This book offers a captivating premise and a distinctive blend of mystery and suspense that kept me thoroughly entertained, despite a few shortcomings.

The story kicks off with a bang and maintains a well-measured pace throughout. Winning's writing style is sharp and engaging, effectively capturing the tension and absurdity of the situations.

However, the book wasn't without its flaws. Some characters felt underdeveloped and there were moments when the story seemed to lose focus. Moreover, a few plot points could have been more tightly woven.

In summary, "Heads Will Roll" is an enjoyable read with a unique voice and plenty of suspense. While it has its shortcomings in character development and plot cohesion, it still delivers an entertaining experience.

After reading 'Burn the Negative' I was highly anticipating this new release by Josh winning. Unfortunately this didn't quite live up to my expectations. I loved the premise and was excited for a slasher set in an adult summer camp for those needing a break from life. Sadly I found the plot to be a little on the superficial side and I found it difficult to care about the characters enough to truly feel their peril.
Thanks to Micheal Joseph, Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2024/08/06/review-heads-will-roll-by-josh-by-josh-winning/
My Five Word TL:DR Review: a Very Fitting Title Indeed

This was a very entertaining read, it maybe had more plot holes than a leaky sieve, but the title promises that Heads Will Roll and roll they did – and, perhaps because I’m not a massive horror reader – it never failed to take me by surprise.

Basically you have your classic slasher story, based in a retreat in the middle of nowhere, where a bunch of characters, all trying to escape some sort of trouble, or trauma, or upset in their lives come to be at one with nature, leaving their hectic lives, and any electronic devices, behind. What could possibly go wrong?

As the story begins we meet Willow on her way to Camp Castaway. Her life has imploded following an ill advised tweet that went viral inspiring hate mail and death threats. Her tv show has been cancelled, her fiancée has scarpered and she soon discovers that she really has little else with most of her belongings not actually being hers! She’s running scared and although this camp is in the middle of nowhere she’s worried about being recognised (leading to some almost comedic attempts at disguise).

I don’t think I need to elaborate on the plot too much. It’s a relatively small cast of characters with only three employees and less than ten visitors as the story begins. What they all have in common: secrets.

What I really enjoyed about this.

We have a good cast of characters. The shy and awkward young man who seems to need protection, a slightly older woman, previously a Hollywood star who retreated into obscurity, a young girl who quickly attaches herself to Willow and becomes friends, a camp leader who feels a little on the edge and another employee who everyone seems to fantasise about with his hot bod and good looks. And then a few others who don’t stand out quite as much and you can’t hep feeling will swiftly become axe fodder – although there are some surprises.

The setting is certainly remote. Plenty of trees, tiny cabins sprinkled throughout, a beautiful lake and lots of activities none of which involve tv or any other connection to what’s going on in the outside world. Plenty of places for someone to sneak around or hide out and there is more than one person doing a bit of sneaking. Oh, and I forgot to mention, no locks. I don’t think I would sleep!

Everyone is keeping secrets and some campers know more than others.

This is a slow build of tension fuelled by a local legend/urban myth know as Knock Knock Nancy. I won’t spoil the read by delving into that story here.

The final third of the book, is unrelentingly wicked with people running amok and literally losing their heads.

In conclusion, I went into this expecting a slasher and the author certainly delivers. I decided from the outset not to question events too deeply and I think that was the right move. As I mentioned above there were certainly questionable areas but I checked my natural inclination to drill down into everything at the start of the read and take this at face value and so it worked. The tension was ramped up incredibly during the last third and although it’s often difficult to form attachments with this kind of story I did find myself really rooting for a couple of the characters. There was plenty of blood, the victims were stacking up with indecent haste and I was never quite sure about the eventual reveal although I made a few attempts at guessing. Foolish decisions were aplenty and the axe wielder – well, in the way of any good slasher story – felt almost inhumanly strong and had more lives than a cat.

I could easily see this being adapted and providing plenty of shocks as people lose their heads.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4 of 5 crazy, blood soaked stars.

Very much a 90’s slasher movie set in a book form. I really enjoyed it, flew through it quickly, it was a fun read with plenty of twists. It follows Willow, a cancelled Actress who goes to Camp Castaways to help get her life back on track. No internet, no social media, basically no contact with the outside world. So when things start strange things start to happen Willow tries to figure out what’s really going on.

A book that undoubtedly delivers on its promises, ‘Heads Will Roll’ is a thoroughly entertaining slasher novel that fully embraces the blood and guts that it eagerly coats itself in. Summer camp has always offered fertile grounds for bloodshed, gleefully soaking up all the secrets, drama and of course, blood, that is spilled at the hands of the vengeful killer. ‘Heads Will Roll’ is not a novel to re-invent the genre and make you completely reconsider what a slasher should be, instead Winning’s novel excels in the roots that it unapologetically sticks to.

The story primarily follows our main character Willow, a ‘cancelled’ sitcom star who runs away to Camp Castaway in the upstate New York woods in order to escape the limelight. The power of the internet and its impact on us is a crucial aspect of Winning’s novel, delving into fandom, cancel culture and online versus real life identities throughout the story. So relevant to our world today, these aspects definitely felt relatable, and if not then at the very least realistic. Winning goes to great lengths to emphasise the damaging impacts being chronically online can have on someone’s mental health, while skilfully masking the potentially life saving positives of the internet – connectivity to the outside world.

For a book of relatively short length, I thought that Winning did a stellar job at building up unique and memorable characters. No camp members got lost in the shuffle for me, I knew who every character was and how Willow perceived them with no issues at all, which really is also a testament to Willow and her crafted personality. The story does occasionally flip from Willow’s perspective to her other camp mates, but this did not take away from the story at all for me. These chapters very much felt like when a film switches to a character that has not had much of any spotlight so far, and in fitting with the genre, you know exactly what is coming next for this character, you just don’t know when or how…

It is clear reading ‘Heads Will Roll’ that Josh Winning is a huge fan of the genre, and for me this is the story’s strongest trait. Winning’s knowledge of slashers does not gatekeep the story or make it inaccessible, instead he uses his passion and expertise to create a story that I believe any fan of horror can enjoy. More than anything else this story is fun, and fun has no boundaries. Whether you are a seasoned horror reader or someone looking to tentatively dip your toes into the genre, I would strongly urge you to consider adding this story to your summer tbr!

This is a summer slasher horror book about a Hollywood actress who has been cancelled for a tweet she sent online. She seeks retreat and goes to Camp Castaway where she encounters the urban legend of Knock Knock Nancy.

I love slasher summer camp horror books and movies and had high expectations from reading the blurb but unfortunately it didn't meet them. Despite this I did enjoy elements of the plot and the writing. The ending was full of action but the lead up had no suspense and the characters weren't developed enough for me to care enough about them. The only character I really enjoyed was Willow and I appreciated this modern take on the horror trope bringing in a cancelled actress.

I had to check this was not a YA horror because some of the dialogue read simple and immature, however I did love the humour injected at various points and the references to pop culture as well. I disagree with some other reviews that the pacing was slow to start, I felt that it got straight into the camp quickly which I appreciated. Overall I was left just wanting more horror, more scares, a bigger twist or reveal and some characters to root for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I love slasher book so I was very excited to read this book and it did not disappoint me as it was full of the darkness, humour and depravity that I love,

Cancelled for an ill-thought tweet, hit TV show cancelled and spurned by her best friend and fiancée, Willow decides to zone out of the World and spend 2 weeks at Camp Castaway.

The book is a pastiche of slashers like Friday the 13th and has all the things you’d expect: folk legend of a teenager tragically killed, isolated environment, characters picked off one by one in a brutal fashion. But written through the lens of cancel culture, it manages to set its own course and do something completely different. I thought it had Screamesque qualities as well with the meta references and awareness of the rules of a slasher.

Most of the characters are seriously flawed individuals - that’s why they’re at the Camp - but the book asks you to look a little deeper at the consequences of cancel culture. It’s easy to get swept up with the moral majority but we need to look at what’s worth of being cancelled and what merely needs calling out.

Overall, it’s enjoyable, creepy and captures the essence of a good summer camp slasher!

Thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What a rollercoaster! A twisted, dark, creepy horror with a slice of nostalgia. I loved all the nods to horror movies/books

With 'cancel culture' rife and social media 'kangaroo courts' abundant. Camp Castaway offers the perfect escape from technology and life ... literally.

The characters are a mixed bag, some you love to hate, and others you really root for, and some you'll change your mind about.

It reminded me of a scream/scary movie type of read. A little bit cheesy in some parts, but I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Josh Winning, and the publisher Penguin for this eARC in exchange of an honest review.

Very enjoyable summer camp slasher for fans of the horror genre!

When Willow, a fallen from grace sitcom star gets cancelled along with her tv show due to an ill-timed tweet, her agents ships her off to Camp Castaway for a digital detox. No phones, no social media and no more death threats.. or so she thinks.

After settling in around the campfire, Willow hears the urban legend of Knock Knock Nancy. Shrugging it off as a silly campfire ghost story, Willow tries to forget about it. But soon enough, her fellow camp mates start disappearing and her stress free detox turns into a fight for her life.

Perfect for fans of Scream and other 90’s slasher movies, this wonderful story was gripping and touched on the toxicity of cancel culture while also tackling hard hitting subjects. The plot twist at the end was also something I didn’t see coming!

First of all I would just like to thank Netgalley, Josh Winning and Michael Joseph for an ARC of “Heads Will Roll” in exchange for an honest review.

I really didn’t enjoy this but I hate giving negative reviews, so I’ve decided I will list the reasons that I awarded this the rating that I did and then move on. Don’t forget, opinions are subjective! Just because I didn’t like this one doesn’t mean that you will.

First of all, the dialogue was downright cringey at times. Grown adults just don’t talk to each other like the characters do in this book. Especially the FMC’s inner monologue as “Willow”. It brought me out of the story and made me disconnect from the already flawed characters. It was very heavy with "pick me" vibes.

Now, I love pop culture references in novels as much as the next person, but there were just too many in this book. They felt very out of place, often forced and jarring, as though the author had set themselves a goal of including as many as possible, regardless of their relevance to the plot.

There was no consistent pacing in this book. It begins ridiculously slowly and with seemingly irrelavant character introductions (which is not what I want when going into a slasher). The actual action only beings towards the last 20% of the book, by which point it just feels too quick. Moving from slow inactivity to rapid action at the end of the book just results in the conclusion feeling rushed and unsatisfying.

Characters were introduced just to be killed off two seconds later. Because we only seemed to get any real insight into a character just before they died, it made their deaths predictable and insignificant, leaving me feeling indifferent to their loss. Not helping the matter, all of the characters were unlikeable- there was not one redeeming quality among them.

Because of my lack of enthusiasm towards our cast of characters (for all of the reasons listed above), when the killer was revealed at the end of the book, I found myself not really caring who the culprit was. It was fairly predictable and the motive was downright laughable. It just didn’t feel like any of the book was fleshed out enough to make me genuinely care about what was going to happen.

Truthfully, I just didn’t like this one. But thank you again to the author and Michael Joseph for the ARC!

Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning is a fun horror read that will appeal to fans of slasher films and those of us who loved Goosebumps and Point Horror growing up. With the perfect setting at an isolated former Summer Camp turned retreat and a cast of characters who have willingly cut themselves off from the world this gives off classic horror vibes from the beginning and it does not disappoint. Of course there is a modern twist on the tale, with an emphasis on cancel culture and the power of social media and some thought provoking ideas on those topics, but the messaging never gets in the way of the fun, and this book is absolutely fun from beginning to end. The character are endearing and believable and the author works the setting for all it is worth with really atmospheric writing and perfect pacing to keep the tension building and the reader guessing. I think I've found a new favourite author !
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Bloody brilliant ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
An essential read for slasher summer, Josh Winning has done it again with this thrilling love letter to the great slasher films; Heads Will Roll will have you laughing, shuddering, shivering and cheering. Bloody, brutalbwith just the right amount of camp.
Scream meets I Know What You Did Last Summer. At camp. Need we say more?

A slasher based at a summer camp?! Say no more. This story was well executed and the fact that it was adults in the summer camp setting made it different to what I’ve read before. If you enjoy slashers this is the perfect summer read for you

Oh my god, how much fun can you have with a slasher? This much fun!!
I won't go into the story, but this was fast paced, visually gory (my mind went into meltdown!!) and I loved every single page.

As with Josh's other books, it's a rip-roaring tale. From page one, you're dragged into camp life. This was Summer Camp Slasher at its best!!!

Now to make it a movie........

Thanks to Netgalleyuk for an ARC of this superb book.

Go get it and enjoy the ride.

Heads Will Roll is perfect for fans of the old horror sleepaway camp movies. What adult doesn't love the idea of escaping somewhere secluded with no phones and no media to relax? A fast paced read that will have one up until the wee hours trying to figure out just what is going on at Camp Castaway, and what each of the campers are hiding, while also having something to say about cancel culture and social media.

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.

Thank you to NetGalley, Josh Winning, and Penguin Michael Joseph for a Galley of this in exchange for an honest review.

Summerween is well and truly here! Heads Will Role is a tense slasher novel, filled with commentary on our modern society's reliance on our phones, and how cancel culture ruins lives. We follow 20-something 'Willow' who has recently been on the receiving end of intense social media backlash. With nothing left to lose, Willow checks in Camp Castaway, an adults-only tech-free retreat not unlike the classic US summer camp of many a slasher film. Surrounded by new people, all of whom are broken in sharp and dangerous ways, Willow begins to heal, but things quickly turn sour. Oddity after oddity, suspicious event after suspicious event, creepy happening after creepy happening, Willow and her new friends begin to worry about who, or what, else is in these woods. Told primarily from Willow's POV, Winning drops us into the minds of other campers, and sures up our understanding with epistolary chapter breaks, laying the foundation of the world, and drip-feeding us information.

This was tense, and suspenseful, treading a careful line between real-world creepy, and supernatural elements, to keep the reader guessing right to the end. Winning had mastered the POV switch, even without the helpful labels, it would be possible to tell the narrative voices apart. Each character is unique, each situation its own, and yet there is just enough confusion around identities that no one ever seems truly safe.

This is a twisty, engaging novel, perfect for anyone who wants to participate in TikTok's annual Summerween recommendation boom! After all, nothing says sunshine and ice cream like serial killers! A solid read, thrilling, but won't make you sleep with the lights on - best of both worlds through and through. I give this 4 stars, only because the final twists didn't totally convince me, but overall an absolutely stellar novel!

A must read for fans of 80s/90s slashers and teen horror as an adult!

I have often lamented the loss of Point Horror (or rather new books in the series) and I am always on the look out for new horror authors that bring me the same joy and the same ability to sit down and devour a book in one or two sittings. I was beyond excited to be given the opportunity to read and review Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning.

When sitcom actress 'Willow' finds herself unexpectedly cancelled, her agent finds her Camp Castaway, a woodland camp ground/retreat to hide out for a few weeks to ride out the tide. The camp has a no phone, no electronics policy and is referred to amongst its residents as 'Camp Cancelled'. Everyone is there for a reason, largely a transgression or to heal in some way, and to detox from social media. On the day she arrives, Willow receives a threatening text message but tries to put it to the back of her mind, until she hears the legend of 'Knock Knock Nancy' and hears knocking on her cabin door at night...Residents start to go missing and there seems to be more to the camp and its residents than meets the eye. 

I really, really enjoyed this one. Once I'd reached 35% I finished the book in a day; I sped through the rest of the book like lightning. By the end, I was accusing everyone and trusting no one. It definitely felt like a good old fashioned horror, nothing over the top or too convoluted, the kind of book I absolutely devoured as a teenager and still do as an adult. It absolutely gave me Scream/I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes. 

Overall I'd rate this 4, maybe 4.5 out of 5 ⭐ It was nothing new or groundbreaking whilst remaining exciting and unputdownable. It's a fantastic horror read for summer with the camp ground setting. A must read for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, slashers and Point Horror.

Dnf @ 15%

The premise was interesting and the start was good but not gripping. It was feeling slow and to me the character introductions felt like they took ages.

I was hoping the first kill would set me into the book but it did the opposite unfortunately. Not enough for me to continue and I don’t want to get into a reading slump.