Slash by Hunter Shea is a gruesome story which ticks all the boxes for horror-lovers.

The plot:

Five years after final girl Ashley King survived the infamous Resort Massacre, she’s found hanging in her basement by her fiancé, Todd. She left behind clues as to what really happened that horrible night, clues that may reveal the identity of the killer the press has called The Wraith.

With the help of his friends, Todd goes back to the crumbling Hayden Resort, now a ruin in the Catskill Mountains. The Hayden may have been deserted, but it was never empty of new corpses.

Someone, or something, has been murdering anyone who dares to wander amidst its decayed buildings. What Todd and his friends will find is a killer lying in wait for a fresh set of victims. The Wraith is back, and he’s not at all what they expected.

Shea leaves nothing to the imagination

If you’re judging Slash by the cover, it’s exactly what you can imagine it’ll be like. Violent, bloody and horrifying. I’d definitely put it in the freezer.

When I think of horrors, I usually think of blood and gore with little story, but I liked that this one did have substance. Don’t get me wrong, most of the book was about running away from The Wraith, but it didn’t disappoint with a back-story or the weirdness element.

I seldom read books like this – usually because I love torturing myself by watching the movies instead – so it was interesting to see how one would be written instead (jury’s out on which I prefer). I’m definitely down for this being made into a film, but I’ll be watching with my eyes closed and ears blocked for most of it.

I would’ve liked for there to be one more twist mid-way through, as at this point it was your standard horror with everyone running for their lives.

The writing’s great, and Shea leaves nothing to the imagination – it’s very descriptive, and at one point I was eating crisps, and that was a BIG mistake; I don’t think I drank anything the entire time either.

I was, and still am, a bit confused as to whether there is a prequel to Slash. As I was reading the book, I definitely felt like I’d missed out on the past and this was a follow-up, but you got a lot more information as the book went on.

The gore side is messed-up, and there’s a few parts which will, unfortunately, stick with me when I think of this book because it’s so gross. So pre-warning.

It’s tense and definitely nail-biting, and rest-assured, horror-lovers, there isn’t your typical scream-y awful character who we all hate and jeopardizes everything. Thank you, Shea.

Not one to shock you but will definitely make your skin crawl.

Slash, Hunter Shea, RRP £9.95 (paperback); Book Depository 

Pages: 279

Publisher: Flame Tree Press

Genre: Horror