As someone who loves slasher films and loves apocryphal stories and rumors about curses and lore when it comes to films, BURN THE NEGATIVE really called out to me when I read about it on NetGalley. I finally dove into it while on vacation, tearing through the book by the pool and then on my flight back home, really really taken with the love letter to slasher movies as well as the exploration of the dark side of childhood fame and celebrity. I thought that the slow build of Laura/Polly running from her past but being confronted by it head on as she is sent to cover a reimagining of the horror movie that destroyed her life was really well done, and I liked the gnarly kills of various characters. It all felt right out of a slasher movie. I also really liked how we learn about the cost of "The Guesthouse" for Laura/Polly, and the reveals about the traumas of having a controlling and mean stage mother, the wedge it drove between her and her sister Amy, and the ways that she is still traumatized by her own experiences but also the notoriety of the film. But then it kind of came to a grinding halt right at the very last moment, as we get a very slasher-y AH HA, PSYCH, SURPRISED YOU DIDN"T WE ending that came out of nowhere and just changed everything way too late. I don't like endings that do this, and while it definitely feels like something you'd see in a slasher movie, I don't like it when movies do it either.

Horror fans should definitely check out BURN THE NEGATIVE, but just know there will possibly be whiplash when you are nearing the finish line.

When Laura accepted an assignment to write an article about a new horror series, her editor did not tell her the show was a reboot of the cult classic horror movie she had starred in as a child: a movie that had ended with a curse that led to the deaths of 8 of the cast and crew. The moment she lands in L.A., the curse seems to be back full force, and it's out for blood.

This book was a solid horror/thriller with its supernatural elements firmly grounded in complex, real anxieties, relationships, and trauma. What I like about horror most is how it can be used to explore the real pain and fears of our everyday lives, and I find it's most effective when rooted in the real world; this book does that competently.

However, I had a bit of a hard time connecting with Laura and I'm not sure about the need for the twist at the end (I won't go into specifics because of spoilers). I felt like the book might have been more impactful for me if it had just stayed focused around her relationship with her mother.

Nonetheless, "Burn the Negative" is a fast-paced, well-balanced supernatural thriller/horror with a creepy creature, a compelling backdrop in the film industry, and is a new interpretation of the haunted movie trope (which I am personally very fond of).

You would like this book if you like a Nightmare on Elm Street-type villain, family/psychological horror, and an investigative element to your horror!

If Wes Craven's "A New Nightmare" could take novel form that would the Burn The Negative and I LOVED IT!


Josh Winning knows how to pay homage to good horror while also crafting a terrifying story and Burn the Negative is evidence of that. I was initially drawn to this story because the synopsis, but I was unable to put this book down until the very last page. I think this holds a lot for horror fans of all ages and types. There are classical nods to Shirley Jackson, fantastic scenes that were reminiscent of Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street, and the lore of this novel will stick with me for a while I already know. This book is truly a phenomenal thriller and it feels so fast that I blinked and it was over. Is it terrible that I'm praying for a follow up? Because the Needle Man needs more screen time. I thought that I had figured this story out, but boy was I wrong and that is exactly what Winning capitalizes on. Do not miss out on this book, because when it comes to psychological horror, it does not miss.

Perfect for fans of "The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman!

As a horror-lover this book was phenomenal! All the nods to classic horror themes were amazing

It was suspenseful and dark, and best of all, never boring

Truly wish there were more horror books like this one

Burn the Negative...

Let that title just sit right there for a moment...

What are you thinking? What do you think this book is about? Stumped? Yes, so was I, and this is exactly why I had to have it. Any book title or cover that gets me thinking will always peek my interest. I am one who chases suspense and mystery. I love a book that will stimulate my mind and challenge me to figure out the big twist.

Once I actually stopped staring at the cover and began reading I knew almost instantly that I would love this book. I am a huge fan of slasher movies and this book was right up my alley.

The characters were incredibly well done, the pace was set and the plot was executed with perfection. This was my first book by Josh Winning but I have instantly become a huge fan.

This book is everything you never knew you needed and then some.

Here is your fair warning.... Make sure you have the lights on and you are not alone when you read this!

Teaser:

Thirty years hiding from her past.

Eight deaths still unexplained.

One haunted horror film.

Nowhere left to run.

Journalist Laura Warren is mid-flight to LA when she learns that the streaming series she’s about to report on is a remake of a ‘90s horror flick. A cursed '90s horror flick. The one she starred in—and has been running from her whole life.

As a child star, Laura was cast as the lead in The Guesthouse. She played Tammy Manners, the little girl with the terrifying gift to tell people how the Needle Man would kill them. But her big break was her last, as eight of her cast and crew mates died in mysterious ways, and the film became infamous—a cult classic of fictional horror that somehow summoned the real thing. Hoping to move on, Laura changed her name and her accent, dyed her hair, and moved across the Atlantic Ocean.

But some scripts don’t want to stay buried.

After landing, Laura finds a yellow dress like the one she wore in the movie. Then the words “She’s here” scratched into the wall in an actor's trailer. And then people working on the series start dying. It’s all happening again, and Laura finds herself on the run with her sister and a jaded psychic, hoping to find answers—and to stay out of the Needle Man’s lethal reach.

An homage to slasher films with a fresh take on the true price of fame, Burn the Negative is a twisty thriller best listened to with the lights on.

4.5/5

What do we have here? A beautifully done blend of horror and suspense to whet your macabre appetite. It’s well-written and the author knows how to make the reader tense. It’s so close to perfect.

Links coming soon.

I'm a bit of a horror movie obsessive, and it's like this book was written for me. This book is to horror cinema what Grady Hendrix's My Best Friend's Exorcism is to, like, Phil Collins and the Extreme Teen Bible: nostalgic, consciously derivative, and still somehow fresh.

It pulls inspiration from the alleged curses that plagued real-life films like Poltergeist and twists them in a way that manages to explore real emotions and trauma.

The protagonist Laura was the child star of a "cursed" horror movie called the Guesthouse. Eight members of the cast and crew died sudden, mysterious deaths that seemed to echo those in the film. When she is pressured into writing an article about an attempt to remake the movie, creepy shit starts happening all over again.

The book itself is steeped in creepy pop culture references and tropes. Despite the many loving clichés, every time I thought I saw a twist coming, I was wrong.

When this book comes out, I'm buying a copy and it's going on a shelf next to my ratty, thrifted copy of the Psychotropic Video Guide. Where it belongs.

A really great slasher ode to the horror movies of old! It was easy to read and featured interesting characters. Great for fans of horror movies.

I wish we could do half stars on Netgalley and Goodreads reviews cause this is rounded up from 4 1/2 stars. Anyway, this book!!! This really brought back the nostalgia of classic horror movies when it came to the kills and the possibility of a movie set curse.

Laura is a journalist who takes on a new project. She’s interviewing the new director and cast of It Feeds, a new take on the 90’s slasher The Guesthouse. But Laura has a history with The Guesthouse: she’s actually Polly Tremaine, one of the main stars of the original slasher. After the original shooting of the film, many of the original cast and crew members died under strange circumstances. Laura has changed her identity in hopes to move on from her traumatic past. But unfortunately, trauma returns to the surface and soon the cast and crew of It Feeds start dropping dead . Is the original film really cursed and out for more blood or are there other sinister elements hiding in plain sight?

As I previously said, I really enjoyed the overall nostalgia I got from this book. I grew up watching classic horror movies and some of my favorite aspects of them were the trivia and the discussions on whether they were cursed movie sets. I think the design and atmosphere of the Needleman character was fantastic. It gave really similar vibes to Candyman or Freddy Krueger. The kills were so crazy and fun. Again, they just felt super nostalgic. I thought the tension through the book was very consistent. I got through this book so quick because I was dying to know where the plot was going and it didn’t disappoint.

This book is a slasher but it’s soooo much more than that. It’s a real discussion on childhood trauma. It also heavily discusses child abuse when it comes to Hollywood. Both the overwhelming pressure from being on a film set as well as the abuse from manipulative and overbearing stage parents. I feel like that’s a subject that is often pushed to the side and this book doesn’t skirt past it.

I do think the ending is a bit rushed which is why it’s not a perfect book for me. But I will say the ending is really shocking and I honestly still found myself rooting for Laura even after everything that happens.

Thank you as always to Netgalley, as well as PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the digital ARC of this. It was such a fun ride!

This book is excellent -- it reminds me a little of something that Grady Hendrix would write but this author has laser focus on the plot at hand. I loved the homage to the "Poltergeist curse" but with its own style and the fact it's set in present time. Good mix between psychological horror and supernatural.

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.