Erika T. Wurth's latest novel starts with a compelling concept: a paranormal investigator probing the mysterious deaths occurring every five years in room 904 of the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. Olivia Becente, still grieving her sister's death, takes on an investigation that's deeply personal and potentially dangerous. The book throws a lot into the mix—indigenous history, supernatural elements, cult mysteries, and personal trauma. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The historical and cultural elements feel scattered, with indigenous, Jewish, and South American references competing for attention instead of creating a cohesive narrative. There's something really good buried in here. The Brown Palace setting is perfect, and Olivia's backstory could have been amazing. But the narrative just falls apart, jumping between timelines and perspectives without any real flow. It's like Wurth had all these great ideas that never quite came together. While the book doesn't quite deliver on its initial promise of a truly haunting experience, there's still something that keeps you reading. The story wrestles with grief, family, and hidden histories, even if it doesn't always nail it.

This book has lots of supernatural elements, a good pace, and was interesting from the very start to the very end. I appreciated the inclusion of various cultures and beliefs from Indigenous cultures to Judaism. There was so many interesting aspects of the supernatural woven in, and I had fun seeing where the story would go.

I would definitely recommend the audio, which I also recieved early from the publisher. The narrator was spectacular and made the listening experience so enjoyable. And if you enjoy paranormal stories and haven't read the author's previous work, White Horse, get on that. It's great.

So, woof. I immediately DNF'd this one after learning some really fucked up things about the author. Left a bad taste in my mouth.

The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth, author of White Horse, is a chilling, atmospheric horror thriller that kept me on edge from start to finish. Creepy, intense, and deeply unsettling, this novel masterfully blends paranormal investigation, indigenous folklore, and supernatural horror into a gripping mystery.

Olivia Becente has always had the ability to commune with the dead, though her sister Naiche was the stronger of the two. But Naiche’s gift became a curse, haunting her until her sudden and tragic death. Ever since, Olivia has been unable to silence the voices of spirits calling out to her. Now a well-known paranormal investigator in Denver, she is drawn back into her sister’s past when she receives a case involving Room 904 at the infamous Brown Palace Hotel—the very room where Naiche died. As Olivia digs deeper, she uncovers more information regarding her sister's suspicious cult and a network of dangerous figures looking to exploit supernatural forces for their own gain.

What sets this book apart is its rich indigenous representation and complex outsider characters. Olivia is a fierce and compelling protagonist, navigating grief, power, and the supernatural in a way that feels both raw and authentic. Wurth builds a dark, immersive atmosphere, balancing psychological terror with supernatural horror in a way that lingers long after the last page.

If you love spine-chilling paranormal mysteries with deeply developed characters, this book is a must-read. Highly recommended for fans of horror-thrillers with a unique, cultural edge. #FlatironBooks #TheHauntingofRoom904 #ErikaTWurth #IndigenousHorror

Every 5 years a woman dies in room 904. It doesn’t matter if she is in another room. She still shows up in room 904.
It’s paranormal with a Native American vibe.
It was slow paced at the beginning but picks up quickly.
I had a hard time following some of the events and connecting them together.
I enjoy a good ghost story and this book made me want more.
Overall it was just an ok read for me. I am interested in reading other books by this author.
Thanks Net galley for an early read of this one!
3 stars for me

Even with the one-star rating, I feel I am being very generous. I honestly wanted to love this book as it has everything in it that I liked; ghosts, paranormal investigators, sibling relationships and an overarching mystery. But the author fails to capture your attention as all the plot points have been joined together quite haphazardly without following a proper structure. The characters feel like a parody and not at all real or relatable. As it was in first person pov, I got really annoyed with the main character, Olivia, because of my goodness, none of things she did for the most part felt sensible or even something that a real person would do. I cannot connect with her grief over her sister because that is how shallow the writing is coming off as. And honestly, what exactly did the author mean by the term "Asian looking" in the middle of Chapter Twelve? Being a woman of colour herself, does she not know what a vast and diverse continent Asia is? This sort of offhanded comments and other irritating and unnecessary drama (like the deal with the ex-boyfriend Jake) made this book the worst thing I have read in a long while. If it wasn't an ARC, I totally would have DNF'ed it. The only part that was good about this book was the cover.

Wow. What a great read. Could not put it down. Thank you for letting me read this in advance. I stayed up way to late trying to get to the end.

really well done paranormal story about the aftermath of past injustices to native americans. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

I really wanted to love this book, but the writing felt very juvenile and superficial at times, which took me away from the story.

If you love your ghost stories with a side of heartache, history, and hard truths, this one’s for you. Olivia Becente never wanted her sister’s gift of seeing the dead. But after Naiche’s sudden death, she gets more than visions—she gets questions. Years later, Olivia is Denver’s top paranormal investigator, but one case at the Brown Palace Hotel brings her face-to-face with something far darker than just spirits.

This book owns its space as a paranormal thriller, balancing chills with cultural depth. The spooky vibes hit you right away and never fully let up. But what I loved most was how Wurth weaves in the deeper reasons for those hauntings—colonialism, white supremacy, and the violent erasure of Native lives. It’s the kind of horror that stays with you because it’s rooted in real history.

The blend of spiritual practices also stood out to me. It felt like those underdog dance movies where the winning routine mixes styles—only here, it’s ceremony and belief coming together in a way that feels both raw and beautiful.

And Olivia? She’s everything I want in a main character—tough, sharp, and real. Her hyper-independence makes sense once you see her pain, and it makes her resilience hit even harder. I also found her connection to her heritage especially relatable. I know my family’s Yaquí roots, but like Olivia, the edges are fuzzy, and sometimes that leaves me questioning my place. It’s rare to see that nuance explored so well.

Pacing-wise, it’s mostly medium with a few slower stretches, but the tension never fades. You’re always bracing for the next chill—or the next truth. If you want a thriller that haunts you and makes you think, this one belongs on your shelf.

There’s a reason that I always read the author’s notes at the end of a book. They give me an insight into the author’s thoughts, and I almost always come away with a deeper understanding of what I read, but rarely do they make me get teary-eyed. This is what Erika Wurth wrote; “This last part is dedicated to every Native person who felt that they didn’t belong, and to every nerd who was told that what they loved was silly. You belong. What you love isn’t silly. And art is everything. It makes us able to love the world.”

That spoke to me, because Haunting is a true piece of art. Although there are descriptions of terrible things, specifically involving the Sand Creek Massacre, the character of Olivia gave me hope, and, even though this book is classified as horror, it’s also uplifting, which I realize is probably a bizarre feeling to have, but isn’t that what great art does? It gives you all the feels. All the stars to Haunting of Room 904.

This is a classic case of loving the concept but being disappointed by the execution. Bottom line is that there is just too much going on and the transitions were not smooth. It's a shame because the book started off by immediately grabbing my attention. There are definitely creepy elements, but its like it couldnt figure out where it wanted to go and overly detailed where it went.

This book helped kick me out of a reading slump!
My absolute favorite thing about this novel is that within the context of the supernatural, the vast majority of the characters were already on board and up to speed about hauntings and paranormal experiences, It felt refreshing after some of the fatigue I've felt in the past about characters who have to spend pages convincing other people about hauntings, etc..
The mysteries of the story are compelling, and deeply heartbreaking, while ultimately providing some degree of satisfying resolution in the face of irreparable tragedy and trauma. Olivia is a fun character to spend time with, and her circle of friends and support is engaging too, enough so that I hope this ends up being a first book in a series.
I both read the digital edition and listened to the audiobook, and enjoyed both throughly- especially as the audiobook provided pronunciations for names and words from the Tribal nations.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and Netgalley for my e-ARX of The Haunting of Room 904!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🪞 believe mirrors are portals to other worlds
👻 love ghost stories
🐴 enjoyed her novel, White Horse
🔍 like a mystery mixed with paranormal elements

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

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.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

I loved White Horse, so I knew that I would need to read her newest book! I absolutely love her blend of mystery and history with the paranormal. I also enjoy learning more about Native American history and she does a fantastic job of bringing awareness to these topics. It makes me sick that the indigenous peoples were treated with such disregard and contempt, so I enjoy these stories where they end up getting revenge, even hundreds of years after the fact. The story was a bit confusing at times for me because of the metaphors, but overall, it flowed well and it all ended up connecting. If you’re a fan of the paranormal, I think you’ll really enjoy this story.

Stars: 3.5 rounded up

I really enjoyed The Haunting of Room 904. The story was engaging, and the ending tied everything up nicely. The pacing was great, keeping me hooked without feeling slow.

The writing style wasn’t my favorite—some phrases felt repetitive, which pulled me out of the story at times. It didn’t ruin the book, but it did slow things down a bit.

Overall, it’s a solid paranormal horror that kept me interested, and I’m definitely open to reading more from this author. If you enjoy the genre, it’s definitely worth checking out!

Thanks to NetGalley & Flatiron Books for an advanced audiobook in exchange for my review!

I don't think this one was for me. From reading the synopsis, I was expecting this to be different than it was. At times, this felt more like a young adult read, which wasn't my favorite. Scenes that I think were written to be scary and tense, lacked that feeling.

Erika T. Wurth is one of the most exciting writers in horror right now, and it’s easy to see why. From the very start of her latest, The Haunting of Room 904, you’re on the edge of your seat as we follow Olivia, a real deal clairvoyant and the best in the business. But a few emotional encounters with spirits, she’s set on a path to investigate something truly dark and twisted that may just reveal something about her sister’s tragic death years earlier. If that’s not enough, it’s all tied in with the slaughter of the Cheyenne people at the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 and the vengeful spirits that created. At their core, all ghost stories are about trauma and loss, and in The Haunting of Room 904, Wurth explores this on multiple levels—both cultural and generational, and personal trauma. But perhaps the most compelling part of this novel is the way care, friendship, and atonement remain present alongside the horrors. Wurth’s latest hits on multiple levels, and is sure to keep you turning pages. Just make sure to keep the lights on.