Book Review: How to Survive Your Murder

How to Survive Your Murder
by Danielle Valentine
Review by Alex P
This is a fun book about a girl obsessed with horror films, who finds herself stuck in one. It has all the tired horror tropes, but delivers them in a fresh, exciting way. The tropes: A killer in a mask who is targeting pretty girls; our protagonist going back in time to relive the tragic day and find out who the real killer is; a handsome love interest who is just too good to be true. All of these are played out and overdone, but here they are revitalized and made for a new audience. It’s basically a campy 80s horror set in the present day, a modern slasher that you know is eventually going to be turned into a Halloween movie on some big streaming platform. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and, like the best horror films, it ends abruptly and bizarrely, with potential for a sequel.
I found myself constantly wanting to stop what I was doing and come back to this book, and obsessing over who in the world the killer was. I will say that as an avid horror enthusiast, I did figure it out, but it took me far longer than usual to guess who the chainsaw wielding madman was. I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of horror, or wants to escape reality for a while in a fun and engaging book, or fans of Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series. Age rating 13+.