From the Publisher
"Coates’s (The Twisted Dead) latest is a compelling page-turner for readers of horror and thriller fiction, in the vein of Dean Koontz and Stephen King. The writing is magnetic and descriptive in a way that will have readers shivering from both the cold and outright fear." — Library Journal
"The execution is fresh, scary, and—especially for readers who are even a little claustrophobic—deeply unsettling. Coates’ writing is so vivid that we can hear the winds buffeting the cabin, we can feel the bone-chilling cold, and we can smell the fear. Fine work." — Booklist
"A fast-paced thriller aimed at readers who enjoy a hunt." — Kirkus Reviews
Library Journal
05/01/2023
Christa expects a romantic winter getaway with boyfriend Kiernan and their small tour group at a remote lodge in the Rocky Mountains. She is hopeful that this trip will bring her and Kiernan closer and give her the opportunity to put some of her past demons to rest. The trip quickly turns nightmarish when a blizzard strands their bus and they are forced to seek shelter in an abandoned cabin. The 11 strangers believe that they'll be safe together until help arrives; however, nothing is as it seems. When their guide Brian goes missing, they begin to worry that their rescue is in jeopardy. Following the discovery of Brian's demise, the group quickly realizes a brutal killer intends to pick them off one by one. Christa has to decide whom she can trust, if these killings are random or connected, and how to make it out alive. VERDICT Coates's (The Twisted Dead) latest is a compelling page-turner for readers of horror and thriller fiction, in the vein of Dean Koontz and Stephen King. The writing is magnetic and descriptive in a way that will have readers shivering from both the cold and outright fear.—Linsey Milillo
Kirkus Reviews
2023-04-11
A winter mountain getaway goes horribly wrong when a small group is stranded in the snow and a gruesome killer picks them off one by one.
It was supposed to be a romantic getaway in the Rocky Mountains for Christa Bailey and her boyfriend, Kiernan. But when their private tour bus breaks down on the way to the Blackstone Alpine Lodge, Christa finds herself trapped in the woods and separated from Kiernan. After being rescued by other members of the group, who had been strangers to her until that day, Christa is determined to go back out into the woods to find Kiernan and bring him to safety. But the snowdrifts are high, and even the few members of the group who want to support Christa’s rescue mission know it’s a fool’s errand. Tour guide Brian convinces Christa to leave a lantern as a beacon for Kiernan, and the group prepares to hunker down for the night in a little cabin they’ve found unlocked and vacant, perhaps their last piece of good luck. Christa has a premonition—“We’re all going to die here”—and by morning, this isn’t just a feeling anymore. Brian, their best hope for rescue, is missing, and when the group searches for him, they find his head impaled on a tree, a branch sticking out of his lifeless mouth. Her worst fears justified, Christa is equally terrified and resigned when whoever killed Brian starts targeting the other survivors in a graphically grim take on a locked-room mystery.
A fast-paced thriller aimed at readers who enjoy a hunt ending with a head on a stake.
