It’s summer camp time, which also means it’s summer slasher time, which also means it’s time for the same old slasher story…well not this time. Craig DiLouie keeps on the road of taking played out stories and making them fresh and unique with a summer slasher told from a new perceptive with The Summer Fun Massacre.
It’s 1992, and in the heat of Texas, camp Summer Fun rests by a crystalline lake surrounded by a shady forest. The counselors have set out the kayaks, prepped the kitchens, and refurbished the cabins. Now, on the night before camp begins, a bonfire and the teenage counselors’ rites of passage await.
But the camp has a horrifying history. In the ’80s, there was a massacre that left a sole survivor. One final girl. The killer never caught.
Deputy Tom Bailey is always on edge this time of year. There are rumors that the woods are haunted. That the killer might one day return. Tom has deeply personal ties to the ’80s massacre, and those ties have plagued his dreams.
Then Tom gets a call reporting bloodcurdling screams coming from the camp. The real nightmare is just beginning…
With his latest few books, which I have actually liked fairly well, DiLouie attempted to tell new and exciting stories based around tried and true concepts in the horror genre. In How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive he tackles the cursed film subgenre and with My Ex, the Antichrist he leans into the cursed band/music space. Now, The Summer Fun Massacre heads down the path of a summer camp slasher, but again, DiLouie makes this story his own.
In The Summer Fun Massacre, DiLouie tells the story from the point-of-view of the police, detectives, and other law enforcement opposed to what you’d expect of the final girl. While we do get some story from our survivor, it’s mostly Deputy Bailey as well as his co-workers who take the lead. This makes this summer slasher feel a lot more like a crime detective mystery instead of a straight forward horror. While it took me by surprise, and a few pages to get used to, it was a fun new take on the subgenre.
DiLouie does a wonderful job at keeping us on our toes throughout, guessing at who the big bad might be. At times I had pegged a member of law enforcement such as the Deputy or even the Sheriff, sometimes I had a random person in the crosshairs, but there is also this folklore thread woven throughout that makes you feel something mysterious and supernatural is at fault. This kept me turning the pages to see what would settle out at the end.
What made me struggle, just a hair (see what I did there), was the high and lows of the pacing as well as some moments where the story confused me a bit. These criticisms are ones I feel are merely personal ones and didn’t affect my feelings towards the book overall as it was a fun, quick read.
The Summer Fun Massacre is a great addition to Craig DiLouie’s books which take familiar horror tropes and finds a fresh angle to make them feel fresh. Shifting the focus from the usual final girl perspective to law enforcement offers trying to unravel this murder mystery, makes this story feel equally slasher horror and detective thriller. The Summer Fun Massacre is a clever reinvention of the summer camp slasher that had me guessing until the very end. Plus, this is the first of a duology, so we can expect more in November 2026 with The Yule Day Slaughter.
The Summer Fun Massacre is available at bookstores everywhere from Run For It. The audiobook, narrated by Garrett Michael Brown & Elizabeth Cappuccino, is available at Libro.fm!
