Very happy to announce that The Summer Fun Massacre, part one of a slasher duology coming out this year from Hachette Book Group, has released!

Glowing review from Publisher’s Weekly, starred review in Booklist and The Library Journal, listed by Barnes & Noble as one of the best paperbacks of June…

When a grisly massacre by a machete-wielding maniac claims the lives of multiple teens at a summer camp, Deputy Tom Bailey goes on the hunt for the killer–and redemption.

The novel is available at your local bookstore, favorite online book retailer, library, and on Audible.

What reviewers are saying:

“DiLouie (My Ex, the Antichrist) lends substance and style to a familiar slasher plot in this duology-launching horror novel… Through confident, atmospheric prose, DiLouie adds tone and texture to a story that might otherwise have wallowed in splatter and gore.” — Publishers Weekly

“The key point-of-view switch puts readers on immediate notice, and DiLouie rewards their attention with an exciting and original slasher featuring a terrifying folk horror twist that will drive fans to sign up for the promised second session of Summer Fun Camp in droves.” – Booklist

“A horror revelation… In a delightful twist of POV, DiLouie manages the almost insurmountable, not just handily flipping tropes on their head but playing them deadly straight—only filled with new life and energy. He manages to hit all the beats of the classic slasher while skillfully making old chestnuts shine. With its sharp prose and likable main character, the novel is difficult to put down, especially as it races toward a climax that will leave readers anxious for the second Slasher Season book.” – Library Journal

“The Summer Fun Massacre swings back and forth like a bladed, unstoppable pendulum, gory slasher tale to eerie mystery and back again.” — New York Times bestselling author Peter Clines

“Urban legends, a summer camp, teens in peril, and a seemingly unstoppable killer, Craig DiLouie’s latest is a brutal exercise in nostalgic horror from an author at the top of his game. Fans of the camp-bound slashers of yesteryear will lose their goddamn minds.” — Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Sour Candy and Kin

“Amongst the splatter and ruptured corpses, DiLouie finds horror’s heart still beating beneath the cabin floor. An invigorating reminder that nothing ever really ends … unless you break the cycle.” — Andrew F. Sullivan, author of The Handyman Method

“An enthralling, fast-paced take on the slasher genre that reminds us why we love these stories and makes everything familiar feel fresh, new, and exciting. The Summer Fun Massacre is simply the best slasher novel I’ve ever read.” –James Chambers, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of A Bright and Beautiful Eternal World

Now available for pre-order! THE SUMMER FUN MASSACRE, the first novel in a slasher horror duology coming out this year from Hachette Book Group. The novel is coming to your favorite bookstore, online retailer, or library June 16. The grisly sequel, THE YULE DAY SLAUGHTER, drops November 17.

This novel inverts the classic slasher story by telling it through the lens of one of its most venerable tropes–the deputy who arrives too late and works for the sheriff who doesn’t believe. The story:

It’s 1992, and in the heat of Texas, camp Summer Fun rests by a crystalline lake surrounded by a shady forest. The counselors have set out the kayaks, prepped the kitchens, and refurbished the cabins. Now, on the night before camp begins, a bonfire and the teenage counselors’ rites of passage await.

But the camp has a horrifying history. In the ’80s, there was a massacre that left a sole survivor. One final girl. The killer never caught.

Deputy Tom Bailey is always on edge this time of year. There are rumors that the woods are haunted. That the killer might one day return. Tom has deeply personal ties to the ’80s massacre, and those ties have plagued his dreams.

Then Tom gets a call reporting bloodcurdling screams coming from the camp. The real nightmare is just beginning. . . .

“DiLouie (My Ex, the Antichrist) lends substance and style to a familiar slasher plot in this duology-launching horror novel… Through confident, atmospheric prose, DiLouie adds tone and texture to a story that might otherwise have wallowed in splatter and gore. The arresting result raises high expectations for the sequel.” — Publishers Weekly

“The Summer Fun Massacre swings back and forth like a bladed, unstoppable pendulum, gory slasher tale to eerie mystery and back again.” — New York Times bestselling author Peter Clines

“Urban legends, a summer camp, teens in peril, and a seemingly unstoppable killer, Craig DiLouie’s latest is a brutal exercise in nostalgic horror from an author at the top of his game. Fans of the camp-bound slashers of yesteryear will lose their goddamn minds.” — Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Sour Candy and Kin

“Amongst the splatter and ruptured corpses, DiLouie finds horror’s heart still beating beneath the cabin floor. An invigorating reminder that nothing ever really ends … unless you break the cycle.” — Andrew Sullivan, author of The Marigold and The Handyman Method