Set in the seventies, COFFIN MOON follows Vietnam vet Duane and his teenaged niece Julia, who seek vengeance on the vampire who slaughtered their loved ones.

Rosson does an excellent job of bringing the characters and world to life. Both Duane and Julia are dealing with plenty of trauma before vampire Varley shatters their lives. The pair are the underdogs, and it’s impossible to not root for them, even as they destroy themselves in the process.

Rosson struck the perfect balance of seventies setting details, such as the hockey puck ashtrays of the era, without slowing the pacing.

I loved how Rosson made the vampire myths his own with some very cool tweaks and wonderfully developed each key character. Having devoured FEVER HOUSE, THE DEVIL BY NAME, and Rosson’s short fiction, I had high expectations for this book and Rosson exceeded them.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

A vampire novel, yes please. Vampire hunters, this book has them. So well written, detailed and highlighting the grit and gore of the humans and vampires. The perfect time of the year for this read.

I’d speak the name of this book along with Salem’s Lot and Let the Right One In. That’s how good it is. Bleak and violent, a character study on grief and regret. A Vietnam veteran with a violent streak finds love above a bar he tends while trying to avoid what it offers him. But a mistake from his past and his stubborn nature lead to a confrontation that changes everything. Duane Minor and his niece hunt John Varley. Varley is the worst kind of vampire. He feeds on pain and suffering even more than the blood he spills. Julia wants revenge and will do anything to get it. But the price may be whatever humanity they have left.
This book is a must read for any horror fan.

One of the top vampire books I’ve read! It had a new slant on an old story, the revenge angle and the unexpected action to follow made it hard to put down. The characters were likeable and the story was much more emotional than I expected from a horror novel. Definitely interested in exploring more books from this author, I really loved it.
Thanks to Keith Rosson and Random House for the free advanced readers copy!

I’m not a huge reader of creature horror, especially vampires. This one was perfect though. Not traditional at all, and I loved all the characters.

Minor and his niece Julia are on the hunt for the creature who killed and destroyed their small family. Sacrificing literally everything to get to the ancient vampire, Varley.

My favorite part of this novel was the characters and the relationship dynamic between Minor and Julia. Julia is a single minded teenager who will sacrifice both herself and her uncle for revenge; Minor refuses to let her do this on her own and follows her through literal hell.

Will be reading much more from this author. Loved his writing style.

This was an odd story. There are some indications that this might be a book part of a series, but it is very much a stand alone novel. In some ways I wish I had a little bit more background information for some of the main characters. Yet some of that gets fleshed out as the story goes, just maybe not as much as I would have liked. Overall, this is a book about revenge. Simple actions lead to vampires being brought into Minor and Julias life. Casing death on both ends and then a hunt to bring things right. Personally, I don’t know if this book was for me. But I know that there will be readers who will love it.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for letting me read an advance copy of this title.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC.

Coffin Moon was stellar, my first 5 star read in months. It was so full of emotions, vengeance, heartache, all of it was so good. I cannot explain how much I loved these characters.

Duane Minor is a man just trying to get by, stay sober, support his family, and keep his Vietnam memories buried. But when a menacing bar patron turns out to be a sadistic vampire, Duane is thrust into a bloody quest for vengeance. This is a solid straightforward and gritty tale of grief and retribution. The writing was razor sharp with well-written characters (both human and vampire). Just a really good story! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and review this one!!

To me, when horror has heart is when it can hurt the most. When a story is gritty and visceral and full of sadness and grief it’s already putting its fingers into the horrors of real life but then you add this supernatural feel with some of the worst monsters we aren’t sure exist, it’s such a good recipe for a great book. This is how I would describe Coffin Moon.

Taking place in the mid 70s after the Vietnam war, Duane Minor is back state side with his wife Heidi. They are young but have taken on the huge responsibility of taking care of Heidi’s 13 year old niece, Julia. Not sure what they are doing, but with the help of Heidi’s parents and being able to live above the bar they own, things might just be okay.

A series of events unfold, tragedy strikes and Duane and Julia end up having to team together on a journey of blood, grief, horrible decisions (ones they may have no choice in making), desperation and revenge. This is all leading back to one man: John Varley. His face is smoky when his picture is taken, his arrest records are non-existent, people have been seeing him for many years but he doesn’t seem to age, at all. But, he couldn’t be one of those creatures, could he?

This story is told in multiple perspectives and timelines and has a way of making you really fall in love with all the characters. Even the ones you know aren’t all that good. The pairing of John and Johan and Duane and Julia were phenomenal and that alone kept me into the story.

I enjoyed the blend of flashbacks to understand more of the character’s history and the quick jump backs to the present time. This book is an example of that can be done right.

I would give this 4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

Coffin Moon delivers a vampire story full of grief, regret, and even revenge. Set in the mid 1970s when the Vietnam War was fresh on memories and technology was basic at best (younger readers may struggle with such communication strategies as... pay phones!), it weaves the perspective of a broken family bent on revenge with that of their tormentor who lacked empathy in life yet oddly finds a violent sort of love in non-living. Oh, what gruesome choices they make along the way. From Portland, Oregon across the Plains and back, this is one profoundly sad and creepy adventure.

4.5 stars

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

A vampire novel full of grit, love, grief, and vengeance. Set in the mid- to late-70s, Duane is a Vietnam vet battling his demons while just trying to build a quiet life. He and his wife are taking care of his niece, Julia, and trying to navigate the repercussions of a tragedy. But after another tragedy strikes, Duane and Julia strike out to seek revenge against John Varley.

Coffin moon is combines grit and heart to bring an engaging story to life. Compulsively readable and engaging. I could see this being adapted to a movie or (better yet) a show.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House publishing for the eARC!

3.5 Stars
A solid tale of revenge, violence, and blood.
Duane Minor is a young Vietnam War vet, with some vicious PTSD, who works in a bar that is his inlaws own. He lives above the bar with his wife and her niece Julia, a recent gaurdianship after the kid's mom is put in jail. One night, Duane notices some shady guys in his bar, quickly realizing they're selling drugs in the back of the bar. He kicks them out, only to get a strange and angry visit from his mother-in-law the next day telling him to back off. Later, he hears people in the bar after hours and goes to shut it down, only to find his mother-in-law having a meet with the two shady guys and JOHN VARLEY, their boss. Long story short, Duane pisses off the wrong people and is the newest student in the School of FAFO. Heartbroken and furious, Duane and Julia chase John Varley around the northwest in an attempt at vengance. Meanwhile, John is on the run but somehow falls in love with a, surprisingly comfortable with extreme violence, runaway name Johan.

This story is brutual and gross and I had fun. I think it does a good job at showing just how strong a propellant grief can be. The story is told through the POVs of Duane, Julai, and John and you get quick glimpses into Duane's time in Vietnam and John's "humble" beggings. There were some parts that dragged a little and maybe could have been tightened up and the author is really in love with the word aperture and describing bones as yellow.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Random House, and Keith Rosson for the eARC of this book!

3.5 rounded up~

This book was good! But it wasn't great. Let's talk about the positives-

I absolutely loved the dynamic between Duane and Julia. I loved the role reversals with her choices and his feelings about his rage. This made for a very interesting start. The writing was immersive and gritty, and that made being transported to this world very easy and seamless. This does not change through out the book. All the technical aspects of this story were good too~ Love John and Johan, and the cast of side characters, but nothing really develops past great. It feels like a lot of missed potential and it feels like it is missing it's heart.

I will be honest, I feel like this story would be so much more compelling if it was a movie. I had this feeling of something being missing while reading this book and I didn't figure it out until the end. While the themes and commentary about revenge might be what this book is trying to say, I just feel like it didn't hit the mark for a great book. It is still a good read but not one that will stick with you long. The ending being open and having no closure is not something I normally dislike, typically I actually LOVE this, but because the story was feeling a bit hollow, this type of ending didn't work.

Still, for an immersive, grungy, historical dark vampire book, this hits all the marks. I just wish it had a little more heart or depth.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I met @rossonkeith at a book signing last year and started reading Fever House, loved it. I am so thankful to @netgalley for this ARC of his newest book due THIS Tuesday (though I’ve heard some stores have it out early). Coffin Moon is more than your average vampire read: gritty, emotional, full of vengeance. Perfect for spooky season. 4.5⭐️

<b><u>Coffin Moon</u></b>
Keith Rosson
Date of Publication: September 9, 2025

ARC courtesy of Random House and NetGalley

It seems that 2025 may be the year of amazing vampire novels, starting with SGJ’s <i>Buffalo Hunter Hunter</i>, which has the distinction of being the first vampire novel (or maybe even horror novel) that made the Obama reading list, to V.E. Schwab’s <i>Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil</i>, released this summer. Now for the fall, the big horror season, comes <i>Coffin Moon</i> from Keith Rosson. Set in the 1970’s, it is the story of Duane, a Vietnam vet and his niece, Julia, in pursuit of John Varley, the vampire that savagely killed Duane’s wife, Heidi.

The 70’s vibe, the cover art, along with the gritty storytelling remind me of pulp horror paperbacks of the 70’s and 80’s. Possibly another tribute to that subgenre, as was Nat Cassidy’s werewolf novel, <i>When the Wolf Comes Home</i>, also from earlier this year.

The narrative is fast paced and unrelenting from start to finish. You will be turning those pages. Rosson succeeds at balancing the brutality with a gentle sensitivity, tackling subjects of trauma, grief and loneliness. Vampire novels are at heart about transformation, and here we see how the desire for vengeance can change people. It is also about how one can strive to preserve one’s humanity despite craving revenge.

Lastly, this is a roadside thriller revenge vampire story, and will surely appeal to fans of Christopher Buehlman’s cult classic <i>Suicide Motor Club</i>. I think <i>Coffin Moon</i> would be an amazing pick for somenone looking for a new release horror read this Halloween!

Keith Rosson takes the vampire mythos, drags it through the sleet-soaked streets of 1970s Portland, and turns it into something raw, bloody, and unforgettable. Coffin Moon is a dark, grief-heavy tale about family, survival, and the terrible cost of vengeance—and it’s as atmospheric as it is brutal.

At the center is Duane Minor, a Vietnam vet just trying to piece together a fragile normal: sobriety, a failing marriage, and raising his niece Julia after the family’s been fractured. Then a vampire—John Varley, a monster as merciless as he is fascinating—walks into Duane’s bar, and life detonates. What follows is a relentless, grief-fueled road of revenge, soaked in blood, loss, and the jagged edges of trauma.

Rosson doesn’t hold back. The violence is graphic, sometimes extreme, and the atmosphere is saturated with grief and rage. But threaded through the gore are moments of tenderness and humanity—snippets of pasts, small flashes of connection—that keep the story from sinking entirely into despair. Themes of PTSD, addiction, found family, love, and even the complexities of being gay or anti-war in the 70s add extra depth. The result is both unflinching and surprisingly tender in its exploration of what it means to keep going after everything is taken.

I loved how different this felt from most vampire stories. It’s not about gothic castles or romanticized immortals—it’s about broken people clinging to their humanity while hunting a predator who has none. The atmosphere is perfectly executed, the characters layered and flawed, and the story builds toward an ending that’s tragic, brutal, and weirdly beautiful.

The only caveat: this book is intense. The violence isn’t for the faint of heart, and at times it risks overshadowing the quieter emotional beats. But overall, Rosson balances the savagery with enough heart to make the story land.

Verdict: A tragic, blood-soaked revenge tale that digs deep into grief, memory, and what binds us together. Harrowing but worthwhile, Coffin Moon stands out as a fresh and haunting entry in vampire fiction.

Unfortunately, Coffin Moon wasn’t a good fit for me, and I ended up DNF’ing it. I struggled to connect with the writing style, and I couldn’t get into the flow of the story. While the premise had promise, it didn’t hold my interest the way I had hoped. I’m sure other readers may enjoy it more, but it just wasn’t for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars: I have Rosson's duology on my TBR but jumped at the chance to read Coffin Moon ahead of publication since it was a standalone novel. I thought it would give me a sense of his writing style before I invested in his other work. Well, now I know to move up that duology on my TBR! I keep seeing comparisons between Rosson and Stephen King and while I can agree with them, I think Rosson writes a tighter story. I would also like to compare his style to that of Gabino Iglesias, who not enough people have read. Coffin Moon might be a horror story featuring vampires, but when it comes down to it, it's really a dark and gritty tale of grief and revenge with a nod to the PTSD and addiction associated with serving in Vietnam. Somehow, Rosson has made a book about revenge and vampires seem fresh and different from all the other vampires we know from page and screen.

Conceptually a vengeance plot against the vampire that killed you’re whole family appeals to me. Conceptually, the idea of a father-daughter duo traveling while one clings to their humanity is near and dear to me. Even the prospect of queer vampiric murder spree delights me, And yet this fell flat for me. Probably, because the concept of a villain committing violence for the simple retaliation of being told no is nothing to me. If I wanted to deal with a man choosing violence because he was denied what he wanted, I would very simply turn on the news. Even in the other vampires, there was not really anything for me to cling to. A child vampire is always intrinsically sad to me, but the addition and rejection of "playmates" was additionally boring.

More over, I find that more and more I would generally, I prefer to be on the side of the monster anyway. But giving a man a boyfriend to loose does not a compelling character make. I think it was mostly that I did not find any one character particularly interesting. So I could not hold on to character when the plot was overly predictable. There were glimmers of things I really liked in this, Duane and Julia choosing over and over to put the other first. But every other element was exactly as I could have guessed without reading past the first two chapters.

Rosson's storytelling is luring, the pacing is perfect and leaves you wanting more. Set in 1975, we're introduced to Duane and Julia, whose lives have been wrecked when John Varley enters the picture. They seek vengeance and hunt him, but Varley is not an easy target. COFFIN MOON is more than just a rage-induced game of cat and mouse, grief and heart take a front seat as well.

Rosson's characterisation is remarkable, I found myself simultaneously rooting for the protagonist and antagonist at one point. Varley was sadistic and it was intriguing to read from different viewpoints, from someone who only saw the aftermath and from Varley's as he executed it. I enjoyed Rosson's take on vampire lore, but I can't go into detail without giving spoilers so give this a read for yourself, you won't regret it.

Thank you for the ARC, Random House and NetGalley ♡