This was a good classic psychic-medium-vibe ghost story. Every five years, a woman checks in to room 904 only to be found dead from suicide in the room 3 weeks later. Good creepy vibes, great characters… creepy setting. Ghost hunting fans will love this one. The backstory of the sand creek massacre was sad, and one that I had little information on prior to this novel.. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to preview this uncorrected proof in exchange for my h9nest review.

3.5 Stars

I’m not quite sure what genre I would categorize this book into. It has a paranormal element, and the main character can interact with spirits. The first 25% was really interesting. It was strong in the horror/paranormal elements and had me hooked. Then the book shifts to a mystery/thriller and domestic drama, where we follow Olivia as she tries to figure out what happened to her sister, who committed suicide years ago. She doesn’t believe her sister killed herself and discovers that her sister stayed in a room where more than one woman has died. Then it was never really strong in either genre and leaned more general fiction.

The majority of the book is about solving the mystery of Olivia's sister. There are many different threads we follow: Is it Olivia's obsessive ex-boyfriend? Her queer friend? Or did she kill her sister? With all these different suspects, the plot gets a little muddled, and the pace slows down quite a bit in the middle. However, it's really well-written, and for the most part, I enjoyed the overall story.

I also really enjoyed the paranormal aspects of the book. These were some of my favorite moments, as they helped increase the pace of the book, and I would become reinvested after these scenes.

I’ve never read anything by Erika Wurth before, but I really connected with her writing style. Although this book wasn’t perfect, I think she’s an author I would want to read from again.

Thank you to NetGalley and FlatIron Books for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Erika T. Wurth knocked me out with her last novel WHITE HORSE and I could not wait to read THE HAUNTING OF ROOM 904.

Two of the things I really appreciated in THE HAUNTING OF ROOM 904 are (1) the use of eBay listings and (2) the incorporation of the Sand Creek Massacre to show the horrific violence this country has inflicted on Indigenous people. Wurth incorporated the history of the American Indian Movement in WHITE HORSE to stunning effect and she does the same here with the Massacre. The eBay listings create a realness, like any one of us could have purchased them.

The protagonist Olivia is fantastic, too, like Kari in WHITE HORSE. They feel like badasses who inhabit the same world while still being distinct. Olivia's humor stands out, especially in her interaction with Alejo.

As much. as I loved several elements of THE HAUNTING OF ROOM 904, it never fully came together in the same way that Wurth's previous novel did. I'll certainly suggest that my students check out this new title, but I'll still be teaching WHITE HORSE for now.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the e-galley.

I loved the native american background and information on the massacre. The educational resources were helpful. The horror read was very over the top and seemed better suited for a young adult novel, but the premise was interesting.

After unexpectedly inheriting her late sister Naiche’s ability to commune with the dead, Olivia Becente becomes Denver’s top paranormal investigator, though the loss still haunts her. When the historic Brown Palace hotel seeks her help to solve the recurring, unexplained deaths of young women in room 904, Olivia’s search for answers entangles her with a dangerous cult, a vengeful journalist, betrayals from those she trusts, and shocking truths about Naiche’s hidden life.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this digital e-arc.*

I had been very much looking forward to this book after Wurth's previous novel WHITE HORSE, and while I did enjoy a fair amount about it, it did have some stumbles here and there. Starting with the positives, I liked the lore and the build up up the Brown Palace, as well as Olivia's background and backstory about her family and how she became a reluctant medium after her sister's death. Olivia is also just a fun snarky main character who was easy to like, and I thought that her 'monster of the week' cases that we saw bits and pieces of in the overall story were fun and creepy at times leading up to the big overall arc. I also really liked the way that Wurth brings in the ideas of family trauma and generational trauma and weaves them into the story, specifically the way that the United States has been so violent towards Natives throughout its inception (the focus being the Sand Creek Massacre was so haunting). Some of the stumbles, however, mostly had to do with choppy pacing and some awkward transitions, as well as perhaps bringing in more lores than we had time to focus on. It made the read jarring at times. That said, I still really enjoyed the ghostly things that Wurth brought out and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

This book! This book is so good. It is one of those where you want to do nothing else until you have finished the book. I was completely hooked on every character and their fate. This was a 10/10 for me.

I absolutely could NOT put this book down! It had its scary (creepy) moments but it also had its scary how can humans do this moments too. This story had another story (based on the actual event, Sand Creek Massacre) woven in as well. It was also giving The Conjuring in the best possible way! This story was just so compelling and I just really was absolutely absorbed in all the lore from so many different cultures that were involved. There was also queer representation and some extremely important issues (immigration and racism) represented in this book, that were integrated perfectly. I just really enjoyed this book so much! Also, the author is a professor at my Alma Mater (WIU go leathernecks!) That’s pretty cool! Thank you SO much to Flatiron Books for sending me this free ARC I absolutely loved it!!!!

This was my first book by Wurth, and definitely won't be my last! I loved this book! It was like all the best parts of the ghost hunting shows, with each new episode being a clue along the way!

I loved the characters, especially our MC and Alejo - I loved their relationship and their bond and the way that they've always got eachothers backs.

There's even a little romance (and a stalker) thrown in, as well as some family history and trauma to unpack. Honestly, my only issue with this book is that there are A LOT of characters and sometimes I lost track of who was who. A few of them seemed unnecessary or like they could've been combined together with the same effectiveness.

Overall, this is a great read and definitely leaves me wanting to pick up more of Wurths books!

This was an interesting story because it combined a real historical tragedy with Native American culture and family grief. The main character is a paranormal investigator, which comes with all kinds of issues because so many people don't believe her. There were multiple places with suspense and I didn't want to stop. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I love the way Erika's writing shifts and changes with each new book, especially these last two from her, weaving in new levels of creepy supernatural horror while also pushing the Native American voice and experience forward.

Her female characters are flawed badass toughies that I can't help but wish I knew in rl. Well, ok maybe not in the case of this particular book. You can keep Olivia and her paranormal investigative self far far away from me because ain't no way I want to get caught in the crosshairs of the vengeful spirits she's tangled up with in The Haunting of Room 904. Spirits trapped in wooden boxes and hotel mirrors, dark evil entities literally breathing down your neck, and an occult group called the Sacred 36 who attempted a ceremony that backfired... yeah, no thanks, I'll be waaaay over here in my book room flipping pages, living safely on the periphery!

It's also another great example of grief fiction. The death of Olivia's sister, and the guilt she feels over not taking her call for help seriously 5 years ago, weighs heavily on her, and this new case she's picked up might just be the one chance she has to right the wrong she's been living with.

Cover those mirrors y'all!

I always seem to struggle with paranormal investigator books, but this one was one of my least favorites of all.

The storyline was interesting and kept me reading, but the constant jumping around made me dizzy to the point that I wasn’t sure what was going on. I don’t normally DNF an ARC, but I couldn’t continue with this humdrum book.

I inhaled this one!!!! Read straight through in one sitting, I was that hooked!!! Allllll the creepy paranormal vibes in this one! 🙌

This one also had me doing some research while I was reading, mainly about the horrible Sand Creek Massacre that this story sheds light on. 😢 I loved that the characters in this book tried to make things right! Highly recommend this one, book peeps!! Especially if you love paranormal investigations! 👏

Thank you to NetGalley, Flatiron Books and Erika T. Wurth for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review!! This was my first read by this author, so I will definitely be checking out White Horse and anything that comes out in the future! ❤️

TW: suicide

This is my first book by this author, and I'm not really sure on my thoughts about reading more., however i have a personal rule of reading two books from each author before i decide they are not for me. This books premise had me intrigued when i first read it and it is the reason that i requested it. That being said it was listed as general fiction; this book was very much a paranormal horror movie like novel (i think it should be labelled as such so it doesn't confuse the reading going in). I felt like this book was very much all over the place, kind of like when a detective is trying to solve a crime, and they have their yarn strung all over from point to point. Just have the reader being pulled into too many directions with not enough narrative to make the book flow freely. I'm not a huge fan of books with profanity too, honestly it turns me off from a book. Thats just my personal opinion if that is your thing, I believe you will like this book. However, I feel like this book was a miss for me. I wish the author nothing but the best, and much success.

Olivia is an indigenous paranormal investigator, who begins to become personally haunted by the spirit of her sister, a dark entity, and a medicine woman. Dark spirits circle Olivia as she investigates a cult, a haunted hotel and desperate restless spirits who were massacred by white European settlers.

Olivia is great character, with levels of regret and distrust, love and pain, and a deep pride in her heritage and culture while withstanding racism and ignorance. I would love to see a series built around her character! The scenes of her clients and their haunted items were deeply terrifying and as each item keeps linking back to her sister and the cult, Olivia is pushed to her limits trying to save her mother, her friends and herself.

Yet again blown away by this author. This wasn’t just a haunted hotel story but also telling the lesser known Sand Creek Massacre. She masterfully weaved past and present together to where you could feel and smell the sorrow and grief of all the generations. It’s layered so well and I didn’t see the twists and turns coming. Just solidified why she’ll be an auto buy author for me.


Thank you so much FlatIron and NetGalley for the eARC of this so I could give my honest opinion.

TW/CW: LANGUAGE, DEATH Of PARENT, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, DEATH OF SIBLING, CANCER, DRINKING, SMOKING

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
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.
Release Date: March 18th, 2025
Genre: Horror
Pages: 320
Rating: ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Writing style was good
2. Synopsis sounded interesting
3. Loved that there was a lot of learning when it came to Indigenous people and Mexican culture

What I Didn't Like:
1. Too many plots going on
2. Annoyed at the over the top focus of her sister in every page
3. Middle of book drags and becomes so boring

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}

Alejandro announcement that he is gay was so random. I had to laugh because what did that have to do with anything? Also not liking how author makes me him stereotypical "gay man".

I thought this book would focus more on hauntings that are going on but we continue to go back and back and back to Olivia's sister. And I get mourning definitely, but it all becomes so redundant hearing it over and over and over. And it's not just sprinkled here or there we have full blown chapters where she's just talking about her sister. Then we jump into another chapter talking about her sister again and how much she misses her. Not downplaying the death of someone but we are in a book so we do need to progress and it's not a very big book.

In a book that is this hyper fixated on one subject AKA her sister I hope that the ending isn't going to be like the ghost is attacking Olivia but her sister comes back to save her in some kind of ghost showdown.

Too much happening and not sure what I am supposed to care about. Now she has a stalker but why? Why throw that in the book??

I'm done. I'm bored.

Final Thoughts:
There just felt like there was a lot going on with this book.
• In one story we have that she's a ghost hunter and she's trying to solve all these ghost hauntings.
• But in the next plot we have that she's trying to find out what happened to her sister in this haunted hotel room that women die in every couple years - her sister included.
• Then we have her being stalked by a man named Josh.
• And then sprinkle in that her sister was actually involved in a cult.
• Also have her mother who went to the hotel room and is now 3 weeks out from being killed too.
It's all just too much. I started to care about certain storylines and less about others. I think if the author had focused on maybe two story lines it would have done better for me as a reader. I don't need every pot in the house to be on every burner on the stove to enjoy a story. I really just lost a lot of focus as I was reading.

Ended up dnfing this one at 144. I wanted to care but in the end I found myself not reaching to finish this book. The characters are flat and the story seems to drag on and on.

IG | Blog

Thanks to Netgalley, Flatiron Books, and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This had cozy vibes along with the creepy, which is a great combination! A fun read that I would recommend.

Denver's top paranormal investigator and psychologist, Dr Oliva Becente is called to The Brown Palace. Mysterious deaths have occurred in room 904 every few years. There's no explanation, women will check into different rooms, but be found dead in room 904.

Olivia is full of grief after the mysterious death of her sister and the death of these women help and hurt her healing.

Ugh, okay. I HATE that I didn't like this. There was tidbits of history of Indigenous people, as well as Jewish and South American mythology. Combined, it made the story jumbled and overwhelming. Had there been one story and history to explore with this plot line, the story might have been tighter and less overwhelming.

I think some people are truly going to love this, but it was too much information on top of grief for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was excited to read this book, but unfortunately, the book itself didn't live up to the hype. I found it very fragmented and hard to follow. I also felt like I was soooo old reading this because it seemed geared towards young people.

Thank you Flatiron for my free ARC of The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth — available 3/18!

» REVIEW «
Sadly, this book was a miss for me. I really loved White Horse, Erika's previous novel, but I feel like the quality of story and writing in Room 904 took a wild departure from that previous work. I don't have much to say about this novel except that for me, it felt disjointed, unpolished, chaotic (and not in a fun way) and poorly dev-edited. I think there were just too many disparate components mixed in here, so I never found myself immersed in the story of the main character.