Anyone who saw the cover art for Angela Sylvaine’s novella Chopping Spree may be expecting a flashback to the heydays of the 80s slasher.
When high school junior, Penny, lands a job at one of its trendy stores at Eden Hills mall, 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.
Interestingly, after going down the 80s slasher route with a Chopping Mall/The Initiation plot Sylvaine flips the narrative and takes it in another exciting direction. Some of the references are a little on point, including the 80s pop playlist that plays in the shopping mall as the chaos unfolds.
This is quick-paced and puts tonnes of story into its 70 pages and even gives scope for follow-ups I would be intrigued to read.
A fun and fast debut read.
Chopping Spree by Angela Sylvaine is released on 1st April 2021.
