Crone by Keith Rosson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤
Keith Rosson captured my heart and my full attention last year with Coffin Moon. There was something so devilishly-good about that book. The setting, the grittiness of the plot, the characters; it was a whole mood. It all worked for me and has remained in my mind ever since.
To say that I was excited to get an early-copy of this novel, Crone, would be putting it so mildly it wouldn’t even register. I was stoked for this and as you can tell from my rating, I wasn’t disappointed for a moment.
This novel matches Coffin Moon in tone, so if you also enjoyed that one, I would highly recommend reading this as well. The big difference would be while Coffin Moon is a bit of a vampiric romp, Crone is for the witches in the crowd.
This continues the classic dark Crime Fiction feel that Coffin Moon brought, and is actually even set in the same area of the United States, just in a later time period.
This story follows Eli Lamp, an ex-detective, turned addict, turned ex-addict, whose daughter disappeared 10-years ago. Eli’s battled his emotions since Hannah’s been gone, but the guilt and grief frequently overwhelm him.
Due to a certain incident Eli got himself involved in while investigating Hannah’s disappearance, he’s also now indebted to a local drug gang, the Crooked Wheel. They utilize his skills as an enforcer. It’s a dark road he’s traveled.
We also follow a young woman named Avery. Avery was actually Hannah’s best friend, and the two were together on the night that Hannah disappeared. Like Eli, Hannah has also really struggled since that night. The guilt and shame she’s felt since Hannah disappeared has definitely defined the trajectory of her life so far.
Avery fled their small town as soon as she graduated high school, unable to stand the whispers and looks any longer. Recently though, she’s been having extremely vivid dreams of Hannah calling her back.
After the boss of the Crooked Wheel’s son is found brutally murdered, he asks Eli to investigate it, so they can bring the killer to justice. If Eli’s successful, he won’t owe them any longer. He’ll be a free man.
His investigation brings him into the orbit of Avery, recently returned to town, a girl he never thought he’d see again. Soon the two are entwined in a search for answers that all link back to the night their dear Hannah disappeared.
Contrary to everything they might believe in, signs point to a mysterious something lurking the woods. A something with a bent back, black eyes and claws. No one wants to say witch, but it’s a thought…
This is such a beautifully-devastating story. My heart aches with the weight of it. It’s gritty and violent, showcasing the worst acts that humans can do unto each other.
There’s also a rawness to it all, with humanity just bleeding off the page. Rosson does such an incredible job of examining dark emotions, such as guilt, grief and self-doubt, even hate. This is vengeance-fueled story, much like Coffin Moon, and I was completely invested.
I loved the direction Rosson ultimately went with this. I will say the way he laid it all out, it’s not a path I would typically enjoy, but I think in this case, just because of the overall emotion of the story, it actually worked. He pulled it off.
If you’ve never read Rosson before, you’ve got time. Pick up Coffin Moon before this one releases in September. If you like that vibe, you should absolutely pick this one up as well.
Also, I definitely recommend this for fans of Witchy stories, particularly if you’re itching for something opposite of all the Cozy Witchy vibes we seem to be getting lately.
This is full stop a Horror novel. It’s violent, gory and full of complicated topics and emotions. It’s absolutely stellar and I cannot wait for a hard copy to take residence on my shelves.
Thank you to the publisher, Random House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This will definitely be making my Best Books of 2026 list!!!