Chopping Spree – Angela Sylvaine

Eden Hills, Minnesota is famous for one thing—its ’80s inspired Fashion Mall. When high school junior, Penny, lands a job at one of its trendy stores, she notices her teen coworkers all wear a strange symbol they won’t explain. Suspicious but wanting to belong, she agrees to stay after closing for a party in the closed store. Her fun turns to terror when Penny discovers a mortally wounded boy and learns there is a killer loose in the mall. Soon the teens are running for their lives.

 

I recieved a review copy from the publisher through Netgalley

 

Despite my claims of being a Crime and Thriller blogger I do enjoy other types of books too.  Eagle eyed visitors to the blog will have noticed a few fantasy titles down the years and I am very partial to a good horror story.  When you grow up reading Stephen King, James Herbert, Richard Laymon and Shaun Hutson you know there is absolutely zero chance you will allow yourself to miss out on a book called Chopping Spree.  And look at that cover – it screams to be read.

Chopping Spree is set in an 80’s themed Mall in Minnesota and the reader follows Penny who (at 16) is still in school but she also has a job in one of the high profile fashion stores.  We see her finding her feet in her new job and her nervousness around the highschool heart-throb who also works in the shop. But any teen crush problems are going to fade into insignificance when Penny is confronted in the mall by a man wearing a wolf mask and warning her of danger.

As the mall closes for the evening Penny and her colleagues are locked in after hours with a dangerous would-be killer and that is just the start of Penny’s problems.  Why do her colleagues all wear the same strange symbol? Why is there a hidden door inside her shop? And then people start to die.

Chopping Spree is a novella and I made rapid progress through the story. Events are almost entirely concerned with a single evening of Penny’s life (the last evening?) so it suited the novella length and breaking reading during such a tight timeframe felt a bit wrong – I wanted to keep going.  In terms of horror it is assuredly a tale of terror and peril but it is light on gore and although I haven’t seen Chopping Spree tagged as being a YA read that’s where I felt it could be presented.

For an 80’s music fan there is a great soundtrack to Chopping Spree.  Songs play in the mall and Angela Sylvain blends the songs perfectly with the action on page.  There was also a playlist at the end of the book which I plan to add to my digital library.  These extra touches for readers are always appreciated.

Fun was had with Chopping Spree. I do enjoy a horror tale which stands up without been too ridiculous and the story worked really well for me. Penny is a likeable lead, the mall is a great setting for a horror tale with events contained with no chance of escape and the actual danger is *redacted* but perfectly in keeping with the background.

 

Chopping Spree will be published in digial format on 1 April 2021.  You can pre-order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08W4R1NGL/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i6