Published by Penguin
Age Group: Adult
Format: Fiction
Genres and Categories: Contemporary Fiction, Bisexual Characters, Gay Characters, Lesbian Characters, Mental Health Representation, Queer Characters, Camp, Cancel Culture, Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA+ Romance, Gay Authors, Horror Thriller, Slasher, Survival Horror, Mental Health, Mystery, Celebrity Characters
My Rating:
Published on: 30th July 2024
Pages: 320
Disability Representation: Addiction, cancer, mental health, grief, and trauma.
Buy this Book! Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Blackwells / Forbidden Planet / Bookshop.org US / Bookshop.org UK / Waterstones
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"Very excited to read this slasher" —Stephen Graham Jones, via Twitter
Willow’s worst nightmare was being canceled. But the shadows in the woods of Camp Castaway might destroy more than her reputation.
After sitcom star Willow tweets herself into infamy and stumbles blind-drunk into a swimming pool, her agent ships her off to Camp Castaway. Nestled deep in upstate New York, Castaway is a summer camp for adults who are desperate to leave their mistakes behind. No real names, no phones . . . no way to call for help.
Willow’s fellow campers seem okay. Her own favorite actress is even here, making a s’more. And did that jaded writer, Dani, just wink at her? But the peaceful vibe is shattered when one of the campers vanishes and Willow finds a mutilated doll in her room with a threatening message rolled up inside its mouth. Terror grips the group, campers begin to lose their heads—literally—and disturbing past deeds come to light.
Is Willow about to get cancelled all over again, this time for good?
This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!
Content Warnings:
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Heads Will Roll Book Review
A few years ago, I took a chance on a debut book called The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning and loved it. After his second book (Burn the Negative) blew me away, I realised I’d pick up anything Winning put out. His newest book, Heads Will Roll, is another brilliant horror book.
When a post on social media gets taken the wrong way and goes viral, Willow finds herself cancelled. As she deals with abuse and harassment, online and in person, her personal life falls to pieces. With nowhere else to go, she learns about Camp Castaway, an adults-only retreat that doesn’t allow electronic devices. A bonus is that it’s located in the middle of nowhere. No one can find her while she takes time to work things out for herself.
That’s the plan, anyway. But we all know what they say about best-laid plans. As she settles in at Camp Castaway and learns more about her fellow campers, Willow realises all of them are running from something. When campers start to go missing, she isn’t sure if it’s because of something from their past or if the local urban legend is real. Someone is playing into the urban legend; Willow has heard knocking outside her door.
The more she learns about the camp and her fellow campers, the murkier things get. What’s clear is that Camp Castaway is no longer a safe place…
Heads Will Roll is the third novel I’ve read by Josh Winning. Once again, it was a creative horror novel influenced by Winning’s passion for TV shows and his experience working in the entertainment industry. In Heads Will Roll, he explores online interactions and cancel culture. At the novel’s start, we don’t know what Willow has done to be cancelled; is she the villain or the victim of circumstance?
Winning writes complex characters, and the more I got to know Willow, the more I liked her, which conflicted with the knowledge that she did something to be cancelled. What I particularly like about Winning’s books is that all his characters are fully developed, and he doesn’t treat his secondary characters as lesser. Every camper at Camp Castaway gets their chance to shine, rather than just being fodder for Willow to bounce off of.
But like Willow, there’s that lingering question over their real identities, and as the story unfolds, the separation between the characters’ camp facades and their lives before the camp begins to blur. Through his characters’ backstories, Winning shows an awareness of current issues and events relevant to readers’ interests.
Considering the subject of the cancel culture, there is much reflection from characters’ on their actions and past. This includes addiction, illness, mental health, grief, trauma and other sensitive topics that Winning writes with care. Heads Will Roll also features LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC representation.
Heads Will Roll is a whodunnit mixed with a good old-fashioned urban legend horror story, and what I like about Winning’s style is that he can spin alternate theories with equal believability right up until the big reveal. With additional resources and pop culture references galore, this is a horror novel with a difference.
About Josh Winning
Josh Winning is a nostalgia nut, book/film lover and author of The Shadow Glass, which is like Labyrinth meets Stranger Things, and Burn the Negative, which is like Scream meets My Best Friend’s Exorcism.
He is senior film writer at Radio Times, writer at Total Film, SFX and Den of Geek, and the co-host of movie podcast Torn Stubs. He has been on set with Kermit the Frog (and Miss Piggy), devoured breakfast with zombies on The Walking Dead, and sat on the Iron Throne on the Dublin set of Game of Thrones.
Josh lives with his cat Penny and dreams of one day convincing Sigourney Weaver to yell “Goddammit!” at him.
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