The Haunting of Room 904

December 9, 2024
Wurth (White Horse) disappoints in this underdeveloped paranormal horror novel. Indigenous paranormal investigator Olivia Becente bounces from case to case while reeling from her sister Naiche’s suicide. Then a mysterious organization of socialites who call themselves the Sacred 36 asks her to investigate room 904 of Denver’s storied Brown Palace hotel, the site of Naiche’s death. Olivia learns that her sister’s soul is trapped there by an ancient curse—and after her mother checks into the hotel, she may be the curse’s next victim. Wurth puts a refreshing twist on standard paranormal investigation procedurals by incorporating Indigenous faith traditions and real historical elements, like the Sand Creek Massacre, but the herky-jerky plot lacks focus, careening between digressions and miring itself in a series of interpersonal dramas and romantic misadventures among a thinly drawn supporting cast. Meanwhile, attempts to cut the scares with humor lend the prose a flippant, and occasionally juvenile, feel. Wurth’s diehard fans will enjoy the tough as nails narrator, but those seeking narrative cohesion will struggle with this. Agent: Rebecca Friedman, Rebecca Friedman Literary.

February 1, 2025

Wurth (White Horse, an LJ Best Book and Target Book Club pick) writes a paranormal horror thriller about Olivia Becente, whose ability to commune with the dead leads her to become a paranormal investigator. As Olivia investigates the deaths of girls at a historic Denver hotel, she also finds shocking revelations about her own sister's death. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2024 Library Journal

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2025

Olivia Becente, a successful paranormal investigator in Denver, abandoned her academic career after the death of her sister Naiche. That loss awakened her supernatural abilities. Then the hotel where her sister died contacts Olivia about a job. Every five years, a woman dies in room 904, three weeks exactly after their stay. Nothing has been able to prevent the deaths. Unlike the other ghosts Olivia has encountered, whatever is haunting the Brown Palace does not need to tell its story so that it can leave this world. These spirits do not want understanding or redemption. As the explanation for the haunting is revealed, readers will be quickly drawn into the story, driven forward to find out more. The book explores guilt as a kind of haunting and is a contemporary ghost story with great crossover potential. Wurth (White Horse) takes the idea of a haunted house and makes it something entirely new. The book leaves readers wanting more stories about Olivia and her friends. VERDICT A ghost story cleverly blended with a mystery, ideal for those who appreciate genre-blended horror and fans of books such as Shutter by Ramona Emerson.--Lila Denning

Copyright 2025 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2025
Olivia is the most sought-after paranormal investigator in Denver, but her successful business is rooted in deep, personal trauma--her sister, Naiche, died by suicide in room 904 of the Brown Hotel almost five years ago. When the hotel contacts Olivia to prove that Naiche's death is part of a cycle of violence that goes back generations, repeating exactly every five years, Olivia and her partner agree to take on this time-sensitive case. However, it is more dangerous than Olivia realizes. There are multiple forces at work, connected to a massacre of Native women and children in 1864, and these forces will stop at nothing to get what they want, even if it destroys Olivia and everyone she holds dear. Readers will eagerly follow Olivia's investigation, getting to know her diverse and endearing friends, as this harrowing story twists and turns, winding its way from past atrocities right up to the present. For fans of emotionally charged supernatural thrillers such as Shutter (2022), by Ramona Emerson, and Forgotten Sisters (2024), by Cynthia Pelayo.

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March 1, 2025
A Native American paranormal investigator finds herself caught up in a series of hauntings that may include her dead sister. One of the most refreshing things about this novel is Wurth's refusal to waste time on extreme worldbuilding or overly complicated stage-setting. She jumps headfirst into the action involving paranormal investigator Olivia Becente, whose clients are being plagued by a series of hauntings. Yes, there is an afterlife, and from it arise spirits demanding the attention of the living. Are they angry? Vengeful? Trying to impart a vital message that shouldn't be ignored? Olivia, who lives and works with Alejandro, her gay best friend, isn't sure of their motives. But she quickly comes to understand that her sister, Naiche, who died under shocking circumstances in a Denver hotel room several years earlier, is somehow involved in the hauntings. A woman dies by suicide in that room every few years, and possibly involved in this mysterious, bloody manifestation are a suspicious cult, Olivia's abusive ex, and a local journalist who seems determined to paint Olivia as a fraud. Wurth also weaves in the history of the Sand Creek Massacre, an 1864 atrocity in which U.S. troops murdered more than 200 Cheyenne and Arapahoe people, mostly women, children, and the elderly. She handles the memories of the massacre interspersed through Olivia's narrative with great sensitivity, and her portrayal of Olivia's grief, guilt, and regret over her sister's death rings painfully true. The novel does grow slightly convoluted, and a few developments, like the sudden arrest of Olivia's ghost-sleuthing partner, are more difficult to believe than the presence of the furious ghosts. But Wurth makes up for any missteps with her compassion and her insistence on the importance of families, whether they're related by blood or not. A scary but sensitive story that never loses its compassion for real-life horrors.

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