🚧WHITE LINE FEVER🚧 by @pnwscribe is a wild, horrific road trip filled with mesmerizing trances and spiraling confusion. Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher, @tornightfire / @macmillanaudio for the physical ARC, e-ARC and audio-ARC.

Olivia's marriage is falling apart. After finding out her husband has been cheating on her, she starts to feel hollow and vacant, a stranger in her own home. To cheer her up and get her out of the house, her friends plan a weekend getaway road trip adventure. As they travel to their destination, everyone starts having weird experiences - seeing things that aren't there, feeling otherworldly brushes against them - that seem to be playing on their worst fears. When they find a ghost hunting crew having the same experiences, they find out they are on the Devil's Driveway, a roadway near Bend, OR that has mostly gone untouched by paranormal nerds thus far despite its sordid history...

I absolutely love that Jones took a local Oregon roadway and made it into a "nightmare mile" for this book. I am a sucker for PNW elements in a story being from the area. I also loved the fact that I couldn't really tell whether this was cosmic horror, ghosts, or something else. It was just very disorienting and unsettling, even for the reader, which made me feel very much part of the chaos. Parts were a bit confusing where past and present are essentially colliding but that made it that much more eerie. The interpersonal dynamics, the dredging up of old shit during a crisis, and the fact that you learn people's true nature in a time of chaos were well documented in this narrative and I was anxious the whole damn time. This felt like an f'ed up Groundhog's Day meets a badass adult female Sandlot. For having a pretty benign setting and a standard friend getaway to begin the story, this book was anything but ordinary or mundane.

Especially if you are a PNWer with a love of horror, you gotta give this author a shot! This is now an auto-buy author for me after the last two!

White Line Fever is a gripping, eerie ride that blends supernatural horror with raw emotional depth. It follows four longtime friends who take a shortcut down a haunted stretch of road—and quickly find themselves trapped in a surreal nightmare that forces each of them to confront their past.

The story is dark, atmospheric, and tense in all the right ways. KC Jones does an incredible job weaving together suspense and character development, making the horror feel personal. The road itself becomes this looming, sinister presence that keeps you turning pages.

If you love horror that’s not just about jump scares but also dives into trauma, friendship, and the weight of unspoken history, this one’s a standout. Creepy, thought-provoking, and totally unforgettable.

DNF @ 39%

This is an example of a me problem and not a book problem. I just could not get past certain things and believe what was going on in the story.
The characters were getting on my nerves. These are supposed to be best friends and all they are doing is lying to each other. How can you call yourself a friend if you cannot be open and honest with them? If I was out there with my best friend they would know exactly what I was seeing and hearing.

I'm not the right reader for this book.

The premise intrigued me, initially. But I got bored pretty quickly.

The sections for the second timeline, which takes us back to the characters' adolescence, were overly long, often felt unnecessary, and took me out of the intensity of the present-day story.

Pacing in general slowed to a crawl.

All the female characters felt interchangeable.

DNF

*Thanks to Tor Nightfire for the free eARC, provided via NetGalley.*

Imagine deciding to take a road trip, yet the road trip turns deadly. This is what happens to our four friends, especially our main character, Livia. When you think that your past will stay your past, the Devil's Highway will make your nightmares a reality. Though, can you beat the Devil at his own work? As our story unfolds and we travel, we go from the past to the present when it comes to Livia. Nothing is truly as it seems, and man, you gotta have a strong mind to deal with what is being thrown your way with this highway.
We start off with the Prologue, and that sets our tone for the story being told. The trippy things that happen on this highway to Livia and her friends will have you question your own sanity, and it makes you wonder if Livia and her friends will ever get to the end of this 15-mile highway. Because in the end, it seems this highway knows your fears and wants a taste of it. Almost like our lovely clown Pennywise.

This wasn't very good. It was kind of a ghost story, which, had I known I would have passed on it altogether, but moreover, it was boring and sooo drawn out.
Thanks to #netgalley and #tornightfire for this #arc of #whitelinefever in exchange for an honest review.

White Line Fever is a moody, psychological horror that explores how past trauma haunts us just as much as any supernatural threat. The dynamic between the four lifelong friends is the heart of the story, and their shared history gives the unfolding nightmare emotional weight. While the atmosphere is tense and the writing evocative, some of the buildup leads to letdowns, with suspenseful scenes that fizzle rather than deliver. The horror is more internal than visceral—think creeping dread, not jump scares. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but the emotional undercurrent and character development made it a compelling, if uneven, read.

**2.5 stars**

So I don’t get approved for Tor/Tor Nightfire books very often on NetGalley so I was thrilled to get this after hearing such great things about his first book. But it was so long winded and boring. I think it’s an example of men not really being able to write detailed, in-depth female characters very well. After the first 20% I freely admit I skipped around until the end. I didn’t understand the back and forth in time with The Scoundrels, that added nothing to the story for me. I already own Black Tides so I will give the author another shot.

The audiobook narrator was ok.

**Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received in exchange for my honest review**

White Line Fever is a creepy read that might have you wanting to stay only on the busiest of roads!

The premise for this one intrigued me as soon as I read it. A somehow haunted stretch of road? A girls’ trip gone awry? Absolutely sign me up. The group of friends had a very long, dramatic history with each other, and they were all entertaining in spite of some frustrating tendencies. I was invested enough in their backstories, and I liked them enough that I was rooting for them to all make it out okay on the other side. I also liked the setting so much! It was genuinely creepy and claustrophobic, and it made me really grateful that I don’t have any road trips coming up soon.

Unfortunately, the story itself never quite hooked me. I kept wanting something more to happen or for things to get really crazy, but it never quite hit the right note for me. It had all the right ingredients, but something still went wrong with the end result. I know a lot of people are enjoying this one, and I am so glad they are! It just never got there for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Publishing, and KC Jones for the free ARC in exchange for my review.

KC Jones does an amazing job of bringing the creepy atmosphere as our group of friends is traveling down this deserted highway. Each one seemingly getting lost in their heads at different moments, all the while seeing the remains of previous wrecks up and down the road they are traveling.
I loved how this book started. With a glimpse of just what the Devil's Highway is capable of. As soon as our group makes that turn you know your in for a horrifying ride, and I loved every moment. I thought the pacing was great, the tension rose perfectly into these big moments that had everyone questioning their sanity, but still sticking together even when they couldn't stop bickering between themselves.

This is the second book I've read by this author, and I will definitely be reading their future works.

This was not the type of book I typically choose to read as I’m not a fan of paranormal material. But it’s a well written story and definitely a unique premise. Liv and her friends are forced to face some of their biggest fears. It’s never easy for anyone but this is beyond anything you’ve ever encountered - I hope!

I really wanted to like this one. The premise had promise, four longtime friends on a girls' getaway stumble into a nightmare on a haunted backroad called The Devil’s Driveway? Yes, please. But after a strong start, White Line Fever quickly veers off course.

The setting is the book’s best asset. Jones nails the eerie atmosphere. One early scene where the road seems to twist reality itself had real potential. But that tension fizzles out fast. The scares never quite land, and the constant build-up with no payoff started to feel like horror blue balls.
The dual timelines (childhood flashbacks vs. present day) could’ve added depth, but instead dragged the pacing and muddied the plot. The characters, while decently developed, are stuck in a story that doesn't know where it's going.

It’s not terrible, just forgettable. A spooky road trip that stalls halfway there.

I went into this expecting a horror novel and it really isn’t that. Once I put those expectations aside, I enjoyed it much more. This is an exploration of trauma combined with supernatural elements. I feel the author did a good job of really getting into the character’s minds and pulling the reader in. Go into this book expecting slow burn character study and you’ll be able to really appreciate it.

Thanks for the opportunity to read!

White Line Fever is an intriguing storyline (haunted highways?! Yes) but the way that the story was executed lost me. The beginning was engaging and set a tone that the rest of book failed to follow. The characters had no depth, the plot was weird (not necessarily a bad thing) and made zero sense. Additionally, the plot was not there nor was the pacing. It didn't invoke fear or excitement, just confusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.

WHITE LINE FEVER by KC Jones was captivating and engaging. It was creative and original in its premise and execution. I really appreciated the mental health representation through unresolved trauma and how the antagonist would manipulate the MCs through such. The premise of a hallucinatory haunted road was really fun. I felt it could have been a bit more... explicit? The depictions of violence and/or conflict could have been a bit grittier, but that might just be my desensitization nowadays lol. I absolutely adored Black Tide and feel this author is so good with cosmic horror. A mash up of both mental health representation and cosmic horror would have easily made this 5 stars! I rate it 3.75 at this time :)

What a roller coaster of a thriller! I was on the edge of my seat the entire read. Full of shocking twists and suspense, it was not like any other thriller I’ve ever read. I won’t ever look at desolate stretches of road or tunnels the same way again.

This book was just on for me. It was very intriguing and at times very mysterious and kept me engaged. But there was just so many inconsistencies and questions left unanswered.
At times it seemed like the author was going on one direction but then lost that train of thought and didn’t finish it through.

The storyline was good but just the backstory leading up to the actual current timeframe was off.

Thanks NetGalley for the copy

White Line Fever is Lemmy Kilmister’s unapologetic, pedal-to-the-metal memoir. From his early days chasing girls with a guitar in hand to founding Motörhead and shaping speed metal, Lemmy lived louder than anyone else. With tales of chaos, music, and mayhem, this book is a raw, hilarious ride through the life of rock’s most notorious outlaw.

What a book! Loved it! Thank you, KC Jones, for this read as it kept me up all night as this book is unput downable!

Highly recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

White Line Fever is the 2nd-book that I have read from K.C. Jones, and I believe we are going to have a long and beautiful friendship. This was great. I loved the themes explored and the hair-raising, disturbing and distressing journey we went on with these characters. This story follows Livia, who after experiencing a particularly rough patch at home, gets swept away on a girls' weekend retreat by her three best friends.

As they head to the remote cabin they've rented, they encounter a bit of trouble on the road, and like many characters before them, decide to take a shortcut. County Road 951 looks unremarkable at the start, but what the women don't know is that this road also has another name: The Devil's Driveway.

It does not take long before the group starts noticing concerning things happening, time slips and confusion, hallucinations and worse. Their good-spirited getaway is quickly turning into a pulse-racing nightmare. The horrors of the road seem to be linked to their past, but it's all so hard to decipher. The women are confused and tired, but regardless of the challenges and their fears, they'll need to work together if they have any hope of survival.

I thought White Line Fever was so interesting. It begins with a startling and gripping Prologue that is set on the stretch of road where the women ultimately end up, but it's not necessarily related to them. That Prologue really set the tone for the story. Then we take a quick step back and meet Livia, as well as her friends, and we learn of their motivations behind their girls' trip.

It had the perfect Horror story set-up: four friends on a girls weekend, driving to a remote rental house, things going horribly wrong. Also it featured a great Horror story lesson, which many of us already know and practice in our own lives: don't ever take the shortcut.

We do get a past-timeline, in addition to the present-day action, where we follow Livia and her friend group when they were just young girls. We learn of formative (read: traumatizing) events that happened to them on Livia's family's property. I did enjoy that back-and-forth. The friend group and particularly the way the events of their youth were relayed did give me heavy-It vibes; not in a copy-cat way, in a more inspirational, subtle way. I enjoyed that vibe.

While some of the events occurring in the Devil's Driveway were a bit too fever dream for my general tastes, I did love the character work and in particular, the growth that our MC, Livia, displayed throughout the story.

You truly go on a journey with these characters. I enjoyed the feel of the road itself, how it plays the role of antagonist. I also loved the strong bonds of the friend group, as they tried to figure everything out in order to get out of there. I would recommend this to Horror Readers of all types. I think the creativity and exceptional character work make this one worthy of picking up. I'm looking forward to more from Jones in the future. Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

K.C. Jones seems to take risks with his writing, and I respect the heck out of that, and enjoy a lot of the themes and concepts he explores in his stories. The best part is, I have no clue in what direction he'll be going next with his work, but you better believe, I'm gonna be there to read it!

I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. The characters are mostly okay, though Livia's lack of a spine was a problem and Ash was just mean for no reason. As far as the story goes, it got pretty repetitive until basically the 75% mark. I did think that it pulled together well in the end, and the climax was satisfying enough. I probably would find it scarier if I found myself driving through the woods a lot, but from the safety of my home, not so much.