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matts_booksanddrams 's review for:
Breathe In, Bleed Out
by Brian McAuley
Slasher fans have been feasting these last few years with some fantastic literary works by giants like Stephen Graham Jones. I’m adding Brian McAuley to that list.
I read McAuley’s first book, Curse of the Reaper, last year and absolutely loved it, as it examined an aging slasher star grappling with being replaced for the big budget remake. Then I devoured his two Candy Cain novellas from the Killer VHS series, which were fun B-movie slashers in bite size book form.
Now enter Breathe In, Bleed Out, McAuley’s upcoming slasher novel from Poisoned Pen Press. This novel, a slasher set at a mindfulness retreat, is heavily influenced by Scream, in that it is both a blood-pulsing slasher coiled around a whodunit mystery. The character deaths are creative (a couple felt very Final Destination-esque) and the plot is propulsive. He employs red herrings and plot reveals in ways that do not feel cheap or unearned.
I loved the main character, Hannah, as she struggles to cope with her fiancé’s death prior to the events of the novel and her dealing with her unraveling sanity as she is constantly being gaslit by characters with questionable motives. Who can Hannah even trust?
I loved this book so much and so devoured it. If you’re a fan of slashers, this is a must-read. You’ll have a bloody good time.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the eARC!
I read McAuley’s first book, Curse of the Reaper, last year and absolutely loved it, as it examined an aging slasher star grappling with being replaced for the big budget remake. Then I devoured his two Candy Cain novellas from the Killer VHS series, which were fun B-movie slashers in bite size book form.
Now enter Breathe In, Bleed Out, McAuley’s upcoming slasher novel from Poisoned Pen Press. This novel, a slasher set at a mindfulness retreat, is heavily influenced by Scream, in that it is both a blood-pulsing slasher coiled around a whodunit mystery. The character deaths are creative (a couple felt very Final Destination-esque) and the plot is propulsive. He employs red herrings and plot reveals in ways that do not feel cheap or unearned.
I loved the main character, Hannah, as she struggles to cope with her fiancé’s death prior to the events of the novel and her dealing with her unraveling sanity as she is constantly being gaslit by characters with questionable motives. Who can Hannah even trust?
I loved this book so much and so devoured it. If you’re a fan of slashers, this is a must-read. You’ll have a bloody good time.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the eARC!