Heads Will Roll offers us a summer camp slasher horror read, drawing on familiar events/situations to draw us in. Nothing new, but entertaining none the less.
Our main character is an actress, well-known for her role in a teen sitcom, but when we first meet her she is a wreck. Having been found passed out in a pool by her publicist, we learn that after an unfortunate tweet our character has been cancelled. Vitriol and hate have been poured on her since that tweet. Her fiancé dumped her. She’s lost her job. She’s receiving death threats. So, she blows an extortionate amount of money on a camp experience that offers her the chance to get away from it all.
The camp takes place in remote woodland. Nobody is allowed access to phones or electrical items while they’re at camp…and it doesn’t take long for them to wind each other up about potential threats.
Unfortunately, someone seems determined to make this camp memorable for very different reasons. One by one members of the camp disappear. Strange things take place and there’s more than a passing link to the horror story they shared of Knock Knock Nancy.
As with a lot of horror stories that have come out recently, much of the enjoyment stems from the characters’ awareness of the genre and its expectations. We don’t see anything particularly original here, but I liked the fact that it’s adult characters who form our focus. One best read in the light, and definitely there are moments that are not for the squeamish!
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this.