How to Survive a Horror Story opens with an end. A legend of the horror genre, Mortimer Queen, has died. Seven horror authors have received a letter shortly after, and now all of them have descended on his manor for the reading of his will. These seven range from the ultra-famous pop-horror writer Chester to the completely obscure aspiring author Melanie. Apparently Mortimer has a gift for each of them, though he failed to specify what exactly it is in his letters. They soon learn that instead of a trinket or cash, the gift is the chance to escape the house they have now voluntarily entered. See, the house is alive, and every hour it will take one of them as a meal. The only way to prevent this from happening is to solve the riddle in each locked room and make their way to the roof. No one’s survival is guaranteed, and the shadowy butler Gia has made this very, very clear. Why is Mortimer doing this? Well, each of his guests has significantly harmed him and this is his retribution from beyond the grave.

This was fun and felt like a literary account of an escape room / locked-in horror movie. In fact I could easily see this one being done in film. Probably the most effective part is how the main voice is blended into POV chapters from all other attendees (aka: victims) and she doesn’t remember why she’s there. That is, until people start dying and she recovers more of her memories with each one. I also really appreciated the creative use of unreliable narrator in each of the POVs, instead of just Melanie's, especially once it's explicitly clocked that someone - either Mortimer or the guests - are rewriting what really happened in each of their interactions.

Honestly, I’d have loved to rate this higher, but the main drawback for me was the in-universe logic. And it was such a drawback that I had to go lower than my experience otherwise indicated (since I’m not a reader who enjoys “shutting his brain off” as I read). The problem for me is that many of the challenges seemed to have dubiously related parts, or didn’t rationally lead to the threat (just a small example: why was there acid in a library? Why not have the sweaty room have the acid floor since it’s already liquid-based, and the library have the floor puzzle that led to a book as a reward, since those line up better).

A fast paced horror romp that beginner horror fans will enjoy.
That said, this was a miss for me. I'm a fan of trope-filled horror stories but this felt like the attempts to retell an oft-told premise all fell flat. I just couldn't care about the characters as they were presented and without that the rest of the plot was hard to push through.

The premise of this book was the worm and the engaging characters and plot were the hook.. I could not put this book down once I started it. The switching between characters was executed flawlessly. It made the story just fly off the page.
If you love a good horror story that has some suspense in it. Grab this book. It's bound to be a 5 star fir you.

I don’t usually try to guess plot twists or anything because 1. I’m not very good at it and 2. These are the sorts of books I can turn my brain off for and just have a good time. Fun.

Woah, what a ride! Such a unique book with over-the-top characters in an even more over-the-top setting! I went into this book completely blind and was so entertained. Definitely a lot of shocking elements, but I felt the characters and plot was well done. I flew through this book, very easy to read with very little to no boring aspects! The puzzle aspect was also very unique, had a Clue like feel to it, but with a horror element behind it.

Thank you netgalley for this arc, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to Mallory Arnold, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

When legendary horror author Mortimer Queen passes, a group of writers find themselves invited to his last will and testament reading expecting a piece of his massive fortune. Once they arrive to the manor, they are invited to play a game. Basically the last standing wins the fortune. Honestly, based on the title, I wanted to love this story, but it all fell flat. The "twists and turns" were beyond predictable and the characters were stale and basic, never developing into anything complex. It could have even been a horror comedy, but there was nothing horror or comedic about it.

Horror authors are invited to a deceased author's house but then trapped in the house by the late author who has riddles and tests in store for them.

I'm sure fans of horror will find that the graphic nature of the book is descriptive and plenty however, this one wasn't for me. While the story did move along at a quick pace, it also was a little jumpy and all over the place. I admittedly will jump to the next paragraph if I feel there isn't enough substance in the current one that I am reading and with this book I frequently got lost when I did that. I'm not sure if I'm just not used to the horror genre and that very well could be but, I have a hard time with the unexplained so this was not a great read for me.

What happens when the most legendary horror writer of his generation dies, leaving behind an eccentric, shall we say, country Manor? He creates one last horror story starring his fellow horror, writers, with them as the stars. The only question is: will they survive to tell the tale.

This book is about what happens when the legendary writer, Mortimer Queen dies, and invites his fellow writers to the reading of his will, but that will is more of a battle for control of his estate. I won’t say too much more because it’s better to find out as you are reading, as the secrets contained in the Manor are incredibly interesting and thrilling.

I love this book and its premise right from the beginning. It took me something like two days to read because I was just so pulled in to the story of the authors going through the Manor and seeing what each new scenario would bring. I’m really trying hard not to spoil anything, because like I said, it’s much better if you are able to find out things as they are revealed in the story. But trust me each new twist and each new reveal is worth the wait.

The characters are great as each has their own distinct personality, and you are able to quickly suss out that everyone is hiding something related to Mortimer and their relationship with him. Everything comes out eventually, and like I said, it’s worth the wait.

The book also makes you think about the nature of revenge, and who the real “bad guy” is. Let’s just say, none of the people at the reading of the will are exactly saints, but Mortimer isn’t either, so who is exactly in the wrong here?

Basically, just read this book for a wildly good time through a unique horror story that will knock your socks off!

Wow was this a crazy ride of a book. I enjoyed how much time the author spent on introducing each character, so that we could get to know each one of them and have their backstory on their relationship with Mortimer. I also loved the deaths of each of the characters, as I thought that they were well planned out and unique to each person. I would love to spend time getting to know the house and it's residents a little bit more. Some people have mentioned that it might be a little overdone in terms of plot and tropes, but as someone who doesn't read a lot of mystery-esque novels I enjoyed it.

Was the story a bit campy? Yes. Were most of the characters stereotypical eccentrics? Yes. Did I expect to see a Great Dane and his doobie smoking buddy in the green t-shirt jump out at some point? Sort of. BUT -
This was a fun story that had a tiny bit of fantasy-like unrealness, but also some interesting twists and turns. I don't think it was meant to be serious. Coming off several dark thrillers before I read this, I appreciated the fast, easy read.
There are a few scenes that might be a tad bit gory for some, but the whole thing was just a fraction off the “believable” scale, so it didn’t feel real, if that makes sense.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 25%

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The plot of a group of authors being brought to a mansion by a deceased, better known author and horror ensuing has been done before, and better than it was in this. It took me three days to drag myself to the 25% mark in this. The characters are so dry and boring. The plot is tired. There's nothing worth reading here.

4.5!

This was a really fun read! I loved the concept of this book! I really liked that we got to see the story from all POV past and priest to build the story and see what actually is happing or happened! Secrets on secrets and deception!

This felt like a version of my favorite horror movie (Rose Red) with a bit of a modern day twist in revenge! Totally different story’s but I kept thinking about the movie wile reading this!

4.95 ✨ CONTAINS LIGHT SPOILERS

Thank you to Net Galley and Poison Penn Press for the advanced copy of this title.

From the first 10 pages, I knew I would enjoy this title. It reads like a locked-door Agatha Christie mystery or a good movie—think of The Last of Sheila or Murder on the Orient Express.

Mortimer Queen, a famous horror author, has died and invited several other well-known horror authors (in his circle) to his home to read his will. They can't think of why they are named, but they all turn up eager to receive (what they believe): a piece of Morimer's massive wealth.

All the authors have had experiences with Mortimer (on some level), and all have something salacious to hide. They don't realize that they would get more than what they bargained for.

They have all been named recipients, but what they get will surprise them all. Solve the riddle corresponding to everyone invited, survive Mortimer's house of horrors, and get out alive.

This is such a great mystery, and learning about everyone’s backstory lends itself to the reason they were brought to the house. To think that their successes were built on the back of Mortimer Queen is despicable. What’s more interesting is that they thought they’d gotten away with it.

Sooner or later, everyone would get their comeuppance, as Mortimer has other plans to ensure debts are paid in full. (so to speak)

This title ended a little too perfectly for me, but I can’t be mad at whom that end was intended for. In conclusion, this is still a title that keeps the pace, has a great story, and the characters have a great chemistry (good and bad). So, if you’re searching for a locked-door mystery, this is the one. I gave this title 4.95 ✨.

Thank you NetGalley! What a great debut novel by this author. It started off great! I was pulled in right away. I haven’t read any books like this before and the premise definitely intrigued me.

This is one of those books marketed as horror, but it's just an easy-reading, Scooby Doo-type of tale, better appreciated by people who haven't actually read much horror (or, who're just getting into it). The writing's bordering on pulp, the characterization is totally flat, most often even comical, since you always know where the characters stand even before they speak; no attention to detail, no original twists, no exciting build-up to the ending. However, if it's marketed as explicitly camp and darkly humorous, namely as some sort of horror comedy with ghosts and creepy manors, rather than "The Fall of the House of Usher" as per the synopsis (I kid you not!), it'll find the right readers much more easily.

Finished this book a little bit ago but forgot to send in my review! I was intrigued by the premise and the book cover but unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book. It felt a bit recycled and something we've seen before which is no problem at all! It just didn't feel new and exciting for me to pick up.

I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and moved at a quick pace. The reason I did 3 stars is because it was pretty easy to figure out where the storyline was going, so it was just a little too predictable for me. However, I loved the idea and there were some pretty spooky parts that got me.

The story follows seven authors who have been included a major author’s will. But, when they get to the manor to get their goods, they’re thrust into a game of riddles and survival.

Seven strangers are invited to a legendary horror author's creepy castle after his passing. All 7 of these strangers have a history with Author Mortimer Queen and they think they are there for a reading of Mortimer Queen his last will and testament. But actually it's all a game or riddles and death.

There is a lot of characters and storylines in this book and honestly I think it would have flowed better if written in 1st person for each POV but for a debut novel this was decent! The characters were unrelatable and annoying and I did feel like this was not as much horror was a I expected but we did get a lot of backstories and build of characters/scenes which was nice. This book was not rated as high because I felt like the twists were very predictable and kind of lackluster but the attention to detail in this book was great.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I wanted to love this so much but just couldn’t get there. Maybe reading at night when I was tired didn’t help with keeping track with all the characters. I’d get a little lost on who was who. There were some good parts that kept me going, and I think the storyline had a lot of promise, but overall I couldn’t get into it.

This was my first horror read in many, many years, and I absolutely devoured it. The story was engaging, with so many storylines woven through it, and the characters practically came alive—even the bad ones made me go between liking them and disliking them; they were so real, so grey. The author did an amazing job of showing how nothing and no one in the world is black and white. I would really have liked an epilogue though. A little bit more about the manor and Gia would be 👌