This was a quick read that kept my attention! But overall, it was not super memorable or my number one that I will recommend again and again.

Really promising premise, but it felt like this book was afraid to let me be confused or come to my own conclusions, which is a weird choice for supernatural horror! I don't think it's a genre that takes well to didacticism, and it really diminished the impact of each emotional beat when it was directly handed to me four times in a row, The found-object/records-y opening to each chapter was cool.

Laura Warren is an award winning entertainment journalist working for Zeppelin Magazine. But Laura has a secret. Her secret? She is really a former child star named Polly Tremaine. Polly Tremaine was the lead character in The Guesthouse, which is known as "the most haunted film in Hollywood history". It's known as a cursed film due to eight of the cast and crew dying in a similar manner as the movie's on-screen deaths. The movie became a cult classic and ruined her life so Laura changed her name, dyed her hair, and moved across the ocean. When Laura is assigned to visit the set of "It Feeds" (reboot of The Guesthouse), the murders on set begin again. Is The Needle Man real? Is he back to kill again?

I highly enjoyed this book as it had Nightmare on Elm Street meets Poltergeist vibes. I liked the cliché dream sequences, the blackouts suffered by the main character, the red herrings, the campiness, and the cheesy goodness! It made my 80's inner child very happy! I love when mixed media such as memes and transcripts (excerpts from a VH1 special and 911 calls) are used to break up the chapters and gives the story more of a documentary feeling. The only reason this is not a 5 star is because I didn't feel the urge to read it in one sitting or quickly to find out the ending. I was able to put it down a few times and I wasn't in a hurry to get back to it.

If you are a fan of slashers, cursed film stories, lots of movie references, and the supernatural then this book is for you!

Thank you to Netgalley, Putnam Books, and Josh Winning for the advanced reader copy.

Laura Warren has very reluctantly boarded a plane, headed for Los Angeles. She is a journalist and her boss has sent her to write a story about a remake/ reimagining of the 90’s cult classic, The Guesthouse. What no one realizes is that she is intimately familiar with that film. Then,she was Polly Tremaine, a child star who played Tammy Manners in the film.
The set seemed to be cursed though, and a terrifying incident ended Polly’s career. Her father packed up the family and moved to the UK. Polly was done acting and Laura was born.
As soon as Laura lands, things start to go terribly wrong. It seems that this new series is cursed just like The Guesthouse. Laura soon sees the Needle Man(the villain from The Guesthouse), someone who she thought she had outrun. But it seems, his taste for blood is as strong as ever.
Laura, along with her sister, Amy, and a psychic must figure out what’s actually going on, especially since the police believe that Laura is a killer. That is all that I’m going to say about the plot, so I don’t inadvertently give something away. When everything was explained, holy horror movies, I was not expecting that ending.
My first read by Josh Winning and I really enjoyed it.

Going into to this book, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Would it be cliche? Would it be suspenseful enough? Would I enjoy? The answer: kind of all of the above.

I definitely felt that parts were on the cliche horror movie side but it didn’t take away from it as much as it probably could have. I do feel like maybe it was meant more for the big screen then reading on a screen but that doesn’t take too much away from its overall effect.

Overall, it was a quick read that definitely kept the reader’s attention.

Thank you #NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing me with an ARC for my honest review.

Laura is heading to LA to cover a new streaming series when she realizes what she’s being sent to cover - a reboot of the classic horror film The Guesthouse. It doesn’t take her long to realize a few things. One - someone knows who she really is. Two - the past that she’s been running from her whole life has caught up to her. And three - when the deaths start happening, she has to face the truth. Was that old film actually cursed when all of those cast and crew died before? Or is the Needle Man truly out there?

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a horror book that was truly horror, and not just a thriller/suspense pretending to be horror. This one had me reminiscing of the old horror movies I used to like watching, and planning my reading time for during the day so that I wouldn’t be reading it just before bed!

The premise was interesting, the story of Laura and Amy’s childhood was intense (bringing to mind the real-life trauma of Jeannette McCurdy), and the Needle Man was truly scary to think about. But when it came down to the climax and conclusion of the story, I was left a little disappointed. Obviously the paranormal/supernatural aspect of the story requires a little separation from reality. But I just wished that the ending came together a little stronger.

Overall, I’d give it 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3. It’s good, but a better ending would’ve brought it up to 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an advanced copy of this book

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Burn the Negative will be available on July 11th.

Ah, campy horror. That fun combination of spooky and slasher, often spawning sequel (or reimagining) after sequel. It’s also the perfect setup for a book. Burn the Negative takes advantage of this in the most entertaining of ways.

Laura used to be named Polly. A recovered child star, she was most well known for her role in the 90s horror movie, The Guesthouse. This is the role that led to her quick exit from acting, as the cast and crew began dying in ways that were eerily similar to the deaths in the movie. Fans everywhere have since become obsessed with the movie’s “curse”. Now, years later, Laura has to interview the cast and crew of the upcoming remake- except the “curse” seems to have started up again. And of course, in true campy horror fashion, everyone she’s near is in danger. Gotta love those creepy child stars.

Author Josh Winning set the tone right from the get-go. Burn the Negative is a combination of horror and thriller, and it had me wondering which direction the ending would go- horror or thriller. I am not giving anything away, but I was surprised. I didn’t see any of the twists coming at all. I have an annoying habit of seeing the twists coming a mile away in books and movies, so it was awesome to have no idea.

The characters were all fun twists on archetypes. The psychic was jaded, the replacement main character was bubbly and not at all creepy, and the director was a major fanboy. The horror villain, Needle Man, was exactly what you would find in a horror movie, making for a fun mix of old and new. The way he was described preyed on the imagination and added an extra creep factor.

I loved the way the trustworthiness of every character was thrown into question. Everyone had something to hide and no one was without ulterior motives, including Laura. Characters were added along the way (some were quite obviously “red shirts” but not all of them) so that the suspect pool- if the deaths are human-caused and not supernatural, I’m not telling- didn’t ever shrink to one.

Burn the Negative was fast-paced and the perfect length. It didn’t drag things out but it also didn’t rush things that were meant to have emotional resonance. The ending was a satisfying gut punch and the throwbacks to old-school slasher movies were loads of fun. Burn the Negative oozes guts and glee in equal measure, and I loved every gory moment.

If you love campy horror, cursed productions, and slasher films, Burn the Negative is sure to scratch that itch for you.

Laura Warren has done everything in her power to put her past as a child star behind her. Her entire family moved abroad, she changed her name, her accent, and her hair. No one would ever connect her with Polly Tremaine, the star of the cult- and possibly cursed- horror film, The Guesthouse. Many members of the cast and crew died in ways that parallel the deaths in the movie. After the trauma of the production, Laura quit acting entirely and put The Guesthouse firmly out of her mind. But can you ever truly outrun a curse? Laura ends up back in LA after decades away, on an assignment about the latest craze in horror streaming shows, It Feeds. Imagine her confusion, her terror, when Laura realizes that It Feeds is a remake of The Guesthouse. Her boss, to whom she has never revealed her true identity, obviously knew anyway, and set her up. Almost from the moment Laura steps off the plane in Los Angeles, the bodies start to drop again. With a jaded, wary psychic and her actress wannabe sister as her only allies, Laura will have to face her biggest fears. She will have to confront the Needle Man once and for all, and lay this curse to rest, or die trying.

This was fun and I really enjoyed it. It's definitely campy, more popcorn entertainment than real substance. Some of the characters needed more dimension and I wasn't a fan of the conclusion, but as long as you go in with proper expectations, I don't think you'll be disappointed. The mixed media at the beginning of every chapter added visual interest and I appreciated it. I'll be eagerly awaiting more from Josh Winning. Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam Books for the chance to review this advance copy. Burn the Negative will publish 7/11/23.

Laura Warren doe NOT want to go back to LA. She's happy with her life in the UK. She and her family left LA after a traumatic incident in her childhood. Now she is being sent back to LA to interview people who are a part of a series that is revisiting the horror movie that she starred in as a child. When people start dying who are a part of the series she is afraid that history is repeating itself. Can she stay alive and solve the curse?

"In this incendiary mash-up of horror and suspense, a notorious slasher film is remade…and the curse that haunted it is reawakened."

If you love horror movies in the vein of Nightmare on Elm Street - you will really enjoy this fast-paced, campy popcorn thriller. Featuring a cursed movie set, a reboot of said cursed movie, a childhood actress who changed her identity coming back to face her fears, and a horror villain named The Needle Man who may or may not be real - this book kept me turning the pages til the finale.

The novel also featured mixed media elements at the beginning of each chapter - newspaper clippings, movie scripts, social media, etc - and I really liked this element to give the reader insight into the background of the original cursed movie - The Guesthouse - and everything that happened during and after filming.

This book had similar elements to Curse of the Reaper by Brian McAuley and Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard - with a little bit of I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette MCurdy in there with a stage mom and child actor element - so if you liked any of those or love a good classic horror movie- I would definitely give this one a try! The book didn't quite land the ending for me, but overall this was a super fun, enjoyable, quick read!

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Group Putnum for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you love horror movies and campy 90s films this one will be for you. I loved the 90s setting and the curse of the film. The writing is fast paced and twisty and you just want to keep going. I finished this in a day. It is not overly scary, though I just enjoyed the setting, the characters and the plot. This would make a great movie! If you are a horror and slasher fan, get yourself a copy of this book, it is so well done!

This is my first book by this author. It is told in third person and follows Laura. Each chapter is preceded by various excerpts from scripts, quotes about the films from relevant publications, etc. Laura sometimes blacks out and can’t remember what happened making her a bit of an unreliable narrator. She has suffered from a great deal of trauma from the events surrounding the movie she starred in as a child as well as the strain of being a child actor and all that entails from paparazzi to obsessed fans who confuse fiction for reality.

When things start to go south on the new movie set and new bodies start piling up, these blackout episodes make Laura doubt herself. Catching several people that are close to her that she somewhat trusts in lies also makes her wonder if she’s imaging things or being gaslighted. I enjoyed the did she or didn’t she push/pull of this story. I also enjoy a story that leads me on a guessing game of is a real person behind it all or is there really a supernatural force at large committing heinous crimes and getting away with it by placing the blame on seemingly innocent bystanders.

I found it a suspenseful and intriguing ride, though not really scary. Recommended to lovers of stories about horror films and Hollywood.

Thank you to Netgalley and GP Putnam’s Sons for a copy provided for an honest review.

DNF at 40%. This book feels incredibly derivative of last year's Curse of the Reaper, and I'm having a real hard time caring despite my fondness for cursed movie productions. It's slow and plodding, and 'protagonist suffers from blackouts right before violent incidents occur' is probably my least favorite trope ever. So far, this book feels too familiar in the been there, done that kind of way, and I'm not connecting with it at all despite too many days of trying. This one's not for me.

DNF at 31%

I can freely admit that this is a good book. The concept is great, the writing is suspenseful, and Winning does a great job of avoiding some of the pitfalls that plague the horror genre.

That being said, this book has made me realize that as hard as I try, I am just not a horror fan. I just cannot suspend my disbelief enough to get into the books. This is probably one of the best versions of the horror novel that I have read and I just can't take it seriously. I figured it would be better to DNF than to push through and give a somewhat unfair review to the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P Putnam's Sons for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

This book was AWESOME!

I enjoyed this one so much I don't even know where to start! Do you ever read a book that you feel was written specifically for you? Burn the Negative is everything I love in horror all written into one perfectly creepy book!

There's the mixed media pages (newspaper clips, articles, script pages etc), the book centering around a horror film, a slasher element, a mystery element, murders, and a bit of the paranormal. Seriously everything I could ever ask for. I was hooked from page one and I flew through the chapters right up to the wicked ending. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this one.

**Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the audio copy of this book. All opinions are my own.**

Spoiler free review
Burn the Negative by Josh Winning is one of the most fun books that I’ve read in months. The story revolves around Laura, who is a former child star who now works as a journalist. Laura is returning to Hollywood to write about a new horror series called It Feeds, which is apparently a remake of Laura’s final movie The Guesthouse. Many people believe that this film is cursed because eight people involved in the filming died tragically. Now people involved with It Feeds are dying. Who or what is responsible for these deaths? Can Laura solve the mystery of the deaths and possibly stop them?
This book really read like a movie. I could see everything happening and I can also see this perhaps becoming a movie or a series. Even though I know all of the twists and turns, I would absolutely watch because this was such an entertaining read. If you are a fan of horror movies at all, you’ll love this book.

3.5 stars rounded up, because The Guesthouse is a movie I would totally watch.

This mash up of a thriller and horror story keeps you guessing the whole time. All of the characters leave you questioning their motives, and when you think things will finally be cleared up, you are left with wanting to know even more. It's a perfect read for those who love horror movies, and especially those interested in the curses that seem to surround many of them. A little slow to start off, the story picks up as you learn more about the characters, and the movie The Guesthouse, as well as, it's monster the Needle Man.

Josh Winning’s novel The Shadow Glass blew me away with its mixture of nostalgia, pop culture and fantasy, and I was excited to hear that he was bringing two of those to his next novel. In Burn the Negative Winning proves that he can master more than one genre, taking on horror and applying the same love for nostalgia and pop culture to his story that made The Shadow Glass so interesting.

In 1993 the horror movie filming of The Guesthouse became infamous when eight of the cast and crew died in ways that eerily mirrored the movie’s on-screen deaths, prompting people to claim that the movie was cursed. It gained a cult following with people trading theories for decades later, including what happened to Polly Tremaine the child actor who played the little girl who told people how they died in the movie. Polly mysteriously disappeared after the movie was released and no one knows what happened to her.

Laura knows. Laura is Polly, or she was. After something happened that terrified her parents, her whole family moved to England and Polly became Laura. Since then Laura has changed everything about herself including her hair and her accent. She’s a well published entertainment journalist and for the first time since leaving L.A. she finds herself heading back there to cover a new streaming horror series at the insistence of her boss, who also happens to be her ex. She’s never told him about her past. It’s only when she opens the press release on the plane that she’s been set up, and somehow he found out – because the series is based on that movie. The movie. The one her entire family ran away from.

Making a remake of “the most haunted film in Hollywood history” goes about as well as you would expect. It doesn’t take long before a body count starts and Laura finds herself smack bang in the middle of it all. She has the new production’s psychic on one side telling her it’s something supernatural, and her little sister on the other telling her that it’s a person because it has to be something real… right?

Winning does an excellent job of playing both of these theories off against each other throughout the book. One moment you will believe it’s one, and then the other he throws perfectly good evidence at the reader that proves it has to be the other. He skilfully manipulates every moment of every scene, making the reader question everything and everyone. Nothing is what it seems in Burn the Negative, and the twists in this book are some of the best I have seen. The ending you will never see coming.

Just like in The Shadow Glass Winning has created an entire experience not just a book. Each chapter is interspersed with extracts from books about horror movies, interview clips, segments from The Guesthouse script, and even online cult movie buff websites/social media pages. Winning’s passion for pop culture and his own personal experience as an entertainment journalist shine through in this book especially.

The only reason this is a four-star read for me rather than a five star is because at the end of the day slasher flicks aren’t my thing. So it says a lot that a book about a slasher flick with slasher flick violence style scenes gets such a high rating from me. Its strength is in the character development, suspense and mind games that Winning plays with the reader. Burn the Negative is all about unravelling the mystery of what actually happened all those years ago on the set of The Guesthouse and why it’s happening again. If you’re expecting anything stereotypical, think again.

This meta horror/fantasy is a wild ride reminiscent of Night Film and Into the Drowning Deep. As covered on What Should I Read Next episode 369: State of the Bookstore.

I love all the books that have to do with slasher films and horror movies in book form. It gave urban legends and scream vibes but also I’m such a unique was that I loved it.

J like when books keep me engaged and when the writing is so good as well as the conversational writing. You could really feel like you were in the story with them.