The Summer Fun Massacre by Craig DiLouie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
**2.5-stars rounded up**
The Summer Fun Massacre features a unique take on the Tradition Slasher. In this book, we follow the police officer who arrives on the scene too late to prevent a tragedy.
For Tom, our MC, this kind of tragedy has struck twice in his life. Once in 1983, when the girl he was dating, Mary, ended up the final girl in a brutal Summer Camp slaying, and again in 1992, when another massacre occurs after the camp reopens. Tom is the 1st-officer responding to the scene.
That’s pretty much all the massacre you’re gonna get, the aftermath. We follow Tom in the days following as he deals with his complex emotions on both crimes and tries to solve them before they happen again.
I don’t know, y’all. I had high hopes for this one, but unfortunately, I feel like I am generously rounding up. I found it slow and boring; not a good match for my tastes, especially considering what I was expecting.
I wanted Summer Camp vibes and the massacre to be on page. Not a Summer Camp, named Summer Fun, that plays only a peripheral role in the story. I received zero ‘camp’ from this, and I’m salty about it.
I’m rounding up to 3-stars, not because I enjoyed the book, but because I believe others could. The writing is fluid, and Tom is well-developed as a character.
Even though I’m disappointed by the trajectory of the narrative overall, I do appreciate what DiLouie was doing here, switching up the perspective of a Traditional Slasher. I think that was a risk, and if he was comfortable going for it, I’m gonna support that.
I think that idea, to explore a different angle, and bring something new to the subgenre is a great idea, just for me, the content was dull as dirt.
At the end of the day, it lacked the fun and excitement I was looking for, and I feel like the title, though in a way, what the book is about, is sort of misleading. Fun was not had in my experience, and I needed more massacre as well.
With all this being said, just because this wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. I can be a picky-B, so take what I say with a grain of salt. If this sounds interesting to you, give it go. You could be finding a new favorite.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Run For It, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
Even though this wasn’t a win for me, could I be convinced to read the sequel? Yeah, most likely. Yes.
