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bookswithlydscl 's review for:

Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning
4.5
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Welcome to Camp Castaway, an adults-only, digital detox retreat based at an old campground in the woods and a place teeming with secrets and ghost stories that our characters discover may have a little more truth to them than they realise.

When disgraced sitcom star, known to her fellow campers as Willow, is in need of an escape following a very public cancellation after an ill-advised tweet, her agent suggests taking some time away at the camp to let things die down. Unbeknownst to Willow she's walking into living horror movie and will face the fight of her life. If she thought being cancelled was tough now she has to keep her head (literally) to figure out who has decided the camp is a ripe hunting ground and how she's going to escape.

I loved this book from minute one and read it in one sitting. It's a dark story with plenty of action, a tone that was very Scream 3 in style and with a final quarter that upped the ante, and the gore. I had a few minor niggles (the ending stretched belief a little and sometimes Willow was a little too much in her head) but I loved the horror, and the commentary on cancel culture and the impact of social media worked well to give us connections between the characters. 

Overall it was so well executed and will really appeal to fans of 80s/90s teen horror and slasher movies. So for me this was an absolute win. After all, an isolated summer camp slasher with final girl vibes is an automatic thank you, and yes please for me and I'm looking forward to reading more from Josh Winning in the future!

4.5* rounded up

Thank you to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House | Michael Joseph and Netgalley for inviting me to read an eArc of "Heads Will Roll" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.