Fever House felt like a film noir in book form. It was giving Grindhouse and Pulp Fiction with a paranormal horror twist. There's a small time criminal/bagman, a has-been rockstar widow and her son, a shady black-ops government agency, and a severed hand that drives anyone near it literally mad. I will just say this, don't get too attached to any character in this book, although I think that's going to be nearly impossible because they are all so fleshed out and you will want to root for them, even the shady ones. My only complaint was that even though there was a great cast of characters it was hard to keep up with all of them, and it took me a really long time to finish this book because it just had a lot going on in it. I would love seeing this made into a movie though. Keith Rosson, link up with Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez please.

Thank you Netgalley, Random House, and Keith Rosson for the eARC.

Fever House is out now!

First, I want to thank NetGalley and Random House for allowing me access to an eARC in exchanged for my honest review.

Fever House is a journey that never goes the way you expect, and it all starts with the hand. A hand and partial forearm hidden in a freezer in a small, run-down apartment. The mystery of why that hand is there is only a small part of the story, but of much greater importance is what that hand can do to you if you hang around it for too long.

Although this premise hits the nail on the head for a great opening to a horror story, Fever House is a lot more than that. First, this is the beginning of a series that I hope will continue to shed light on the dark history of the “Artifacts”, the hand being only the first of several mysteriously powerful dark objects. Second, though truly engaging and dipping a toe into traditional horror, Fever House often seems more like a Noir or Neo Noir than strictly horror. The story also includes a lot of layer peeling, with flashes to characters' pasts and slowly illuminating their histories and motivation.

Critically, I can only say that because of the noir feel the pace seems to plod a bit more than a lot of other horror, but ultimately it is all very engaging. I also felt a little let down by the setup for the second book. This is the point where a noir would reveal where all the clues were really leading, and we’d get maybe a small sense of closure, but it felt like there were still quite a few loose threads. This again is more of a personal preference than a truly unsatisfying ending. Ultimately, I want to start reading the next book, so mission accomplished.

In summation, If you like something a bit occulty, with some shady government types, and nuanced family mystery thrown in, then you will probably enjoy Fever House. I am eagerly anticipating the second installment.

Fever House is easily one of my favorite horror books of the year, and probably one of my favorites of all time.

A brief synopsis won't cut it for this one, and I honestly don't know how to describe the plot. It's a mix of supernatural horror and noir crime – sort of like Constantine mixed with an S. A. Cosby novel. It's gory, gruesome, cinematic, original. We have a ton of characters and different POVs, but they're not hard to keep track of because they all have vivid personalities. If I opened to a chapter at random, I could tell you whose POV it is based on the writing style. That's some great characterization. (Side note, the female characters are really well developed.)

My review is kind of all over the place, but that's because Fever House is just so original and hard to describe. When I want to read horror, this is exactly the type of book I'm hoping for.

I did receive an ARC from Netgalley, but I went out and bought a physical copy because I loved it so much :)

I read many reviews that called this book metal, and that is very appropriate. It hit differently than the other zombie/outbreak books I have read.

Fever House by Keith Rosson takes a dash of rock n’ roll, the happening, and world war z and throws them in a blender and it is wonderful….until it isn’t. There is a lot going on here government conspiracy, remote viewing, subliminal messages attached to a rock song, and trying to find the artifacts causing everything unhinged in Portland. The biggest problem is the ending. It just stops completely

Fever House by Keith Rosson
Genre: Sci-fi horror suspense
A small-time criminal. A has-been rock star. A shadowy government agency. And a severed hand whose dark powers threaten to destroy them all.

There is so much going on in the book. You get so many POVs. The following of mobs, government agency’s, rock and roll, science fiction, demonic possession. It’s such a wild ride and the title is perfect for it. The concept of the Fever House is excellent. The narration also Fantastic. The character development was great. The pacing was perfect throughout the book.

This was a really interesting story and I enjoyed the humor and gore but the ending didn't work for me.

Fever House is a fever dream - gritty, dirty, bloody, scary. It left me with a buzzing in my head that will be with me for a while, I'm sure of it. It explodes straight out of the gate with rage, and it doesn't let up. There are secret agents, severed limbs, riots, songs with subliminal messaging, complicated histories. It starts with a hand that seems to have a deleterious effect on anyone in possession of it - and on anyone in near proximity. The hand exchanges possession several times and leaves wreckage in its wake wherever it goes, and there's not much more I can say that will do this book any justice. I didn't see the end coming at all.

I took my time with this book because I didn't want it to end, but I had no issues with the pacing - it was neither too fast nor too slow. I felt each character was given plenty of attention, but I still find myself wanting to know *more* about them and the shitstorm Rosson created. The end of Fever House left enough room that I feel there could be a sequel in the works, but if not, I will just have to play this one on repeat, over and over and over and

When asked (I’m never asked), I’m happy to share that William Gibson is perhaps my favorite living prose stylist. Gibson’s sentences are razor sharp, crystalline, and muscular, while still remaining beautiful. Gibson stacks these diamond sentences one atop the other and builds whole sprawling worlds.

There’s more than a little of that Gibson-like prose in Keith Rosson’s powerhouse novel Fever House. Many things propelled me through this awesome, violent wonder of a book, but I wanted to take a second to acknowledge that at least one of those things was the tight, unsparing, often beautiful prose.

The conceit of the book is simple enough on its surface. Two mob enforcers go to rough up a junkie for the money he owes their boss. The junkie won’t leave without what he’s got in the freezer. What he has in the freezer is a severed hand that affects everyone in its immediate radius with a “blood fog,” feelings of anger and violence that might be turned against others or one’s self. Our enforcers take the hand. Things go very, very badly.

It turns out that the hand is just one “asset” that was, until very recently, owned by a government shadow agency that uses any number of these supernatural items (and creatures) to gather intelligence. Or maybe it's all to consolidated the power of agent Lundy, the sadistic head of this organization bent on retrieving the hand before all hell breaks loose.

All hell breaks loose.

The opening chapters of Fever House give the reader a distinct feeling of being pulled roughly along by the hand. Short chapters, multiple points of view, and constant brutal action moves everything forward at a propulsive speed.

But about a hundred pages in, rather than being propelled forward, the reader is dropped down a hole. This hole is filled with deep characterization, lore, and intricate connections undreamed of in the opening of the novel. Characters introduced, one suspects, to move the plot forward, that is, to deliver a cursed hand to its next owner, becomes the center of the story, this story spidering out in a hundred directions, in a novel that contains plenty of violence but also family connections, riffs on punk music, psychics, fallen angels, and a city (Portland, Oregon) that has descended into violent chaos.

Rosson’s similarities in prose is not the only connection to William Gibson either. In terms of world building, Fever House, just as much as a sci-fi epic like Neuromancer, drops us into a world that is alien and new, and just lets that world unspool before us. There also happens to be lots of espionage, hackers, and clandestine meetings with salt of the earth people who just happen to have their ear to the pulse of a shadow world that no one suspects exists.

All of this resolves, or refuses to resolve, into something like a zombie apocalypse, but this apocalypse looks eerily familiar. The moment that Portland police are firing at civilians with live ammunition, all while cracking jokes, the parallels to the real-world turmoil of recent years is cemented. The world of Fever House is much like our own: organized and policed by sadists and fools, while the populace is fed a thousand and one poisonous transmissions.

In the end, Fever House is a story about a family torn apart, about trauma and grief, all coated in a sticky-sweet coating of blood and gore. It goes down smooth.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is action packed and fasted paced. I absolutely loved how unique this was and the final twist shook me. There is so much going on here, and this is where I had a few issues. We have occultism, devil hand, fever house, mobs, rogue government agencies, rock bands, riots, police brutality, possible apocalypse, crime drama, crazed collectors, hostages, and on and on. Just ended up being too much for me. I got a bit uninterested at parts because it was throwing a lot at you from numerous POVs. The gore and horror are definitely good, and I overall enjoyed this one. I just feel it could’ve been even better with a bitter more editing.

Also, loved the Murfreesboro shout out! (MTSU alum)

Also, also, I listened to the audiobook along with the ARC, and please do not use the audiobook for this. I don’t know what happened with the narrator, but it is nearly impossible to understand what they are saying even while reading along.

Fever House by Keith Rosson was a high-octane, roller coaster ride. Told from multiple perspectives with action galore, I absolutely adored the cinematic sequencing of this read. You will fall in love with the character development, varying perspectives, and action-packed adventure that is the project of this book.... and let's not forget the hand, oh boy... buckle up!

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This should’ve been so good but it was extremely dull the way it was written. It unfortunately didn’t hold my interest even if there was some violence. It’s hard to explain but even though a lot happened, it felt like nothing did. I think I’m just disconnected from this authors writing sadly.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book!

At times I am stunned by a novel; at other times I'm metaphorically head-scratching and mouthing, "Whattttt?" I've read a huge number of Weird books over many decades--but this one? I don't know what to say! These two days as I read, I've commented a couple times on social media as to how off-the-wall is Fever House. Reading this novel induced fever in me [as in its characters], thankfully not the same nor to the massive Apocalyptic extent that occurs in the Novel. I feel like I need to go read some simple, mundane, implacable Creature Feature in order to cleanse my stunned and speechless palate.

So here's what I think:

I am constantly shaking my head, because this book is SO bizarre, it's flat-out Weird, it's hard-core Splattery, and it's just so OUT THERE, because the geographical settings are realistic, the cultural background is in tune, Societal stuff resonates, yet beyond,below, and above all that is all-fired Occult Weird! Not that I necessarily think anything Occult is weird, I've been reading such all my life, but this? I think even Aleister Crowley might pale.

I certainly have. Beware before you even open this book: you, and these characters, will NOT emerge the same as you went in. Not at all, and not where.

Fever House was a wild and strange ride...but I loved it! From the beginning you are thrust into the action and this plot does not let up. The characters were gritty, the hand gave me nightmares, and there some seriously gory scenes that made me a bit queasy. Honestly, this book had it all! I would highly recommend this to any and all horror fans.

Phew this was a wild ride. A very fresh approach to this type of story. The writing was superb and I found myself highlighting so much of this book.

The story felt natural and not forced. The book itself seemed longer than it actually is. I look forward to the sequel.

4 Stars!

I went into Fever House by Keith Rosson with no expectations. I really did not know what to expect but I liked the cover and the synopsis made it sound like a violent and action-packed read. That cover did not lie and I was in for one Hell of a ride.



Hutch Holtz was hired muscle for the mob in Portland, Oregon, and the job seemed like just another day of work for him. He went to the drug dealer’s apartment to collect money owed to his boss. It was just another job, and then it changed his world. The dealer was acting strange and then Hutch found the hand in the freezer. Hutch immediately felt the power of the hand working on his mind, trying to get him to act out his most animalistic urges, and knows he must get rid of it. That is easier said than done as he is tracked down by a government agency searching for the hand as well as those who are becoming deranged by its power. Not knowing what to do, Hutch turns to Nick, a man known for getting things, rare and even dark things, for those who had the money and power to collect anything their dark hearts desired. Nick knew how to get things, so he surely would know what to do with the hand.



With all of the forces working against him, Nick disposes of the hand and hopes that will set him free from its effects. What he does not know, however, is that the hand is tied to his mother, once the lead singer in a band whose biggest hit has forever been tied to the hand’s power. The government soon closes in on her and Nick and his mother find themselves in the middle of a “Fever House” that could destroy the world. Will they be able to find out the secret on the hand in time to save mankind?



Fever House starts with a bang and Rosson never lets off the gas. This is a high-octane story that easily flows from one action scene to another. It is easy to get lost in the flow of the story because it comes so fast and so furious that the reader is given very little chance to catch their breath. There is a feast of action topped with a heavy dose of violence that could turn off some readers, but Fever House is quite simply a supernatural action/thriller of the highest level. While it checks in at a hefty 448 pages, it does not read as a long novel. Rosson weaves music into the story throughout so it almost feels as if the book has its own soundtrack as it roars through the story. If there is a book that can be said to be read like an action movie, this novel fits that mold to perfection. Rosson takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of a violent world and keeps the hits coming from the first page to the last.



If there is one criticism that I could make of this novel, it is that there may be a little too much focus on the action and not enough story development for my taste. While I could understand the basic ideas to some extent, Rosson does not take time to flesh out the story and it felt a little shallow at times. This is easily glossed over by the convergence of the hand (and other body parts) of Satan, zombie, a rock goddess, and more small-time gangsters than you can shake a stick at. I still would have liked to see a little more backstory development to pull everything together more cleanly, but it is easy to forgive this oversight in the midst of everything that is going on. There are times in which Fever House reads like Rosson is playing with some new toys, but it works overall. This novel is recommended for any reader with a taste for the supernatural and a high tolerance for violence. If your stomach is strong enough, Fever House is quite simply one hell of a ride.



I would like to thank Random House and NetGalley for this review copy. Fever House is available now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House publishing for this opportunity to read rate and review this arc in exchange for my honest opinion. This book is available now!

Ok. When I got this arc it gave me Idle Hands vibes but oh boy was it so so much more! It has mafia, a shadowy agency, an evil hand, devilry and a mafia fixer and his mom at the heart of it. This hand could end the very world because it induces uncontrollable madness to those around it.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a fast paced read that never once let up. I couldn’t put it down. I’m excited for book two. Katherine and Nick are going to have an even wilder ride in book 2 and I cannot wait!

3.5 stars, rounded up. This book has such an interesting premise: remnants, holy relics of devils, enflame the sensibilities of those who come in contact with them. One is unexpectedly come upon and national havoc ensues.

It took me a little bit to get into this book: there are POVs from 6 main characters plus the occasional interlude of someone else and, while their stories intersect at times, they are largely left to their own devices to figure out what the hell is going on. The characters are all unique and incredibly interesting, but I think the author focused a bit too much on their backstories and not enough time invested in the actual plot. There are a significant number of loose ends and key plot points that just aren't resolved - the book has an open ending, leaving the reader to fill in whatever horrific ending they want, but there are other elements that could be resolved but aren't.

Ultimately the characters are really the breakout star of this story, and the plot loosely follows them around. Still interested in checking out more of Rosson's other works.

Thanks to NetGalley, Keith Rosson, and Random House Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I only had access to the digital copy but I feel like this would be perfect in audio version.

The blurb does a good job in setting up the expectation without being overblown. I highly recommend reading it beforehand.

There are so many moving pieces as well as a multitude of players and as we move through the story connections are being made. Each character comes with its own exposition and a background context but the author refrains from being self indulgent and manages to beautifully create depth without meandering. Inevitably, most readers will find some storylines more interesting than others. It all feels elaborate but the pacing, especially in the first half, moves the story along really well. I did lose some of the interest in the second half especially when it becomes clear that the end is a set up to a part 2.

I did not quite understand this book if I’m being honest. The cover is awesome but I don’t think the horror elements were what I was expecting. I would maybe try this author again.