Again, Erika Wurth always has my heart, this book is terrifying. The idea of ghosts and hotels, and then a personal mystery? Terrifying. I loved it

This is a really good scary story with a lot of the kind of stuff that gets to me in horror: mirrors, jump-scares in mirrors, scary things happening in the corner of your eye, ghosts mingling with other other-worldly creatures, and vivid, wicked dreams. A fast-paced, dark read with some true historical and spiritual depth beneath the horror.

An interesting story. A lot going on.

A paranormal investigator of native descent sets out to find out the secret behind room 904 in the famous Brown Hotel. Her sister was one of the women that killed themselves in room 904.

Over all, the story was a bit long with a few too many story lines. The characters were fairly likable but it was a bit hard to follow. I appreciated the paranormal aspect of this book and would read more from this author.

Erika T. Wurth's The Haunting of Room 904 delivers a compelling blend of supernatural thrills and emotional depth. At the center of this haunting narrative is Olivia Becente, a gifted paranormal investigator who unexpectedly inherits her sister’s ability to communicate with spirits after Naiche’s mysterious death. Olivia’s quest for truth brings her to the eerie corridors of Denver's historic Brown Palace Hotel, notorious for a chilling pattern of deaths in room 904.

Wurth expertly weaves suspense with heartfelt introspection, crafting a story that delves into profound themes of loss, grief, and familial secrets. The atmospheric tension is palpable, intensified by Olivia’s encounters with dangerous cults, deceptive allies, and unnerving supernatural phenomena. Each revelation deepens the intrigue, compelling readers to turn pages rapidly toward the chilling climax.

The Haunting of Room 904 stands out not only for its gripping plot and supernatural chills but also for its genuine emotional resonance and complex character dynamics. Fans of paranormal thrillers and character-driven mysteries will find Wurth's novel hauntingly unforgettable and utterly absorbing.

The haunting of room 904 by Erika Wurth follows Olivia, who has a special gift of communication with the dead. Using this gift, she sets out to find the truth of who killed her sister. Unfortunately I was pretty disappointed with this writing and flow of the story, it felt choppy and disoriented. Overal just too much going on and hard to keep focus.

Read If You Like:
• Paranormal thrillers with emotional depth
• Indigenous protagonists and cultural narratives
• Haunted hotel settings with historical resonance
• Stories exploring grief, guilt, and family secrets
• Mysteries intertwined with supernatural elements

Olivia Becente never anticipated inheriting her sister Naiche’s ability to communicate with the dead. But after Naiche’s sudden and mysterious death in Denver’s historic Brown Palace Hotel, Olivia begins to experience unsettling visions and encounters with spirits. Now a sought-after paranormal investigator, Olivia is drawn back to the very hotel that haunts her past. Room 904, the site of Naiche’s death, harbors a dark secret: every few years, a woman dies there under inexplicable circumstances.  

As Olivia delves deeper into the hotel’s mysteries, she uncovers connections to a secretive cult, confronts a journalist intent on discrediting her, and faces betrayals from those she trusts. The investigation forces her to confront not only external threats but also the lingering grief and guilt over her sister’s death. The line between the living and the dead blurs, revealing that some hauntings are rooted in unresolved emotions and historical injustices. 

Thank you so so much to the publisher for my gifted ALC and ARC!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

Overall, I liked the premise and the ideas behind the book, but the execution of it was just not for me. The writing felt very juvenile and stilted, and the dialogue was not at all realistic.

Genuinely scary and a wonderful contemporary haunted hotel story. I particularly enjoyed the framing devices of starting chapters with on-line paranormal equipment / haunted items listings. A strong sophomore work from Wurth.

People who want power and immortality will do anything to achieve these goals; even sell their soul. I found this book so intense. The descriptions of the massacre was heartbreaking because the soldiers attacked women and children. How cowardly of these men to treat the native people so cruelly. What they did was beyond evil. To wipe out a group of people out of hate never ends well for other party. Then descendants of those who massacred the native people thought it would be ok to try and use tools they found to continue the harm. I felt so much sorrow at what happened to Naiche. She struggled with the message she received from the spirits but was unable to take on the entity on her own. Had she been stronger, emotionally and mentally, she could have ended the curse. Once Olivia stepped in to investigate why her sister did not ask for her help, she was drawn deeper into the power struggle. I could feel the icy cold breeze and observe the intent of the shadows to end Olivia. She was brave and determined to set right the wrongs of the past. With the help of family and friends Olivia was able to face her guilt and find a way to end the decades old curse.

I LOVED White Horse and couldn’t wait to get my hands on The Haunting of Room 904.

This had so many elements that I absolutely adore: ghosts, murder, grief, cults and also a personal favorite - it had an indigenous angle to it… needless to say, this definitely held my attention.

I loved our main character, and I also loved the diversity of the characters we were given. I was flying through the pages, anxious to find out how this all wrapped up, it read quickly because of how well it was written.

For those that loved White Horse, this is much different so please don’t go in expecting the same type of storytelling. I would say this one was more of a supernatural thriller, but it was incredibly enjoyable for me.

Many thanks to Flatiron for my eARC. The Haunting of Room 904 is available now.

I found that the concept of this book was really interesting, but the execution of it fell flat. The premise was so interesting and drew me in straight from the start of the novel, but I found that the book was very reliant on telling and not showing - I felt like there were entire paragraphs of just information dumps of past experiences with Olivia's sister or even just past experiences in general. I feel like it was written a bit like a Y/A novel, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but I don't think it really worked with this book. I also appreciated the amount of diversity in the book, but a lot of it felt like it fell a bit into the stereotypes.

2.75 stars rounded up

I liked this book and there were even more parts that I wanted to like but doubted their execution.

I enjoyed the main character, as well as the glimpses into her life and job. And the side characters were all independent people who seemed fairly developed. The writing was also enjoyable though the pacing and expository parts weakened the overall story.

The most difficult part was getting to the meat of the story, because there are cases in the book before the titular case, and it was all just very confusing. I found myself wishing that the main case had been introduced earlier to stem the confusion and difficulty I had getting into the story. Not to mention that a lot of the background stuff didn't really hit with me: when connections were revealed, the reveals often felt forced and had to be over explained by other characters before I was kind of like...okay?

The horror when it's there is good and interesting (including the every day social and historical horror which was definitely most effective to me), but a lot of other parts felt like spinning its wheels trying to get to the different beats.

Overall, an interesting story with great characterization, but some review of the pacing and expository details would have created a stronger delivery.

The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth is a novel I was highly anticipating and one I have been wrestling with reviewing for months. While the premise of the novel sounds tailor-made for my liking, unfortunately, I am sad to report that is not the case in application. It's hard to say where things did not work for me, but on the whole, 904 felt very disjointed. While multiple plotlines, plot-points and and conflicts are introduces, following the actions of the characters or how they work to resolve the problems at hand felt very difficult. Information regarding characters' backgrounds is introduced at VERY convenient times that made the facts feel as though they were added to ease the complications of the plot. I desperately wanted to love this novel, but I could not follow all the various events transpiring and the wide cast of characters.

Thank you very much to Flatiron for the ARC.

The Haunting of Room 904 follows Olivia, a psychic who is sucked into the mystery of a cursed hotel room after her sister tragically dies there. When the hotel room threatens to claim another victim close to home Olivia has to race against the clock to solve the mystery and beat the dark entity haunting the room. I was pretty into this at the start, but I’m not going to lie it really lost me at around the halfway point. I just didn’t understand a lot of character choices and some of the characters were almost cartoonishly one-note (I’m looking at you random ex boyfriend). When it’s focused on the family elements, and the main friendship between Olivia and her roommate, I think it works pretty well. But there’s just way too much going on and I feel like the plot just loses itself along the way. Pretty bummed this didn’t work for me, but I would still read this author again.

I absolutely love the premise of this book - a paranormal investigator, Olivia, investigates her sister's mysterious suicide at the Brown Hotel. Every 5 years, a woman dies in room 904. What is the mystery behind this hotel room, and can Olivia stop this mysterious cycle?

I wanted to love this book. I really did. I love mystery/thriller books with a paranormal element. Atmospherically, they're my favorite type of mystery. I love adding in the spooky elements and unexplained occurrences. I feel like this had a lot of promise with the story but lacked in execution. There were places where I felt like I couldn't fully grasp what was occurring because there wasn't a good transition or the parts weren't tied together as well as they could be.

A well-intentioned story with a good premise that can’t quite manage to thrive in the multiple genres it tries to inhabit.

Part mystery, part Gothic horror, part mythological fantasy…all things that could mix in theory, but that mostly resulted in something vaguely likable but narratively messy and confused here.

The best part of this was the creepy object stuff at the very beginning of the book, and I wish the story had leaned more into that. The protagonist’s job as a paranormal investigator and sorta-kinda medium would have played well with that if it had been more prominent throughout the story.

The mystery too works fine here, as a whodunit and as a sort of suspense thriller. Where the story falls apart is in the attempt to mix three different mythological/belief systems, which results in a confused and nonsensical wander through different cultural beliefs without any clear or organized trajectory.

The details don’t mesh well, and it starts to feel like this was more about what the author wished to include than what made sense or created a good story. Ideologically the idea of blending belief systems seems lovely, but it didn’t work here and as a result the climax and conclusion of this otherwise fairly enjoyable and well-paced book left me feeling a bit let down by the reader experience as a whole.

Mark my words, The Haunting of Room 904 is the book of the year.

Dang, Erika T. Wurth smoked the 5 star scale .

This book is quite honestly..... unsettling.

The perfect fusion between psychological thriller and supernatural horror. The spooky hotel adds to the perfectly crafted vibe.

The Haunting of Room 904, explores themes of trauma, isolation, and the fragility of mental stability. It also delves into the nature of fear and the ways in which it can distort reality. Equal parts chilling and thought-provoking . Erika T. Wurth's writing style is a game changer, creating a narrative that is both disturbing and memorable.

Check out this teaser :

Olivia Becente was never supposed to have the gift. The ability to commune with the dead was the specialty of her sister, Naiche. But when Naiche dies unexpectedly and under strange circumstances, somehow Olivia suddenly can’t stop seeing and hearing from spirits.

A few years later, she’s the most in-demand paranormal investigator in Denver. She’s good at her job, but the loss of Naiche haunts her. That’s when she hears from the Brown Palace, a landmark Denver hotel. The owner can’t explain it, but every few years, a girl is found dead in room 904, no matter what room she checked into the night before. As Olivia tries to understand these disturbing deaths, the past and the present collide as Olivia’s investigation forces her to confront a mysterious and possibly dangerous cult, a vindictive journalist, betrayal by her friends, and shocking revelations about her sister’s secret life.

Thank you to @flatiron_books for the eARC and @macmillanaudio for the gifted audiobook!

What an interesting and twisty novel! I loved the supernatural aspects and the vivid characters. This book kept me entertained and engaged throughout. I loved the story of a sister fighting for answers for her beloved sister and the supernatural and practical mysteries to unravel. This was a great fast-paced read and I’m excited for Erika T. Wurth’s future work!

paranormal horror with roots in history that freaked me out!! I enjoyed the short chapters and the details about each haunted items, but wanted a little more backstage about things that were glossed over. I'm hoping for a sequel that will fill those gaps in for me

there's a little bit of everything here to get your interest; ghosts, cults, haunted mirrors, sexy goth dudes and gals, Native American history, best friends that act like real besties...it's fun and creeeepy

I really enjoyed this book and found it very creepy. It has cults, spirits, haunted items and murder, all the aspects I love in a good thriller/ horror. Combine those with some unsettling history, I was hooked. I really liked the spirit world/ medium tie in, especially with it all linking to a mirror. Mirrors freak me out, growing up with haunting stories and folklore that make you not want to look for your reflection in anything. This was truly terrifying.
Underneath all the wonderful supernatural stuff, the story really deals with grief, racism and injustices to the indigenous people. These are not topics that are breezed over in the book, they really are the book.
I listened to this one on audiobook, and found I couldn’t stop listening. I didn’t want to miss anything, as something seemed to happen every chapter. The narrator has a wonderful voice, perfect for story telling, and capturing the mood of the moment. I really enjoyed this version of the book.