This is probably the most heart-wrenching horror story I have ever read.

So many emotional scenes and lots of gory horror scenes. Definitely a story that will stick with me for quite some time.

#NetGalley #CoffinMoon

I could not get into this book. Unfortunately, it was just not the right story for me to be reading at the time.

Duane Minor is home at last after the Vietnam War. The things he did and saw haunt his nightmares and his marriage. But all the trauma he has been through is nothing compared to what he soon has to face at home. He and his wife have taken in her sister's child Julia, after a tragedy left her homeless. Julia knows trauma too, and Duane will do anything to protect her.

Working for his in-laws at the bar below his apartment should be an easy job. Even for someone who has given up drinking. It shouldn't be dangerous. It shouldn't be deadly. But one fateful night changes everything, and Duane and Julia become the hunted and the hunters when a vampire destroys everything they have except for each other.

It's been a long time since I read a vampire novel this good. There is plenty of blood and gore, but it's also a tale of how far someone would go to protect their family. It's the choices we make and the choices that have been stolen from us along with the consequences. There is vengeance and redemption, grief and loss, with unforgettable characters both living and undead.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC of this book.

This novel about main character Duane as he returns to Oregon to help his mother in law gives us a flawed but lovable main character on the path to better their life. In this modern era vampire novel with a 1970's vibe, the author has found something new. Too many details could spoil the story. Preorder this one to get your started on spooky season.

4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I was drawn to the title and cover, and I was not misled. This is a revenge story set in a post-Vietnam era with vampires, which makes sense-- the war and its makers fed senselessly and viciously on young men and their loved ones, much like John Varley, the sociopathic 200 year-old hunted through most of the book by protagonist Duane and his niece Julia-- though that parallel is not lingered over and I wonder if it was a choice more of convenience (no cell phones to contend with) than metaphor. Doesn't really matter; I enjoyed the historical setting (settings, actually, as we are treated to snapshots from Varley's malododous life). It even served to highlight Duane's humanity, though I may just be assuming there weren't TONS of bartenders with gay best friends in the '70s.

Uncomfortably violent at times, with torture and abuse, but always serving plot momentum or character elucidation. I was most taken with the narrative voice, kind of pulp-noir without the sexism. Refreshing! I'm surprised I hadn't heard of Rosson before. I'll happily check out his other works.

Rosson, to no one’s surprise nails the vampire genre effortlessly. If you have always wanted a vampire novel without the Christian element like I have, this is the one for you. Found family along with social commentary on a time when people were trying to figure out how to enter themselves back into society after the Vietnam war combines wonderfully for a gritty look at a monster genre that has always been pictured as highbrow instead of sleeping wherever they can, afraid of their own vulnerability.

Coffin Moon is a masterclass in atmosphere. Keith Russon delivers a hauntingly compelling story that lingers long after the final page. The pacing is razor-sharp, the characters are richly drawn, and the eerie, slow-burn tension builds to a stunning conclusion. Russon’s prose is gritty, immersing you fully in the world he’s created. This book kept me reading late into the night—I simply had to know what would happen next. Highly recommend for fans of paranormal thrillers and dark mysteries. An absolute standout!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Coffin Moon.

I like the moody, vintage-y, atmospheric cover.

I don't mind a vampire tale every once in awhile though it's not my favorite genre.

The premise was intriguing as is the 70s setting but I couldn't get invested in the plot for the following reasons:

1. The writing style is very dry, written in a summary-like format.

2. The characters aren't very well developed minus the basic facts; Minor is a veteran struggling with alcoholism and severe PTSD and Julia, his adopted niece is having a hard time adapting to her new life with her aunt and Minor after a tragedy left her mom in prison and the boyfriend dead.

3. We get an info dump on the big bad vamp, his origins, his Maker, how he came to be, and why he does what he does

He's not intriguing or compelling; he's such as heck no Lestat.

Actually, he's kind of lame, especially that anti-climatic ending, the showdown between him and the two main characters and the reason he's pursued them.

This is practically a rom-com, Varley and his boy toy doing their own vamp-y version of Thelma & Louise.

4. For a vampire tale, there's very little to no suspense and urgency despite Minor and his niece hunting the big bad vamp

5. There's not much world building on the vamp side; where do they come from, how they originated and proliferated and since the exposition is lacking, you don't care about anyone.

It's not even fun to hate on the vamp; yeah, he rips people apart and sucks your blood but he's also in LURVE.

By this time, I almost wished the vamps were sparkly and shone in the sun and had beef with a hunky werewolf to liven things up.

I really enjoyed this horror novel and found myself wanting to keep reading to see where it was going. As a lover of history and horror, I thought this was a great blend of the two. The story is set in the 70's and follows a Vietnam vet who works for his in-laws. After getting tangled up in their business, he quickly learns that there are consequences to even well-intentioned actions. I thought the author did a great job of character development, and he really made you feel like a part of the story with setting the scenes. I think this is the first horror novel that almost brought me to tears. There was just something about that final climactic moment that made me sad to see it ending. The story is full of adrenaline and interesting characters, especially Adeline. I would have liked to learn more about her. I'm giving the book overall 4 stars, lacking 1 star due to the strange romance between the villain and his new friend that appears out of nowhere. It seemed out of pocket, forced and I found it really hard to believe that either of them cared about each other. Great job, otherwise! Thank you so much for allowing me the honor of reading this book.

Rosson sticks the pedal to the floor in this vampire tale that spares no one. It's engaging, bloody, violent, and full of vengeful fury. You'll find yourself weeping on one page and cheering on the next. This is a great vampire tale that delivers the sharp-toothed goods.

Duane Minor lives above the bar The Last Call with his wife Heidi and niece Julia in the winter of 1975. Duane is battling his own demons after serving a tour in Vietnam. He has promised to stay sober in hopes tha it will help with all the anger he is feeling. Now his mother in law is letting a biker club headed by John Varley, to sell drugs at the bar and he wants no part in it. After throwing them out Duane soon realizes that he made a grave mistake when he finds Heidi murdered. Duane also finds out that his inlaws were also murdered that same night while being questioned by the police. The only name he can give them is John Varley, but they soon realize that he was involved in a murder of a cop back in 1930. Now back on the booze he and Julia are embarking on a trip that no one can turn back from. They are hunting the person how did this to their family and will not stop until he has killed them. This is a fast paced read that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Random House for letting me read an advanced copy of this novel.

**Huge thanks to @rossonkeith, @netgalley & @randomhouse for this early ARC of Coffin Moon — out September 9, 2025.**

This book sinks its teeth in and never lets go. It's blood-soaked. Vengeance-fueled. Brutal to the core.

Duane Minor is barely holding himself together—haunted by Vietnam, drowning in guilt, clinging to sobriety by a thread. But when a vampire walks into his bar and tears his world apart, something inside him snaps. His wife is dead. His life is ashes. And now all that’s left is the hunt.

With his thirteen-year-old niece Julia at his side, equally broken and burning with rage, Duane barrels into a violent, relentless pursuit across the Pacific Northwest. From neon-drenched alleyways to snow-blanketed roads, they chase a nightmare in human skin: John Varley, an ancient vampire who wears his monstrosity like a second skin and leaves ruin in his wake.

This isn’t your sexy vampire story. Varley is feral, vicious, utterly inhuman. Every moment he's on the page hums with danger. But the real horror? It's what revenge does to the living.

Coffin Moon is a howl of grief, fury, and bloodlust. It’s about the monsters we chase—and the ones we become in the process. Rosson’s writing is razor-sharp, soaked in sorrow, and unflinching. The violence is ugly, the emotion is raw, and the fallout is devastating.

You don’t walk away from this book clean.
You crawl, bleeding and breathless, wondering if vengeance was ever worth it.

Highly recommend.

Oh a vampire story? Yawn. But no! Not this one - realistically drawn characters, most of whom have already taken their lumps in life, go through a genuinely frightening vampire. And the vampire! The closest thing I can think of to this portrayal would be the vampires in the film Near Dark, but Coffin Moon goes further by revealing why you really wouldn't care to be a vampire, in terms as bleak as much of the rest of the book. Too, Rosson is just a great writer, and he evokes the blue collar working (and boozing) world of the early 1970s so well here. Highly, highly recommended if you like supernatural fiction that's also somehow gritty and down to Earth.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of Coffin Moon, by Keith Rosson, from Random House Publishing Group - Random House/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

I had the very good fortune to work for a while with one of the most thoughtful, brilliant men ever. He grew up poor—I’m talking DIRT poor—in Louisiana in the 1940s. Every time one of us (his colleagues/employees) would start kvetching about something he’d nod his head and say, “Yes, isn’t it wonderful to have such high-class problems?”

The first time I experienced this I of course wondered what in the world he meant. And so he explained that, to his mind, if you had food to eat, shelter, and clean water, anything else was, indeed, a high-class problem to have.

I have thought about this many, many times in the decades since then, including today in relation to this book. Which I didn’t really enjoy. But you know what? It’s a great problem to have, to have books and the time to read them, only to find that maybe one or another is not my particular vial of blood. Unlike so many of the other wonderful vampire books (and movies/shows) I’ve had the opportunity to ingest, if one will, over the years. So there you go—a super-high-class problem! I’ve had the good fortune to experience so much *fanged wonderfulness* over almost 60 years that I can be judgy and picky!

To the book at hand…..my main gripe (other than that godforsaken abomination of alright instead of all right) is that the book didn’t make me care about anybody. At all. It was also as if I had walked in on the story after the first 20 minutes of the movie had been playing; I kept trying to convince myself this was a second in the series because it seemed like I needed to know more about people’s backstories than I did. There was also one glaring continuity error. Not gonna get into spoiler territory, but just in case the publishing company is reading this, it has to do with the main character’s way of thinking about a certain member of their extended family after that person had turned on him. (Figuratively, not literally. Thought it important to note that given the type of book this is.)

Finally, as was my issue with the other two books I read this week that were set in the 1970s, the writing seemed to modern. Can’t exactly put my finger on why, in any of the instances.

This is another instance of me being in the serious minority with my reaction to a book. So it goes.

*FANGED WONDERFULNESS*
Not necessarily in priority order…..

- He Never Died: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2386404/...
- A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2386404/...
- True Blood: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0844441/
- Only Lovers Left Alive: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1714915/...
- Let the Right One In: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/
- The Sookie Stackhouse book series by Charlaine Harris: https://www.goodreads.com/series/4263...
- The Vampire Chronicles, by Anne Rice: https://www.goodreads.com/series/4356...

I’m pretty sure I’m forgetting something. That is probably because I melted part of my brain weeding and cutting bushes today. I would make a horrible vampire, I love the summer too much!

Ah…..that caused me to remember that it was the character Cassidy from the TV show Preacher that I also simply adored. Because what’s not to love about an Irish vampire, eh?

DESCRIPTION
From the author of the “exciting, suspenseful, horrifying” (Stephen King) Fever House, a Vietnam veteran and his adopted niece hunt—and are hunted by—the vampire that slaughtered their family.

“Grabs you by the throat and doesn’t relent.”—Cassandra Khaw, author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth

It’s the winter of 1975, and Portland, Oregon, is all sleet and neon. Duane Minor is back home after a tour in Vietnam, a bartender just trying to stay sober; save his marriage with his wife, Heidi; and connect with his thirteen-year-old niece, Julia, now that he’s responsible for raising her. Things aren’t easy, but Minor is scraping by.

Then a vampire walks into his bar and ruins his life.

When Minor crosses John Varley, a killer who sleeps during the day beneath loose drifts of earth and grows teeth in the light of the moon, Varley brutally retaliates by murdering Heidi, leaving Minor broken with guilt and Julia filled with rage. What’s left of their splintered family is united by only one desire: vengeance.

So begins a furious, frenzied pursuit across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. From grimy alleyways to desolate highways to snow-lashed plains, Minor and Julia are cast into the dark orbit of undead children, silver bullet casters, and the bevy of broken men transfixed by Varley’s ferocity. Everyone’s out for blood.

Gritty, unforgettable, and emotionally devastating, Coffin Moon asks what will be left of our humanity when grief transmutes into violence, when monsters wear human faces, and when our thirst for revenge eclipses everything else.

I did not care for this one. The writing was so so and the story just did not grab me. The characters were shallow and I couldn't give a quack about any of them. Just not for me.

Not quite as good as the previous duology, but a hell of a lot better than most horror novels published today.

Coffin Moon was the first Keith Rosson read for me. Philip Fracassi recommended it, so I requested it on NetGalley and preordered a signed hardcover copy from Broadway Books.

Coffin Moon started off running with a quick introduction to some terrific characters and then the vampire happened. At that point it became about revenge, love and how far will two people go the get the one who killed everyone they loved.

This book was fantastic and as close to five stars as it could get. I strongly recommend it and have also ordered a couple more from the author, including Fever House.

You can watch my more in depth video review on YouTube using the link below.

https://youtu.be/fm7_JWQ4fyA?si=okJFlGjnDB7vMfQ2

I was immediately intrigued by the promise behind the hunter becoming the hunted. Add vampires into the mix and I was hooked (I love a vampire novel). I am always drawn to what the hauntings of grief can push humans to do.

Trigger warnings for this book: gore, IPV (intimate partner violence), war, discrimination, substance use disorder (alcohol)

Duane Minor and his adopted niece, Julia, are both trying to overcome their own traumas. Duane assists his mother-in-law in running a family bar named, Last Call, when he encounters a group of men who drip with danger. Their leader, John Barley, in particular casts a sinister feeling, bringing Duane determined to protect his family. This leads to a devastating conclusion, rehashing deep pain for Duane and Julia. They fiercely seek revenge for their destroyed family that had yet to truly form.

My favorite aspect of this book was the slow, continuous burn of revenge. This did not match with the last few pages that felt a bit rushed after the burning embers of heartbreak. While I enjoyed the idea of the characters I felt as though they were flat. I did not connect with them as I anticipated, and questioned some of their decisions and thoughts for their stated age.

I thought the descriptions were well done and overall a well written novel. I felt that the book would have been a bit more impactful had it been a bit shorter. While the characters themselves fell a bit for me, there were clear relationships. The author truly emphasized how ties to one another led to the following consequences of each character’s decisions.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Keith Rosson for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC.

This is a great horror/suspense story. I enjoyed the characters once I got to know them through the first 1/3 of the book. The storyline kept my attention. I feel like there will be or should be a part two to this.

This was definitely one of my most anticipated books of 2025 and I was not disappointed.

The story follows Duane a Vietnam vet and his niece Julie who bond over trauma and are out for revenge when Heidi, Duane's wife, and his in-laws are brutally murdered by vampires. John Varley a savage killer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. And so the chase begins across the Northwest with Duane and Julie determine to get their vengeance.

This is a gritty and violent vampire story that I was expecting to get from this author. It was absolutely gruesome but also brings in feels of trauma and unexpected found family elements. I loved that the story takes place in the 1970s and for some reason this drew me in even more. Many aspects of this story were truly haunting especially the children's museum.

Rosson sky rocketed to one of my favorite authors last year after I read Fever House and The Devil By Name. Coffin Moon is a vampire classic in my opinion.