πππβπ‘ ππ π‘βπ πππππππ’πππ . Stephen Graham Jones. 2020.
Novella. Horror. Psychological horror. Deconstructed slasher story.
A teenage boy becomes convinced that a mannequin has come to life and that he must murder his best friends in order to save their families.
This is a first person narrative written from the cold, calculating point of view of a predator. The fact that his targets are high school students makes everything he says extra chilling.
The vibe here is similar to πΌ ππ πππ‘ π ππππππ πΎπππππ (Dan Wells, 2009) or π·πππ πΎπππππ (Katherine Ewell, 2014). Or if you are a TV viewer, π·ππ₯π‘ππ (original series).
Yes. This has been done before. The story is not entirely new. But the way Graham Jones executes his version is worth this short read.
AUTHORS – I write short book reviews that focus on voice and vibe. They are useful to querying authors searching for comp titles. There are more on my website.