February 1, 2023
Journalist Lauren is in Hollywood visiting the set of new streaming horror series based on a cult classic that she appeared in as a child, playing a character who could tell people exactly how the Needle Man would kill them. It wrecked her life and spookily cost eight members of the cast and crew their own, and now Lauren and her aspiring actress sister must figure out how to break the curse. From a senior film writer at Radio Times whose The Shadow Glass has a following; in-house excitement. Prepub Alert.
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Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 1, 2023
Like the classic horror cinema it gleefully riffs on, Winning’s latest (after The Shadow Glass) crackles with both dread and dazzle. In 1993, seven-year-old Polly Tremaine starred in the cult horror classic The Guesthouse, a movie whose production was rumored to be cursed: eight of its cast and crew members died during and after filming, all in eerily similar ways to the deaths played out on screen. Thirty years later, Polly, who has reinvented herself as Laura Warren, heads to the set of It Feeds, a miniseries reboot of The Guesthouse that she’s covering as a reporter for Zeppelin magazine. There, she begins to have upsetting visions of the film’s famous monster, the Needle Man—and people start dying around her once more. Is a supernatural menace haunting Laura? Or is she being mercilessly pranked by her sister, Amy, the set psychic Beverly, or someone else in her inner circle? Winning keeps readers guessing right alongside Laura while throwing out crafty winks and nods to well-known horror films and their makers, and driving his tale to a cinematically spectacular finale with several surprising plot twists. Horror fans should grab the popcorn for this bloody and entertaining romp. Agent: Kristina Perez, Zeno Agency.
June 1, 2023
In this homage to classic horror, a reporter is forced to cover the remake of an infamous 1993 film she starred in as a child. The last time Laura Warren was in Los Angeles, she was a young kid going by another name and reluctantly starring in a slasher flick called The Guesthouse. The intervening years saw eight of the movie's cast and crew members come to terrible ends. Now living in London, she's been strong-armed by her editor into flying west to write about a new miniseries based on the original film. Why is he so adamant about making her write a puff piece anyone could do? Anyway, Laura is determined to stay in LA no longer than the 48 hours it will take to run through a few PR-sanctioned interviews. As if on cue, the body count starts to rise on set, and Laura becomes certain that somebody involved in the production knows who she is--knows and has been waiting for her. The question becomes: Is the show truly cursed, or is it Laura's past doing the haunting? To figure it out, she teams up with her struggling-actress sister and the psychic hired by the young director in charge of the remake. The mystery is a compelling one, the details unsettling from the jump. Adding to the cult-classic ambiance are the documents interspersed throughout, ranging from social media posts to script pages. These add much-needed texture when the choices Laura and others make begin to feel oversimplified. If the characterizations aren't always consistent, the nods to movie magic and monsters certainly are. And if the relationships seem to exist only to serve the plot, it's because the heart of the story belongs to genre. After all, as a fellow child star reminds Laura, "Horror fans are for life." A pulpy exploration of the monsters we make and a love letter to cult-classic frights.
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May 1, 2023
Journalist Laura Warren has gone to great lengths to distance herself from The Guesthouse, a seemingly cursed horror film she starred in as a child. Being sent on assignment to write a story on the revived streaming version is the last thing she wants. Especially when Needle Man, The Guesthouse's vile villain, starts making appearances, and the body count begins to rise. Mixing equal parts scares and gore and an enjoyable amount of humor, the novel manages to grab readers' attention and hold it fast for the entire ride. The exploration of family bonds and expectations of child actors are moving and gripping. A strong female cast and lightning-quick plot twists are sure to keep readers wanting more. Vi-An Nguyen has designed an excellent, eye-catching cover that captures the spirit of the text perfectly. VERDICT Winning's latest, after The Shadow Glass, is a spine-tingling, rip-roaring yarn that hearkens back to the thrills and chills of the best '80s slasher horror. Hand this to readers who liked The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix, My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones, or My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.--Jeremiah Paddock
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.