Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

I know Darcy Coates for her horror books and this thriller didn’t disappoint. Addictive and intense, it was impossible to stop reading.

A tour group is heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains. Christa is looking for a chance to put old ghosts to rest, but things don’t exactly go has planned. A snowstorm leaves the group stranded halfway to the resort, and they are forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Things go from bad to worse when their guide goes missing and they find their head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. There’s a killer on the loose, and they seem to be just in the beginning of a killing spree. One by one, the number of survivors dwindles, and Christa must decide who she can trust and identify the killer before they come for her.

Darcy Coates is a great writer and an expert in creating atmospheric and creepy settings. The claustrophobia, the mounting psychological pressure, and the horror of not knowing if the killer is part of the group or not, it created the perfect winter horror story.

The chapters are short, and the pace of the story is great.

We see it all through Christa’s POV, the protagonist. She’s a great main character and very believable. She has her own demons but decided to face her fears and take this trip, only for it to be a complete nightmare. Even so, despite her moments of pure fear and panic (I mean, who wouldn’t?), she remains rational and doesn’t stop trying to think of ways to keep them alive and find out who is killing them and why.

I had my suspicions about who the killer was, but in the end, it was surprise and so was the motive.

Creepy, atmospheric, and addictive, I recommend it to anyone who loves a good thriller.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the E-ARC!