I do have a soft spot in my heart for horror novels about fictional horror movies, and Burn the Negative is twisty-plotted and swiftly paced, with compelling, and cinematic elements as if it were already an actual movie itself! Laura, a former child actor renowned for her role in a cult fan-favorite but "cursed" horror film where tragedy befell almost everyone involved, has escaped her life of traumatized childhood stardom and now makes her living as a journalist in England. As luck would have it, though, she is sent on assignment back to LA to cover a reboot of the scary movie that made her famous. And once again, people start dying in horrific ways that correspond with the script. I read Burn the Negative while also reading Jeannette McCurdie's I'm Glad My Mom died. There were so many interesting parallels with regard to the horrors of child stardom, especially the mentally unstable mothers obsessed with Hollywood fame, celebrity, and perfection. Growing up in that kind of environment is horror story enough, never mind the murders and the slasher villain and the various supernatural/haunted/thriller aspects. But with this story, you get all of the above, and it's a pretty intense ride.

I really enjoyed this novel, more than I thought I would. If you love classic slashers, you'll love this story. I kept thinking I knew where the story was headed and then it would change direction. Definitely a high recommendation.

From shadowy soundstages and studio lots to the sunny skies of L.A., Burn the Negative is both nonstop thrill ride and love letter to the era of slasher movies, Scream Queens, and Final Girls.

What happens when you mix together an iconic, seemingly cursed horror movie, an in progress remake, a 30th anniversary documentary, mysterious cast member deaths, a larger than life movie monster who may have stepped out of the film and into real life, and the former child star determined to end The Guesthouse curse once and for all? We get this wild, fast moving horror story that unfolds with the vividness of a movie! This book transported me back a couple decades to the thrills and chills of watching Michael, Jason, Ghostface, and Freddy in a dark theater on a giant screen. The inclusion of mixed media articles at the beginning of each chapter was a really nice touch and worked well to help immerse me in the dark, blood soaked world of Needle Man and The Guesthouse.

I had a lot of fun with the short novel! With the shorter length, the pacing and tension doesn't let up and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, hurtling toward that final, inevitable showdown with the Needle Man. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for providing a copy for me to read and review.

This homage to slashers and horror film was a well-written, fast-paced haunting.

It follows journalist Laura Warren who was unwittingly sent back to the set of a reimagining of the film she starred in as a child.

It draws from the horror anthology and urban legends to create an interesting premise.

I especially enjoyed how “external” pieces were added into the narration and world building. Each chapter ended with a piece outside the narration, ranging from bits of film scripts to social media posts. They all provided context and in some ways added doubt to Laura’s story and experience.

The ending was not my favorite — not necessarily because of what happens but because I don’t feel like it had the space it needed to be completely successful. This pacing at the end was my main issue: it felt like the plot points were met at the expense of the character growth we were invested in.

Overall, I enjoyed the pacing and format of the book and would still recommend it.

Thank you to #NetGalley, the publishers and author for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This quick-paced, Easter egg-filled, (meta) ode to horror was a lot of fun to read. The characters felt real and complicated, and not like the placeholders that often fill out the scenery in horrors. The relationship between the sisters felt especially dynamic and historied and compelling. The writing was punchy and direct, never feeling flowery, and it was well-paced—as soon as I finished a chapter I immediately wanted to go on to the next. The reason I am not giving a five star review is there is something about the story itself that felt a little clunky, or a little overwrought. Even the way the phrase “burn the negative” gets used repeatedly just felt unwieldy, like an early draft idea that should have been left behind once it opened the creative doors it needed to open, and that was a feeling I kept getting as the story went on. Overall, I enjoyed the story, there was a good combination of showing and hiding, leaving the readers in the dark, and red herrings galore. Some of the red herrings, too, felt, expected and unconvincing, and I didn’t find myself amazingly surprised at each twist and turn the story took, but I also didn’t feel disappointed or cheated. It is a solid story, enough to keep a genre reader entertained and constantly guessing about the next twist or turn, and the love for the horror genre really shined through every page (especially through the character Brian that feels like probably an author surrogate). The way the story played out was cinematic, in many ways, which is entirely appropriate for a horror story about a cursed horror movie, and the ending felt earned and appropriate. The novel is a lot of fun, and a quick and easy read. If you appreciate the genre of horror in both film and novels you will find a lot to enjoy in this story, and should definitely give it a try.

I want to thank the author, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the first book I've read by Josh Winning and I really loved it! His writing is so easy to pull you in and let you just enjoy the story. Burn the Negative was a great story. I found it fascinating to combine so many of my favorite aspects of horror films and the genre. While the book is more of a slasher (which is my second favorite sub genre) the movie the main character was in is a haunting which is my absolute favorite. I enjoyed how Winning merged the two subgenres together. I'm definitely looking forward into getting into Shadow Glass next

This book gave me all the Poltergeist meets Scream vibes, and I loved every minute! 70's & 80's babies👋😁 will find this book fun and nostalgic. It's creepy, suspensful, fast-paced, full of twists, and cheesy in all the right ways. This is definitely one to grab ASAP, especially if you're a lover of 80's & 90's slashers!
I didn't think I would like all the excerpts from news articles and such, but it was actually a good touch.
This book will keep you guessing and absolutely dreading what will happen next. Half of which, you WILL NOT see coming!

Wow. This book was great! It was part supernatural, part horror, part thriller. A haunted movie set and a cursed cast, what's not to like? The Needle Man was terrifying! He was the perfect villan in my opinion.

The pace was perfect and kept me wanting more. I was constantly suspecting everyone throughout the book, the twists were enless. I'm surprised I didn't have nightmares!

I couldn't get over how the mother treated her kids Laura aka Polly and Amy, unbelievable, but it did add to the story. Sometimes it made me want to cry hearing what they both went through. Really makes you think about what damage Hollywood does to child stars.

Thank you #NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC

I just finished reading this and I am dying to talk about it!

This had it all: a very pointy monster, a cursed/haunted movie, family drama and history, road tripping, a ton of gory violence, the perfect amount of cheese, a weird paranormal (?) mystery, and an ending that just would. not. quit. Whenever I thought it was getting predictable, I turned out to be wrong wrong very wrong.

I don't know if this book *should* be made into a movie, but if it is, I'll definitely watch it.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for Netgalley for the ARC!

But I this book wasn’t for me. It’s my fault because I thought this was going to be more of a thriller than a horror book. I think this is a good horror book but definitely not a thriller. I really liked the multiple news articles and different stuff in the book but overall this book wasn’t for me.

This was such a fun read! The author is clearly a longtime fan of the horror genre and it comes across in the many references to classic horror movies and books. Laura Warren is a retired child actress, who now lives in another country under a different name. She left the industry after a slew of mysterious deaths surrounded her breakout film, The Guesthouse, and the cult fan behavior became dangerous. Laura is sent back to Hollywood to report on a story, unbeknown to her, the Guesthouse is being rebooted as as series. Things quickly spiral out of control as Laura finds herself at the center of tragedy yet again, except this time she has to quickly solve who is causing this, before she herself is locked up or killed.

I was a bit unsure of the book in the first two chapters, I was worried it was going to be too corny or predictable just based off the intro. But I am happy to say that Burn the Negative kept me guessing all along. To the point where I was stunned when the book turned into an entirely different horror sub-genre than I was expecting. There is a whiff of the epistolary, with various newspaper clippings, social media screenshots and pages from the original screenplay sprinkled throughout the book. The references to classic horror movies are fun, not corny, and the main character has a borderline obsession with Wynona Rider, which just came across as quirky and helped to endear me to her.

I did find myself questioning if some of Laura's decisions and actions, especially the abrupt turnaround in her entire personality, were realistic. I also felt the "second ending" didn't land as good as the first ending. For me, the book would have been stronger if it ended with the movie trailer scene, rather than continue for another scene. For these reasons, I gave it a strong four star, but I think it will be a five star read for many others. I plan to buy a physical copy when it comes out in July!

I was immediately drawn in by the book's premise: the remake of a cursed horror film from the ‘90s. Laura, former child star, now a journalist, travels to L.A. for a new story, and finds out she will be covering that very remake. You feel Laura’s anxiety as you realize just how much her role in the original film has haunted her childhood memories spilling into her adult life. Production starts and soon it appears that the curse is alive and well. Can Laura figure out what is feeding the curse and bring the horror and the body count to an end once and for all?

There was so much I loved about this book: the '80s and ‘90s nostalgia, The Nightmare on Elm Street vibes, the mixed media, the dark side of Hollywood, and the pop culture references, especially all the love for Winona Ryder. For the last ⅔ of the book, I could not put it down. Living in Laura’s head was a dark, but fun and suspenseful experience. Horror fans would enjoy both the supernatural and slasher elements.

Unfortunately, even with all there was to love, I still have to say I was disappointed. It seemed to take a bit too long for the action to really start (page 134). Some of the mixed media added nothing to the story. My main issue, however, is with the ending. The function of Laura's childhood trauma in the story was handled really well until the very end. I think some may find it offensive. I hate to lay all the fault with the last six pages, but my overall opinion of the book would have been higher without them.

Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam for the opportunity to read and review this book.

My FIRST 5-star book of 2023! This book blew me away. We follow Laura, a journalist, as she heads to LA for a job. On the plane, she discovers she is headed directly into her past trauma, which she fled from over a decade ago. Laura was child star Polly Tremaine, who played Tammy in the 90's horror flick The Guesthouse. During and following production mysterious deaths happened to the cast. Present day, Laura is now headed to write an article about a reboot of the film, It Feeds. What ensues is terrifying, traumatic, and all-around disturbing.

First, this cover gives 90's horror vibes and I am HERE for it!! I knew this would be a 5-star read for me when I was only halfway through the second chapter. The writing style, suspense, dread, and overall mysteriousness of the novel kept me hooked. Second, the introduction of characters left a sense of distrust and made me question EVERYONE. Third, the use of transcripts, articles, photos, etc to tell the story was genius! Lastly, the way Josh Winning tells the story by using present and past memories is fantastic and very easy to follow. I genuinely did not see the ending coming until about 3/4 way through the book, which was actually amazing.

I suggest you grab this one as soon as it hits shelves-the 90s nostalgic vibes, the main horror character, and the brutal deaths will keep you up at night.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for this ARC.

Here’s another amazing thriller to add to your list of ones to be released this year. That list just keeps growing it seems.

Laura Warren was a child actress who played a role in a hit horror movie when she was younger. Like many of the other horror movies made, hers was rumored to have been cursed. Cast members were dying off one by one - this left a gaping scar on Laura.

As an adult Laura works as a journalist when she’s assigned to report on a remake series of that movie that had scarred her as a child. How could her boss possibly know the secrets of her past? Laura’s gone to great lengths to leave her old life behind her. But as she digs deeper into things her world slowly is turned upside down. Cast members of the new streaming series begin dying. It’s happening all over again.

Another well-written thriller that will have you on the edge-of-your-seat. The action begins on the first page and continues on throughout. I read this in one sitting. It was that good.

Cons: chapters are pretty long but the writing style makes up for that.

Pros: Excerpts, transcripts, articles and more!

I received an ARC of this book and leave this review of my own accord. #NetGalley #BurnTheNegative

I really enjoyed this book! The concept was super strong and the first 2/3s of this book are truly so fun and interesting. Sadly, the third act didn’t work for me, as much as I wanted it to. It’s reminiscent of Finals Girls and The Final Girl Support Group to me, in that the concept is something very special, but the execution, specifically in the conclusion, is lacking.

This is a very addictive read that will please fans of horror movies. Laura Warren became infamous when she was a child, as an actress in a cult slasher film. Her life was destroyed to the degree that she and her family moved to England and changed her name. Now, as an adult, she unknowingly returns as a journalist to cover the remake. The movie is said to have a curse that killed 8 people back in the day and the remake may be starting it again. It was hard to tell whether the deaths were caused by a supernatural entity or if everything was all easily explainable. Is Laura involved in some way, even unconsciously? Most of the characters, from Laura, her ex-boyfriend, her sister, a psychic who may be psychotic herself, and many of the other victims/suspects, weren’t too likable, but I was still invested in them and their secrets. The whole plot relates to the movie in a smart way and I couldn’t stop reading. The baddie, the Needle Man, is really creepy but, is he a real person, a ghost or Laura’s increasingly unbalanced imagination? You’ll have to read it to find out ,
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons!

3.5 stars

I love horror movies, so I was intrigued by the concept of this book. The main character, Laura, is a former child star who left Hollywood after the cast of the horror movie that was her big break started to drop dead, victims of a supposed curse. Years later, she's a journalist and back in LA on assignment to cover a new TV show. Of course, it ends up being a remake of that movie. Because Hollywood. And of course, of course, the cast start dying again, and Laura has to figure out what's going on before she either becomes another casualty of the curse or is blamed for all of the murders.

I enjoy media about media, especially when it pokes fun at the typical tropes and plot devices. This was full of fun things between each chapter that did a great job of bringing the fictional fandom and its lore to life: pages of scripts, online fan forum screenshots, interview transcripts, diary entries, etc.

There were several moments reading this that I said "Oh my God" out loud. The idea of the deaths following the order/method of the ones in the movie and being predicted by a child with a paper fortune teller was eerie, but I'd say this book was more creepy than scary overall. I enjoyed the author's writing, it was crisp and a good pace for this type of story--I'll definitely read more from him.

That being said, I am more of a slasher fan than a supernatural horror one, so there were some turns that this story took that weren't my favorite. Though without giving anything away, I can appreciate the symbolism and thought put into the representation of childhood trauma, and I was satisfied with the epilogue.

P.S. This would make a REALLY fun horror movie.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Burn the Negative is a pretty fast paced thriller about a childhood star dealing with the curse of her movie from the 90ies as it is being remade.
I wasn't sure what I was expecting, as curses imply supernatural, and thats just not my cup of tea.
The whole time reading, I was wishing I was watching it as a movie, that would be right up my alley.
Despite the concept, I enjoyed the plot twists, the writing, and some cheesy humor in the book.
Thank you Netgalley, publisher, and author for the ARC.

3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review! I’m honestly a little bit split on this book? I think the writing was top notch, and I was definitely into it, but this book takes a hard turn into straddling the line between supernatural vs thriller. The direction it finally went into was not my preference, so I spent the last third of the book much less invested personally. I think it’ll depend on the reader on if they’ll like that or not, but it wasn’t really for me. I’d love to read more from the author though, because the writing was really engaging and I thought the main was a strong character to carry the book, especially since we don’t get the POV of other characters.

Laura was the child star of a horror film called The Guesthouse, her last film before its popularity sent her and her family into hiding. A series of deaths on set and throughout the following years plagued the cast and crew, and the film grew into Hollywood horror legend. Now a professional journalist who’s cut all ties to her past, Laura is shocked and dismayed to discover that the film she’s been sent to cover is a remake of The Guesthouse– and someone wants to bring the Needle Man back to life off-screen as well. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Penguin Group Putnam. Trigger warnings: character death (on-page), parent death, suicide (on-page), child abuse, some gore/blood, severe injury, fire, kidnapping, stalking, gaslighting, violence, trauma, guilt, grief.

I’m fond of Winning’s writing style and found it easy to slip into this universe. His adult fiction is always a fun mashup of pop culture and new twists on familiar concepts. While this differs quite a bit from The Shadow Glass, which is more fantasy than horror, it’s also a love letter to horror and slasher films much the way TSG was for children’s fantasy films. I found it fascinating to be immersed in Hollywood film culture and the urban legends that sprung up around The Guesthouse in the wake of so many real deaths. There’s also a strong critique of the treatment of child stars in particular.

Laura is a bit of a wreck for most of the book, and while I wouldn’t say she’s one of my favorite leading ladies, I was mostly able to see her perspective. Since she’s isolated for a lot of the events, I don’t think there’s much opportunity to get attached to the rest of the characters, except perhaps for Beverly, the maybe/maybe not psychic. I liked her gruff standoffishness and the uncertainty over whether she was trying to help or hurt Laura’s investigation. Laura’s complex relationships with her mother and sister provide some depth to her character as well, even if the former is rarely on the page. So much of her character arc is wrangling her feelings about an abusive mother and dealing with the trauma of being a child star. The Needle Man is appropriately frightening and a fun, spooky addition to the canon of horror villains.

I enjoyed the ambiguity over whether or not something supernatural was happening or Laura was just having a slow mental breakdown. This is a difficult balance, and I’ve seen a lot of novels completely fail at it, either where it’s just so obvious that it’s one or the other or the plot is so nonsensical that neither option is more likely than the other. In this case, I think it’s perfectly executed. I just wasn’t sure for so much of the book, and I like the direction Winning ultimately takes with it, holding on to the mystery just long enough for maximum impact but not so long that the ending is unsupported. Without venturing into spoiler territory, I think the link between mental illness and horror in this novel is well-developed. The end didn’t go where I expected, but in a good way. It’s definitely one I’d like to read again in the future to see if I can pick up more clues throughout.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.