. This book definitely does none of those things. However, it is plotted and paced impeccably, and I was in the exact right mood for it. I spent last winter living not too far from where this book was set (just drive north for a couple days, nbd!) and I have been missing the 20 below temperature and the multiple feet of snow. 💙🤍💙🤍 This book was exactly what I needed, especially because I could read it from the warmth of my cozy apartment haha.

This was chilling from the first page and had me on the edge of my seat. The writing created this stifling, claustrophobic atmosphere with the weather being so well described I could almost feel it. I could also feel thr rising suspense and panic as the story went on it was just so creatively written. I loved all the twists and turns and could truly not guess who the killer was and was truly shocked on the end.

If you like suspenseful mysteries that keep you on the edge of your seat, guessing which characters are actually trustworhthy till the very end. This book is for you.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this early. What can I say, I am a sucker for Darcy Coates and this one definitely did not disappoint. I have already preordered a copy for my book shelf immediately after finishing this book.

I personally like to go into mysteries, thrillers, or horrors as blindly as possible so I am not going to talk about the story itself.

What I will say instead is Darcy Coates has a way of making books super atmospheric and conveying characters emotions so well. From the very beginning, I felt so invested in Christa's story and I could FEEL the weather, the desperation, and the anxiety and I LOVED it. I finished this book in a single sitting because I just couldn't put it down! There is a decently large cast of characters in this sort of locked room whodunit type story, but each of them were described well enough, and given enough of a back story and personality that I had no trouble keeping them separate in my head the entire time.

I have already recommended this book to my mom as well, and I can't wait to hear what she thinks. Absolutely loved this one!

Thriller!!

Christa and her boyfriend are planing a winter trip to a lodge in the Rockies. On the way there they get stopped and get lost in the woods during a sudden snowstorm. She falls and they get separated. she makes it to a cabin where the rest of the group are sheltering. The group is being murdered one by one and we don’t know who it is or who is next.

It was so good! I made the mistake of starting this book right before bed. I stayed up really late reading, and couldn’t get back to it until after work so it was on my mind the whole time. Which unfortunately, gave me time to predict the villain. I was thinking “wouldn’t it be crazy if it was ____, and the reason they did it was because _____. ” and I was right. I was excited to be right about it.

I loved that I was constantly guessing who it was, and the book misdirected several times. I knew the twist was going to be out there so I predicted something I thought would be a crazy prediction and with every misdirection I was thinking maybe my crazy prediction was too crazy!

Despite the fact I predicted it I enjoyed every second of this book.