About a half dozen almost-finished books lay scattered around my van. Some left unfinished because I felt like I had misremembered key plot points when reading half asleep, some due to a lack of total interest, and one that I had to put down because the parallels to my own life were concerningly prominent. It’s not a knock at any of them, if anything it’s a compliment- I want to give them my full attention.
I’m attempting to read as much local horror as possible while I am staying here in the Pacific Northwest. Horror is a small enough genre, so when you confine it even further based on region, it becomes seemingly microscopic. At the very least, I live in a place that seems to draw the dark, weird and twisted- so I’d say, based on nothing but personal experience and assumption, that we have a pretty solid offering of local horror here compared to many other regions.
My local bookstore has a wonderful little horror section and as with many, spotlights certain books based on author recommendations, staff picks, and local authors. One of the “local author” recommendation sheets has put this book White Line Fever at the forefront of my browsing several times- although the plot never really spoke to me. “Haunted roads” is a subgenre that I typically avoid, especially in film, as I find most of it, well, tiring. This sentiment has turned me away from this book multiple times over the past few months, but last week I just decided to say fuck it, and picked it up.. along with three other brand new books. No one has ever accused me of being responsible with money.
I’m not gonna lie- I was somewhat hesitant to start this book. I have been let down by the road horror trope countless times- so many times that I can’t even pick out the ones I’ve enjoyed, as my subconscious has put them in the same category as the low-effort content. The first couple chapters, I read with this in mind.. but I quickly became very invested in the characters and the plot line. If you asked me what made this one different, I honestly could not pin point it; but all things considered, I thoroughly enjoyed this ride of a story; please excuse the terrible pun. Without further ado,
White Line Fever - KC Jones (2025)
The name KC Jones rang a bell in my brain, but I’m not sure from where. It could just be from my repetitive searching of keywords such as “Pacific Northwest horror” or “horror novels take place in Oregon”.. a million searches of the same exact notion, worded slightly different, yielding slightly different results. The Bram Stoker award also caught my eye; and it’s needless to again point out how many times I read the staff recommendation card for this book. Whatever the case, after this read I am certainly a fan of KC Jones. Well done, friend.
The novel opens with a group of paranormal investigators of the YouTube variety sending their friend down a closed stretch of road for some cell phone footage. As I write that, it sounds corny- it really does, but it is not. It’s great, it’s fun, it’s everything you might want.. unless you’re a genre snob; in which case.. I dunno man, good luck out there. Drew weaves his bike around the closed gate; the remaining two members of the crew left behind with a tripod and morbid curiosity. As one might expect from a story opening this way, Drew’s attempt to get some good first-person POV footage of this notorious road does not end well; a tragic crash in front of his two comrades to follow his fleeing from psychological torture and ghostly apparitions.
Flash forward, and we are met by our protagonist, Livia. Following a rough break up, Liv decides to go on a little weekend getaway with a group of childhood friends; The Scoundrels. Okay, maybe she didn’t “decide” to go on a weekend getaway.. rather the classic ”this will be good for you” theme is the driving force. Livia’s childhood home life is heavily intertwined with said Scoundrels; her abusive father’s junkyard being their midnight getaway and trauma escape. The book bounces back and forth between present day and their days at said junkyard, as The Scoundrels, in a pursuit of general setting and character development.
On their drive to the rental they have booked for this “Livia therapy retreat”, they encounter an aggressive, rage-filled truck driver that causes them to eventually re-route the trip. Liv gets the unshakeable feeling that the truck driver may be the father she ran away from oh so many years ago; and pushes for them to take Road 951; the same road the previously mentioned paranormal investigators had in the book’s opening. The GPS marks it as a shortcut, and the gate is now inexplicably open.
Just as they did with Drew, things get weird right off the bat. Lost time, hallucinations, unexplainable wrecks.. the whole kaboodle. The hallucinations are seemingly real, and not real, all at the same time. They seem to tie back to a specific cryptid they had read about back in their Scoundrel days- reading books in an old van they had jury-rigged into a little getaway in the yard, away from the prying eyes of religious and violent parents. The crew eventually meets up with two of the three paranormal investigators from the beginning; the third being missing for obvious reasons. And things get no easier from there.
This is by no means the best book I’ve ever read. Hell, it’s probably not even the best book I’ve read this fall. But thats not a knock. Room for improvement? Absolutely. It felt at times like Jones was scrambling to fill pages because as I previously mentioned, road horror is, well, a little difficult. The character development for Livia is absolutely fantastic, but the others feel as though they fall by the wayside, heavily. Which is to be expected; the issue being that the reader is supposed to feel for them the way they feel for Liv. It’s also not the darkest book you’ll ever read, nor is it supposed to be, but I could see it being disappointing to some horror fans. It’s almost more of a compelling blur of watching someone have a psychological break; a representation of the trauma they have endured, both in recent times and the distant past.
All of that being said, I DID enjoy this book very much. KC Jones has a great writing style, and I look forward to reading more of their work. This is by no means going on the top of my list, but I am thoroughly happy with my purchase, my time reading, and its place on my bookshelf. Although let’s be honest; my “bookshelf” is a nook between a cooler and a Trader Joe’s bag in my van. I definitely recommend White Line Fever for someone looking for a fun read. Its ~350 page count reads fast, but is still long enough for many hours of enjoyment. I’m giving it a solid 6.5/10, which is no dig by any means.