THE FERVOR is the very first book I've read by Alma Katsu. I've seen so many highly rated reviews for her previous novels, THE DEEP and THE HUNGER, but this is the one that snared me with its synopsis and demanded that I read it. I am ever so glad! Our timeline is 1944, the midst of WWII and the setting is mostly Idaho, where our main characters Meiko and her daughter Aiko are interned in a (prison) camp for the simple reason being they are Japanese. Yes, if you were like me and NOT taught in school that the great country of America, Land of the Free (if you're white) and Home of the Brave (because you're the one holding the gun) ripped all people of Japanese descent from their homes and put them in internment camps because they suspected them of being spies. Even American-born Japanese were seen as threats. The historical aspect alone is horrifying. If you think that's what makes this a horror tale, boy are you in for a ride because Katsu spices it up by including Japanese folklore inspired by the jorogumo spider demon. I was constantly checking my clothing and surroundings, let's not even talk about the number of times I sword I felt something feather-light on my hands/arms. Meiko and Aiko lives peacefully with their neighbors in a camp in Idaho for many months as the war wages on. Until. It starts as a simple cold. No concern needed, right? Except the cold morphs into fits of rage and aggression, leading to fights and in some cases, murder. The disease runs rampant throughout the camp bringing with it a team of "doctors" to investigate its origin....or maybe something else? I read this book in two sittings. I was enthralled by the historical aspect, learning things I had never heard before because it's not taught in our schools. My white parents and grandparents certainly never shared it with me. How sad it is to learn about our country's past from a fictional book? I loved that Alma Katsu enlightened me while also weaving in Japanese folklore, which has always fascinated me. I immediately secured her other two books and will be reading those very soon! This is one of those times where I not only loved the book, I fell in love with the storytelling ability and writing style and have a new auto-buy author on my list!