Michael B. (Ichabod) reviewed on 9/2/2021 + 112 more book reviews

Jade Daniels is a slasher movie fanatic. In "My Heart is a Chainsaw '' she clearly sees life in her hometown of Proofrock morphing into a slasher movie situation.  Jade is both thrilled and horrified at all the signs, all the prerequisites shared by her bloody films playing out in front of her. Of course, no one believes this troubled girl even as the body count begins to rise. She is seen as an unstable teenager, a product of poor upbringing, a girl who recently attempted suicide. Jade even begins to doubt herself-- who's to say this horror is going to follow her guidelines? This is not a script, this is real life... probably.

Stephen Graham Jones fills this novel with wonderfully gory twists. And be forewarned, there is a lot of gore. It starts off with an innocent Norwegian tourist couple getting naked and canoeing at night in spooky old Indian Lake...what could go wrong? Jade fills us in on the sordid history of the area, the legends and brutal murders, all the local lore. She writes essays to her English teacher spelling out what we are to expect in these doomed circumstances. Jade determines who the killer is and identifies the "final girl", the heroine needing preparation in order to triumph over the slasher at the finale.

Unfortunately all this takes time. There are definite lulls between the opening action and final showdowns. Keep the faith when things seem like they have bogged down, the payoff is well worth it. Like the very best thrill rides the final punch packs a wallop-- one we do not see coming.

4 stars for the magnificent Jade Daniels character!

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