Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian: Book Review

This review of Rose of Jericho appeared previously in the February 2025 issue of Historical Novels Review. Tor Nightfire, 352 pages. Releases on March 11, 2025.

Gothic Horror and Historical Fantasy in 19th Century

Set in nineteenth-century New England, Rose of Jericho combines gothic horror with historical fantasy in this follow-up to Grecian’s Red Rabbit. Multiple supernatural plot strands join into a compelling, thought-provoking tale. The novel opens with a quickly-told tragic love story that wins us over to the side of one of the main characters, Moses Burke. When he loses his beloved Katie, it seems logical within the construct of the novel that he’d go after and kill Death. But what happens to humankind without death?

What is Life without Death?

The layers of Grecian’s exploration of that question are masterful. On the one hand, the novel digs into its horror roots with vivid descriptions of those who cannot die, but really ought to. Moses talks with a man hanging by a noose “buried deep in the bloated purple flesh of his throat.” The man says, “I can’t see too good on account of a blackbird ate up both my eyes.” The novel also portrays the emotional strains arising from being dead among the living.

Witches, Humans, and Supernatural Beings

Against that thematic arc, Grecian places two other significant sets of characters with their own goals. We meet the good Graces, a mother-daughter duo of powerful witches and their much loved “ordinary” Rose, a smart, goodhearted woman with whom the reader becomes emotionally invested. These three women move into a haunted mansion in the village of Ascension, where much of the novel’s action takes place.

In addition, narrating from the attic is a supernatural being with a vested interest in the bizarre events playing out in the village and across the world. This being has a brother and a foe, whose identities and purposes gradually unfold. All these mysterious elements add up to an intelligent, worthwhile novel.

To find a copy of Rose of Jericho

Rose of Jericho on Amazon

Rose of Jericho on Bookshop.org