Book Review: Candy Cain Kills by Brian McAuley

“Everything dies. Even pretty things.”

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Candy Cain Kills, the second novella in Shortwave Publishing’s Killer VHS Series, is a page-turning slasher told in dual timelines: December 2005 and December 1995. The present-day storyline follows the Los Angeles-based Werner family — Austin, his younger sister Fiona, and their parents, Greg and Dana — as they embark on a Christmas trip to the isolated, newly refurbished Thornton house in Nodland, California. Booked as a surprise, the holiday is a last-ditch effort to unite the strained family and save Greg and Dana’s floundering marriage.

As the cottage’s “lucky first tenants,” the Werners get far more than they anticipate when they discover that their abode was the site of a horrifying crime-turned-local-legend. Things only get worse from there when a snowstorm blankets the area, they hear strange noises and find an old camcorder containing a chilling recording, and Candy Cain comes “slashing through the snow” to give them the worst Christmas ever!

This novella is a horrific, gruesome, gore-soaked romp from start to finish that, like its predecessor Melon Head Mayhem, gifts readers with much more than violence and gore. It includes believable characters dealing with relatable issues concerning finances, relationships, aspirations, health, identity, and sexuality. Add to that creepy locals and creative, cringe-worthy, cinematic deaths and you’ve got a seriously fun read sure to be devoured by horror/slasher fans. After reading and loving both Melon Head Mayhem and Candy Cain Kills, this reader is officially signing herself up for any and all books included in the Killer VHS Series (and I do hope there will be many more!).

Thank you to Shortwave Publishing for providing a free digital ARC of this forthcoming release, which hits shelves on November 14, 2023.

❤Amanda