Which means you’ll also be browsing Amazon for some new reads, something to bring with you, something to murder kill a little downtime. August is just around the corner and you’re probably gearing up for a family vacation, that precious escape before sending the kiddos back to school. The heat is almost unbearable and my A/C is working overtime. This book gets a strong recommendation from me.It’s July.

I could go into more details, but it would be a shame to know more before you read it, and read it you should. The plot develops and takes you on one hell of a ride.

Where the story ends up from where it begins is wonderful. It was glorious an “oh snap!” moment, for want of a better word.

You could call them twists, or just things falling into place in an unexpected way, but there was one particular example that made me smile. Serafini does a great job with showing us something seemingly innocuous and having it later become important. With about 100 pages to go you get a pretty big reveal which leads to big anticipation for the final third of the book. It’s a small town covering up a big secret and conspiracy is rich. There are other threads going on that really expand the story and the threat. My favourite kills involved garden shears to the ankle and a gruesome shower scene. There is a fair amount of gore, so gorehounds will not be disappointed. There is more than meets the eye though, and it far from follows the path you might expect it to go. There are some classic horror tropes like a creepy visit to a gas station, tight lipped locals, and, of course, a massacre at a camp. We learn the reasons behind his trail of violence. Unlike Jason, we do get some insight into his point of view and his thoughts, so he’s not a mindless killer. His physicality oozes Jason Vorhees, complete with a mask. We also get to meet a diverse array of locals.Ĭyrus Hoyt is a great monster. All have believable personalities, and there is an intriguing dynamic between the three. The other major characters are the Chief of Police and his rebel wife, Trish. The dark history of the town is revealed piece by piece. Melanie Holden, the survivor of the original massacre, is our protagonist. A moratorium was drawn on all social events, and it became even more conservative. It’s something you rarely get to see – the aftermath. I loved the town of Forest Grove and what happened to it following the massacre.

Then, years later, Melanie returns to the town of Forest Grove to help her recollect the events as she writes a book. We get to see what happens to the people of the town when the killing stops. The killing spree of the evil Cyrus Hoyt is only stopped by the final girl, Melanie Holden. At the beginning, we relive watching the typical camp slasher. It will take you back to the days of your favourite slasher from the 80s. The latest book from Matt Serafini is a trip down memory lane.

Under the Blade by Matt Serafini