4.5 stars!

SLASH, by Hunter Shea, is a novel that crosses into many sub-genres of horror. We have the "final girl" troupe, psychological and physical horror, thriller, paranormal, and most prominently, the "slasher" type of horror made popular in '80's movies.

Ashley King was the only one to escape the Wraith during the Hayden Resort Massacre five years ago. Yet she never completely survived, as part of her mind had chosen to break down in the aftermath.

". . . she would never, ever again be fine."

Even her fiancé, Todd, wasn't enough to keep her terror at bay, and it feels inevitable when he finds her hanging body in their basement.

". . . I'm broken . . . and there's only one way to fix me . . . "

The first part of this novel delves into the emotional turmoil and fury felt by Todd. Largely, he blames Ashley's suicide on the "Final Girl" fanatics that use wouldn't let her be, never allowing her to forget what she had been through.

". . . Terror of the man the world had dubbed the Wraith because he was a faceless, nameless killer . . . "

This section give us the most detailed and vivid understanding of how much Todd loved Ashley, and the lengths he would go to for her. The poignant emotions felt real, and made what was to come later all the more believable for them. Here was a man that would face anything to better understand what his girlfriend went through.

"Absolute terror makes your mind do funny things . . . I've lost myself to fear all these years . . . "

We are eventually introduced to Todd's closet friends, and from there on out, the novel changes in tone. Although the heartache and loss are still pertinent, we enter into a slasher-film style. The violent action, fast pacing, and incredible scenarios continue to build page after page.

Good luck finding a place to pause before the end of this one.

". . . He came out of the darkness and he returned to it . . ."

The derelict Hayden resort was a horror-enthusiast's dream come true. This once fine establishment catering to the well-to-do was now a broken, defaced sprawling estate littered with the remains of glass, furniture, and the very buildings, themselves. While reading, it brought to mind some of the abandoned asylums I've seen on "Ghost-hunter" type of television shows.

". . . maybe . . . the place was bad. It turned men into murderers. Maybe not good men, but anyone who had more darkness than light in their souls."

The atmosphere was a catalyst--it invited the most horrible and brutal images possible.

Then, it delivered them.

". . . Some mysteries aren't meant to be solved . . . "

The dynamics between these friends is shown quite powerfully in the lengths they each to to in order to support Todd's need to "see" and "feel" what Ashley may have gone through. What she had faced half a decade earlier had changed her so completely that the only way to escape her mental torment was by ending her physical existence.

Even though her mind had managed to block all of the main details, what could the remainder hold that was so lethal?

Once the action began heating up, Todd's own thoughts changed dramatically.

". . . Maybe he should have been more astounded that she'd lasted as long as she had . . ."

Overall, I really enjoyed how Shea took this novel of mystery, sorrow and loss, and turned it into a non-stop Slasher fest. This wasn't a mindless B-grade movie style, either. This was an intelligent, and completely unexpected, twisted tale that made me think about various legends, lores, and the very nature of evil.

". . . I don't think we can ever call ourselves normal people again."

The characters worked well with their distinctive personalities, and the threats that the ruined, former resort confronted them with. There was so much here that made this novel stand out among others of its kind. The implications alone make me wish there was even more to the book.

". . . the problem with loving someone. Sooner or later, you realize that no matter what you do, you can't protect hem . . . "

Highly recommended.

Goodreads synopsis: Five years after Ashley King survived the infamous Resort Massacre, she’s found hanging in her basement by her fiancé, Todd Matthews. She left behind clues as to what really happened that night, clues that may reveal the identity of the killer the press has called The Wraith.

With the help of his friends, Todd goes back to the crumbling Hayden Resort, a death-tinged ruin in the Catskills Mountains. What they find is a haunted history that’s been lying in wait for a fresh set of victims. The Wraith is back, and he’s nothing what they expected.

Hunter Shea’s story is a gruesome poetry that pays homage to all the great slasher horror films that came before it.

This book was a super fun read for me. I was instantly transported to my parent's basements where my friends and I stayed up until all hours of the night watching R-rated slasher films and stuffing our faces with overly buttered popcorn. THOSE WERE THE DAYS! As I read through the book I was consistently hit with feelings of nostalgia and I enjoyed every minute of it. I don’t know about you but I loved those cheesy and predictable slasher movies like Friday the 13th or Halloween. I can’t say that Slash was predictable but it definitely had its cheesy moments that you just don’t think a normal person would say or do. “I hate to say this, but let's split up and meet at the vehicle.” One problem I had with the book was the plot holes and other errors. This is something that can just kill a story. Luckily this wasn’t bad enough that I would DNF the book and once you get past the errors you are able to immerse yourself in all the gory-goodness.

To Todd’s horror, a large man draped in shadow was walking a straight line to them. The only saving grace was that he was walking, not running. In fact, he didn’t seem to be in any rush to find them, which was even more unnerving than when he’d run like a cheetah moments earlier.

I got to say, nostalgia really got me with this book. I spent so much time as a kid watching old horror/slasher films at my friend's place. I think we all had that one friend whose mom let you watch anything you wanted, my friend's mom even had a note put on file at the rental store so we didn't have to go with an adult. Reading Slash really brought back a lot of feelings of those good times watching R-rated movies with friends. The times you spent yelling at the screen, looking away during the gross parts, and being afraid to use the bathroom because you didn't want people to think you were too scared to watch.

“I forgot to bring my bathing suit.”“Then you should be okay…for now.”They jogged back to the lobby. “The skinny dippers always bite it in slasher flicks.”

I was definitely “that guy” while reading Slash. You know “that guy”, the one at the theatre yelling things like RUN or GET UP at the movie screen. For the record, a few characters would probably still be alive if they would have just listened to me. I don’t know why but when characters are in this wild calamity that they did to themselves and will inevitably result in their undoing, it just makes the story so much more entertaining. Slash had lots of these moments where you just want to scream in frustration. I don’t want to give anything away but you're definitely going to find characters splitting up when they shouldn’t to find another character that is presumably dead, getting the bright idea to escape through the woods in the black of night, and a character trying to perform some crazy act of heroism instead of just walking out the front gate to safety.

“Don’t make us the assholes who don’t finish the killer off when they had the chance.”

This is the part of the review I really didn’t want to write. I don’t want to be overly critical but there were some serious issues with both plot and editing. Either the writer or editor could have ran through this book again in my opinion. I found issues where names were mixed up which made things confusing. I think the thing I took issue with the most was the plot holes, especially at the beginning. The book is kind of a continuum of a previous story where a horrific event took place at the Hayden Resort. Now, the author had the task of getting characters back to the Hayden Resort but this was clearly a struggle because the plot became nonsensical. I think the author could have taken some different avenues to accomplish what he set out to do but what was down on paper just made me frustrated as a reader. Keep in mind this is supposed to be a slasher let face it, the plot is not that important. If you disagree, just rewatch a couple of older slasher films and you’ll change your mind. These stories are more about the crazed antagonist. What kind of messed up way will they kill-off another character and the mystery that made them the way they are. I will tell you now, the story of the Wraith is the best part of this book.

I give Slash by Hunter Shea 3/5 stars. I recommend this book for all you sickos that love the cheesy classic slasher films we all know and love. If you’ve been looking for something nostalgic and entertaining than Slash will be a good book to add to your TBR this Halloween. Just remember that sometimes the story isn’t going to be perfect and there may be plot holes but it can be part of the fun and this was definitely a fun read. The Wraith is back, and he’s nothing what they expected.

I love slasher movies. They are one of my most favourite kinds of movies and to find this book that reads as one was so exciting for me.

The story held my interest and kept me reading and I really enjoyed this book.

I would recommend this book if you enjoy slasher movies and don't mind reading a book about one.

Slash was my second read by Hunter Shea. I really enjoyed The Montauk Monster when I read it a few years ago and hoped Slash would be another scary Halloween read! I was doubly on board when I saw that this book had an urban exploration setting.

Todd is the main character of this story, seeking answers after his fiance's suicide. Years earlier Ashley was the sole survivor during a brutal attack by the Wraith in an abandoned hotel while exploring with her friends. After her death, Todd discovers that there may be more answers at the massacre site and returns along with his friends.

While I liked Todd as a character, I did not love how long it took to set up his arc. I definitely didn't go into this book expecting quite so much set up involving a man grieving following his partner's suicide. As a result of this setup, the story was extremely slow to get moving. I appreciate what the author was trying to do, but I wish he had gotten there a bit sooner. Once they did get to the hotel though, the action (and gore) was non-stop.

Although the synopsis warned me that the Wraith wouldn't be what the characters (or I) expected, I was truly unprepared for the twists this book took. I had very much hoped for a super creepy story about a killer in an abandoned setting. That's what I got, but it went into a whole new realm of ridiculousness. There were multiple supernatural elements combined that I just couldn't get on board with. I really wish the author had kept the villain a bit more simple.

My other complaint (and the reason I guess I don't read much adult horror) is that 95% of the scares were pure gore. I'm sure some people enjoy that, but there was so much potential in this cat and mouse setup that was wasted. The way the killer made his position so obvious and rushed his victims was much less scary than if they'd been quietly stalked and, you know, every single scene hadn't ended in the same predictable gore.

There were a few scares that I liked, but this book just wasn't for me. The choice of villain required more suspension of disbelief than I could give, even as a frequent reader of fantasy, and I wish there had been a bit less gore and a few more good scares. If gore is your thing, you may love this one! I'll give Hunter Shea another try, but I'll probably wait for reviews from now on.

Since an early age, I’ve had a love for 80’s slashers. They’re what sparked my love of the genre. When I saw that Hunter Shea’s follow up to the phenomenal “Creature” was inspired by those classic films, my anticipation for “Slash” became as insatiable as the bloodlust of the maniacs in those films. I’m pleased to say that Shea’s latest doesn’t disappoint.

Slash begins 5 years after a maniac only known as “The Wraith” goes on a killing spree at an abandoned resort. The Wraith was never brought to justice, and final girl Ashley King has lived a broken existence ever since. In the wake of tragedy, King's fiancé Todd returns to the Hayden Resort looking for answers.

Slash, much like Creature, is an example of how Shea is capable of making you feel for his characters when he needs you to. The front half of the book is used to get to know the struggle Ashley has gone through, and to connect with Todd. In my opinion this pays dividends, as you now have a connection to Ashley and Todd, and have been made to feel for them. Because you care about these characters, you feel for Todd’s friends who’ve been dragged into this mess by way of friendship. There is a very specific point in the book where the action gets going, and once this happens it rarely lets up, other than to set up the next sequence.

The story works well enough. One of the toughest parts of a slasher set in modern times is technology. The problem being, how is this even possible when cell phones are everywhere? Shea uses a simple tactic to move past this, allowing madness to ensue. Another excellent part of the book is The Wraith. Hunter Shea has come up with a surprisingly effective explanation for why and how the Wraith exists. It’s original, and it works. Speaking of The Wraith, he’s terrifying. When it’s all said and done, The Wraith stands tall amongst the great Slasher villans of the 80’s: Voorhees, Myers, and Krueger.

It’s fitting that I finished this book on Friday the 13th. Hunter Shea has written a worthy homage to my favorite horror genre, the slasher. If you’re a fan of the genre, the films from the 80’s in particular, this is a most own. Hunter Shea has proven himself to be one of the most valuable talents in Flametree press’ roster.

When Todd King comes home to find his fiance, Ashley King, having hanged herself it completely rocks his world. Ashley, having been the only survivor of the horrible massacre of the rest of her urban exploration group years earlier, could no longer live with the horror of the events she had experienced or the terror that they instilled in her at every waking moment. Her fear of what The Wraith, the name for the monster who brutally dismembered her friends, had done and might come back and do to her was too much to bear for the killer was never caught. After Ashley’s suicide, a series of events leads Todd following a trail of clues to try and unravel the mystery of that fateful night. Ultimately this leads him back to the Hayden Resort and face to face with the ghosts of his late fiance’s nightmares.

An homage of sorts to the “Slasher” genre of films from which the novel gets its name, Slash attempts to recreate a familiar set up with some of its own spin. The general nature of the characters to think out situations instead of blindly doing the stupidest possible thing at any time helped me maintain a level of groundedness inside a story that gets increasingly insane in its pace and nature. As the mystery begins to unravel, a canon begins to form as the characters attempt to decipher the seemingly impossible events unfolding before them. While the novel starts at a very modest pace, it picks up speed just before the halfway point and snowballs from there.

The climax of the story is an interesting and mostly satisfying one. However, as the lore of the Hayden begins to unfold, everything seemed to come together in a less than fully satisfying way. The method of discovery for the final clues of the enigma of the Wraith seem out of place and conveniently revealed. They do make sense for the tale being told, but do not land as cleanly as could be hoped. Nevertheless this tale keeps the reader’s attention throughout and would certainly deserve a recommendation for someone seeking a violent, slasher narrative -- Especially as Halloween fast approaches.

Thanks to Netgalley, Flame Tree Press, and Hunter Shea in exchange for an honest review.

** Thank you to Netgalley, Flame Tree Press and Hunter Shea for this digital ARC in return for an unbiased, honest review. **

Patience will be rewarded with this one. However, it was not what I expected, which left me with some mixed feelings about the story.

SLASH takes place in the abandoned, crumbling Hayden Resort. When ‘Final Girl’ Ashley King commits suicide, her fiancé Todd Matthews goes back to find clues as to what happened five years ago during the Resort Massacre.
But the killer, known as The Wraith, seems to be back as well…

While the build-up and background is important in horror stories, this one pushed it a bit farther than I like, with the first 40% of the book moving slowly. It made the story feel longer than it actually is and it could have been shorter, in my opinion.

The biggest mistake I made was to go into this thinking it will be a homage to 80’s slasher films. It is not, believe me, but this may be good or bad, depending on the reader.
Look, the scene is set – any abandoned camp, resort or desolate area may be the perfect setting. However, a ‘slasher horror’ this does not make. Remember, Alyson Hannigan admitted that, one time, at band-camp, she did something indecent with a flute and a cat – if memory serves – but that was not even a horror movie.
And, yes, there is a deranged killer offing people one-by-one, which means nothing at the end of the day. Pennywise will attest to that.
The point I am trying to make is that – no, the story wasn’t bad at all – but it is much too intelligent to be considered a slasher…

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
No, that is not the sound of Gordon Ramsay judging the scallops. That is the sound of every single slasher fan which felt offended by that statement. In fact, as I look out the window, I can already see lighted torches and pitchforks* waving in the air.
*All except for Al, who sits in front of his computer eighteen hours a day, stuffing his face and moving nothing but his fingers and eyes, who only lifted his normal fork in the air. That’s exactly why I left the statement in, so guys like Al can get their weekly cardio by lifting their forks.
Where was I? Right. You might be thinking an approaching mob right now, but, just for fun, Google “South Africa Load Shedding” – it will explain a lot.

So, fans of slasher horror, please relax – I’m a fan too. However, my personal opinion is that slashers are mostly there for entertainment purposes. Whenever you have characters who doesn’t blindly run around, doing all the most stupid things while still trying to get laid, but think about what they are doing and acting like sensible adults, it becomes something more.

If you want slasher, check out the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oliCVn7Ic68

Hunter Shea is a great writer and this story is an intelligent one. The editing was great and the ending was exactly the kind I like.

So:
As a slasher horror (which was my feeling going in and lasted for most of the story, which is probably why I felt disappointed) I will give it two stars, but as balls-to-the-wall horror story (during the last third of the book), it deserves four.
My honest opinion is that I would have enjoyed this story more if I went into it blind. So I split the difference and gave it a three.

A nail-biting slasher story with a monstrous twist, SLASH is another great and gory offering from the incomparable Hunter Shea.

Fans of those gruesome 80's slice-and-dice films (like me!) will especially enjoy this one.

I loved this book and the monster Hunter Shea created was unlike any I've seen him create before. This has all the feeling of a great 80's horror movie. Honestly, I can never get enough of Hunter's work in front of me. I really dug the mythology behind the creature, and the book ends in a fantastic way.

Slash by Hunter Shea was received direct from the publisher. Hunter Shea is one of those authors a reader knows will write a good creature feature that will be a quick read and not boring. Slash starts out uncharacteristically slow, real slow, which caused me to skim, which just takes a flick of the finger nowadays. The book does pick up and runs forward with a sordid tales of Nazis, magic, zombies and even golems. Rarely does a person get a golem story anymore, but look no further if you, or someone you buy gifts for, wants to read about and learn about a rare horror creature.

4 Stars

So, Slash was my first Hunter Shea book. I’ve heard so many great things about his other works, especially Creature, and saw this on NetGalley and immediately knew I had to read it. I absolutely loved it!
Slash reads like a love letter to the slasher genre.
Hunter Shea takes the familiar tropes of the genre along with the threadbare slasher story and makes something wholly new and fresh. This novel was taut with suspense, never letting up. It was well-paced, and the atmosphere was on-point, letting you feel the bitter cold and darkness of the ruined Hayden Resort. By showing you what the aftermath of a massacre is like for the survivors, and the horror that never really stops for them, he’s able to give the story that much more gravity.
The character development was really great, especially for Todd. You could really feel his pain and grief and understand why he made the decisions that he made. And the Wraith! I loved what Hunter Shea did with him!
If you’re a fan of slasher flicks, like Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street, you really need this novel! Definitely going to recommend this for my library to purchase and add to our horror collection. It’s a perfect read for the upcoming horror season!

5/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley for ARC

Last year, Hunter Shea wowed me with the emotionally engaging Creature. Earlier this year, his novel Ghost Mine (formerly Hell Hole) was reissued, a fun Wild West-era romp chock full of action. And now, landing just in time for some Halloween reading this fall, he’s taken the two best aspects of his Flame Tree Press titles and married them in his slasher horror flick set to print, Slash.

At the end of every slasher flick is the lone woman survivor, the movie’s final girl. She’s been tortured psychologically and physically, watched her best friends brutally murdered at the hands of some unstoppable psycho killer, forced to go it alone as she struggles to live through the night and escape the madman stalking her. But what happens after she’s won? Ashley King, an urban explorer, survived the Hayden Resort massacre, but only barely. She suffers from severe post-traumatic stress, depression, and fear of the dark. She lived, but so much else about her died at the hands of a vicious killer dubbed the Wraith. In the wake of her suicide, her husband Todd seeks a way to reconnect with her. Distraught and grieving, he decides to head to the ruins of the Hayden Resort, but his friends won’t let him go alone. They want to be there for him to provide emotional support in his time of need, and this may be the last mistake any of them make. There’s something in the derelict hotel following them…stalking them…hunting them. The Wraith is back.

Right from the outset, Shea launches into Slash gunning for you, aiming straight for the heart. His exploration of grief and depression is painfully honest, and we immediately sympathize for Todd and all that he’s lost. Although we get echoes of Ashley throughout the story, it’s largely through Todd’s eyes that we come to know and admire her. She becomes an omnipresent force in the story, motivating Todd through his darkest hours and giving him hope. Although we only get to spend a significant amount of time with one of them, you can imagine the powerhouse couple they could have been in better days and how Ashley’s life influenced his and others around her. Todd’s not exactly a shrieking violet either, mind you, and once his present life begins to intersect with Ashley’s history at the Hayden Resort and the Wraith makes his presence known, we get to see what really fuels Todd and his companions.

Much of this book’s first half is spent building up the characters and introducing us to Todd’s friends, primarily Vince and Heather, but also Jerry, Bill, and, eventually, Sharon, the sister of one of Ashley’s friends who was murdered at the abandoned hotel. Jerry and Sharon don’t exactly hit it off — he’s a raging misogynistic cop and she’s a stripper, so there’s a lot of built-in tension between these two and they generate a lot of conflict within the group even as the Wraith tries to kill them all one by one.

Speaking of the Wraith…this bad boy is a slasher fan’s nightmare! If you’ve been following Shea for any length of time on social media, you know he’s a fan of slasher flicks. That love bleeds onto every single page here, and Slash is very much an ode to this style of horror. The Wraith is a remorseless hunter and killer, with a particular fondness for literally ripping his victims apart piece by piece. The Hayden Resort becomes absolutely littered with decapitated heads, severed limbs, snaking entrails, the works! And like your favorite cinema slasher, he’s nigh unstoppable — and for very good reason! I won’t go into it here, but damn if I didn’t love the backstory Shea conjured for the Wraith.

Slash is a slick and cool slasher movie in book form. It’s ridiculously compulsively readable, and the pages here damn near turn themselves while you wonder who the Wraith is and what makes him tick. Forget Jason. Say goodbye to Michael Myers. Give Ghostface a big ol’ middle finger. The Wraith is here!

This heart-pounding thriller was able to combine elements from several genres (and from several ages) successfully and deliver an astonishingly good read that was entertaining, tight, and executed almost perfectly.
Almost, hell... It was executed perfectly. So perfectly I was jealous.
This is a complex novel; not something you need weeks or months to contemplate, but complex as in genre-bending and deserving of attention--not something you can casually breeze through on a weekend. It requires some thought. It requires you keep up with what's going on. And that's a good thing in a novel. Don't pick it up expecting to read a few pages and come back in a few days and remember what's happening because that won't work. Immerse yourself--if you do that, you're in for a helluva ride.
As is the case with Shea's Creature, it is difficult to review Slash and not toss in some spoilers, so without doing so, I'm going to promise any reader that they are in for a treat when, in the final third of the book, the reveal presents itself.
In less-talented hands, the scenes in the abandoned resort would have become tedious leading, as they do, from one catastrophe to another, but they are presented with such freshness and continuity that the reader is almost hoping against resolution. That's one of the marks of a good writer--keep you wishing that "this isn't it."
My sole problem with this book was the somewhat forced inclusion. I know it's difficult to find a new novel that doesn't manage to pander to culture, and Slash< is no different, but that's our society. Personally, the race, religion, or sexual orientation of a character doesn't concern me unless it's germane to the story--and it wasn't in this book--but we got it tossed into the mix anyway, so everybody's happy. But that's a very minor point.
Overall, Slash is a phenomenal achievement and a supernatural thriller that should not be missed.

Title: Slash

Genre: horror

October 10,2019

pages:256



Five years after Ashley King survived the infamous Resort Massacre, she’s found hanging in her basement by her fiancé, Todd Matthews. She left behind clues as to what really happened that night, clues that may reveal the identity of the killer the press has called The Wraith.



With the help of his friends, Todd goes back to the crumbling Hayden Resort, a death-tinged ruin in the Catskills Mountains. What they find is a haunted history that’s been lying in wait for a fresh set of victims. The Wraith is back, and he’s nothing what they expected



My thoughts

rating: 5

WOW, what a story, it had me setting on the edge of my bed, and give me goosebumps, its dark and twisted with non - stop action ,gore, and a touch of the supernatural to it that somehow makes it work, and once again it reminds me somewhat of the old black and white movies I love to watch mixed with the modern-day slasher movie,which makes it work on so many levels ,in fact I would say that the how to survive a slasher movie rules might not work in this situation, so be prepared to not survive the night . With that said I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read and review another win for this authour in exchange for my honest opinion.

SLASH is the first book that I’ve read by Hunter Shea and one I thoroughly enjoyed. CREATURE is the next book of his on my TBR pile, and I can’t wait to dive in!

Thank you #NetGalley and #Flame Tree Press for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Makes you realize the worst monster can be those inside. Keeps you wanting more. You want to find out what happened that night. The characters are tough yet sensitive and won't to help each other.

This may be my top favorite book by Hunter Shea! It was very engrossing! I would love to do some urban exploration so I was all about reading about it. I was totally hooked from page one. The old resort setting made the perfect atmosphere for the killing grounds. If you like a good slasher story, you won't want to miss this one.

Oh my!! This book stole my breath with the number of bodies chopped and sliced. Slash was the perfect title for this book, it was really a slasher horror movie kind of a read.

5 years ago, Ashley survived a massacre only to be found hanging in the basement. Clues were left behind for the husband Todd which would lead him to the killer known as the Wraith. With the help if his friends, he went back to the Hayden Resort where it all started. A haunted place which longed for new blood.

My first book by author Hunter Shea, it took me time to get into the rhythm of the story as I had not read the earlier book. The story gripped me once the characters moved to the Hayden Resort. I couldn't even begin to guess who was the Wraith and I didn't even want to. I was gripped in the vortex of the plot and the killings.

Being a new fan of horror, I was pulled into this rollerncoaster ride of fear and macabre with characters who were strong yet flawed. I could read this in a single read, I couldn't let go of my kindle even if I wanted to.

Shea's writing was interesting as it explored the depths of the characters. The structures plot line amidst the fear and blood made this a scary, thrilling ride. Whoa!!

Hunter Shea’s new novel Slay works on very many levels and it is a rewarding experience in mystery, thriller and horror that does not give easy answers to the situation at hand. Through the power of his characterisations, motivations and extraordinary plot, this gives the reader a thrilling ride.

Starting with Ashley, we learn that she is a final girl due to a murderous rampage in a depilated run down summer resort that has been closed 30 years prior. All her friends have been murdered in grotesque ways five years earlier, and she is paying the price of being the sole survivor. On the page, we think that the author is going to give us a final girl scenario to carry us through the plot but after some hard decision from Ashley, we take a hard right turn into new territory that steers us into a new direction.

Ashley’s husband and friends have a mystery to unravel which leads them down a dark path that becomes treacherous and life threatening. As the mystery becomes abundantly clear towards its climax, the reader finds themselves on a roller coaster ride with a lot of surprises ahead.

The characters are very well drawn and personally, I think Shea is a very comprehensive author who is able to draw out the slightest personality flaws and use these to his advantage. His characters have emotional strength and weakness and these are well balanced with the backgrounds involved. It is very impressive that he doesn’t have characters added to the mix who become fodder which is the norm for a novel of this ilk but Shea is smarter than that and works his talent into these characters and their reasoning of why they are on the page.

There is a very interesting sub plot of the final girl groupies which sets this novel apart from the rest and this is the beginning hooking point of the plot. This is explored and with the use of podcasts and media to show how these fans connect was an interesting way to bring this to light.

The plot is strong and the way the plot changes direction three times makes this novel above par. He handles these changes in a natural realistic manner and he keeps this very tight. The reasoning behind the killings is smartly handled and we are left with folklore mixed with the realism which I think works very well. The information given does fit in well and probably better handled than what we normally give for a monstrous killer. The killer is the stuff that nightmares are made of and this is excellent asset to the novel.

Overall, this is great thriller, mystery horror novel is an excellent novel that fires from all cylinders in a fantastical way. The strong characters, plots and revenge aspect keeps it moving at a brisk place and one of the few books that I found hard to put down. When I did put it down, it haunted me until I came to the conclusion. The novel also spiked my interest in Hunter Slea as a novelist and I am very keen to start diving into his other work. This is a must read for anyone who has a love of this genre and will be rewarded due to the in-depth storytelling that can be found within these pages.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for a copy of Slash to read in exchange for an honest review.

The premise was a simple slasher with lots of killings and groups of unwitting (or witless) individuals who serve themselves up on a platter to get killed.

The Final Girl, Ashely, who several years earlier survived a resort massacre at the hands of a killer known as The Wraith, can no longer live with the pain and is found hanging by her finance Todd.

Greiving, Todd goes back to the resort in search of the truth about what happened that night and he and a group of friends get a lot more than they bargained for.

The story flows well and along with interesting and dynamic characters is a good read. For me though I felt it was lacking in originality and there was just that spark missing that drags me in to the story.

It's a fun read, gore filled and totally lives up to the title.

Enjoy!!