Review by Booklist Review
Jones' latest (after Black Tide, 2022) begins with a group of men searching for how to get to the Devil's Driveway, a road that was closed down after an accident that left 15 people dead. They start seeing things and questioning reality. As they get to a point of great peril, the narrative switches perspectives to Livia, who gets into an accident because of an upsetting discovery involving her husband. She then goes on a road trip with her friends, thinking it will be good to reminisce and de-stress. However, oddities soon pile up, including the appearance of shadowy figures. Others in the group begin to feel the presence of loved ones, but the constant proximity makes them paranoid. Tension mounts as the men from the novel's start work with Livia and her friends to try to survive this series of ordeals. White Line Fever will appeal to readers who like thrillers and survival horror in which nothing is at it seems, with unexplained phenomena mixed with characters who call into question who the true villain is.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this tale of friendship pushed to the very limits, Jones (Black Tide) breathes new life into the classic horror trope of a deserted location with unsettling effects on those who venture into it. After Livia's shattering discovery of her husband's infidelity, she gets into a serious car accident. Once she's discharged from the hospital, she hopes to be distracted from "this wildly unexpected detour life had taken" by a trip to an Oregon resort with her closest friends, Ash, Becka, and Morgan. But it's a literal detour that lands the quartet in danger. To get to their destination more quickly, they turn onto County Road 951, unaware that it was closed off after 15 people died there. They soon realize their mistake, as Livia and then the others have strange visions of a giant, shadowy figure stalking the car and a bat swooping overhead. These sightings, combined with the complete lack of any wildlife sounds, creep the friends out, and they try desperately to escape what they come to believe is some sort of monster. Jones's gift for crafting realistic characters and the slow buildup of eerie atmospherics makes suspending disbelief easy. Richard Chizmar fans will be pleased. (Mar.)
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