I am all for a slow burn of a book but this one was at times a bit too slow, even for me. After a bloody and brutal opening scene the book switches gears and we coast along in the slow lane. This is not a fast paced slasher with a tight hour and a half run time. Is a masked killer on the loose or is it something more sinister from the town’s dark past come back for revenge? With all her years of accumulated knowledge of the slasher Jade sets out to predict who will be the next to die a gruesome death, the killer’s motives, who the man or woman behind the mask is, and who will be that final girl left standing bloodied but not beaten by the time the proverbial credits roll. Jade fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) gets her wish as blood spills and people around town start to be killed off one by one. I won’t say why here, I’ll let you have that moment of discovery for yourself reader, but suffice it to say that it fully changed my opinion of Jade as a character. There was a revelation of understanding as to why Jade is so absorbed and obsessed with slasher films.

But then Jones’ expert storytelling kicked in and his ability to craft great characters transformed Jade from being someone I wasn’t sure I liked to me viewing her in a completely different light. Jade was just too much for me up to a certain point where I thought that she was just crazy. It got to the point where she was so hopeful with every fiber of her being that an actual killer would show up in her hometown of Proofrock and start murdering people just so that she could live and breathe the slasher experience firsthand. Twenty-four hours a day seven days a week.

She lives and breathes all things slasher. Maybe unlikable isn’t quite the right word, a bit overbearing might be better? Jade is all about the slasher. Honestly, for me Jade was a bit unlikable at first. She is obsessed, and I mean absolutely obsessed with horror movies, and slasher films in particular.

My heart is chainsaw