Synopsis:
Willow’s worst nightmare was being canceled. But the shadows in the woods of Camp Castaway might destroy more than her reputation.
After sitcom star Willow tweeted herself into infamy and stumbled blind-drunk into a swimming pool, her agent shipped her off to Camp Castaway. Tucked away in upstate New York, Castaway is a summer camp for adults who are desperate to leave their mistakes behind. No real names, no phones . . . no way to call for help.
Willow’s fellow campers seem okay. Her own favourite actress is even here, making a s’more. And did that jaded writer, Dani, just wink at her? But the peaceful vibe is shattered when one of the campers vanishes and Willow finds a mutilated doll in her room with a threatening message rolled up inside its mouth. Terror grips the group, campers begin to lose their heads—literally—and disturbing past deeds come to light.
Is Willow about to get cancelled all over again, this time for good?
Review:
Many thanks to Michael Joseph for sending me a copy of this one!
A book that undoubtedly delivers on its promises, ‘Heads Will Roll’ is a thoroughly entertaining slasher novel that fully embraces the blood and guts that it eagerly coats itself in. Summer camp has always offered fertile grounds for bloodshed, gleefully soaking up all the secrets, drama and of course, blood, that is spilled at the hands of the vengeful killer. ‘Heads Will Roll’ is not a novel to re-invent the genre and make you completely reconsider what a slasher should be, instead Winning’s novel excels in the roots that it unapologetically sticks to.
The story primarily follows our main character Willow, a ‘cancelled’ sitcom star who runs away to Camp Castaway in the upstate New York woods in order to escape the limelight. The power of the internet and its impact on us is a crucial aspect of Winning’s novel, delving into fandom, cancel culture and online versus real life identities throughout the story. So relevant to our world today, these aspects definitely felt relatable, and if not then at the very least realistic. Winning goes to great lengths to emphasise the damaging impacts being chronically online can have on someone’s mental health, while skilfully masking the potentially life saving positives of the internet – connectivity to the outside world.
For a book of relatively short length, I thought that Winning did a stellar job at building up unique and memorable characters. No camp members got lost in the shuffle for me, I knew who every character was and how Willow perceived them with no issues at all, which really is also a testament to Willow and her crafted personality. The story does occasionally flip from Willow’s perspective to her other camp mates, but this did not take away from the story at all for me. These chapters very much felt like when a film switches to a character that has not had much of any spotlight so far, and in fitting with the genre, you know exactly what is coming next for this character, you just don’t know when or how…
It is clear reading ‘Heads Will Roll’ that Josh Winning is a huge fan of the genre, and for me this is the story’s strongest trait. Winning’s knowledge of slashers does not gatekeep the story or make it inaccessible, instead he uses his passion and expertise to create a story that I believe any fan of horror can enjoy. More than anything else this story is fun, and fun has no boundaries. Whether you are a seasoned horror reader or someone looking to tentatively dip your toes into the genre, I would strongly urge you to consider adding this story to your summer tbr!
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