Splasher

Come on in, the water's fine! Daphne meets My Best Friend's Exorcism and Heads Will Roll in a dark, nostalgic sports horror - the book equivalent of your favourite summer slasher. Come on in, the water's fine! Autumn 2006. Low-rise jeans are in, grunge is out, and all Spencer Ward should be worrying about is his new job as Assistant Swim Coach at Richardson University. It's been a decade since tragedy struck during his own college years, but Spencer is determined to sink his skeletons and focus on a winning season for his team. Until, that is, two students are found dead in the pool on the first day of training. While everyone assumes it was a horrible accident, Spencer is overcome with an ominous sense of dej vu. There's blood in the water, and not just because competition season has started. As increasingly severe freak accidents plague the students, and twisted shadows are seen by the poolside, Spencer and his swim team must work out what is hunting them before it's too late. The pool echoes with the ghosts of the past, and they won't rest until they are finally heard.

About the Author :
Billie Host is the pseudonym for Morag Hannah and Erin Hardee, two geeky women living and writing together in Scotland. With backgrounds ranging from museum interpretation to web design, and from science communication to ghost tours, they are devoted to storytelling in almost every aspect of their lives and work. When they are not telling stories they can be found singing in choirs, foraging for fungi, and working on their 1880s fixer-upper. They also write historical speculative fiction as MK Hardy.

Review :
This one goes on the shelf right between Night of the Dribbler and Aquaslash: nothing but a good time. The perfect balance of campy fun, eerie dread, and chlorine-drenched mayhem. There's no lifeguard on duty to save readers from this chlorinated gorefest. Splasher is a cursed whirlpool of horror and heart, some still bleeding, swirling about the page in brilliant arterial character arcs and pathos. Just when you thought it was safe to hop back in the pool, you have Billie Host's haunted romp to drown in. Had me gripped. It's SUCH a great read! Point Horror meets It Follows in this dread-soaked supernatural slasher, which brings new meaning to the term 'bloodbath'. With its queer heroes and ghostly mystery, this was equal parts eerie and evocative, and I loved every blood-dripping page. Obsessed. Such a fun read - reminded me of Final Destination. Watery, spooky Y2K fun with a heart! A playful Point Horror-style story, for those who like a little bloodshed and trauma while sunning themselves on a holiday beach. The characters are lively and interesting and you care about them, which feels like it should be a cardinal sin in this sort of mega-death drama, but it really works. The crux of any horror novel, and particularly pop horror, is that there simply has to be suspension of disbelief, and so a balance must be found between the extreme world of the story and the stability of the familiar world we all live in...This is a tough balance to find, but this book does find it, managing to keep those inevitable nuisance questions at bay...impressive and enjoyable. As if plucked from the shelves of your local Blockbuster, Splasher is a glorious B-movie extravaganza reflecting the best of classic horror and 2000s nostalgia. The punning title alone is enough to earn Billie Host’s Splasher a mention. Splasher is riotous fun — spooky, bloody, and spilling over with 2000s nostalgia. Between the increasingly horrific accidents (who knew there were so many ways to get hurt in a pool?) and my growing attachment to its irresistible cast, this book didn't give me a second to catch my breath, and I'll never smell chlorine again without thinking of it. Prepare not to put it down once you start it, and good luck ever getting in the water again once you've finished. An exciting venture into the world of competition swimming, Splasher is packed with 2000's era nostalgia and characters you can't help but love - or love to hate. I found Splasher to be a fun take on the slasher genre with viscerally gory moments that will make me second-guess jumping into the deep end of a pool.