Burn the Negative

By: Josh Winning

Narrated by: Stephanie Cannon

*Long-listed for the Bram Stoker Award*

In this incendiary mash-up of horror and suspense, a notorious slasher film is remade…and the curse that haunted it is reawakened.

Fresh off the plane in L.A., here to visit the set of a new streaming horror series, journalist Laura Warren sees a man jumping from a bridge, landing right behind her car. It’s started, she thinks. Because the series she’s reporting on is a remake of a ’90s horror flick. A cursed ’90s horror flick, which she starred in as a child—and has been running from her whole life.

When Laura was eight years old, eight members of the cast and crew died in ways that eerily mirrored the movie’s on-screen deaths, making the film a cult classic—and ruining her life. She changed her name and her accent, dyed her hair, and moved across the Atlantic. But some scripts don’t want to stay buried.

Now, as the body count rises again, Laura finds herself on the run with her aspiring actress sister and a jaded psychic, hoping to end the curse once and for all.

©2023 Josh Winning (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

**One of Book Riot's Most Anticipated Beach Reads of 2023**

**One of Goodreads’ Biggest Horror Books for Summer**

One of Stephen Graham Jones' 3 Horror Picks for Capes & Tights

"Burn the Negative is a creepy, twisty, compulsively readable haunted house of a book built from horror movies and our obsessive response to them. You'll root for Laura and fear the Needle Man. Be sure to make the popcorn and dim the lights."—Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts

"A spine-tingling, rip-roaring yarn that hearkens back to the thrills and chills of the best ’80s slasher horror. Hand this to readers who liked The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix, My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones, or My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite."—Library Journal

"Smart, fast-paced, and devilishly clever."—Shaun Hamill, author of A Cosmology of Monsters

Almost as good as The Shadow Glass

It kept me guessing!
I was not sure until the end if there was a curse, other paranormal elements or just a “bad guy”; and if it WAS a “bad guy” who that might be.
The author had good pacing. He gave enough info about the past—of the characters themselves and Guesthouse movie—and also the current events. He hinted at things but you didn’t feel “led”.
I liked it. I REALLY liked the last 30 minutes or so. Not a super deep read. But very entertaining!

Scary good time

Great voice acting and it was a fun spooky story that kept me guessing and entertained.

You won’t want to put it down… so you can just be done with it

There are elements that are good-ish. The concept was interesting and it will have you guessing at who’s doing what or what’s happening, but I also think that in doing so, it left loose ends. The narrator was tolerable but not great. It’s interesting enough to not DNF, but I probably won’t read it again, which sucks because I used a credit on it.. maybe wait until it’s free.

Chilling Twists & Vivid Scares

Hollywood can be terrifying! I stayed up late listening to this fun, twisty tale. No wonder it’s long-listed for the Bram Stoker award for best horror novel. The American child star turned English journalist protagonist presented an accent challenge for the narrator, and I think she did well.

Poor voice acting

the narrator has created a strange British accent as well as a very cheesey American accent. It would have been better to just read the book in her natural voice.