Dead Of Winter

Happy Wednesday!

I hope you’re having an amazing week so far! I’ve been reading a few books sporadically this week, but today’s main read is Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates. A fun, wintery slasher that has me completely enthralled. I’m excited to tell you guys about it when I’m done! Keep scrolling to read the synopsis, as well as my current commentary.

What It’s About

From bestselling author Darcy Coates comes Dead of Winter, a remote cabin in the snowy wilderness thriller that will teach you to trust no one. There are eight strangers. One killer. Nowhere left to run.

When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she’s hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the small group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes they’ll be safe as they wait out the storm.

She couldn’t be more wrong.

Deep in the night, their tour guide goes missing…only to be discovered the following morning, his severed head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. Terrified and completely isolated by the storm, 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 dwindles one by one, Christa must decide who she can trust before this frozen mountain becomes her tomb.

Thoughts So Far

***Possible Spoilers below

This month’s Mystery pick for my local book club was Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates, and once I saw the author, I knew I was definitely participating this month. Having already read a handful of her supernatural standalones, I knew this book was gonna be a good one; a snowstorm? A ruthless killer? Um, yes, please!

I’m about halfway through the book, and I’m enjoying it. I’m unable to determine who I think the killer is or what their motives might be. As of right now, I feel as if it might be Alexis, just for the fact that she is the only one exhibiting more “innocent” qualities and blends into the background. Considering everyone in the group is a stranger, I’m wondering if the motive is about opportunity or revenge. Perhaps everyone in the tour group is somehow connected.

My heart broke for Christa when she discovered Kiernan’s body, especially after what she found in his pocket. Devastating and heartwrenching. Honestly, if I were in her shoes, not sure I’d recover from that turmoil.

The vibes I’m getting from this book are similar to season two of Slasher. If you’re not familiar with the show, it’s an anthology tv series that focuses each season around a new killer and characters, each more gory than the last. In season two, titled “Guilty Party,” a group of old camp counselors reunited to find the remains of a former coworker they killed years prior when they discovered the land was being redeveloped. When they went to the burial site and the remains were gone, they panicked and decided to stay in the nearby “resort” while they waited. Snowed in and in the middle of nowhere, a killer began picking them off one by one as revenge for their discretion. Dead of Winter reminds me of this immensely, and I am loving it. Can’t wait to see who is chopping off people’s heads!

Hope you have a great rest of your week!

♡ G&P