Book Review: The Summer Fun Massacre by Craig DiLouie

 received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

The Summer Fun Massacre by Craig DiLouie

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Horror

Series: Book 1 of Slasher Season

Publisher: Run For It (June 16, 2026)

Length: 300 pages

Author Information: Website

I’ve become a big fan of Craig DiLouie over the years because of his knack for writing addictive, entertaining horror. So when I heard The Summer Fun Massacre was his take on the classic summer camp slasher, I was immediately sold. While it may not be your typical camp massacre story, it offers a fresh spin on the familiar formula, blending mystery and bloodshed into a novel that pays tribute to the genre while confidently carving out an identity of its own.

The year is 1992. Our story opens in the small town of Ledger, Texas, where Camp Summer Fun has finally reopened after sitting abandoned for nearly a decade following the horrific massacre of its counselors in the summer of 1983. The town wants to believe the nightmare is finally behind them, hoping the camp can once again become a place of laughter and happy childhood memories. But history has other plans. When a young deputy named Tom Bailey responds to what appears to be a false alarm at the camp late one night, he instead stumbles upon another bloodbath. The camp owner and several teenage counselors have been brutally murdered, just like what happened nine years earlier. And like before, there is a lone survivor, a traumatized teenage girl named Laura whom Tom stays with until help arrives at daybreak.

With an election right around the corner, Sheriff Buddy Jackson is desperate to close this case quickly. After all, the original massacre was never solved, and bringing a killer to justice would all but guarantee his reelection and cement his legacy. The problem is, there are precious few leads. Laura seems to think something supernatural slaughtered her friends, but Tom refuses to believe they’re dealing with anything other than a flesh-and-blood killer hiding behind a mask. The best chance of finding answers may lie with Marigold, the sole survivor of the 1983 massacre and Tom’s former girlfriend, whom he has never quite gotten over. Determined to uncover the truth, Tom begins digging into both crimes to find a connection, only to discover that some of Ledger’s darkest secrets have been buried for a reason.

I didn’t quite know what to expect going into The Summer Fun Massacre, but it didn’t take long before I realized I was having a blast. Most traditional slashers focus on the killings themselves, following a rising body count while the audience tries to guess the killer’s identity. While we certainly begin with that setup, instead of building everything around the carnage, DiLouie shifts attention to what happens in the aftermath. Again, we think we know the drill. In these types of stories, law enforcement often arrives too late, and if they care enough to investigate at all, they usually end up bungling it.

However, here we follow a protagonist who genuinely wants to solve the case. Tom is the kind of deputy who refuses to settle for easy answers, doggedly following every lead and second-guessing every assumption. He’s also perhaps a little naïve, unapologetically fond of detective movies, which gives him the idealistic view that good police work can still make a difference. Plus, he hasn’t yet become cynical after years on the job, and even when he’s surrounded by corrupt politics, all he wants is to do right by the victims. This makes him a very likeable character, but his complex past also makes him more than simply the stereotypical small-town hero.

Of course, this means the novel is less about being a nonstop gorefest and more about building tension though Tom’s investigative work. But as someone who enjoys police procedurals as much as horror, this combination was right up my alley. The way I see it, this story has the same foundation as a small-town murder case but layered over a slasher framework. That being said, I wouldn’t say the horror takes a back seat at all. DiLouie clearly knows and loves the slasher genre, and the book is packed with familiar tropes while still finding clever ways to play with them. There’s the setting of the summer camp, the threat of a masked killer, and the concept of the final girl which even gets its own twist. Topping it all off is an eerie town legend which adds just enough supernatural uncertainty to keep you wondering.

Ultimately, The Summer Fun Massacre is another entertaining, blood-soaked hit from Craig DiLouie. It reads like a loving homage to classic slashers while still blazing a path of its own, blending horror with an engaging detective mystery. The ending surprised me with some of its revelations, including the fact that Tom’s story is far from over. Apparently, a follow-up novel is already on the horizon, and I’m happy to know I’ll have a chance to follow him into another slasher investigation.