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Join us for Book Beginnings with Gilion Dumas of RoseCityReader @GilionDumas 
Do take a look at my snippets below. Would you read further? What are you currently reading?
I can’t wait to visit your blogs to find out. Have a great weekend.
May your books be with you!
Luv Sassy X
🙂
This week’s Friday56 and Book Beginnings on Fridays’ choice is…
Slash by Hunter Shea
Book Beginnings
Please note many of my books are unedited ARCs!
Friday56 -ish
Slashby Hunter Shea
“I don’t know how Hunter Shea keeps churning out terrifying stories that feel original, but I want more.” – Cedar Hollow Horror Reviews
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 Review :
Slash is my first foray into Hunter Shea’s horror world and even though this was not the first book in the series, it will not be my last book by this author!
Five years ago Ashley King was the ‘Final Girl’ to survive the Hayden Resort Massacre, and as she just starts to regain her memory in tiny chunks she kills herself — unable to live with the memories of the horror she survived. She just couldn’t face getting all of her memory back and having to deal with that event all over again. In between escaping the resort and her death, the whole massacre had gone viral and she’d become a celebrity in her own right, even though the killer (dubbed as The Wraith by the press) has never been caught.
Todd, her fiancé, blamed the ‘fans’ for her recent death and was emotionally numb with all that was going on – until he discovers she’d left a possible clue to the killer’s identity back in the Hayden Resort, which she left hidden during the time the killer was hunting her and her friends. A fact she’d forgotten about, and only revealed in her suicide note. She could remember recordings being left around the building, but not where or what was on them.
Of course, Todd wanted to know more because the police seem to have done little about what went on during that massacre and he decided to take matters into his own hands with a small handful of friends who assist him, in an effort to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid… (Like visiting the scene of a killing spree where The Wraith is said to still hang out? Cue the start to another slasher horror story!)
I’m a huge fan of the 70/80s slasher and horror books and films in general and the similar horror books written by authors like Shaun Hutson (for example) from the same era. In fact, Stephen King started out writing a different style of ‘thriller’ which to me was pure horror how it still should be (Carrie). However, like many fads (or marketing trends) books that should be classed as horror have a very different feel these days – as though the publishers can’t sell horror, or possibly the authors can’t be taken as seriously enough unless they move away from the genre. Either way, this has always been an issue for me, and Hunter Shea has made me feel that all is not lost! There are some true horror books out there and this is definitely one of them!
The plot was fun, and actually had a meaning behind the reason they went back to visit the scene of the crime, the characters were likeable and behaved realistically. It was even funny in places where Todd and his friends were all aware that they were acting like people from films they’d watched – the ones that died, that is.
What I really liked is how this story turned out to be more supernatural than expected, therefore killing the ‘monster’ they’d dug up again (excuse the pun) became a lot harder than they’d anticipated. It was a supernatural twist that I relished, and not only was I feeling very nostalgic because of this, but I thoroughly enjoyed the tense ‘cat and mouse’ scenes, the gory aspects and the way one-by-one The Wraith was killing people all over again… but why? Who is he? What is he? Why has he never been caught?
Fun action, gory slashings, with tense suspense. What more could horror fans want? Utterly sinister!
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I keep hearing how amazing Hunter Shea’s books are. I’ve got to try this author one of these days. Thanks for sharing! Hope you have a great weekend! 🙂
I like the quotes. Great review!
Why have I never thought of taking a photo of the beginning paragraph and page 56 instead of typing them out? You have given me a great idea! Happy reading week!
Sounds like a fast-paced read! Happy weekend!
Nice beginning–I like a book with a feline character.
Interesting excerpts, but probably not for me. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Never heard of this book before, but it sounds like a perfect Halloween read! That 56 quote for sure caught my attention. xD
At cat in the opening will always hook me! Slash sounds like a great read, especially for this time of year. I am glad you enjoyed it!