How Bad Things Can Get by Darcy Coates

 

How Bad Things Can Get by Darcy Coates - 384 pages

It was supposed to be the party of the miles of idyllic white sand beaches, lush jungle foliage...and a dark legend nobody dreamed might be all too true.

When an online influencer and several hundred of his most loyal fans land on Prosperity Island, the plan is five days of elaborate games, drinking, and suntanned fun.

A week in paradise should have been a welcome respite. The only survivor of an infamous cult, Ruth wants nothing more than to keep her head down and not draw attention. She's spent decades outrunning her blood-soaked childhood, and her identity is a closely held secret.

But then the true history of the island is revealed…along with its sinister connection to Ruth's past. As guests go missing and games turn deadly, Ruth and the rest of the attendees are forced to question whether they've really been invited to paradise...or whether something much darker―and far bloodier―is waiting for them just beyond the bonfire's light.

Normally I think of Darcy Coates as the Freida McFadden of horror, but I was surprised that this book actually had some bloody, gory parts, which is fine by me. This was a good story but I wasn't a huge fan of Ruth.  I felt that she was portrayed as weak or meek but she survived a cult; it takes a strong individual to do that.  Anyway, it was a good book, glad I read it.

Ghost Camera by Darcy Coates

 

Ghost Camera by Darcy Coates - 118 pages

A small number of cameras have the ability to capture ghosts on film. This gift comes at a steep price; the ghosts are resentful and hungry, and the cameras offer them a rare chance to reach their favourite prey… humans.

Jenine didn’t know any of this when she found an abandoned Polaroid camera in a lighthouse. At first she assumes the ghostly shapes in the photos are a glitch or a prank – but then the spirits begin to hunt her down, and she’s forced into a deadly race to free herself from the camera’s curse.

This is a nice, quick, spooky read.  I enjoyed re-reading it!

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

 Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates, 345 pages

On a trip to an isolated mountain resort, a group of strangers are swept together by an unexpected snow storm. 

Mild spoiler: one of the things I liked about this work by this particular author is the fact the murderer, the catalyst of the panic and mayhem, is human. Most of Coates' antagonists are creatures of the supernatural. While ghosts and ghouls can be frightening, the thought of what humans can do to each other casts a new light on the narrative.

 

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates - 384 pages

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 like how each of the characters are described, each one is very different. The main character, Christa, is still recovering from a traumatic event that occurred two years past, and how the author ties that event into the story is fantastic! As the story progresses, she gets stronger and braver. There are so many twists and turns in the book, it kept me interested. I really enjoyed the ending; I didn't quite see it coming but had my suspicions. This book keeps you guessing all the way to the end, I would definitely recommend!

The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates

 The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates, 328 pages

Following the death of her mother and being evicted from her home, Adrienne gets thrown a lifeline: she discovers she has inherited a house from an aunt she never knew existed. But once Adrienne moves into her new home, she quickly realizes that there's something not right about the house. Cryptic messages are scratched into tables and walls, a solitary gravestone stands alone in the woods, and jarring images darken Adrienne's dreams. As Adrienne unwinds all the threads of mystery surrounding her home and her family, she discovers an awful truth about Ashburn House's dead.  

The first third of the novel seems to stretch out unnecessarily, but once the story starts moving, it does not stop. The writing had a solid balance that helped bridge the reader between the drama of Adrienne's uprooted life and the horrors that play out at Ashburn House. While it doesn't end perfectly tied in a bow, the story wraps up with enough information to satisfy. I don't read a lot of horror, but this novel makes me curious about the rest of Coates' work.