😱Road trip blown away by mind games🚧

2.5🌟 stars
Not an enjoyable read for me (I guess, maybe, it's not supposed to be?) as four women friends enroute to a vacation getaway find the traumas of their childhood reverberating when they take a dangerous detour on an Oregon road to danger and madness. I made it to the end, yes, but found the journey incoherent, largely thanks to an unreliable narrator.

And the timeline for the journey just felt too drawn out; I was not a fan of how time and progress seemed to slow like molasses.

Livie, the narrator and principal character, lived through a devilish childhood with a subdued, abused mother and a brutal, sadistic father. Physically she got away but psychologically her fear of her father has lived on and, when road troubles bubble up, old fears seize her. Something about this detour unleashes anomalies and creepy times rule the road with each woman finding her deepest insecurities tapped.

The story goes back and forth between present day and significant moments in their childhood. Knowledge of the four women's childhood becomes key to understanding how this road trip is unfolding.

This was not to my taste but it is unpredictable and full of thrills and chills and may appeal to horror enthusiasts.

Thanks to Tor Publishing for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Review shared on 3/10/25 with Waterstones, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads and Bookbub. To be shared on kobo and Google Play upon publication.

This book was a pleasant surprise.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, as it was a quick read and a good time.

I had such high hopes for this book. I enjoyed the author's previous book Black Tide, and thought that White Line Fever would be a slam dunk for me. It has such an intriguing premise - friends headed to a weekend getaway decide to take a shortcut. A shortcut that will take them on County Road 951 which is infamously known as The Devil’s Driveway. From the name alone, I knew something sinister was going to happen! I was all in for that! But sadly, this one just did not work for me.

I was hoping to be horrified, scared, creeped out, and left fearing dark, dark roads. This book just failed to deliver for me. Were my hopes too high? Was I hoping for more as the friends took this dark ride down memory lane where the traumas of their past awaited them? Perhaps.

Even learning more as the book traveled through the present and gave glimpses back in time, just wasn't enough to garner a higher rating from me. The writing was descriptive and the characters were well drawn, but the story just wasn't for me.. Others are enjoying this book more than I did so please read their reviews as well.

This one started out pretty strong and I was hooked! Definitely gave lots of creepy vibes!! 🙌

Unfortunately, as the story progressed, some of those creepy moments never went anywhere and I started to lose interest. 🫠 Overall, this was a decent read; just wished the vibes I got in the beginning stayed all the way through!

Like always, not every book is for every person, so you may enjoy this more than I did! Feel free to check it out, especially if you like urban legends! 🤓

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

Well-written horror.

The author skillfully crafted a tight-knit group of friends, including Livia, Morgan, Ash, and Becka. The author cleverly incorporated traumatic events from the characters’ pasts to develop the plot, providing a rich backstory for them. The story begins with the introduction of a significant character, “the road,” setting the stage for a series of ominous events. Every aspect of the narrative leads readers towards a dark and foreboding conclusion. I couldn’t help but feel goosebumps and jump at every creak in my house while reading this book.

This review is entirely voluntary and reflects my personal opinions.

Usually, I enjoy alternating timelines, but the past with this one wasn’t interesting, and it feels like it was added in after the book was finished to make it longer.

Ash is the worst, the absolute worst. Which shows she was written well because she grated on my every nerve.

However, who doesn’t love a good haunting? And a haunted road is such a fun tale to tell. I enjoyed how the women were prayed upon, their fears brought to life. Ultimately, I like how this one turned into such a fun read.

I LOVED KC Jones’ debut Black Tide, so I’m a bit bummed I didn’t love this quite as much. I don’t mind unlikable characters in this genre but I really didn’t find anyone worth rooting for her. The book also felt like it was just doing too much. If you enjoy roadtrips gone wrong, paranormal horror, and overcoming childhood trauma then this is absolutely still worth checking out. I’ll still check out Jones’ next book!

This is my first read from K.C. Jones and this is definitely a suspenseful book.

This book takes place on the morbid Devil's Driveway road in the middle of Oregon. Why morbid? Bad things happens on this road. So, naturally, some young women decide to hop on the road - what could go wrong?

Interestingly the book starts off very fast pace as we make our way to Devil's Driveway with our main characters, four friends in their thirties: Livia, Ash, Morgan (Mo), and Becka (Becks). The group starts seeing things and parts of their past bubble up to the surface. But once on the road the pace feels to slow down, and that might also be because the story is told on two timelines (present and when they were young teens).

The relationships of the four women is a big part of the story but I was here for the scares. Even though I did get quite a few suspenseful moments (those poor women) but the ending wasn't what I was expecting,

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy for review.

What fun this was! Truly a road trip from Hell!

I really enjoyed our characters, though at times I wanted to shake them. They made some...choices.

The book does have a lot of flashbacks. I found myself invested in them, but found they resolved with a bit of a whimper. I understand why the author ended that storyline the way they did. I just found myself yearning for a little old school retribution.

The book is fast paced, dark, and definitely worth the read!

<i>"The Devil’s Driveway might be only 15 miles, but with danger at every turn, it will take the four women to the very limits of their friendships and their sanity."</i>

So states the cover blurb on this road-trip-from-hell horror novel by new-to-me author K.C. Jones. And it certainly packed danger at every turn for four childhood friends who decide to take a weekend getaway to a high class spa on the other side of the Oregon Cascade mountains. Except, of course, that they take a "short cut" road that should have been chained shut, and end up reliving and hallucinating every childhood spook and haunt, from abusive fathers to abusive husbands and mothers-in-law. K.C. Jones can most certainly write a hellacious spooky scene, and there were some downright eerie spots in the novel. However, after a while the 15 miles seemed like 15 years, as after each passing meter the women flashed back to their childhood fears and recollections. Ultimately, at the halfway point, I realized that <spoiler>the author doesn't intend to kill anyone in strange and supernatural ways (maybe that's because of gender-bias?), </spoiler>and I felt a little cheated by the book.

I believe I would have enjoyed the story much better if it were not so long. The spooky hijinks became a tad bit repetitive after a while, knowing that <spoiler>these four ladies would get to the other side of the road. </spoiler>

Overall, however, a goodread, and my thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publishers for their trust in my fair review for an early read. Rock on!

Elements not clicking, White Line Fever has fragments of compelling moments, but overall it's a rather dull amalgamation of mismatched ideas that doesn't quite present their potential (is it a serious self-discovery drama about childhood trauma? Or a schlocky horror?). Even though the focus of its premise is a stretch of abandoned highway with supernatural presence, the narrative on top feels incidental, and I constantly question why the author choose to tell this story using such setting, when there are other more alternatives than having characters repeatedly hallucinate while stagnantly trapped in their vehicles.

Driving down an unfamiliar, empty road alone is such a visceral experience in real life, but I've yet to encounter a novel that fully translate that sense of dread/distress into words (Murder Road by Simone St. James is another one that didn't work for me), White Line Fever simply doesn't grip me with its repetitive plot progression, uninteresting characters, and typical supernatural depiction—a middle-of-the-road, just readable paranormal thriller.

County Road 951, aka The Devil’s Driveway, has been closed for five years. The once-scenic bypass was replaced by a larger highway, and eventually was shut down due to lack of traffic and funding for repairs. Over the years, a rumor began to form that the 15-mile stretch of road was haunted by all who had died on it - and the number of people who died on it is not insignificant…

When Livia finds out that her husband has been cheating on her, it becomes the perfect time for a girls trip to talk things out and decide what her next steps should be. Her best friends since youth, Ash, Becka and Morgan, decide to take her to a rustic resort for some bonding time, but on the drive there, they hit some traffic. That’s when their GPS tells them about a shortcut that they decide to take…right down County Road 951.

Not long before the girls began their trek, a group of people looking to make a viral video also decided to go down the road. The difference is that they knew the rumors and went anyway, by themselves, at night. Let’s just say that there were consequences. Eventually, the link between the two groups comes together, but the majority of this story is about the four friends - “The Scoundrels” as they used to be known.

Once the women turn into the road, they quickly lose satellite access to their GPS, and of course there is no cell service. Still, it’s only 15 miles and the GPS told them to turn there - what could happen? Let’s just start with hallucinations (or were they?) taking them back to their pasts. They’re hearing things that aren’t there, seeing people who aren’t there, and why is it taking so long to go 15 miles?! The haunted turn up soon after, and unfortunately, they aren’t friendly ghosts.

The beginning of this started slow, but as the story continued down the road (haha), the suspense started to ratchet up and this became quite creepy. I think some things could have been shortened, and I wish the two groups had spent a good amount of time together, but overall, I thought this was a spine-chilling and uniquely original story. The tone in the beginning is miles away from the tone at the end, and you’ll be there for the whole thing! 3.5 stars, rounded up.

(Thank you to Tor Nighfire, K.C. Jones and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on March 18, 2025.)

K.C. Jones' White Line Fever is a novel that takes a well-worn horror trope—“Hey, let’s take the shortcut through the obviously haunted road!”—and attempts to inject it with existential dread, past trauma, and a hefty dose of bad decision-making. It’s an interesting premise: four lifelong friends on a road trip to escape real-life troubles stumble onto the infamous County Road 951, a.k.a. The Devil’s Driveway, a stretch of highway with a body count higher than a slasher film’s third act. Unfortunately, while White Line Fever has the bones of a solid horror story, it often feels like it's driving in circles, flashing its headlights at tension but never quite pulling up to the horror house.

Jones, who previously penned Black Tide, has a knack for atmospheric horror and a deep love for genre elements. With White Line Fever, he attempts a more psychological approach—blurring reality with hallucinations, forcing characters to confront their childhood demons, and making every wrong turn feel like a descent into madness. It’s an ambitious effort, though the execution wobbles between gripping and frustratingly sluggish.

Livia and her childhood best friends—Mo, Ash, and Becka—are on their way to a girls’ weekend at a resort, a much-needed reprieve from their personal disasters. Livia, in particular, is reeling from discovering her husband’s infidelity, so what better way to clear her mind than by speeding down a haunted highway? When they encounter road rage with an ominous tow truck (seriously, did no one learn from Duel?), they opt for a shortcut, guided by a GPS that must have been programmed by Satan himself.

Predictably, County Road 951 isn’t just some backroad inconvenience—it’s a supernatural meat grinder. Time warps, eerie hallucinations, and creeping dread ensue, with each woman being forced to relive past traumas in surreal, nightmarish ways. There’s a parallel timeline that takes us back to their youth, where they called themselves The Scoundrels, adding a coming-of-age flavor to the horror. But the big question lingers: will they make it out alive, or will they just become another set of names whispered in ghost-hunter YouTube videos?

Jones weaves heavy themes into the horror framework—particularly trauma, memory, and how our pasts shape our fears. The road itself acts as a metaphor for unresolved pain, serving up psychological torment.

The alternating timelines attempt to deepen the story, showing how childhood fears manifest in adulthood, but this structural choice is both a strength and a weakness. On one hand, it builds character depth; on the other, it frequently saps momentum from the present-day horror. White Line Fever tries to straddle psychological horror and supernatural spookiness, but it often lands in that middle ground where nothing feels fully realized. It’s scary, but not terrifying; introspective, but not deeply profound.

Jones is undeniably talented when it comes to creating an eerie atmosphere. The road itself is a brilliant setting—isolated, ever-changing, filled with whispered legends. The descriptive language is immersive, making you feel the claustrophobia of an unending, cursed highway. However, the pacing has all the grace of a drunk driver.

Many passages build up what feels like imminent horror, only for the tension to dissolve into nothing. It’s like being on a roller coaster that never quite drops. The dialogue, at times, feels genuine and lived-in, capturing the camaraderie of old friends, but there are moments where it dips into horror-movie cliché territory—characters making decisions so mind-numbingly bad you half-expect the Ghost of Common Sense to slap them upside the head.

Strengths
While the book suffers from pacing issues, there are undeniably strong elements:
- The Setting: A haunted stretch of road is always a fantastic horror backdrop, and Jones makes good use of its lore and creeping dread.
- The Psychological Angles: The way the road plays with perception and memory is genuinely unsettling at times.
- Character Development: While not always likable, the four leads have distinct personalities and realistic dynamics, which add emotional weight to their struggles.

Critiques
= Pacing Issues: The dual timelines, while interesting, often slow down the main narrative. The book builds tension repeatedly, only to let it fizzle out like a firework that didn’t quite ignite.
- Not Enough Scares: For a horror novel, White Line Fever is surprisingly light on true terror. It leans more into psychological horror, but even that could use more bite.
- The Ending: The conclusion is underwhelming—an abrupt finale that doesn’t quite match the buildup.

White Line Fever is a mixed bag. It has moments of brilliance, some haunting imagery, and well-crafted psychological horror, but it never fully capitalizes on its terrifying premise. Now that I think of it, it has some problems that parallel last year's This Wretched Valley but with far superior character development. It’s a novel that creeps around the edges of greatness but never quite steps into the headlights.

If you’re a fan of slow-burn horror that leans more into atmosphere than outright scares, this might be your jam. But if you’re looking for a book that will make you sleep with the lights on, you might want to take the next exit.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the free e-book in exchange for my honest review.

County Road 951 is a 15 mile stretch of roadway that is filled with ghosts and horror stories from accidents past. Its known as the Devil's Driveway. A group of girls make the mistake of taking County Road 951 as a detour around traffic and aggressive drivers when bizarrely strange things begin to happen. Will they make it out alive?

The setting is very atmospheric and the creep factor is high. But the pacing to me was slower than I like. I found myself skimming to get through the middle which dragged on for me. The characters are likable but there just was not much happening aside from the supernatural events.
While the book did not hit my psychological suspense buttons, I think fans of the supernatural/horror genre should definitely read it.

I loved the narrator here, and that's the only reason I made it as far as I did. It just felt so boring and a bit disjointed. I wanted way less of a slow burn and a lot more of what came in the prologue.

This story was horrifying, action packed, and suspenseful. The imagery was very visceral while also containing an emotional core. Jones expertly delves into the psyches of her characters which made me care about their predicament. The twists were inventive and exciting! This book holds the reader in its icy grip and doesn't let go.

White Line Fever: highway hypnosis, a trance-like, altered mental state induced by driving great distances or long periods of time.

This was one weird story, and not in a good kind of weird. It kind of reminded me (just a little) of those trips I took to visit my parents in OR (after they retired) driving from LA to Coos Bay, late at night, drinking coffee to stay awake and getting startled when the car tires wandered onto the gravel shoulder and getting weirded out at some of the strange things I would see out on the side of the roads. Yeah, I don’t drive like that anymore.

So, the book summary introduces the MC’s, four BFF’s since childhood (they’re in their 30’s now), Livia, Ash and Mo (sisters), and Becka (married to Ash) are driving to an OR resort for a girls weekend. Along the way, they decide to take a shortcut in an effort to get there faster. VERY BAD DECISION!!! It’s not long before a bunch of freaky things start happening that has all of them questioning their sanity, definitely regretting taking that shortcut, and praying that they make it back home alive.

The story flips back and forth between present-day and 20yrs ago, when they were tweens in some podunk town named Newberry and called themselves the Scoundrels. basically, spending their days just running around town getting into mischief and sneaking out at night doing what tween girls do when left to their own devices. There were so many passages where Jones was definitely building intensity and leading the reader (at least this reader) to some scary discovery or incident only to just……..nothing. Jones did this throughout most of the story. One disappointing passage after another.

By the halfway point, I seriously wanted to DNF the book, but I didn’t because I have an implied agreement with NetGalley to provide them with honest reviews. That and I kept hoping the story would get better and Jones would finally provide some substance to all that intensity he kept building up to but failing to ever deliver on. Anyway, the end came fast (thank goodness), in a bit of a mess, with the finale being kind of anticlimactic.

The character development of the MC’s was good, and that was probably the best part of the story. The MC’s were good characters and their relationships and life-long history were entertaining. The pacing was steady, and the storyline had potential to be something more than what it actually was – a little disappointing. The weakest link in this story was the writing. Once again, there was so much potential that just never came to fruition. This story was labeled as Horror on GR, but I would not label this story as horror, which is a good thing because I’m not a fan of the hardcore horror. On a scale of 1-5, 5 being horror-filled, this was maybe a 1-1.5. Anyway, I’m looking at an overall rating of 2.8 that I will round up to a 3star review.

I flipped back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook and I'm not sure which medium I would recommend more, probably the ebook. The audiobook narrator, Kate Handford, was very adept at building up that intensity that more times than not ended on a whimper. Whereas, in the book, the letdown didn’t seem as jarring. JMHO. I want to thank NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #TorPublishingGroup #MacmillanAudio #WhiteLineFever

Where do I begin? First off, I would not really consider this a thriller, more horror/paranormal if anything. Honestly, its been a very long time since I read anything in that genre so it was definitely different. Since I was looking for a good thriller, the premise for what I wanted was there, the delivery was not. However, it was different. I guess sometimes you need to step out of your normal and try other things. I did promise to immerse myself in other genres this year so this was a start.

Imagine going on a road trip with your girls, planning to hit up a nice resort, lots of drinking and catching up. In route, you end up in a road rage situation with someone that freaks you out a little so you all take a shortcut. The shortcut is supposed to get you to your destination in 15 minutes, instead you spend hours on a road that seems to grab hold and refuse to let go. I don't want to give too much away, so lets just say this, people on this road don't always make it out and those that do, are forever changed.

I really wanted to like this one, I really did. The premise sounded so promising. Sadly it was just too slow for me.

A weekend getaway turned into horror! I was interested to see how a 15 mile stretch of road could fill the length of an entire horror novel but it worked! This stretch of road speaks for itself, as it’s literally so renowned to be evil that it’s called the devil’s driveway. Just 30 miles round trip, 15 miles there and 15 miles back. How bad could it be? The ghost stories and numbers of tragedies beg to differ.

The strongest suit of this book is that it’s super visual and easy to picture. You can picture yourself driving at night, turning towards an unmarked, unlit road…the notorious County Road 951. Reading this almost gives found footage film vibes, like watching something similar to Blair Witch or something. A group of girls makes the mistake of taking a detour through County Road 951 and strange things start to happen, like apples falling from the sky (not scary but really random?). I liked the concept of the nightmare mile, which is the most dangerous part of the road, most of it made up of a tunnel. And in true horror novel fashion, they are forced to go through the tunnel to be able to get off of County Road 951.

My biggest qualm of this book is that it just….wasn’t scary enough. It just didn’t have the readability factor I wanted. A haunted stretch of highway is such an awesome concept that made me want to read this immediately, but it just….wasn’t scary. What I want in a horror novel is for it to be compulsively readable and this book just didn’t have that. I found myself skimming most of it because I just wasn’t getting into it; I’m not sure why but the readability factor wasn’t there. I tried but I just couldn’t bring myself to care. Maybe it was because the stakes weren’t high enough, or that it wasn’t scary enough, or it was too slow starting for my ADHD, or a combination of all of those. But it simply just…wasn’t scary or exciting for me. And the ending reveal also was underwhelming and again, just not scary. I think readers who are ok with slower horror would appreciate this one because I did find it quite slow and not the most exciting. 3/5 stars because while it wasn’t exactly a fun read for me, it was still well written.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.