Dead of Winter

This never caught my attention. It was way too descriptive and just never seemed to have a plot. I usually love Darcy Coates but I hate slashers so maybe that's the issue. 

I love Darcy Coates' ghost stories so much that sometimes I forget how great she is at writing suspenseful mysteries, too! I LOVE murder mysteries like this, with a group of strangers trapped together in the middle of nowhere, and I was honestly on the edge of my seat for quite a lot of the story. The ending did feel a bit rushed to me, but not enough to dull my enjoyment!

okay thriller.
lots of twists, half predictable, a little tiring.

the book couldve been shorter. the story circled over and over without creating a sense of “build up”.

also the protagonist has no personality and i could not suspend my disbelief that she would be so rocked by losing a boyfriend of like 2 months.....like girl u are not willing to die in a blizzard bc he went missing. i dont believe it.

Great Book. Awesome Storytelling, big plot twists. 9/10 will be reading another book by Ms. Darcy Coates.

In the beginning I thought I was going to need an Excel Spreadsheet to keep track of all the characters… However, Darcy Coates is amazing and kept me on track! Very suspenseful! 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

3..5

I was looking for a snowy, isolated horror/thriller, and that's exactly what I got. I would love to state that the twists and turns came as a surprise, but I had guessed the killer and major twist so early into the story. I guess a lifetime of reading such stories had something to do with that. I wish I got it wrong, though. It's nice to be wrong in such cases. None of that impeded my enjoyment. The pacing was good, the tension was palpable, and I had a decent enough time. The itch was itched.

Oh wow, wow I honestly didn't think they were the killer. I assumed it was someone else.

I did think it was a little long, but it did set the scene and surprise me. The atmosphere and helplessness really comes across. Narrator did a great job although I did end up listening to most of it at x1.5-2 speed.

Wow! This is the ultimate isolated snowstorm book! The cold and isolation are really descriptive. There is gore, but it is not over the top. The reason that they are all together is a well used reason, but it does not make the murderer obvious. I had the ending spoiled, but I was still surprised. This was so good!

Amazing! Perfect for the season. (I'm doing a winter horror thing this month).
9 strangers are stuck in a rural cabin in one heck of a storm.
Krista (Coates loves “K” names, doesn't she?) and her boyfriend Kiernan (see?) are on their way to a lodge when the storm hits. They get separated and Krista ends up in a cabin with 8 strangers. But not for long, because someone or something is picking them off one by one.
Three words: tree of heads
Twist after twist here.

Dead Winter follows Crista going on to the Rocky Mountain retreat with her boyfriend, while they get stranded in the middle of a snowstorm with the other passengers on the bus. 

I loved the atmosphere, you could not help feeling the cold described and the endless white of the snow. The horror elements were really good and kinda unexpected with some of the gorry descriptions since I had the impression that Darcy writes cozy horror.  While I really enjoyed this book, something that bothered me enough to keep it to 4 stars was that it took me about halfway point to get invested in the story. I think it didn't need to be this long also since the kills became kinda repetitive at one point.  That said, the mystery was interesting. I predicted some stuff and was shocked by other staff. I think the ending was great and thrilling until the end. 

If you want a horror with an isolated winter setting where you suspect every character in the story then this one could be great for you. 

Certainly not boring, but could use a little more subtlety. If you're paying much attention, you'll probably have the killer pegged by the first murder.

4.25/5 solid thriller. I don't know how I feel about the final reveal but it's a great time overall

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

First a big thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for giving a copy to review.

This was a very well done thriller mystery, I had so many constant and changing theories about what might be happening, some twists were less surprising than others but it kept me on my toes the whole time.

The main character had very enjoyable POV to read, and the rest of the characters all had just enough flaws to make them seem guilty while also having enough reason to see them as innocent.

That's really all I can say as I don't want to spoil any of it, highly suggest this book for those who love a good thriller mystery.

Oh my goodness, get ready for a killer vacation - literally!

When Christa is asked by her boyfriend to join him on a fun vacation, she doesn't even blink. She is excited for the time that they are going to spend together, and looks forward to possibly take the next steps in their relationship.
But an accident on the road leaves them stranded in the dead of winter, far from civilization, and the snow is falling. Soon, people start turning up dead. No one can figure out who the killer is, and one by one, they start to dwindle - their numbers becoming fewer each day.

Oh my, this was such a great book! I could NOT put it down! I was hooked from the first page. This is one that will leave you guessing as to who the killer might be until the very end.

Rating: 3.97 leaves out of 5-Characters: 3.5/5-Cover: 5/5-Story: 3.5/5-Writing: 4.75/5Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense-Horror: 2/5-Mystery: 4.75/5-Thriller: 4.5/5-Suspense: 3.75/5Type: EbookWorth?: YeahHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked Loved FavoritedWant to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.Even though I have another one of Darcy's books on my TBR cart in my room this one was actually my first. It wasn't a bad read, actually a pretty quick one for me. It was a good basic murder/mystery though for the horror aspect... eh? It is also your basic horror that comes with a book like this. The plot itself is good, I did like the whole reason behind all of this but I did find some things kind of... odd? Dev didn't really belong or, well, it wasn't done well. Like, I got what Darcy wanted to do with it and it was a pretty darn good idea but having the MC find Alexis journal... and then so quickly decipher it? It really threw me out of being in the zone on this book.

I know that Darcy Coates is the queen of horror but she's working on becoming the queen of thrillers too.

Christa is still struggling with a tragedy. But her new boyfriend is helping her every day work towards finding peace and when he suggests they take a trip to a resort in the mountains she agrees. On a bus to the resort with 8 other strangers a severe snow storm hits the Rocky Mountains and they're forced to take shelter in a cabin. In an already uncomfortable situation cramped in a tiny cabin with strangers in an intense snow storm things soon turn into a nightmare. When the group wakes up from their first morning in the cabin they find their tour guides head has been cut off and put on display in a tree. With each day another member of the group is found decapitated and Christa finds herself not trusting anyone. Someone in this group is a brutal killer. Isolated in this remote cabin there's no where to go and everyone in the cabin is a suspect.

Darcy always does an amazing job at setting the scene and making an amazing (and stressful) atmosphere. Though it was 90 degrees (Fahrenheit) in my area I was reading with a warm cup of tea and a blanket because I was so engrossed in the weather conditions I was reading about. Not only was the terrain and weather scary but you throw a claustrophobic cabin with strangers in there and it's even more terrifying (as that sounds like a nightmare in itself to me). And then the cherry on top there's someone murdering people.

Darcy didn't let anything fall through the cracks. From the setting to the characters I could feel the tension and Christa was such a sympathetic and strong FMC. While I called who the killer was pretty early on that didn't stop me from second guessing myself with each page. There was just enough clues that when the killer was revealed I wasn't surprised but it definitely was not obvious. And the motives and behind the scenes are revealed as in any great thriller.

I both loved and hated the end. I won't elaborate on that to not spoil anything but IYKYK. I highly recommend this!

Had I known anything about Darcy Coates prior to this, I would have held off starting the book until I had more free time. Instead, I got completely sucked in and sacrificed sleep because I constantly needed to know what would happen next. It may be a tiny bit predictable, but everything about Dead of Winter is entertaining.

This is the best mystery I've read so far this year and it'll be extremely hard for anyone to top it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to review this advanced reader copy of the book.

Darcy Coates is one of my favorite horror authors so I was thrilled to get an E-ARC of Dead of Winter. This was a FUN horror/thriller. I love me a good slasher read any day. I also love secluded cabin settings like this one so this was a win win for me.

If you're a fan of this author's work, or love the horror and thrillers genres...keep this on your radar. It comes out on July 11, 2023.

I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I can't express in words how happy I am that this book exists and I was able to read it.

I have been searching for a slasher that has me on the edge of my seat, cringing at the graphic details and shaking in my boots. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Dead of Winter!

This had me hooked from the very first chapters. I found myself trying to connect the dots and find out who the killer was before it was revealed but I wasn't even close.

Dead of Winter would make such a fantastic movie. The imagery and the pacing of the writing felt like I was watching a movie already and I can honestly say I would eat it up.

This was everything I've been searching for and I am so excited to get my hands on a physical copy when it's available to buy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is my first novel by Darcy Coates and it will not be my last! She is a spectacular horror/thriller author!

Christa may not be a fan of the great outdoors, preferring the comforts of indoor living and steering clear of venturing out after dark. However, when her boyfriend suggests a retreat deep in the Rocky Mountains, she finds herself unable to resist.

As the trip takes an unexpected turn, with a massive snowstorm causing their bus to become stranded due to a fallen tree, things start to unravel for Christa. Her boyfriend is keen to explore the area, but they end up by a cliff edge and she ends up falling. To her horror, she soon finds herself trapped in a canyon, buried under a blanket of snow, with no clue as to whether her partner has suffered the same fate.

Managing to escape her icy tomb, she stumbles upon a cabin, which incredibly houses all of the passengers from the tour bus. While they wait for the storm to subside and signal for help, they awaken to a gruesome sight the next day - their tour guide's decapitated head mounted on a tree limb.

What follows is a gripping tale of mystery and suspense as members of the group begin to meet similar fates, their heads found on tree branches. Christa is forced to unravel the mystery of who the perpetrator is before she becomes the next unfortunate victim.

This book had me completely engrossed from the beginning, with its unexpected twists and turns leaving me on edge. I was unable to put it down until the very end and have struggled to find a book that compares since finishing it.

Review to come.

Review here now.

So, this was fun enough. It wasn't great. But it wasn't boring. I was expecting supernatural, and it's more thriller. So there's lots of overthinking and paranoia and strange deductions because of the paranoia and overthinking. In the Rockies. In the winter. So major isolation thriller. Winter isolation horror is my catnip. This, again, was more thriller, but it was still fun and had some nice grue. I approve of the violent, horrible murders–fictionally speaking, I mean. Exactly what I wanted.

Basically, our hero Christa is traumatized and dragged on a winter trip by her boyfriend, whom she adores. There are 11 people plus the tour guide on the bus as it chugs through the Rockies. In the winter. In the snow. A tour bus. The Rockies. Yep. The road to their lodge ends up blocked by a big tree, so they all get out of the bus to see if there's anything to do about it. Whilst the tour guide is pondering the tree, Christa's boyfriend drags her on a walk. Along ledges. In the Rockies. In the winter. In a snowstorm. In enough feet of snow that when she falls, she's not broken to bits, just a bit sore and frost-bitten.

When she climbs out of the snow, her bf has disappeared. She manages to bungle to a cabin, where she finds the other passengers–but no boyfriend. And then people start dying. And decorating the big old pine outside like so many Christmas ornament glass orbs. Who is doing this? Why? And how can the survivors trust each other?

Christa, gods love her, just isn't that smart. She fits the traumatized thriller heroine to a T. She's not that interesting, but she's an all right person. The characters all feel fairly tropey, but they aren't cardboard cutouts. But there were a couple characters I could have told her from the very beginning she should trust. Her judge of character is lacking. Sure, maybe it's the circumstances, but I'd argue that she just isn't good judging people at all for her whole life.

Still, that sounds like I hate her. I don't. I was just frustrated by her thought processes. I quite liked some of the characters, like nice guy Hutch. He's actually pretty decent and datable. I also liked Denny, to an extent.

But adding to Christa's distress is not only the murders and murder displays, but the fact that her boyfriend has disappeared in the storm. Then...spoiler...they find his body, with an engagement ring in the pocket. Poor Christa cannot catch a break.

There's mistaken identity, gore, murder, improbabilities found only in thrillers, and some fun frozen isolation distress. No matter the flaws, this was a grand time. If you actually LIKE thrillers, you'll probably like this quite a bit. It goes down very easily, although some might balk at the Christmas ornament heads–but I'm a horror girl, so I like that.

Even for me, who reads thrillers and almost always hates them–with a few rare exceptions–enjoyed reading this. Probably because Ms. Coates can write horror too. My main issues are mostly because of the genre itself, not because of Ms. Coates. I think she succeeded with the expectations of the thriller genre. The horror elements I loved. The thriller elements will never be my favorite, but again, that's not her fault. She succeeded in characterization, mystery, and action. She succeeded in improbably thriller plot whilst juggling multiple characters.

There were a couple grammatical errors that would just need to be corrected. Nothing major. The main issue would be actual travel through the Rockies in winter. There are places where it's impassable. I'm guessing wherever this takes place would also be impassable. Even in New England, there were places growing up in the White Mountains where the roads would be closed for the winter, because travelling was too dangerous. You would legit need a Snowcat, just like in The Shining. Which is not what they had. I'm guessing they would never have made it as far as they did in the winter in a bus. So logistically, this doesn't work. Nor is it that easy to decapitate someone, drag their carcass through feet of snow to a whole new place, and shove their decapitated head onto a tree branch. But I like the visual.

So good for thriller fans. For this not-fan of thrillers, still incredibly entertaining. Goes down easy, provides some grue, reads fast.

Thank you to the publisher and author for providing a digital ARC in exchange for a fair review.

A thrilling page-turner that will keep you guessing in this cold and twisted murder mystery punchbag.

I read this over a few hours. I could not put this down, when I tried to I found myself another chapter down. The main character is very likeable along with a strong supporting cast.

An unexpected 4/5 stars.

Thank you netgally for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Find the full review here.

Dead Of Winter is an upcoming thriller novel by best selling writer Darcey Coates, which I got an opportunity to read, thanks to an advance copy by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. I am reading Coates for the first time. The book is a locked door suspense mystery with cabin in the wood kind of horror elements heavily thrown in.

Story is narrated in the first person perspective of Christa. The narrative style of Coates puts the reader in the midst of the events. While reading through the eyes of Christa, we are aware of only that which she knows about. At the same time we are part of all the paranoia and anguish that she feels. This made me as a reader, more immersed and invested in her perilous journey.