Phew! I couldn't put this down! I love books like this with heaps of mystery, back-story, direction and misdirection. I was kept guessing and then changing my mind about who was responsible for the targeted and gory events in this book. Loved every second.

I've seen people refer to Darcy's books as "cozy horror." This book is NOT cozy. I read an interview where Darcy basically said she intentionally writes more positive books, & I have to wonder what drove her to write this. I'm not complaining. I was not surprised by who the killer was at all, but I still enjoyed it. I do think it ended too abruptly for my tastes. I've read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, & some other one-by-one books. This story was good enough that it didn't feel like a copy

First off, I’d like to thank Poisoned Press and Darcy Coates for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was so excited to receive this one, as thrillers are my favorite and I’ve heard great things about Darcy’s previous work. The setting is so atmospheric and vividly described which really sets the stage and the shorts chapters made this easy to binge fairly quick. One of my favorite movies is Identity and this gave me a lot of identity vibes which our course I loved. And I must say I really enjoyed this one. The beginning was a bit slow to get into but it picked right up and I was so invested at the end, staying up late until I passed out to try and finish. This one is one I can’t wait to recommend and would rate 4.5 stars ONLY because the ending left me wanted a couple more details. While this is my first Darcy Coates book, it will certainly not be my last! I can’t wait to get my hand on some of her previous work now.

This was a fantastic read! I personally am not a winter person and this whole scene of being stranded in a blizzard is just so unsettling for me. I loved the whole locked room mystery aspect of this as well.

A huge thank you to the publisher, Darcy Coates, and NetGalley for this ARC!

The last book I read by Darcy was not for me, so I was hesitant to give this one a try. I was in the mood for a snowy thriller and this does not disappoint!

I loved the short chapters, I loved how this story flowed, I loved the blizzard setting! This was an absolute perfect read for winter!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book needs to come with a warning - Please ensure you are tucked up under a cosy blanket with a hot chocolate (and preferably a sleeping pet near by). Told from a first person perspective, you will feel the cold and the fear through every page. Absolutely brilliant read!

I was so excited to get this book because it checks all my “favorite type of thriller” boxes:

✅Snowy atmosphere
✅Locked room mystery
✅Akin to 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘦

Unfortunately that’s where the love affair ends. While I still was flipping pages fast to see what was going on, I ended up being right from the start…bummer. It also was quite repetitive and you are going to need to suspend quite a bit of disbelief to get through this one. There were SO many things that didn’t add up or simply made so little sense I was left muttering to myself in annoyance. I’m not going to go into details because I don’t want to spoil too much but suffice it to say that if there’s a killer knocking us off one by one and I find a big ass ax, I’m not leaving it behind because it’s too “big”. That thing is coming with me and I’m going to be bench pressing it while waiting for it to be my turn.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this one early.

Summary - Christa is part of a tour group headed to a remote mountain resort for a two-week vacation with her boyfriend. However, after a fierce snowstorm derails their drive to the lodge, Christa and her group of eight fellow travelers are forced to take shelter in what appears to be an abandoned hunting cabin in the woods. The path forward seems simple - stay put and wait for the storm to pass. Until their tour guide is somehow brutally murdered overnight, One by one, the mysterious killer seeks to eliminate each member of the group which forces Christa and the others to figure out if the killer is someone in their own group.

I loved that this book had not just one big twist at the end (which it absolutely did), but at countless other twists throughout. It kept the pace of the story fast and it kept me turning the pages. There was a new twist and reveal at least every other chapter, and it gave the story a very chaotic and frenetic energy. The thing that makes a thriller effective for me is when you can't see the final twist coming at all, and that's exactly what happened. All the pieces fit together in hindsight, but the twist is completely blindsiding!

This was the kind of book that makes you want to stay up all night reading just to find out what happens, and it was so worth the read!

I enjoyed this book. I like that it didn’t take long to get right into it and definitely had me guessing until the very end.

A group of strangers heading into the wilderness for a retreat find themselves trapped in an abandoned cabin. As they wait for the winter storm to pass; they start disappearing one by one. The tension was unbelievable and the ending is top notch. I could not put this one down. Thanks to NetGalley and @SimonSchuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Darcy Coates is such a great writer and I love almost everything she reads. And this book is no different. Its pretty great .

4.5 Stars 🌟

This was such a thrill of a story to read. It was incredibly claustrophobic and Darcy Coates does such an amazing job setting the scene. I loved the setting of a snow storm in the middle of nowhere.

This story follows Christa, she's with her boyfriend on the way to a winter lodge retreat with a group of others when their bus gets stranded in the snow. Christa and Kieran some how get separated from the group and the book open with them lost in the wilderness. Then they both get separated from eachother.

Christa is able to randomly find a log cabin where also the other people from the bus have also come across. Everyone except Kieran he is still lost. Christa has a bad feeling that they all will die and never leave this cabin. Just like her a premonition one of the others disappears and is found mutilated. Now they're stuck in the snow with no hope of rescue in sight. Anyone could be a murderer or is there an outsider taking them out one by one,

I had so much fun with this book, The writing style quickly pulls you and never lets go, I really appreciated also the short chapters. Coates does an incredible job setting up the claustrophobic atmosphere and engaging the reader. I was terrified for these characters.

My only con was that some of it was a bit predictable and sometimes felt very repetitive. This didn't take away from my overall enjoyment.

I would specifically highly recommend this book to isolation thrillers lovers or fans of Then There We're None. It's a really fun time and will make a perfect winter read,

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

I will be posting my review to my Instagram page the.floofs.booknook and retail sites close or on publication date.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Dead of Winter.
Wow. This is a book I could not put down.
Christa has met the man of her dreams and they are on the way to a lodge nestled in the Rocky Mountains. Two weeks alone with a great guy he could be the one.
But the trip to the lodge is halted as the bus they are on is stopped by a tree in the road.
Eight others are on the bus and they are still miles away from the lodge
Christa and her boyfriend Kieran decide to take a walk while the others are moving the tree but a storm ensues and they are lost in the storm.
Christa somehow survives but Kieran. Is lost and she makes way to a small cabin where the others have found shelter.
But soon the survivors start to die and one of them is a killer.
Christa is determined to survive but as the others become victims she knows she may not live to see another day and she may die in the wilderness. But why is someone targeting this group and Christa will fight to find out
Great till the ending. 4 stars

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC. I don’t know what my deal with this book was, but it just wasn’t grabbing me. Maybe it has something to me reading it in Minnesota. I may have to circle back in the summer.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Dead of Winter releases July 11, 2023


I just cant say no to a claustrophobic winter thriller! I really enjoyed reading this book, the wintery, chilly and creepy atmosphere was just amazing and I really could imagine myself in the little cabin in the middle of nowhere. Shivers! I highly recommend this book for lovers of claustrophobic thrillers.
I wish the characters had more depth and were more worked out. That is my only critique.

#netgalley #arcreview #deadofwinter #darcycoates

Definitely not one of those books you pick up to read during an all-night readathon. Well that’s exactly what I did and here’s my little suggestion: don’t read this in a dark room at the middle of the night.

Dead Of Winter by Darcy Coates is an eerie, fast-paced, crime thriller revolving around a series of strategically planned murders. The book is very atmospheric and the way the story unfolds is quite a roller coaster ride. The spooky, hair-raising vibes prevail throughout the storyline. You just keep turning pages to find answers to the multiple questions arising in your mind and before you know it the story is done. It is the the same trope as the infamous Agatha Christie novel- “And Then There Were None”- a group of people being stranded in the middle of nowhere, with a killer in the midst of them and the search for who the killer is.

The book had everything that my little crime-horror thriller loving mind adored. It was fast-paced, creepy, and dark(And I really mean it, the way of narration did send shivers down my spine). I did figure out the killer somewhere near the mid-part of the book, but that did not steal the thrill that came along in the further pages.

I would definitely recommend this to people who like dark-themed, atmospheric, horror entwined crime thrillers. Great narration, perfect pace and a grasping storyline.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the copy of the book in exchange for a honest review. All the ideas expressed above are my own and based on my personal preference in books.

Dead Of Winter

Review

Coates has such a phenomenal way with words, eerie, & atmospheric storytelling. I’ve read many of her stories and Dead Of Winter is my now new favorite. This is wonderfully written whodunnit had me pondering, pointing, and wondering. Highly recommend! I can’t wait to pick up a hard copy!



📚Available July 11, 2023📚

❤️Thank you Poisoned Pen Press, Sourcebooks, & the brilliant author Darcy Coates. I’m super appreciative & gave my honest opinion❤️

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Darcy Coates has become one of my favorite authors who never disappoints. So when I seen this new one pop up, to say I was excited to start it, is an understatement! In true Darcy Coates fashion, this thriller leaves you with the best chills. It was so beautifully atmospheric, keeps you on the edge of your seat and drops your jaw at the twists it presents. This would be the perfect read with a nice cup of hot chocolate during a blizzard.

There were a few minor set backs for me though. It was a bit of a slow burner in the beginning half of it (which isnt necessarily bad) and even though there weren't that many characters, it felt like there were- they were almost two dimensional for me. I kept finding that I had to remind myself who was who to keep up with the plot. The redeeming factor for me was the second guessing yourself on who was the one who did it. Just when you think your guess is right, you need to rethink it.

This was a great read overall and even better during the last 50% of it. I will definitely be recommending this one!

This wintery thriller by Darcy Coates will be coming out in July of 2023. Set in a cabin in the middle of the woods, it follows a tour group who gets stranded in a snowstorm and must survive until help can arrive. Unfortunately for them, the storm is the least of their concerns. A mystery killer is brutally murdering them one-by-one, and, as isolated as they are, it seems impossible that the killer could be anyone but one of the members of their group.

Essentially a closed room mystery, but with a snowy twist, this was an enjoyable thriller. Unfortunately, it was a little too predictable for my tastes, and I knew who the killer was when I was barely a third of the way through the story. I still enjoyed it though!

I recommend snuggling up and reading this with a hot chocolate.

Thanks so much to Darcy Coates and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC through NetGalley!

Wow, what a ride, a frightening one too!
You could not pay me to accept an invitation to an isolated ski lodge in the middle of the mountains!!! LOL!!!
Christa and her 6 months boyfriend Kiernan are on a 2 week vacation on a private tour bus to the Blackstone Alpine Lodge somewhere deep in the Rocky Mountains.
The bus has eight other guests that she does not know.
Along the route, a snow storm starts and the road get blocked by a fallen tree. Naturally, the group decides to find shelter and the series of horrifying events starts to unveil where it soon becomes obvious there is a killer amongst them with a penchant for decapitations...
The winter snowy backdrop of the storyline is amazing. You are there with poor Christa trying to make sense of these horrifying events. The book is written solely from her point of view and the pressure is on...
Absolutely fabulous read but don't read it at night before bed unless you are prepared to get little sleep...