Heads Will Roll is one of my favorite stories of the past five years, so reading Josh Winning‘s latest book was a no-brainer. While it’s definitely different, Be Still My Unbeating Heart still felt like a Winning book (pun-intended) with a lighthearted, funny, and even romantic, yet horrifying and a little disturbing. A mix I never knew I needed.
Bastian may be a vampire, but he doesn’t bite…Not anymore, at least.
These days, Bastian just wants to live his best undead life: visit charming Italian villages, maybe dance in the square with a cute boy, all with Whitby, his best friend (and magical talking cat) by his side. What he doesn’t want? To stumble across a dead body on the beach, a girl who appears to have been killed by a vampire.
It wasn’t Bastian. He swears—on his own grave.
But the local police chief doesn’t trust Bastian, or any vampire, for that matter, so he assigns detective Nico De Luca to keep an eye on him until his trial. And while Bastian normally wouldn’t complain about having a gorgeous, mysterious man by his side, he has more important things to worry about, because the police chief has called the Vampire Council, and if the real killer is still at large when they arrive, the whole town could be in danger. As more bodies begin to pile up, Bastian, Whitby, and De Luca must get to the bottom of who in Vernazza is framing vampires, before it’s too late.
Be Still My Unbeating Heart is a wonderful blend of murder mystery with a campy vampire romance story. Bastian is a charming and witty vegetarian vampire with Whitby a talking sidekick cat. Yes, the most surprising part of that sentence was that Bastian is a vegetarian and not that his cat talks. This campy horror was what made the story so enjoyable to read. I love my slasher, bloody, and gory stories, but sometimes this mix of campy horror with romance takes a bit of the edge off and gives a different type of enjoyment.
Winning crafts a story with plenty of mystery, red herrings, and twists that keeps you guessing and on your feet throughout. Again, another way to set this story apart for the crowd. What made it special was how I never really got confused, even with all the turns and surprises. It was a breezy, enjoyable, and mysterious read that surprised me from the outset. Not what I was expecting from Winning, but in the best possible way.
Not surprising to fans of Winning, but Josh scripts a story with great queer representation and joyful LGBTQ+ romance, which I thought would be difficult in a vampire horror story, but done so well here. The representation comes from a heartfelt place, allowing for it to feel organic and part of the story and not just added for effect. It’s meaningful and beautiful.
Having waited a few years for the next book from Winning, I had hoped for another slasher like Heads Will Roll, but got this campy vampire romance horror instead. That might sound like a let down, but is honestly the opposite. I was so glad that Winning came out swinging with a different type of tale that had me guessing and surprised from the beginning. What a joy and horror at the same time.
Be Still My Unbeating Heart by Josh Winning completely won me over. It’s odd, fun, romantic, and just the right amount of horrifying, loving every minute of it. The book may not have been what I was expecting from Winning as a followup to Heads Will Roll, but is exactly the style of tale that stays with you. A campy and clever vampire murder mystery.
Be Still My Unbeating Heart hits bookstores everywhere on August 4, 2026 from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. The audiobook, narrated by George Weightman, is available for preorder via Libro.fm!
