Finally a vampire horror I can sink my fangs into.

Rosson’s Coffin Moon lures you in from the very first page and consumes you until the very last. John Varley and Johan, Julia and Duane, Ed and Joanne, Heidi… oh, Heidi. Every character in this book become flesh and bone and bleeding guts. Every character was breathing and creaking through my mind for days.

The Portland setting and the darkness of the night was teeming with life throughout the story. Every new setting was richly explained.

The story took multiple turns that I wasn’t expecting to the point that I had to stay up late to find out what the next chapter held.

Coffin Moon is a horror triumph for the decade.

While this was a pretty good vampire book a lot of this story really dragged for me. I wish it would have focused more on the present tense instead of flashing back to the past so much, even if that helped tell the story. The action and the gore was great just not a great read for me.

Thank you Keith Rosson for ripping my heart out

This is my first book by Rosson and I was a little worried about it being a bit too dude-broey horror for me. This book doesn't shy away from the blood guts and gore but it's also so emotional and tender-hearted with it's grief. It felt like a perfect balance of the two and will be a go-to recommendation for vampire horror in the future.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Keith Rosson for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Coffin Moon coming out September 9, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I really love vampire stories. I thought parts of it were creepy. But I wasn’t into the story as much as I thought I would be. I would check out other books by this author.

Hot damn this was phenomenal!!!

1970's, Portland, Oregon

Duane Minor has returned home from Vietnam with PTSD and nightmares that plague him every time his head hits the pillow. He knows he should be grateful for even being alive. He has the love of his life, Heidi, and supportive in-laws, that allow Duane to run the bar they own. They recently have taken in Heidi's sisters daughter, 13 year old Julia, after her mother is sent to prison for murder.

One night at the bar two men enter with menace twinkling in their eyes. Duane knows their bad news but Duane wasn't prepared. He had know idea that in confronting them would destroy his entire life.

Now it's just Duane and Julia. Both of them are full of rage and hell bent on vengeance.

They head out on the road to find the beast of a man that brought their world crashing down upon them.

Prepare yourself for the ultimate confrontation.

This book was everything I wanted in a vampire novel. It's gritty, it's violent, and it's bloody as hell. What I hadn't expected was how well written this is. I can't tell you how many highlight worthy lines there were. Rosson grab me by the heart and then twisted it with glee. I was so truly invested in these characters. I loved them all. Except, you know, the vampires. That said, John Varley, our brutal antagonist, was so well drawn that it was impossible to not be intrigued by him, his background, and how he became the monster he is. So, yeah, I was 100% invested from the beginning to the end. I may have even shed a tear or two. This will undoubtedly be one of my favorite books of the year. ALL. THE. STARS!!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🧛‍♂️

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for my complimentary copy.

I didn't have high expectations being that lately vampires don't hit like they used to be hitting but I thought I'd give it a shot. The premise was interesting enough and I can now say I was pleasant surprised to have found how much I enjoyed this story.

It was brutal. It was scary. It was gritty. It was FANTASTIC!

This books had me by the throat (pun intended) from the get go and never let me go. It was quite an enjoyable ride and a definite recommendation for me for those who love horror/vampires.

Coffin Moon was a dark story perfect for the halloween season. The best part was the graphic writing style of Keith Rosson. The vivid descriptions, while horrifying, kept me hooked on the story. It was also heavy on the human aspect and the prices you pay to exact revenge. I highly recommend this book if you like horror stories.

Coffin Moon is dark, violent, and unrelenting—in all the best ways. Portland in 1975 sets a grim, neon-soaked backdrop for Duane Minor and his niece, Julia, as they spiral into a revenge-fueled hunt after a vampire shatters their lives. Gritty, raw, and emotionally heavy, it’s a story about grief, rage, and how far people will go when the line between humanity and monster blurs.

In 1975, Portland, Oregon, Duane Minor returned from Vietnam full of anger and with a tendency to drink to keep nightmares away. His wife Heidi helps him get back on track, and they take in his niece Julia after a tragedy. When Minor crosses John Varley, a man who sleeps in dirt during the day and has sharper teeth by moonlight, Heidi is killed. Minor and Julia are determined to get revenge and enter a world of undead children, silver bullets, and others who fall in line with Varley. The pair follows him from state to state, but who will prevail?

Julia had a rough go of life from the start, with witnessing her stepfather murder and her mother going to jail. Duane and Heidi want to do the right thing by her, and he's opposed to having drugs sold out of the bar. This makes it even more painful for Julia and Duane when Heidi is killed. Grief tosses Duane into alcohol and Julia into leaving to track down Varley. The need for revenge is high for both of them, and the despair permeates the pages. We get flashback chapters to show Varley in the past and how he developed into the vampire he was at the start, as well as the search to track him down. It's not a pretty story, since it's death and vengeance and the choices people make under duress. These vampires kill, sometimes just for the fun of it, and we're along for the ride to see how it ends. There are still choices to be made at the end, and we are not always sure how it will go, just like life.

Much like Stephen King, Keith Rosson has a way of drawing you into his character's lives and making you care about them almost immediately. Thus, making it so much more impactful when he tears their worlds apart. Much like his most recent Fever House books Rosson sets a small cast against a larger more terrifying foe that they have very little hope of defeating. Yet there is never a point at which victories and losses don't feel earned.

Duane Minor is a Vietnam veteran attempting to pull his life back together after surviving the horrors of war. Just as that appears to be in reach his world is turned on his head when he crosses paths with a violent vampire that has been stalking the Portland area. He is left with his preteen niece Julia to figure out how to move forward. For Julia though the only thing she wants is revenge. Duane and Julia's relationship is well written and I honestly wish it had more time the book to develop, I appreciated how honest they were with each other and it would have been great to see more them as 'family'. Rosson spends a lot of time with Duane and creates a tragically, flawed character that is desperately trying to figure out how to do right by his family and Julia. Though Julia is given time to develop as a character she seems less important than she is. I would have liked more of her throughout the book. I honestly think that this book could have been a little longer in order to give more time with her and the uncle niece dynamic before things move forward plot wise for them. Our vampire villain Varley is also a really well-developed character that has a fun story arch. Though I will say some of the buildup left me wanting more by the time book finally closed.

Overall, this is a fun read, especially for the upcoming spooky season. If you have enjoyed other work from Rosson you will likely enjoy this as well.

I was fascinated with this book. Set in Portland in the 70s, we follow Duane, a Vietnam vet trying to stay sober while raising his niece Julia after tragedy changes their lives. When a dangerous vampire rips everything apart, Duane and Julia are pulled into a brutal chase that’s equal parts grief, vengeance, and survival.
The writing is so atmospheric, you can feel the grief and the tension on every page. And the vampire lore? Dark, unsettling, and so different from the usual. Definitely one I’d recommend!

What if vampire fiction wasn’t about velvet capes, gothic castles, or tragic love, but instead about broken men, war scars, and a bloodsucker with no soul? That’s the world of Coffin Moon.

Rosson sets his story in the 1970s, drenched in grit, grime, and violence. This is not romanticized horror, it’s brutal, unflinching, and deeply human in its messiness. The vampire at the center is pure predator, a ruthless creature with zero morals, leaving carnage in his wake.

✨ What I loved:
🪖 The alcoholic Vietnam vet at the heart of the story: raw, haunted, and painfully real. His PTSD and addiction don’t feel like tropes, they feel lived-in, messy, and tragically compelling.
🖤 The atmosphere: dirty motels, dive bars, rural roads, and a sense of decay that seeps into every page.
🥹 How Rosson uses horror as a lens for trauma. The vampire may be the monster, but the human wreckage left behind is just as terrifying.

📖 What to expect:
🔥 A violent vampire story with zero gothic romance.
🤯 Broken people making bad choices.
🩸 A predator who doesn’t brood, doesn’t hesitate, and absolutely doesn’t sparkle.
😳 The kind of horror that smells like blood and stale beer.

If you’re looking for a vampire novel that’s more Near Dark than Interview with the Vampire, this one will stick its teeth in and not let go.

Coffin Moon started off like a family drama, but eventually, it turned into a horror story. It wasn’t necessarily scary; it just had some horrific events and people in it. I enjoyed the beginning more than the ending. I really liked Duane and Julia. I hope things work out for them in the end.

NetGalley and Randomhouse Publishing Group, thank you for this advanced copy.

Thank you Random House for my gifted copy!

I’ve been searching for an author that transports me the same way S.A. Cosby does. And I was a Twilight fanatic in my day. Team Jacob… until he imprinted on a baby. But I digress. Coffin Moon was a vampire novel written in the velvety richness that I’ve begun to fervently seek out after reading Cosby. And I found it. I. Found. It. Keith Rosson can WRITE. Reading this felt like I was in a smoky, wood paneled tavern, watching the insanity unfold from my leather bar stool, a glass of brandy warming under my fingertips. It was visceral.

That’s all to say, it was atmospheric as f*ck. Rich. Cloying. Enrapturing. This book was made of the stuff vampires exude to entice your neck to their teeth.

Coffin Moon was more than just a vampire novel, though. It was deep. It had these utterly melancholy moments that made me want to weep. Full of loss, love, desire, lust, insatiable cravings. I haven’t read anything like this in some time. Something that turned the outside world out and completely submerged me.

I absolutely loved this beautiful, tragic damn book. I hope Duane and Heidi have been reunited. 😭

Man! What a exciting and terrifyingly gruesome vampire tale. After a bit of character building the first portion of the book, the remaining story was great. Told thru three alternating point of views, this one holds nothing back. Set in the 1970's shortly after Duane has returned from Vietnam, Julia a troubled teenager in the care of Duane and his wife and John Varley a vampire bent on revenge. This was easily one of my top reads of 2025.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve read a vampire novel because, quite honestly, I’m sick of the fancy-floating-sparkly-beautiful vampires. Of course they have their place, and it’s not that I hate them. I’m just tired of reading the same thing over and over. This novel was a very welcome trip back to the old school where vampires were bloody, violent, and vengeful when they don’t get what they want. I LOVED THIS BOOK. Absolutely incredible. Even the cover brought back some good old vampire nostalgia for me. I almost wish it was a series because it was so so good! Minor and Julia are a killer team (no pun intended) and I loved the dynamic between them. I especially loved that their relationship was far from perfect because it made the story seem real. And they don’t even realize where they cross the line between wanting to avenge Julia’s death and having a NEED to get Varley just because they want to. Whether it’s what Julia would have wanted it doesn’t matter because they have tunnel vision, each of them for different reasons. Really superb writing. Every time I had to put it down to take care of adulting, I was so irritated. What do you mean I can’t read this book cover to cover in one shot?! Seriously, it’s that good. If you’re a fan of vampire stories, you definitely want to read this one. Read it twice, and then bring it to your book club.

Huge thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Random House and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

Duane Minor, a Vietnam War veteran returns to Portland, Oregon to work at his in-laws' bar, Last Call, while struggling with sobriety. He and his wife, Heidi, are also raising their niece, Julia, after Julia's mother is jailed. Complicating matters, Duane's mother-in-law makes a deal with drug dealers to sell at the bar to save her dying husband. Duane, strongly against this, expels the dealers, incurring the wrath of their leader, John Varley. Varley, a ruthless vampire, retaliates against Duane's family. Left with nothing, Duane and Julia embark on a vengeful cross-country pursuit of Varley, with Julia ultimately making the supreme sacrifice to defeat him.

Coffin Moon offers a fresh perspective on vampire horror, featuring compelling characters. The townie bar setting and its regulars create an ominous atmosphere. The narrative effectively uses flashbacks to delve into the motivations of Duane, Julia, and Varley. Varley is portrayed as a cruel and violent antagonist, though the addition of a partner hints at a softer side. Julia's tragic upbringing as a thirteen-year-old is powerfully depicted, making her decisions for vengeance and survival understandable. Duane's character is complex, undergoing significant emotional development as he seeks revenge for the loss of his wife and in-laws. The dynamic between Duane and Julia drives an exciting and intense chase across the country as they confront Varley's destruction while grappling with grief, vulnerability, and the limits of their bond. The vampires in the story are genuinely terrifying without relying on reinvented mythology. Overall, it's a thrilling vampire novel with a profound emotional journey for its characters.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

sorry for the late review I was sick. I loved this book a lot. I love anything with vampires in it as I am a big Vampire fan. I already got a early copy of the book thanks to Aardvark. I highly recommend this book to everyone that loves Vampires just as much as I do.

This was one of my highly anticipated reads of the year and Keith delivered ten fold! He’s such an amazing story teller, his books feel cinematic and pull you right in every time. If you haven’t read anything by him, just do it.

Coffin Moon is a heartbreaking story about grief, finding yourself and the roads that lead you there. I enjoyed all of the characters, including the villains! That’s how you know a book is well written.

I love anything with vampires so this was obviously going to be a high rated read for me. What made it five stars was how enveloped I was in this story, I was rooting for these characters like they were my best friends.

I recommend this book to fans of Keith’s other books and horror fans alike. A big thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC!

Duane Minor isn’t the same after his tour in Vietnam. He’s angry and drinks a lot. One night he flies into a drunken rage and calls on his mother-in-law for help. She agrees if Duane stops drinking and gets his shit together. He’s white-knuckling through sobriety when his mother-in-law allows a biker gang to sell heroin at the bar she owns and Duane works at. Duane can’t let it continue, even though his father-in-law’s life is at stake. Standing his ground, will change Duane’s life and his family’s in ways he couldn’t have foreseen.