I received this book for free from the Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Small Town Slasher by Stephanie Rose Series: Woods Bay #1
Published by Death By TBR Books on August 4 2026
Pages: 157
Format: eARC
Source: Author
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The nitty-gritty: Small Town Slasher delivers some killer action, but the character development falls short and the story overall lacks any heart or emotion.
Note: This is a review of the novella-length version of the book.
Stephanie Rose is the owner of Death By TBR Books, a horror bookshop, and she’s also a writer and publisher. I follow her on Instagram, so when she announced her new book and asked for reviewers, I was excited to check out Small Town Slasher. The publication date changed several times, and I recently received an email stating that the original novel had been reworked as a novella, which is what I ended up reading. The whole thing is a bit confusing, and now I’m wondering what I missed by not reading the full length novel first (and at this point, does that novel even exist?). In any case, the bottom line is that Small Town Slasher was just OK for me.
The story revolves around a horror/true crime podcaster named Jenna who recently lost her partner Charlie in a car accident. Before she died, Charlie was going to surprise Jenna with a trip to Woods Bay, Washington to stay in a horror-themed cabin. Jenna receives an email with a reservation confirmation and decides to make the trip, even though she has severe anxiety and doesn’t like to fly.
When she arrives in Woods Bay, she’s told that a serial killer called the Woods Bay Slayer, who went on a murder spree twenty-five years ago, seems to be killing again. Jenna hires an Uber driver named Erica to take her to the cabin, but soon after she arrives, a masked man shows up, breaks into her cabin, and attacks her.
Jenna escapes and finds help, but the killer is just getting started. Over the course of one frantic night, Jenna must figure out a way to stay alive and uncover the killer’s identity.
Stephanie Rose is obviously a fan of all things horror, and she’s made Jenna a fan as well. Jenna often refers to her favorite horror movies and books (like Scream) throughout the story, and I enjoyed all these references, especially when the story seems to mimic them at times. I also loved the idea of a horror-themed cabin, which even included the famous bathroom in Room 237 from The Shining. I was disappointed that the novella doesn’t include the movie quotes at the beginning of each chapter that other reviewers are talking about. I think it would have added a nice extra layer to the story.
If you’re here for the slasher action—and I don’t know why you wouldn’t be if you pick up this book—it’s very well done. There’s one scene that takes place in a projection booth that was so much fun. And overall, I think the logistics of having the killer move around town and show up in unexpected places worked great. The story is set during a snowstorm, so on top of the uncertainty of a killer on the loose, the snowy conditions add to the excitement.
However, Small Town Slasher was a pretty bland story overall. The characters are mostly one dimensional and I never felt connected enough to them to care whether they lived or died. There’s very little time to get to know anyone before the slaughter starts, so the timing of events felt rushed. One of the most important things for me in a horror story—actually any story—is that I feel something for the characters, and I want to see those characters feeling something as well. There was very little emotion in the story at all, as if the characters were just going through the motions.
The actual mystery and the final reveal of the killer didn’t make much sense either. The killings in the present are connected to something that happened in the past, but the author never gives a plausible explanation as to why. I think revenge is involved in some way, but without more backstory, the revenge plot fell flat.
The story of Woods Bay will continue in a second book, but at this point I’m not interested in continuing the series.
With thanks to the author/publisher for providing a review copy.
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