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Smile for the Cameras: A Novel
An actress desperate to reclaim her fame must survive the real-life plot of the horror movie that made her famous in this psychologically twisted locked-room thriller.
“A gloriously glossy solid slasher with more unexpected twists than a roller coaster . . . Fans of ’90s horror flicks (like me) are going to lap this up.”—John Marrs, USA Today bestselling author of The Family Experiment
Twenty years ago, Ella Winters was the it girl. She made a name for herself in Hollywood and throughout America as the sole survivor in the cult-classic slasher Grad Night. But the real horror is what happened when the cameras weren’t rolling—something terrible that Ella and her co-stars agreed never to speak of again. Shortly after the movie’s premiere, Ella disappeared from the acting scene under the pretense of caring for her ailing mother, hoping for a quiet life out of the spotlight to ease her guilty mind.
Since her mother’s passing, Ella has decided to return to the silver screen. And with the cast and crew of Grad Night in the process of filming a reunion documentary, Ella has an express ticket back into Hollywood’s good graces. Weighed down by the secret she’s been keeping all these years, Ella apprehensively makes the trip to the original set—a cabin in rural Tennessee—to reunite with her castmates for the first time in more than a decade. But when the actors begin to meet the same gruesome fates as the characters they originally played, falling victim to someone dressed as the Grad Night villain, it’s clear their secret is out.
Now, the question is: Can the final girl survive one last nightmare?
“A gloriously glossy solid slasher with more unexpected twists than a roller coaster . . . Fans of ’90s horror flicks (like me) are going to lap this up.”—John Marrs, USA Today bestselling author of The Family Experiment
Twenty years ago, Ella Winters was the it girl. She made a name for herself in Hollywood and throughout America as the sole survivor in the cult-classic slasher Grad Night. But the real horror is what happened when the cameras weren’t rolling—something terrible that Ella and her co-stars agreed never to speak of again. Shortly after the movie’s premiere, Ella disappeared from the acting scene under the pretense of caring for her ailing mother, hoping for a quiet life out of the spotlight to ease her guilty mind.
Since her mother’s passing, Ella has decided to return to the silver screen. And with the cast and crew of Grad Night in the process of filming a reunion documentary, Ella has an express ticket back into Hollywood’s good graces. Weighed down by the secret she’s been keeping all these years, Ella apprehensively makes the trip to the original set—a cabin in rural Tennessee—to reunite with her castmates for the first time in more than a decade. But when the actors begin to meet the same gruesome fates as the characters they originally played, falling victim to someone dressed as the Grad Night villain, it’s clear their secret is out.
Now, the question is: Can the final girl survive one last nightmare?
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Community Reviews
I received this DRC from NetGalley.
This was a pretty fast, uncomplicated read. I thought the first twist was kind of dumb and just felt like a forced way for there to be a reveal. The slower reveal of one of the characters being a bad person was a bit better. The structure was interesting, with excerpts from the movie script throughout. The characters felt a bit shallow, but maybe that was on purpose to mimic a horror movie (although it didn't feel like there was enough slasher)? Overall, it was OK since I was able to read through it pretty quickly.
This was a pretty fast, uncomplicated read. I thought the first twist was kind of dumb and just felt like a forced way for there to be a reveal. The slower reveal of one of the characters being a bad person was a bit better. The structure was interesting, with excerpts from the movie script throughout. The characters felt a bit shallow, but maybe that was on purpose to mimic a horror movie (although it didn't feel like there was enough slasher)? Overall, it was OK since I was able to read through it pretty quickly.
I really enjoyed this one. Ella was a compelling, believable character, who I ended up caring about, and the mix of present-day tension, past flashbacks, and movie script scenes made for a unique read. The setting of the solitary cabin added a quiet sense of dread, as cabins often do, and the twists near the end genuinely surprised me.
It lost a bit of believability in the final stretch, when the killings started, especially with characters stopping to reflect on events that happened 20 years and debating how to cover things up, while in immediate danger. It didn’t seem to make sense to me that people would be having calm discussions instead of panicking and being in survival mode, when people are being killed!
Overall, it was emotionally engaging and well-paced. I do really really wish the synopsis hadn’t spoiled a major plot point that doesn’t happen until more than halfway through. Still, a strong and memorable read. Will definitely check this author out further.
It lost a bit of believability in the final stretch, when the killings started, especially with characters stopping to reflect on events that happened 20 years and debating how to cover things up, while in immediate danger. It didn’t seem to make sense to me that people would be having calm discussions instead of panicking and being in survival mode, when people are being killed!
Overall, it was emotionally engaging and well-paced. I do really really wish the synopsis hadn’t spoiled a major plot point that doesn’t happen until more than halfway through. Still, a strong and memorable read. Will definitely check this author out further.
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