Crone by Keith Rosson is a gritty witch horror novel. The writing, the characters, and the story floored me. Rosson delivers flawed characters and flawed situations with such heart. The horror and the imagery terrified me while the story gripped me. Rosson is an incredible storyteller.

The story is Sons of Anarchy meets The Witch. The story takes place during a biker gang drug turf war with a witch settling old scores.

Crone has been labeled horror noir. It deals with seedy characters and the supernatural. Fans of S.A. Cosby and Joe R. Lansdale will love the criminal underbelly and the darkness that terrorizes them.

This is a horror that puts characters and story first. If there was no horror in this story, I would still be invested in the characters. All these characters are damaged, but Rosson shows you the root cause and the people they could have become. He gives the reader hope that they could recover.

The book features heavy drug use, but Rosson creates a fictional drug called Hazelwood that fits perfectly into the story. The way Hazelwood is grown out in the deep forest, in the shadows, is creepy. To take the drug, you stick the thorny stick full of crystals under your nails, either fingers or toes. Heavy use makes the nails rot off, and the drug itself takes you back to your happiest moments.

The gang war involves police corruption, firearms, and control of the drug Hazelwood. The gang war goes back many years, and we get the whole history of when and why it started.

The way the story is written, you can feel all of the grit and grind. The story is gritty, and Rosson never lets you forget it with the way he writes. The characters are messy, and we feel that as well.

The witch, or Crone, is terrifying in the way it is written. We only see fleeting glimpses of pure terror until we get to see the full thing.

You say you are not afraid of witches? Rosson has a novel to challenge that in Crone. This is the scariest witch on pure looks alone. The abilities and powers will shake you as you giddily fist pump the hardcore violence the Crone can bring.

Crone will be published on September 22, 2026, by Random House.

Why did I read Crone by Keith Rosson?

Keith Rosson has been the horror writer that so many people have told me to read, and they were so right. He is the horror writer most on the come up.

His novel Coffin Moon, which I was gifted for Christmas, became a breakout that both Stephen King and Joe Hill blurbed. Reading Crone bumped Coffin Moon up on my TBR.

I knew I wanted to read Keith Rosson by word of mouth alone. Thanks to Random House through NetGalley for letting me read Crone early.

I will be trying to get a signed copy of this book in the near future.

Plot Summary:

Eli is a former detective and ex-drug addict who works for a motorcycle gang as an enforcer. It is not a place he wants to be, but he has to be there.

The past has not been kind to Eli. Ten years ago, his daughter got in the back of a van on a rainy night seeking shelter, but she was never seen again. Something he did in his grief is something the gang holds over him.

But Eli has a potential way out when the son of the leader is killed. Eli must use his old detective skills, but this is not a usual case. Strange things are happening, and he keeps dreaming of his missing daughter.

Are they connected?

What I Liked:

The flashback scenes tell so much. I love how much emotion is in those scenes. The flashbacks make such an impact on what is going on in the present.

The Crone is awesome. I love the many ways it attacks. I love that this hideous beast has way more going on than meets the eye.

The twists and turns in the story are great. There’s so much that it takes characters you were trusting and flips them, as well as making characters you thought were evil have a soul.

I like that no one comes out of this story unscathed. Characters are beaten inside and out. Some more than others.

What I Disliked:

The only complaint I had with the story is that sometimes the way the story is written lessens the emotional impact of a scene.

The order of a flashback and an event happening could have been reversed at least twice for me to have more impact from the story.

Recommendation:

Crone is a can’t-miss horror novel of 2026, in a year filled with great horror novels. The writing and characters are standouts. If there were no horror element, I would still be invested.

Crone is my second favorite horror novel of the year, just barely below Sarafina by Philip Fracassi.

Rosson is a new-to-me author I’m excited to explore more of.

Rating:

Crone by Keith Rosson

5 out of 5 stars