Dead of Winter: A Locked-Room Snowstorm Thriller of Survival

USA TODAY BESTSELLER * JULY 2023 LIBRARYREADS SELECTION

It's not the snow you should fear--it's the person next to you.

Christa hoped a retreat to the Rocky Mountains would help her escape her haunted past, but a brutal snowstorm strands her in an abandoned cabin with eight strangers--and a killer who won't stop until no one is left.

From the very first page, Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates plunges you into bone-chilling isolation and a relentless fight for survival. This visceral locked-room horror blends graphic, inventive suspense with an atmosphere so intense you'll feel the icy air and hear every creak in the darkness. The claustrophobic cabin becomes a trap, where trust is a luxury no one can afford, and betrayal lurks behind every fearful glance.

If you crave snowstorm survival and unrelenting dread, this is your next obsession.

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Published Jul 11, 2023

352 pages

Average rating: 6.98

207 RATINGS

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What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

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Readers say *Dead of Winter* is a fast-paced, atmospheric thriller with a chilling isolated setting that many find engrossing and suspenseful. Reviewe...

Ashwe2011
Jul 06, 2025
8/10 stars
I read this book because I saw it on Instagram. So I wasn't sure what I was going to get, but I was very surprised. I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down and normally I am really good at figuring out the end. I mean I did kind of figure it out but I was still shocked at the end.
Andrea-The Shelf Life Books
Jul 03, 2025
8/10 stars
This Is an action packed, fast paced, Isolated, edge of your seat thriller. I love this Trope. I didn’t allow myself to read It at night, because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to put It down!

Christa and her boyfriend, along with a group of travelers are heading to the Rocky Mountains to stay at a lodge. When the storm moves in and continues to hammer the area, their bus has to stop and pull over. A tree has fallen over blocking the road. Stranded in the bitter cold, the travelers must find shelter and fast. When they set out, they find an abandoned cabin and take shelter trying to wait out the storm.

After Christa is injured and her boyfriend goes missing in the snow, Christa wakes up in the cabin with the other. Sometime that night, their tour guide went missing. Did he go for help? Has he found a way to get to the lodge? Or is there something more sinister going on?

Tension mounts as anger builds. The travelers begin looking at each other knowing they are the only ones there. Is one of them a killer? They must get out of there before It’s too late.
I gave this book a 4 star rating and would recommend to those of us who love Isolated thrillers.

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press, The Author,Darcy Coates as well as NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Dead of Winter.
doubleokay
Feb 22, 2026
6/10 stars
3.5
Taylor1987
Jan 11, 2026
10/10 stars
Incredible book! Really kept me guessing the whole time. However, it's important to note that it is gory so if that's not your thing, I don't recommend. But other than that, it's great!
MichaelAngelo88
Jul 11, 2025
8/10 stars
Great book of short stories, each with a captivating plot keeping me coming back for more.

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