I don’t know about you, but I love a good summer slasher. Ghost stories and haunted house books and films are perfect for cold, snowy winters, but when the warmer weather returns and the great outdoors beckons, I like seeing a big cast of characters being stalked (and worse) by a weapon-wielding maniac (like those in the movie Wrong Turn, for instance).

So when I saw that Josh Winning’s book Heads Will Roll was a slasher set at a camp in the wilderness, I was immediately on board.

This book tells the story of Willow, who’s been a perfectly successful TV star until she makes a comment on the internet that gets her hauled over the coals and threatened with imminent cancellation.

Desperate to get away from it all, she heads to Camp Castaway to participate in a retreat that will cut her off from the outside world completely, including severing her ties to toxic social media.

But Camp Castaway has a disturbing legend about a witch who’s said to still haunt the surrounding woods — and when Willow’s fellow campers start to go missing, she begins to wonder if being cut off from civilisation isn’t such a good idea after all.

This book was great fun and really well-written, with the other characters concealing some dark secrets too. I loved Juniper, who was described as being slightly older and therefore immediately cemented herself in my mind as a mash-up of Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Fisher and Jamie Lee Curtis.

It also succeeded in creating that delicious feeling of dread that creeps in at some point during every good slasher — you know, the part when you end up yelling ‘don’t go in there!’, only for them inevitably to do so and instantly regret it.

I really enjoyed Heads Will Roll and would recommend it to anyone who loved a good Point Horror back in the day, especially if it was served with a side order of I Know What You Did Last Summer and House of Wax.

I’d say it would make the perfect summer holiday read — but maybe not if you’re going camping in the woods.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this book

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️
YA
Thriller
Murder
Summer camp
Multiple POVs
Fast Paced

A very enjoyable read that was fast-paced, did not give over too much unnecessary information and created an engaging read with an 80s vibe to the whole summer camp story which felt exciting in places. Did not find much character growth between the Multiple POVs but did find the characters complimented each other creating a nice steady fluid transition between chapters.

Not a book I would buy for myself but a book I would suggest to others who would love this.

I really enjoyed this one, I was engaged with the mystery and loved the atmosphere. I am not normally one for romance but thought it was done well.

As a fan of 80s-style slashers, I was very keen to read this book. Josh's writing is always fun, and I was pleased to find that this takes the style of his previous book and runs with it!

Reminding me most of the movie 'Final Girl' with its blend of humour and horror, we have a group of young people gathering at a camp to take time out from various issues in their lives. And one by one, they're picked off - but who's the killer? Simple, familiar and engaging (if you like this sort of thing!).

I did find it frustrating that what our heroine actually did was left deliberately obscured for so long, but I understand that this isn't really the point - the issue was that her suffering came from the effect of social media, making a statement of how online life can affect the real, even though it's essentially a contrived fiction without all the nuance that we really experience. Her reactions to this mysterious Day were relatable without the depiction being heavy-handed, and I appreciated that.

Most of the characters were realistic, with those who seemed more two-dimensional clearly Marked for Death. I was reminded of 'American Horror Story: 1984' in places too, with the suspicious camp leader; even though everyone here is generally adult, we're still encouraged to not trust those in charge, and that's a nice trope to riff with.

It also tickled me that the author is a fellow Brit. We don't have Summer Camps as such, but he's nailed the atmosphere of the fictional horror-movie version of these bizarre places and somehow made it his own world. Just the thing for what is essentially a murder-mystery.

Setting a good foundation before upping the tension and keeping it high, this was a fun as anticipated without being predictable. I look forward to what Josh comes up with next!

Well wow! I did not expect that story. That was quite a story, never a dull page or sentence during the book. It reads like your in an 80s or 90s horror movie. The author had a knack of making you love the characters even though they are flawed. (The plot). The ending had you wondering whether anyone survives and you will definitely not see it coming.
It's about an adult summer camp to escape their troubles in the real world, the stories, the lies and discovering what's true or not fascinated me.
Not wanting to give the story away, but if you love slasher movies, you'll love this. This is a review for Netgalley. Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this absolutely brill arc. ❤️📚 I actually gave this book 4.5 ⭐️

I love a summer camp slasher story.
The story follows Willow, a sitcom star who has been cancelled, as she attends Camp Castaway.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This is one of the best slasher books I have read. I do think this specific genre is a hard one to write but it had enough gore and suspense to go with it. The characters were also very well developed.

I thoroughly enjoyed, a strong 4 stars for me!

One of my favourite horror reads this year. There is something about Josh Winning’s prose that makes their stories so wonderfully readable. In this, a group of people meet at a camp for rehabilitation. Cut off from outside communication this because a gloriously bloody ode to the slasher genre. With loveable characters and pages seeped in gore, this is not one to miss.

Campfire horror meets biting social satire in Josh Winning’s Heads Will Roll! Set at Camp Castaway, a digital detox retreat, the story plunges into chaos when the legend of “Knock Knock Nancy” becomes terrifyingly real. Former sitcom star Willow, reeling from scandal, must navigate a slasher nightmare while confronting her past.

With sharp commentary on cancel culture, a diverse cast, and plenty of twists and every slasher trope imaginable this is an unmissable love letter to ’80s horror with a modern edge. It is suspenseful , smart, with just the right amount of gore.

A love letter to 80s slasher horror ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five

Heads Will Roll is a dark and addictive slasher horror from The Shadow Glass author Josh Winning. The story follows Willow who signs up to attend Camp Castaway following her cancellation on social media. The camp is a digital detox with no phones or technology of any kind. When Willow arrives she soon learns the story of Knock Knock Nancy – a local legend about a witch who was killed where the camp now sits. Willow doesn’t believe the story, but when campers begin vanishing Willow must uncover the truth behind the tale if she has any hope of getting out alive.

I absolutely loved The Shadow Glass and Burn the Negative by this author so I was extremely excited to pick this one up. It was dark, gruesome and incredibly compelling and I ended up reading this one in just a few sittings. I loved the way it was a nod to slasher films and all things horror. The story is well paced and Winning does a magnificent job of building atmosphere and a deep sense of unease. There were a few scenes that were pretty scary – Heads Will Roll is definitely a book that will have you on the edge of your seat.

If you’re a horror fan Heads Will Roll is a book you will not want to miss. The story has some really fascinating characters and I thought the theme of cancel culture was a really interesting one. Willow is a great protagonist and I really liked the way you’re never quite sure which of the campers she can trust. I had a brilliant time reading this one so if you’re looking for a dark and bloody slasher story then definitely check out Heads Will Roll!

This is the story of Rebecca, who loves horror movies and books, but now finds herself knee-deep in her own horror story.

Rebecca was a successful actress and the star of the show We Love Willow, but one irresponsible tweet that was meant as a joke cost her everything: her job, her fiancé, her fans, and her friends. She was canceled. (Cancel culture is a cultural phenomenon where people are shunned, boycotted, or ostracized for speaking or acting in an unacceptable way and they go from hero to zero in the blink of an eye)

She also started receiving death threats after "tweetageddon," which is why she finds herself on her way to a secluded retreat called Camp Castaway—a place with hardly any online footprint. It's a place where she can take a digital time-out and try to get her life back on track.

There are only six more people at the camp, all struggling with their own problems, but somewhere there is a fraud....someone is pretending, and soon heads will roll.....literally!

Beware of Knock-Knock Nancy.....

This was a very enjoyable read that brought to mind certain slasher films!

Heads Will Roll follows an actress we know only as her sitcom character, Willow, on the wake of being cancelled for an ill thought tweet. Plagued by abuse and personal threats as a result, she runs off to Camp Castaway, joining a group of fellow campers, each with secrets that brought them there. As campers vanish and heads literally roll, Willow races to save them and herself from permanent cancellation.

Willow is a deeply relatable character for me, with a clear history of mental illness, a mouth that "has never been [her] friend", and an expert love for horror. This book is littered with pop culture and horror movie references, and it was a fun game to spot them all, though I did lose count in the end. The tension was built well, and I was immediately suspicious of everyone, particularly the camp itself - a place you "won't want to leave" or can't? We're introduced to our cast fairly quickly, though many of them continued to have their archetype description referenced in the same way whenever they're mentioned, which did get a little stale - I get it, Kat's a flannel wearing stoner and Dani has a rockstar smile. Whilst some could be overwhelmed with meeting so many people in quick succession, as Willow herself notes, very few of them really added anything to the plot, serving at most as red herrings, love interests, or victims. Side note: every time Bebe was mentioned, I heard Moira Rose saying it. Those that had greater impact were decent, though stereotypical in parts or victim to common book tropes. I would've liked to see more initial bonding to make me care about those on the chopping board.

Another thing the book is littered with is similes and metaphors, which would make a great drinking game. So many of these were poetic, but when you’re treated to multiple even on the same page, they lose their charm. Some eloquently describe how mental illness feels, and were so evocative that I had to highlight them to read again later. Others just felt like one too many, not really adding anything but tainting the ones that do. I noticed that some of the prose felt like they fell out of a wattpad fan fiction, with unnecessary descriptions like "shoulder length auburn hair" or repeating metaphors, whilst other prose was so beautifully written, with tension crafted expertly, laden with foreshadowing and mystery. Though not all of these seeds sprout.

I have to mention again how incredibly relatable Willow was for me. Half of my highlights are because of this, and her thoughts reminded me of my own. She hides behind her character, armoured in humour. I would love to follow Willow in another story. I appreciated all of the queer characters, though some do die, it doesn’t cater to the bury your gays trope.

Unfortunately, there were a few negative things to note. There are a few people of colour included, however, they are the only characters to have the colour of their skin mentioned, as though white is the default and only those that differ will have that described. There were some inconsistencies (like forgetting how many people were there, or still alive) or incorrect terms used (a hire car is not the same as a taxi), that were overall minor but happened frequently enough to be annoying. I also had to wonder if there was some product placement or sponsorship of some kind (no idea if that's a thing within books ngl) with the specific brands mentioned. Things were repeated without need or adding emphasis, conversations reoccurring a page later with slightly different info, and constant references to tweetagedon without telling us WHAT she said. When we finally find out, it fell flat and was not nearly bad enough to warrant multiple death threats and doxing. *Spoilers: I thought Knock Knock Nancy was a joke at first, and the song was reminiscent of "one, two, Freddie's coming for you" but not as good, so the one campfire ghost story they tell being the entire plot was disappointing.* There was some predictability but overall, it was a good story that I enjoyed 'watching' play out. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was an interesting read that drip feeds you the information slowly and this worked in its favour. The writing was fun and kept it interesting and i like how the characters had good development and progression. The action was written well and i was hooked all the way through. The only small complaints i had was there were a couple of places that didn't work entirely for me but they made sense for the most part and didn't detract too much from the overall story.

I absolutely loved Heads Will Roll!
It was such an amazing read that had me hooked from the very first page!
Also, why was I not told this book was queer!
It was such a lovely surprise that just made the book so much better as I haven't really read any slashers yet with a queer main character.
The characters were all amazing, and I even teared up near the end as I had really loved some of them, but I won't say more because of spoilers.
Willow was an awesome main character that I was rooting for throughout the book!

This book also deals with cancel culture, and I thought it was done really well.
Finally, the best part of the book was definitely the ending as it was phenomenal! There were so many twists that I didn't guess and ended up surprising me, and the action was just so good!
All in all, Heads Will Roll is an amazing book that I highly recommend everyone read! Especially if you are a lover of slashers like me!
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.

5 stars

I loved this book, reading it in one sitting.

The book follows the theme of cancel culture, where a bunch of adults who need to escape their past get away to this retreat camp called Camp Castaway. Our main character, a sitcom star named Willow, has been cancelled and had been advised to take a break away from it all. Camp Castaway calls for a complete reset, leaving behind social media and their technology in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere with other cancelled strangers. However things are not as they seem as camp goers start to go missing...

This is a great slasher with all the traditional elements. Not overly gory, potentially could have been more. The chapters were short and easy to consume and the plot felt fast-paced. I loved all the characters and there was some great representation throughout. If you are looking for a cheesy slasher this is a great choice.

I am really looking forward to reading more of Josh Winning's books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A super fun slasher to kick off a month of spooky, thrilling reads. I love an isolated camp setting and the story kept me guessing throughout at who I could trust. Some interesting commentary on cancel culture too.

Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning is a campy, slasher-horror novel that tackles cancel culture in a fresh, meta way. It follows Willow, a ‘fallen-from-grace’ actress who retreats to Camp Castaway after being "cancelled" online. The isolated, tech-free camp becomes an eerie backdrop for a series of murders tied to the bloody local legend, Knock Knock Nancy.

The novel is a love letter to classic slashers, blending atmospheric tension with gruesome kills and pop culture references. While the pacing starts a little slow, it builds to a fast-paced, gory & action-packed second half. The exploration of social media and public scrutiny adds a modern twist which is a breath of fresh air in a saturated genre.

Characters feel fleshed out, particularly Willow, and you do get a sense that this novel would make for a great slasher movie. It's not without flaws, but Heads Will Roll offers a fun, bloody ride for horror fans seeking an eerie slasher with modern themes.

I was excited about this one after seeing the cover, and simply reading the title. This one was definitely going to be horror, and not another drama or thriller marketed as horror. And I was pleasantly correct,

It started off a bit new and different. Maybe I had seen movies touching on social media and technology but I haven’t read anything really related to it in the horror genre. Also, it mentioned a summer camp, so I was loving the atmosphere.

I have to admit I hit a little slump, and having so many characters with fake names, I was having a hard time learning them and keeping each one straight.

But once I really got into the book, it was a quick read.

I have to say that one of the “final girls” was a bit of a disappointment because you don’t really get to know much about her on a deeper level for the entire book and then you have to care about her fighting the baddie. I just didn’t.

But otherwise, I was pretty invested in the characters, which you kinda need for a slasher.

I had fun overall

This is the perfect autumn/winter thriller and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It’s a summer camp / horror / thriller with a riveting social media storyline and great characters. Willow was the lead in a popular sitcom, she’s then cancelled and we don’t know why. To escape life she books into a summer camp that’s marketed as an escape from life and a chance to reset.

When Willow meets her fellow camp mates she finds them in turn; interesting, unusual, intriguing and strange and what follows is a great horror story.

I’m very grateful to NetGalley and Penguin Random House who gifted me the opportunity to preview and I wish Josh Winning deserved success.

One to curl up with, but, keep the lights on and should you hear ‘knock….knock…knock’ don’t answer!