A pulpy and entertaining novel that is an ode to horror films, particularly cursed ones. It also feels relevant with the popularity of memoirs like I'm Glad My Mom Died, shining a light on the pressure and abuse that child stars in Hollywood often face. Burn the Negative is a fun time, but uneven success using mixed media and some plot/character inconsistencies kept it from being a favorite. That said, if the premise appeals to you I think it's worth a try as a sort of popcorn read.

Laura is a successful journalist who has done everything possible to distance herself from the child star she used to be. As Polly, she starred in a horror movie that was famously cursed as many people involved died mysteriously. But now she's been assigned to cover a TV show that turns out to be a revival of that same movie, and things begin going very wrong...

This was twisty and didn't go in the direction I expected. I'm not sure I love some of the choices this makes later in the book, but I had a good time for the most part. A lot of bodies drop and there are some quite creepy scenes. It includes mixed media and while I liked some of it, other pieces really felt like filler and didn't add much to the experience. Overall I liked this, but didn't love it.

Content warnings include physical and psychological child abuse, death, gore, gaslighting, violence etc.

Wonderfully twisty, creepy, and engaging, this fast-paced slasher film in book form will catch your interest from Chapter One and keep you hooked until The End.

Laura is a former child star turned journalist who is sent back to cover a reboot for a horror film she starred in the 90s. The film is said to have been cursed as eight cast members died during and after production. The moment Laura arrives in L.A., tragic events start to happen. With the help of a psychic and her sister, Laura must face her fears and confront The Needle Man in order to put an end to the curse.

However, as much as I loved the concept, this plot is written exactly like the campy horror movies of the 90s. The writing is fast-paced, and action packed sure to give you chills. The characters; I hard time connecting to them. The psychic was the best one, in in my opinion, and even then, she wasn't a fully developed character. The ending plays out how you think it would. If you have seen Nightmare on Elm Street or the Poltergeist, then I think you will you enjoy this. 3.5 Stars

Thank you to Net Gallery and Putnam Books for this ARC

This book, man. If you love cheesy slasher films and horror movies, this is the book for you. Very much an homage to horror films from someone who clearly adores the genre. Lots of little Easter eggs, and just a bonkers, campy ride.

The main character is annoying and vapid for a good part of the book, but it’s very much in line with the final girl trope. You know when you’re watching a movie and you’re thinking, none of this would happen if these people were even slightly intelligent? That’s this. But in a good way because it feels like reading one of those great silly horror movies.

I didn’t want to stop reading and as I got close to the end, I was sad there were only a few pages left. If you love Nightmare on Elm Street or Scream - or if you grew up loving Fear Street and Christopher Pike and Point Horror - you are going to absolutely love this book. It’s just so much fun and a great summer read (while being creepy enough and with enough social commentary to give it that edge).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC. I already ordered a copy to share with others!!

(My review will go up on release day!)

A compelling horror novel that might appeal to readers of Joe Hill, Clay MacLeod Chapman, and Paul Tremblay. While too commercial in style for my personal tastes, this story of a "cursed movie" and its victims has lots of potential and is sure to appeal to many readers.

A cursed '90s horror flick - I'm in!
I enjoyed the twist and turns. Just when I thought I had it figured out, I realized that I didn't. I grew up watching the old horror films and this felt both familiar and new. I'd say its a combination that works.

Burn the Negative follows Laura, who is sent to cover the remake of a famously haunted/cursed horror movie for the magazine she works for. Little does anyone know she was a part of the original production and returning to this project may bring the curse of the past hurtling into the present. This book has pretty much everything I like- curses, horror movies, hollywood/film set horror stories, following clues to try and unravel an old mystery, and a Babadook-esque creepy horror villain- The Needle Man. But with all the right ingredients I’m struggling to figure out why I didn’t love the final product. I think it kind of comes down to the ending. There are a couple of chapters at the end that feel SO unnecessary, like there is a point in the narrative that feels like the obvious ending, and then it just keeps going for a while. I thought the final twist was a bit out of left field, and a lot of moments feel weirdly repetitive. One of those weird book moments where the vibes are all there and I should be loving the reading experience, but I just didn’t. I liked the Needle Man imagery, there were some interesting kills, and I thought the overall idea for the book is just SUCH a good one. I have a gut feeling I’ll be the minority on not loving this book, so check it out for yourself and tell me I’m wrong.

I'll be posting this review on my Instagram closer to the Pub date- @boozehoundbookclub

A journalist is sent to cover the reboot of an infamous horror movie, but she has a secret: she was the child star of the original movie, long considered cursed due to.the deaths of numerous cast and crew members. After the movie, she and her family changed their names and moved overseas. She had never put much faith in the curse rumors, but she soon discovers she probably should have. A gruesome treat perfect for fans of Stephen King and Paul Tremblay.

Thank.you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

DANG. This was good and relatively reminiscent of Mister Magic by Kiersten White due to the other worldly-paranormal aspects of this film-to-tv-show adaptation. I am realllllllly thankful to Josh Winning, PRH Audio, Putnam Books, and NetGalley for granting me digital access and audiobook access to this twisty, horrific tale of what the spotlight will do to possess your soul, both metaphorically and physically in this case.

Laura, an esteemed journalist for an entertainment-focused magazine, is en route to cover a story that hits very close to home. A cult-favorite movie is getting reprised as a TV show remake, and nothing good has ever followed the actors of the old film. To be clear, nearly everyone on set has horrifically died except for Polly or Laura as she goes by.

Perhaps she's returning to where it all started to halt production in hopes of saving lives. Still, she finds out that she can hardly trust anyone, friend, foe, or family because everyone is super invested in the lore and history of this unfortunate media. Laura is up against something not of this world, a bit ghostly and demonic, working through someone to cause these untimely exits. Laura must face her past and the secret she's worked so hard to bury and stop this ritual-like murder.

Burn the Negative hits shelves on July 11, 2023, and I can't wait to see what everyone else thinks.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this eARC. I really enjoyed this book from the start then it slowly unraveled for me. I can tell many people with enjoy this book but just wasn't for me.

What an interesting concept for a book. You have the perfect set up an old horror movie where 8 major people involved with the film died. They didn’t just die, they died in the same manner that people in the film died. There are twists and turns at every corner in this book. You think that you have something figured out and then everything you think you know is gone. This book is just amazing. I am not a huge horror movie fan, but I ate this book up. It is the perfect horror, or suspense novel. I have already started recommending it to patrons. I can’t wait to hear what they have to say.
Thank you so much to Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Part slasher, part supernatural thriller, part exploration of childhood trauma, Burn the Negative successfully combines all these elements into an exceptional horror novel. When she was 7 years old, Polly Tremaine starred in a well-loved slasher film, The Guesthouse, that featured the terrifying killer The Needle Man. But the deaths in The Guesthouse weren't limited to the screen, almost everyone involved with the movie died in a horrible way, creating a rumor that the movie was cursed. 30 years later, Polly lives on the other side of the world, changed her name to Laura Warren, and done everything possible to forget about The Guesthouse. But, then her boss sends her to LA to write an article on the new television show It Feeds, which just so happens to be a remake of that cursed movie Laura wants so badly to forget. Worse still, as soon as Laura arrives, the curse begins to take more lives, and Laura has to race against the clock to stop whatever sinister force is killing people
I loved Laura's character in this novel, she was wonderfully complex, and her development throughout is captivating. She is also an excellent portrayal of PTSD and how greatly a person is effected by childhood trauma.
The story itself was fast-paced, exciting, and had some great, surprising twists thrown in. I highly recommend this one for any horror fans, it is an exemplary novel of it's genre.

"Burn the Negative" is a good mix of mystery, supernatural suspense and a little bit of horror. If you are a lover of classic 80's horror movies a la "The Poltergeist" or "Amityville Horror" then you will likely enjoy Josh Winning's newest book. Overall it was a great, fun read with a few slower moments mixed in (likely to give you a second to regroup).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in advance of publication.

If you love slasher films, this book is for you. I enjoyed the references to classic horror films while giving an original take. At times I found the character development to be a bit weak and the pacing was a bit off. The ending was perfect!

A kid star, that has gone in hiding (changing her name, career, etc) is brought back to the old set of The Guesthouse, a horror movie with a deathly history. As soon as she lands in LA, death starts to follow her, including the boogey man - The Needle Man.

It had a very paranormal theme, but also talks about people being destroyed by what they hold back/in. The trauma of the past can become something evil and dark, and it can destroy our future.

I loved the campy, gory storyline. It wasn't very action filled, but would still make a great summer horror read.

I was very sucked in by this book from the very beginning. I loved every minute of it...until the end. The ending was very lack luster and I was disappointed. I know Laura has the makings of a final girl but every one dying in quick succession at the end felt cheap and just thrown in there. I felt Laura didn't need to become the villain. I also didn't really like the idea of the monster being Laura and her trauma. I much rather liked the idea of it being controlled by someone else that had been talked about earlier in the book. Most of the book, great. Ending, not for me.

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

Arriving in L.A. to visit the set of a new streaming horror series, journalist Laura Warren witnesses a man jumping from a bridge, landing right behind her car. Here we go, she thinks. It's started. Because the series she's reporting on is a remake of a '90s horror flick. A cursed '90s horror flick, which she starred in as a child - and has been running from her whole life.

In The Guesthouse, Laura played the little girl with the terrifying gift to tell people how the Needle Man would kill them. When eight of the cast and crew died in ways that eerily mirrored the movie's on-screen deaths, the film became a cult classic - and ruined her life. Leaving it behind, Laura changed her name and her accent, dyed her hair, and moved across the Atlantic. But some scripts don't want to stay buried.

Now, as the body count rises again, Laura finds herself on the run with her aspiring actress sister and a jaded psychic, hoping to end the curse once and for all - and to stay out of the Needle Man's lethal reach."

Scream meets the curse of The Crow!

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the digital advance reader's copy.

This is a fun, if predictable, horror story.

If there's such a thing as comfort horror or cozy horror, this is pretty darn to close to it. It's not treading any new ground. It's not going to knock your socks off. It very much a familiar mish-mash of popular horror flicks. And yet, it's exactly what it should be, if you're looking for a straightforward horror movie tale.

Laura Warren, a pop culture journalist, is on the set of It Feeds, a "reimagining" of the cursed 90s movie, The Guesthouse, when things start to go wrong and people begin dying again. Unknown to those on the set, Laura is actually Polly Tremaine, the child star of The Guesthouse.

Is Laura's past somehow connected to what's happening now, nearly thirty years later?

(Not-so shocking spoiler alert: Yes. Yes, it is. Of course it is.)

As Laura works to unravel what's happening now and what happened then, the secrets and lies of those around her are revealed, until Laura faces the final, shocking (or not-so shocking) truth that may bring an end to the curse.

The writing is sturdy, the characters are enjoyable, if not original, and the beats of the horror genre come in a steady rhythm, enough to keep you turning the pages.

All in all, a quick and breezy summer horror read.

*language, violence

I think "retro horror" must be a new category. I liked the writing here, which moved the story forward with few hiccups. The trick for this book would have been to make something actually scary that relies heavily on kitsch and Hollywood lore. This book really didn't hit that bar. It just wasn't scary to me, and the various murders felt like set pieces when I know everyone is just an actor. I did like the backstory of Laura's character. It just wasn't fleshed out enough to make me feel her terror, much less to explain what was happening in the present. The ending felt like a forced twist, not like an aha moment.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The writing itself is competent, but the plot never seems to quite find what it wants to be. Sections/explanations sometimes feel overly edited as if the editing team didn’t trust the audience to understand the nature of this monster.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.