Book record · Former Barking Rain Press title
Cabin Fever:
A Seamus McCree Mystery
by James M. Jackson
First published by Barking Rain Press in April 2014, this Seamus McCree mystery strands a financial-crimes investigator at his Upper Peninsula cabin with a nameless, freezing woman and the armed people hunting her. Reissued by Wolf's Echo Press in 2017.
This book was once published by Barking Rain Press, which announced its closure in 2019. This site is not that publisher and does not sell books. See “Finding the book today” below.
Premise
Cabin Fever is a Seamus McCree mystery. Seamus investigates financial crimes, and in this book he heads to his family’s cabin in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for a quiet winter of recovery, far from neighbours and out of reach of a mobile signal. A blizzard changes his plans when he finds a naked woman on his porch. She is frostbitten, feverish and has no memory of who she is.
Snowbound and unable to call for help, Seamus tries to keep her alive. He soon finds signs that other people are searching for her, and the descriptions make clear that they are armed and have something to hide. This summary follows the author’s and publisher’s descriptions and a 2014 review, and it stops at the set-up.
Publication history
Barking Rain Press published Cabin Fever in 2014, a year after it had published the first Seamus McCree novel, Bad Policy. FictionDB lists a trade paperback (ISBN 978-1-935460-90-9) and an eBook (ISBN 978-1-935460-91-6), both from April 2014. Open Library records the 2014 printing under BRP Publishing Group with 228 pages and Library of Congress control number 2013957973. A July 2014 review in the Portland Book Review, which names Barking Rain Press as publisher, gives 221 pages.
In a July 2017 blog post the author wrote that he had regained the rights to Bad Policy in 2016 and to Cabin Fever about three months before writing, so around spring 2017. The book was then reissued by Wolf’s Echo Press, which Open Library records as a 2017 paperback of 266 pages (ISBN 978-1-943166-08-4). The same post notes that later series books came from Kindle Press and Wolf’s Echo Press.
Numbering has shifted over time. Cabin Fever was the second Seamus McCree novel published, but the prequel Ant Farm now opens the series, and the author’s website lists Cabin Fever as Book 3. That page currently lists paperback, e-book and audiobook editions. The Barking Rain Press edition is a historical edition, and this site has no connection to the original press or to the book’s current publisher.
Reading notes
These notes come from desk research using the author’s descriptions, an interview and a published review. They are not a reading report.
The book uses a closed setting: a cabin cut off by snow, a lone protagonist, and a stranger who cannot explain herself. The book was billed as a Seamus McCree mystery, the author’s site now calls the series financial thrillers, and the premise mixes survival in harsh weather with a hunt by armed pursuers. Seamus’s profession adds a different thread. The author’s description says the trail to the secrets behind the abduction leads through money, which keeps the financial investigator at the centre of the story.
In a 2015 interview the author said he used the Upper Peninsula’s seasons to reflect Seamus’s state of mind, moving from frozen isolation toward a muddled recovery in mud season. The 2014 review singled out the rural local characters. Because the book picks up after a hard year in Seamus’s life, the author also spoke about reintroducing characters for new readers while keeping returning readers engaged.
Finding the book today
The Barking Rain Press printing is out of print. The author’s website (jamesmjackson.com) is the best place to check current editions, including paperback, e-book and audiobook. Public library catalogues and WorldCat can help locate a copy to borrow; ISBN 9781935460909 identifies the 2014 Barking Rain Press paperback and ISBN 9781943166084 the 2017 Wolf’s Echo Press paperback. This page does not say where the book is on sale or at what price.
Finding the book today
The Barking Rain Press edition is out of print; the author regained the rights in 2017. His website lists current paperback, e-book and audiobook editions, and library catalogues or WorldCat can locate either the 2014 or the 2017 printing.
Discussion questions
- Seamus goes to the cabin wanting a quiet winter. Why are retreats from the world such a reliable starting point for mysteries?
- The author has said the Upper Peninsula's seasons mirror Seamus's state of mind. How can weather and landscape do the work of describing a character's inner life?
- Snowbound with no phone signal, Seamus must look after a stranger who cannot tell him who she is. How does isolation change the choices a person makes?
- Seamus investigates financial crime. Why might following the money be a useful way into a mystery that begins with something as physical as an abduction?
- This was the second Seamus McCree book published but is now numbered third, after a prequel. How does reading order change what a series reader knows about a character?
- What responsibilities does someone take on when a stranger in danger turns up at their door?
Open printable prompts for this book · Add to a reading list
Sources
- Confessions of a "Gentleman" Author (Writers Who Kill, 2 July 2017), Writers Who Kill (group blog). Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Interview with an Author: James M. Jackson (5 June 2015), Judy Penz Sheluk (author website). Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Cabin Fever by James M. Jackson (FictionDB), FictionDB. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Cabin Fever (Open Library edition 9781935460909), Open Library. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Cabin Fever (Open Library edition 9781943166084), Open Library. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Cabin Fever (author's book page), James M. Jackson (author website). Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Cabin Fever: A Seamus McCree Mystery (review, 3 July 2014), Portland Book Review. Accessed 2026-11-12.