I had to read Red Rabbit before reading this and I'm glad I did. It was full of action and was fast paced. The characters were well developed and the plot was engaging.

Title/Author: Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian

Page Count: 352 pages

Publisher: Tor Nightfire

Format: NetGalley ebook

Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: Want to read Red Rabbit

Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978125087...

Release Date: March 11th, 2025

General Genre: Horror; Gothic fiction; Historical fantasy; Dark fantasy

Sub-Genre/Themes: 1800's, Accidents, Cancer, grief, Ghosts, Haunted houses, Superstition,
Undead, Villages, Witches

Writing Style: World-building, sparse

What You Need to Know: From the New York Times bestselling author of Red Rabbit comes a supernatural horror where ghosts and ghouls are the least of a witch’s problems in nineteenth-century New England.

My Reading Experience: I knew this book would be good (I've heard a lot of praise for Red Rabbit) but I was not prepared for this. The main character is so deep in grief, that he stalks Death, and kills him. It goes so badly for everyone involved.
The setting is split between Nicodemus, Kansas (1881) and Ascension, Massachusetts, where things are getting… weird. The dead aren’t staying dead, people are going missing, and something is seriously wrong. Meanwhile, a trio of women—Sadie, Rabbit, and Rose—arrive in Ascension, only to find themselves caught in the middle of a supernatural mess. I love how Grecian writes them; they feel like real people, full of humor and wisdom. They move into a local cabin known to be haunted and sure enough, it is filled to the brim with spirits.

"At least twenty-seven women had been murdered in the cabin. Twenty-seven people had gone missing and their stories had ended in that lonely place."

This book is eerie in the best way. The atmosphere is thick with gothic vibes, a mix of Western, horror, and folk magic, and it’s so cinematic—I can practically see this playing out like an old-school horror movie.

Final Recommendation: Perfect for fans who love genre-blending horror with elements of dark fantasy and humor with just a hint of Gothic and a historical Western setting. The characters are colorful and entertaining.

Comps: Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian, Himself by Jess Kidd, At the Bottom of the Garden by Camilla Bruce

"Rose of Jericho" by Alex Grecian is a supernatural horror novel set in 19th-century New England. The story revisits the witchy trio of Sadie Grace, Rabbit, and Rose, and unfolds in the village of Ascension, where bizarre events disrupt the natural order. The dead are not dying: a mother with cancer is suddenly healthy, a boy survives being trampled, and a hanged man can still speak.

As chaos descends upon Ascension, the three women attempt to uncover the truth behind these strange occurrences. They also find themselves contending with restless entities in the old house where they are staying. Grecian explores thought-provoking themes about mortality and the balance between life and death. The novel blends eerie gothic elements with moments of dark humor, creating a unique and engaging reading experience.

ROSE OF JERICHO by @alexgrecian a gothic horror/historical fantasy novel set in 1880s New England, where a grieving man kills Death in a fit of rage, leading to a world where people can no longer die. Three witches (from Red Rabbit) show up in town having to confront supernatural forces while unraveling the mystery behind the town’s abnormal state. I feel like Grecian is great with atmospheric stories & well-developed characters, & in conjunction with the multiple POVs that eventually align, it made for a satisfying & immersive read (I liked RR more tho!) (3.25stars) Thanks @netgalley & @tornightfire for the gifted copy!

Rose of Jericho is the sequel to Red Rabbit, and I really do feel that having read the first book helped me understand the characters and their connections in this book as it was definitely not explained at all. Personally, I loved the premise of this book, thought it had a very strong start, but the execution of the second half of the book fell off sharply for me and left me struggling with the thought of actually finishing the book. I thought the author didn't quite take it up to the level that it could have been with regards to the horror in the second half and I wasn't overly impressed with the character development.

The plot actually starts off rather strong, and I was invested in the first half of the book. The atmospheric writing was compelling and I was intrigued by the ideas that were presented; the running theme about what would happen if people simply did not die because Death himself was destroyed. Some interesting characters were introduced and I was interested in their stories and what would happen to them. However, about halfway through, the plot became more meandering than interesting and I started to lose interest as the plot became more disjointed. I think this was largely due to the fact there were no clear protagonists in this story, and while this can work, it needs to be done deftly, which did not happen in this book. I also think the horror element was softened when it should have ratcheted; people were starting to panic at what was happening and I think there would have been more dire consequences than presented in this book.

There were definitely some interesting characters in this book, but the author did not make use of them to exploit the horror that was happening. What we got were situations that were more eyebrow raising than plot points, and although I waited patiently for everything to tie in together, this definitely did not happen. Some of the things simply did not make sense and the ending was anti-climatic as a result. And as I previously mentioned, the horror element was under-utilised and could have been amplified to show how terrified people were over what was happening, and to show the consequences of what being dead actually meant. There were some examples of that in the book, but I think the author could have gone a bit further so while the situation is horrific, this didn't make me turn the pages quickly or flinch in horror like some novels do.

Rose of Jericho is very atmospheric and I thought the author did a great job with the descriptions of the time period. I was intrigued over the first half of the book, but was quickly lost by the meandering and disjointed plot in the second half of the book and thought the character development was lacking quite a bit. And while there were definitely some horrific moments, I don't think the author went far enough with the horror. However, if you like supernatural novels about Death and the consequences that exist when Death is no longer around, then this might be for you. I also recommend picking up his 'Scotland Yard Murder Squad' novels if you like murder mysteries.

Wow, this was absolutely incredible. The story pulls you in right away—something is seriously wrong in the village of Ascension. The dead won’t stay dead, the living aren’t exactly alive, and Rabbit, Sadie Grace, and Rose find themselves in the middle of something eerie and dangerous. From ghosts in Bethany Hall to the secrets the villagers are hiding, the tension never lets up.

I was completely hooked. The plot is gripping, the characters are fantastic, and the emotional moments hit hard. I haven’t read Red Rabbit yet, and while I can see how reading it first might add to the experience, I don’t think skipping it took anything away from how much I loved this. Highly recommend!

Thank you Tor Nightfire for my free eARC of Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian - now available!

Read if you -   

* read and loved the first book!  
* are craving a paranormal, historical horror   
* want to visit a New England town with a slight Death problem 

I first read Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian not long after it came out in 2023. Red Rabbit follows a motley crew of misfit cowboys/gamblers, a witchfinder, and a widowed schoolteacher, as they travel to Burden County to claim the bounty on the head of the witch who lives there. Some of them make it there, some don't; but it's a fun read that reminded me of some of my favorite westerns, with quite a bit of the supernatural thrown in. I listened to the audiobook earlier this year to prepare for the release of Rose of Jericho and it held up beautifully. 

Now, in Rose of Jericho, a few years have passed. Moses has met a beautiful woman named Katie and has settled down to start a family. Rose, Sadie, and Rabbit have moved to Philadelphia and seem quite happy. Things are going quite well, until Katie takes ill and dies in childbirth, taking their child with her. Moses doesn't react...well. And Rose and the Good Graces have made the move to Ascension, Massachusetts where Rose will be a schoolteacher again and help care for her sick cousin. 

In Moses's grief, he commits an unbelievable act of violence and things start getting...weird. And things aren't just weird for him. Ascension starts to see weird things too. A mother who was wasting away from cancer is suddenly up and about. A boy, run over by the milk cart, hops up like nothing happened, despite his  crushed ribs.  

The dead are not dying. 

 And there's something, or someone, in the attic making everyone on edge.  

With Moses on his way to Rose, and people dropping like flies, then popping right back up, in Ascension, things are definitely odd. And extremely entertaining.

It was so nice to check in on these characters, a few years down the road from the events of Red Rabbit. I love Alex Grecian's writing and this is a worthy followup. Rose of Jericho is a wild ride with a lot of moving parts but it all comes together in the end in a satisfying way.

Whatever we’re calling the gourmet genre blend of horror Alex Grecian is writing is like catnip to me. It’s very dark, fantastical almost to the point of surrealism, steeped in body horror and gore, saturated with violence, laced thoroughly with wicked humor, but also has this really sincere heart of social responsibility and philosophical thought that I can’t get enough of.

Of course there’s a warning here: I wouldn’t recommend reading this without reading Red Rabbit first. It’s not a direct sequel, but reading RR first makes Rose of Jericho more interesting and easier to understand.

Did I like this as much as I did Red Rabbit? No, but that’s only because Red Rabbit felt more like a rollicking thrill ride of a horror novel, while this feels like a siege of a horror novel in a way: The horror is happening centered around one place in time, in a limited time period, with two sides moving metaphorical soldiers around a supernatural game board. I liked the constant chaos of RR, whereas Rose of Jericho is more of a steadily increasing pulse of violence and horror as the book proceeds.

Does this mean Rose of Jericho is a worse book than Red Rabbit? Not really. Alex Grecian has a rare talent, in my mind: He writes female characters who pass all of my personal checkboxes for being absolutely terrific. I don’t trust the vast majority of male authors to write truly great female characters, especially ones who you don’t want to anger or who have power. All of his characters are multifaceted and it brings me such joy. If you add in the creative plotting, the well-crafted storytelling, the intense worldbuilding, and the polished style I can’t stand to think this book isn’t anything but excellent. It just isn’t Red Rabbit. 4⭐️



I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Dark Fantasy/Folk Horror/Found Family/Ghost Fiction/Historical Horror/Supernatural Horror/Witch Fiction

To start, this is a sequel, and I wish I would have known that before going in only because I really liked this one and would have loved to have a more complete understanding of some characters going in. That said, you technically don't have to read the first, "Red Rabbit," before beginning this and will not be lost whatsoever. This was unique, unsettling, and tragic all at once. There were a lot of moving parts involved, and the author did an excellent job of tying everything up by the conclusion. This was descriptive and not for the faint of heart. Four stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group, for this ARC.

The Rose of Jericho is a beautifully crafted novel that intertwines themes of resilience, transformation, and the cyclical nature of life. Much like the real-life resurrection plant it is named after, this book explores the ability to endure hardship and bloom again after periods of dormancy.

I started reading and loved the tone but then realized this is the prequel to another book.

I'm excited to read this, but I'm a completionist and need to read the 1st book that was published and come back to leave a full review.

Update coming!

There's something terrible going on in the town of Ascension, and actually, everywhere. The dead aren't dying. Or more, they're dying but remaining trapped, up and moving and falling apart. But they aren't zombies. Death has been killed, setting off a cross country journey to try and bring him back, while Sadie Grace and her daughter try to keep their aunt out of this, and keep the town from falling apart completely. It's a very messy, complicated story, in the best way possible.
What a wild ride. There were an absolute ton of moving parts, but somehow Grecian made them all fit together and move in a way to create a good story, both suspenseful and entertaining. I will say, there were a few loose ends that seem like they should have been tied up, but I also gather that this is kind of part of a series, so there will probably be another.

I was hooked from the beginning!!
I devoured Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian.
It was amazing, addictive, and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

I didn’t know that this book took place in an already created universe, but by the end I already wanted to go back and read the first book. This first introduction into Rabbit’s universe was one of the best introductions I have ever read. In general, this was a very weird book. I also didn’t keep reading it because of how choppy it felt. But fear not, the more you read the more it makes sense and the more engrossed you become with the story.

The dual POV was a little weird as I touched on before. It’s a lot of moving parts and it can get muddled pretty fast. I think eventually it does help the story become more complete than with just one single POV. I found all the characters to be unique in their own right even without much development. This is where reading the first book would come in handy, especially for the main characters. Readers can tell they’re missing something but it’s not super detrimental to the story.

The plot takes some time to come to fruition and for readers to understand what is going on. I think it clicked for me about 60% of the way through, and then I was fully hooked until the end. Some might guess it sooner than others but I fully appreciated the journey it took readers on!

Important note: Be aware that ROSE OF JERICHO is a sequel to RED RABBIT. This information isn’t (at the time I’m writing this) anywhere on the cover or in the description, but it absolutely should be.

This story picks up ten years after the first book. We don’t get anything in the way of introduction to help with remembering past details, so it took me a bit to settle in.

I really liked what the author was going for with this story, regarding the persecution of witches, and the issues around death as an entity and a necessity. But I felt it was all spread a little thin. I loved the first book, and while I enjoyed this one, I just didn’t feel that same magic.

The audiobook is narrated by John Pirhalla, who also narrated RED RABBIT. I loved the way he embodied the mood and tone of the story and characters.

*Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook download.*

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Alex Grecian for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Rose of Jericho coming out March 11, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I received the audiobook of Red Rabbit and enjoyed it. So I was excited to receive this book to read. The beginning was really shocking and dark. I really enjoyed the set up. I think the story was even better than the first book. I really loved the setting and time period! I love a good supernatural story. The first half of the book was definitely my favorite. I would definitely check out more books by this author!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical supernatural books!

4.5 Stars – A Hauntingly Haunting Sequel

I enjoyed this more than the first book. It has a less adventure, more haunted feel to it, which perfectly suits the eerie setting of Ascension, Massachusetts. The atmosphere is rich with unease—ghosts in Bethany Hall, a village where the dead don’t stay dead, and something lurking in the attic.

Rabbit, Sadie Grace, and Rose are compelling, but I do think you’ll want to read the first book to fully appreciate them. If you love horror with creeping tension and witchcraft, this is a must-read. Haunting, unsettling, and highly recommended!

Thank you, NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and TOR Publishing, for the advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

Something strange is happening in Ascension. The dead aren’t staying dead. A mother on her deathbed suddenly recovers, a boy crushed under a milk cart walks away, and a hanged man can still talk. When Rabbit and Sadie Grace travel with their friend Rose to care for her cousin, they realize their new home, Bethany Hall, is packed with ghosts—and something worse is lurking in the attic. The villagers are hostile, the town is hiding something, and a much bigger threat is coming for them all.

This had some great grotesque imagery—I just wanted more! The opening was strong and heartbreaking, setting up a dark and eerie tone. Some surprise characters popped in (which I wasn’t expecting), adding an extra layer to the story. The main characters were compelling, and I was always excited to switch between their POVs.

That said, I wanted more from the storylines—some loose ends could’ve been fleshed out, and the ending felt a little abrupt compared to the buildup.

I found out after reading that this is set in the same world as Red Rabbit and has some of the same characters, but it didn’t really rely on the first book. Nor did I see anywhere that it’s a sequel. It gave me serial thriller vibes—where the same characters appear, but you can read them in any order. (It makes sense now why there were cover redesigns of the first book.)

If you’ve read Red Rabbit, definitely pick this up. If not, you might finish it wanting just a little more.

I enjoyed the first installment of this story, but I do think that this "sequel" wasn't super necessary. Or, I should say that it didn't convince me that it needed to exist. I don't think this was a bad book, but I feel that the characters suffered a bit and the story took a little too long to get going for a sequel. The witchiness and the vibes were still there, and I do enjoy Grecian's writing style, so I was still interested in the story. But, overall, I just didn't *love* this.

Also, I don't think that you'd..necessarily have to have read Red Rabbit to understand this, but the way it is marketed on Goodreads and some other outlets doesn't quite indicate that this is like a loose sequel to a first book. "From the New York Times bestselling author of Red Rabbit comes a supernatural horror where ghosts and ghouls are the least of a witch’s problems in historical New England."--Like this just needed to be phrased much, much differently. Even I didn't catch it at first, but luckily I had already read the first one.

I have to say, though, that either way I am really, really digging the historical western fantasy vibes and would absolutely devour more things like this.

Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian
I want to start this review by saying I was not aware that this book is a sequel. This book features characters from the authors book “Red Rabbit.” While I didn’t find anything necessarily confusing, which leads me to believe it CAN be read as a stand alone, one of my biggest complaints is not getting to know the characters better. That complaint might have been resolved if I had read the first book.
This was probably one of the more unique books I’ve read in recent memory. The dead stop dying and no one is sure why…but I just didn’t *love* the book. Honestly the biggest thing for me is there was just too much going on. There were so many different story elements happening at once that you weren’t able to really dive into any particular aspect of the story and really explore that plot point. There was the undead, witches, witch hunters, ghosts, a haunted house…..I think if the author had just shaved down some of these elements and really honed in on some of the plot points, this unique story would have had a harder punch.
I also wish I hadn’t gone into this story thinking it was horror. There was nothing particularly scary about it. It was closer to a historical fiction with supernatural elements.
All that being said, it’s a very unique story and I think if I had read the first book where some of these characters and elements were explored more, I would have had a much greater appreciation for it.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.