Burn the Negative by Josh Winning
"'Everybody knows Hollywood creates monsters. You stick around Hollywood long enough, you see monsters everywhere. Seems to me, this is just one of 'em.' 'You're saying the movie made a real monster.' 'I hear the way it sounds, sugar, don't you worry. But here's some advice for free: never underestimate the power of a movie.'"
Year Read: 2022
Rating: 4/5
About: Laura was the child star of a horror film called The Guesthouse, her last film before its popularity sent her and her family into hiding. A series of deaths on set and throughout the following years plagued the cast and crew, and the film grew into Hollywood horror legend. Now a professional journalist who’s cut all ties to her past, Laura is shocked and dismayed to discover that the film she's been sent to cover is a remake of The Guesthouse-- and someone wants to bring the Needle Man back to life off-screen as well. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Penguin Group Putnam. Trigger warnings: character death (on-page), parent death, suicide (on-page), child abuse, some gore/blood, severe injury, fire, kidnapping, stalking, gaslighting, violence, trauma, guilt, grief.
Thoughts: I'm fond of Winning's writing style and found it easy to slip into this universe. His adult fiction is always a fun mashup of pop culture and new twists on familiar concepts. While this differs quite a bit from The Shadow Glass, which is more fantasy than horror, it's also a love letter to horror and slasher films much the way TSG was for children's fantasy films. I found it fascinating to be immersed in Hollywood film culture and the urban legends that sprung up around The Guesthouse in the wake of so many real deaths. There's also a strong critique of the treatment of child stars in particular.
Laura is a bit of a wreck for most of the book, and while I wouldn't say she's one of my favorite leading ladies, I was mostly able to see her perspective. Since she's isolated for a lot of the events, I don't think there's much opportunity to get attached to the rest of the characters, except perhaps for Beverly, the maybe/maybe not psychic. I liked her gruff standoffishness and the uncertainty over whether she was trying to help or hurt Laura's investigation. Laura's complex relationships with her mother and sister provide some depth to her character as well, even if the former is rarely on the page. So much of her character arc is wrangling her feelings about an abusive mother and dealing with the trauma of being a child star. The Needle Man is appropriately frightening and a fun, spooky addition to the canon of horror villains.
I enjoyed the ambiguity over whether or not something supernatural was happening or Laura was just having a slow mental breakdown. This is a difficult balance, and I've seen a lot of novels completely fail at it, either where it's just so obvious that it's one or the other or the plot is so nonsensical that neither option is more likely than the other. In this case, I think it's perfectly executed. I just wasn't sure for so much of the book, and I like the direction Winning ultimately takes with it, holding on to the mystery just long enough for maximum impact but not so long that the ending is unsupported. Without venturing into spoiler territory, I think the link between mental illness and horror in this novel is well-developed. The end didn't go where I expected, but in a good way. It's definitely one I'd like to read again in the future to see if I can pick up more clues throughout.
