Laura Warren is a UK based journalist who has just been sent to Los Angeles on assignment to cover the launch of a horror mini series called “It Fears.” When her plane lands in Los Angeles, she decides to open the press release to find out about the series. She discovers it is a reboot of a 1993 famous horror movie “The Guesthouse.” Laura was Polly Tremaine, age seven years old and was hired to play the part of Tammy Manners, a little girl who can predict how someone will die. The movie became legend, due to how the cast and crew died during the move was being made and after it was done filming. What was truly creepy was that they died like the characters “died” in thee movie. Polly was so traumatized by this, that her parents decided to move to move to England. Later Polly changed her name and dyed her hair to avoid any media. Laura goes ahead and interviews the cast and crew. Later one night a fire results in the death of the show producer. Laura fears that the movie curse has come back to curse the mini series. As the body count rises her sister and the psychic run to survive and discover why-who this person is killing.

It’s a fascinating novel. The author wrote on of the most intriguing horror story that I have read this year. I loved its creepiness and how it made me read the novel even when I should had been doing other things. This story came first. The novel does include a jealous sister who wanted to be an actress, a mother who is ill with Alzheimer’s plus more. It’s a great novel!

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with an e-ARC of Burn the Negative in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 rounded up!

Burn the Negative was such a fun lil' horror read; it's fast-paced & just a simple enjoyable time. Honestly, that's all there really is to say about it. If you just want a little horror ride to go on, this is a good one to pick up. Plus there's a lot of horror film references, so horror movie lovers will definitely vibe.

I enjoyed this story, but felt that the characters weren't very well established. I did enjoy the horror movie references and thought the story was super creepy!

The premise is intriguing and the book didn't let me down. If you enjoy horror films then you'll enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

Burn the Negative tells the story of Laura Warren, a journalist from England who is back in the USA to interview the cast and crew of the movie "It Bleeds". It's a remake of the 1990s horror film "The Guesthouse". We immediately learn that Laura is the former child actress Polly Tremaine who was the 7 year old star of The Guesthouse that predicted each person's demise. Laura interviews the remake film's cast members and one by one people begin to die off.

The overall book had a really good premise however the plot moved too slowly for me. I found myself getting bored in the middle of the book. I would've preferred if this book had been around 250-280 pages.

I enjoyed the ending and how the author wrapped the horror story. The book then wandered off course and the author decided to continue the story and added more. A character goes from a flat career to suddenly being a high demand replacement actor. It was farcical. It simply didn't know when to end.

A 'cursed' '90s horror movie gets a remake, and the surviving child star is the journalist that has to write about it? That's the premise of Burn the Negative, which starts off with a bang. Laura Warren has been haunted by her time as a child actress on the set of The Guesthouse - a film where most of the people attached to it died - and is sent by her editor to cover the remake currently happening in California. From the moment she touches down stateside, freak accidents and tragedy follow her. Is the Needle Man, the villain from The Guesthouse, really back? Or is something more sinister at work? With a strong start, the book powers through, reading like a classic slasher, but fell apart at the end for me. Still, for a good old school horror fan, this was worth the time.

I really enjoyed the set up for this book: a supposedly cursed film who's reboot is also starting to have mysterious deaths around it. Also, our main character, Laura, is the child star of the movie who's returning as a journalist covering the reboot. Sign me up! I enjoyed learning about Laura's history and the history of the original film. There are plenty of twists that keep you guessing and this book doesn't shy away from killing characters off. However, the second half of the book took a turn that just wasn't for me. Throughout the story you're wondering if there's a real person behind everything or if it is something paranormal. Unfortunately it didn't go the way I wanted (which shocked me because usually I don't care and in fact love the constant questioning). It began to feel corny at odd times and the characters at times felt like different people. The VERY end did save it a bit for me though. Overall I want to read more from this author to see how he grows as a writer. This story was a great idea, but the execution was a bit inconsistent.

This book is addictive and dark. Reminiscent of 90’s slasher films, and a little supernatural sprinkled throughout. This book had me guessing until the end and then the end had me shook! I enjoyed reading this one and will recommend to all of my horror friends!

Burn The Negative is a spine chilling, Mommie Dearest, can’t put down book which will leave the reader exhausted, it’s that good! It’s horror, mystery, dysfunctional family all rolled into one juicy, scary story!

Laura Warren is a magazine journalist who is given the assignment of a lifetime! They are remaking a 1990’s cult classic movie called The Guesthouse and she has flown to Los Angeles to interview the cast and crew. But, unbeknownst to everyone, not only is Laura not happy about the assignment, but she has a personal connection to the previous movie. You see, she was in fact the child in the original movie which had a cult following due to the fact that many of the cast and crew have died. Whether those who died were just unlucky, or there was some sort of curse on the film, no one ever really knew.

Acting as a child was never really Laura’s thing. It was her mothers. Those years were intolerable for Laura. She still has flashbacks of the verbal and physical abuse she endured at the hands of the woman who was supposed to love her. So, she changed her name, her appearance and tried to put her past behind her. Until now.

As she arrives in LA, her anxiety at a high level, she is greeted by the image of a man jumping off a bridge. Is this some kind of omen? You see, she still has dreams about the main character in the film, Needle Man who continues to haunt her even after all these years, as does the deaths of people she knew and cared about.

And now her nightmare has taken center stage as she steps onto the new set, witnesses someone who is playing her character, although they have updated the film in some ways. There is of course a new crew, actors, a new Needle Man and they even brought in a psychic for some strange reason.

But within a day, the bodies begin to stack up and she swears she has an encounter with her worst nightmare, Needle Man. Then her hotel room is trashed, and she becomes the prime suspect in the deaths which are happening. So, with the help of her sister Amy and the psychic, Beverly they begin to try and track down who or what is going on.

Unfortunately, what they discover is that the connection between the two movies and the murders is one person…Laura! As they try and find clues, it seems someone is always a step ahead of them. Needle Man. Who is he? What does he want with Laura?

Burn The Negative will have you glued to your chair! It’s everything a reader wishes for in an exciting horror story, but with so much more! The ending? Needle(ss) to say…perfection!

Thank you #NetGalley #G.P.Putnam’sSons #BurnTheNegative #JoshWinning for the advanced copy.

I really loved this book. The writing felt like I was watching a horror movie and I loved Needle man. Laura was a very interesting main character. The only thing I didn't like was the ending. I thought it went on longer than it needed.

Fluffy slightly spooky horror story about a cursed film and the child star now adult actress that must figure out to stop the deaths that are occurring around the film. I enjoyed the book until the end which completely didn’t match the rest of the book and almost seemed tacked on like an afterthought. Thanks to NetGalley the chance to read and review this book.

There is a lot want to say, but I am afraid that would be a spoiler. So I will try to be vague. There was a lot of creepy parts that I liked the use of other documents. The history with the movie added to the creepy factor. There were several parts that were a little too convenient and those took me out of the story. I am still not sure how I feel about the ending. It definitely left me thinking about the story after I finished it. So it’s good on that account. Overall I enjoyed the characters and backstory. It felt appropriately creepy.

I really liked the set-up of the story and learning about the cursed film from the 90’s. As the story went on I felt it was a bit drawn out and towards the end it got quite convoluted. Overall this was a bit of a mixed experience for me - some of it was very enjoyable while other parts struggled to keep my interest.

This was a really interesting read with a unique premise. The main character is a journalist and I like that it seemed she didn't make the same "bad decisions" that usually befall MCs in horror. This is a great homage to horror films, cult classics and even sequels/remakes. The plot definitely pulls you in.

Josh Winning is definitely getting added to my list of insta-buy authors. After coming out the door strong with The Shadow Glass, Winning is back with another thrilling, terrifying journey into the dark. Instead of 80s Fantasy films our theme this time is old school slashers, but the commentary on nostalgia, the film industry, and the way our parents change us, for better or worse, remains. 10/10 would experience this particular brand of paranoia again. By the end I didn't know who to trust!

This was a great read! It was fun, had some cheesy moments but they worked. Definitely recommend for horror movie fans.

I loved how campy this one was and how it played with well known horror movie tropes. I appreciated the mixed-media interludes. A big theme in this one was the difficulties of being a child star and facing past trauma. I had a hard time connecting with the characters' decisions sometimes but that also felt true to some horror movies.

I loved this book. It is not often that the ending to one of these types of books is truly satisfying, but this one hit all of the notes. Laura did everything she could to escape the childhood star she once was. After all, she was the star of a cursed movie! Her cast mates died in horrible ways which mirrored the movie they had made. Now, it is being rebooted. Are the murders, too?

The book had a nice balance of horror and self awareness to be truly satisfying. There was Hollywood magic. There was a supernatural explanation. There was a history and a solution laid out for us all. But it went way beyond that. I cannot wait until they make the movie. And then the reboot!

Burn the Negative was a fun, spooky ride of a book that kept me guessing the whole way through. Just when I thought I had it figured out something would happen that had me second guessing everything! I'd say you don't have to be a horror movie fan to enjoy this one, but you will definitely enjoy it more if you are.

Laura is a former child star who quit show biz after one movie, The Guesthouse. Now a journalist and living in England, Laura inadvertently finds herself back in LA on the set of It Feeds, which is meant to be a reboot of The Guesthouse 30 years later. The only problem? The Guesthouse is a "cursed" film and almost everyone associated with the original film has died in deaths that mirror the movie deaths. And now it looks like the curse is back on the set of It Feeds.

This was really a fun throwback to horror movies, especially those with cult followings that are seemingly cursed. I thought back a lot to the Poltergeist and Twilight Zone franchises. The pacing was excellent and the story never really seemed to slow down at all. I loved all of the mixed media sprinkled throughout, especially the snippets from the cursed films book and pages from The Guesthouse scripts. It really added to the ambiance.

I had a great time with this one and would recommend it to anyone looking for a spooky read, especially if you like horror movies (and our patron saint Winona Ryder).

Thank you to GP Putnam and NetGalley for a review copy.

This book is a 10/10! and I loved every single page!!

Burn the Negative was anything but predictable, twists and turns around every corner and I never had any idea what was going to happen next! That ending was completely unexpected and utterly perfect.

I will definitely be adding a copy of this to my library as soon as possible.