It’s a Midsommar night’s Scream in this blood-soaked thriller set at a remote healing retreat from horror author Brian McAuley.

Hannah has been running from her demons ever since she emerged from a harrowing wilderness trip without her fiancé. No one knows exactly what happened the day Ben died, and Hannah would like to keep it that way… even if his ghost still haunts her with vivid waking nightmares that are ruining her life. So when her friend group gets an exclusive invitation to a restorative spiritual retreat in Joshua Tree, Hannah reluctantly agrees in search of a fresh start.

Despite her skepticism of the strange Guru Pax and his belief in the supernatural world, Hannah soon finds healing through all the yoga, sound baths, and hot springs offered at the tech-free haven. But this peaceful journey of self-discovery quickly descends into a violent fight for self-preservation when a mysterious killer starts picking off retreat attendees in increasingly gruesome ways. As the body count rises and Hannah’s sanity frays, she’ll have to confront her dark past and uncover the true nature of a ruthless monster hellbent on killing her vibe for good.

I received an advance galley of this book courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Slashers are my favorite corner of the horror world. I’ll take them in any form: movies, books, campy TV shows. Give me a masked killer and a group of unlucky victims, and I’m set. So when I first heard about this book, I jumped on it. I mean, yoga retreats and brutal murders in the same story? That’s basically tailor-made for me.

The setup is classic slasher: a group of friends heads out to an isolated location, each of them dragging their own baggage along, only to find out they’re not alone. This time, the destination is a supposed “healing retreat” in Joshua Tree, complete with sound baths, yoga sessions, and a guru who seems equal parts spiritual leader and salesman. The tech-free, cactus-dotted desert setting makes for a perfect horror backdrop. The stillness of nature just begs to be broken by something violent, and McAuley definitely leans into that.

At the heart of the book is Hannah, our final-girl-in-training. She’s carrying the heavy weight of a wilderness tragedy: her fiancé died, and no one really knows what happened out there. Hannah wants peace, but what she gets is a fresh round of nightmares. She’s a great character. She’s messy, haunted, and not always likable, which honestly works. I never want my slasher leads to be too polished or perfect. I want them to make mistakes. I want to yell at them for making the wrong choice. Hannah delivers on that.

The group dynamics feel familiar. Everyone slides right into their roles: the meat head, the perfect blonde, the loyal friend, the loveable dork. If you’ve watched a single Friday the 13th, you know how these archetypes work. It makes the read extra fun because part of the joy in a slasher is guessing who’ll go down first and how bad it’s going to get. And let me tell you, the kills do not disappoint. They’re creative, gruesome, and absolutely aimed at horror fans who love the spectacle of it all.

The pacing worked, but the intensity I expect—especially in the final act—faltered a bit. The beginning of the story moves at a decent pace as we get through the setup, but then it goes through waves. We’d have a kill, followed by more setup, and then another kill, rinse, repeat. Also, the end felt a little rushed.

My biggest gripe, though, was the killer’s motive. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say it didn’t land with the weight I wanted. Slashers often live or die (pun intended) by their killer’s reveal, and while the violence here hits hard, the reasoning behind it felt a little thin. Not enough to ruin the experience, but I did close the book wishing for a touch more punch in that department.

That said, this book is absolutely worth a spot on your Halloween TBR. It’s fast, gory, and unapologetically fun—exactly what a slasher should be. If you’re looking for something to read with the lights off and a blanket pulled up to your chin, this one will do the trick. Just maybe skip the yoga retreat invitations for a while.