Publication Date: July 2023
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.
I was really pumped to read Dead of Winter. I had really high hopes that I would love it. I love "stranded in a cabin with strangers" mysteries. Unfortunately, this one did not live up to my expectations. It was OK... but not great. I called the ending very early on because the "twist" was glaringly obvious. The story is told only through the eyes of Christa. I think this was a mistake. The suspense would have been better had we had more than one point of view. I also found Christa a bit tiring to spend time with because she made really bad decisions sometimes. The one thing I did really like was the level of gore and the cold creepy atmosphere. I haven't had a good horror novel with good gore in a while. It's not a bad book, it's just not what I was hoping for. I think fans of this author will really enjoy this one.
I really like the atmosphere of this one, but I fear I would spoil the twist for myself, too.
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