A Book A Week

September has arrived, bringing a slight chill to the air. Though the season is slowly changing here in South Texas, at least the temperatures aren’t as blistering as they were this summer! Even though it’s a bit early, I couldn’t resist diving into my favorite fall traditions—opening the windows to welcome the breeze, indulging in pumpkin spice everything, and, of course, starting some spooky season reads. I turned to a reliable favorite, Stephen Graham Jones. His previous novels, My Heart is a Chainsaw and The Only Good Indians, delivered some genuine scares, so I was excited to pick up his latest, I Was a Teenage Slasher. As expected, this new book blends memorable characters, a fresh plot, and spine-tingling chills that kept me turning the pages.

Lampasas, Texas, is about as remote as it gets. In 1989, this small town looked much the same as it does today, sustained by oil wells and cotton fields, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else’s business because there’s little else to do. No one would have ever imagined that such a quiet town would produce a serial killer—least of all, the killer himself.

Tolly Driver considered himself a decent kid, even though he never quite fit in with the other teens in town. As he geared up for his senior year of high school, Tolly attended a party where most of his classmates gathered. But instead of blending in, he made a fool of himself, ending the night in a near-fatal accident that changed his life forever. That night sparked a transformation in Tolly, setting him on a dark path of revenge and turning him into a full-fledged serial killer.

I Was a Teenage Slasher might be Stephen Graham Jones' most accessible novel yet—at least as accessible as a story about a brutal serial killer can be. Jones takes the familiar tropes of a '90s teen slasher and gives them his own twisted spin. The story is told from the main character's perspective as he recounts his descent into darkness through a stream-of-consciousness flashback. Jones plays with the morally gray nature of his protagonist, adding a surprising sense of humor that provides some much-needed levity to the dark story. It’s a mix of classic slasher horror and a coming-of-age tale, resulting in a compelling page-turner I couldn’t put down. This is my favorite novel from Jones to date, and it was the perfect way to kick off my spooky season reading.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2024, 65)