Slasher Summer: A Novel by E. L. Chen (Paperback) (PREORDER)

Fiction - Horror - Slasher - Thrillers - Suspense - Coming of Age - LGBTQ+ 

RELEASE DATE: 6/23/2026 (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER'S WAREHOUSE) 

In this campy love letter to the slasher films of the 1980s, seven friends reunite for a weekend of fun—only to be hunted down by a cold-blooded killer. But the real horror is not being able to escape who you were in high school...

The sleepy town of Cedar Lake is best known as the shooting location of the campy ’80s horror flick Slasher. In high school, preppy Patrick, jock Jason, cheerleader Tiffany, stoner Freddy, goth Jennifer, and nerdy Mikey had played the cast of Slasher during midnight showings, with virginal Carrie as the Final Girl, of course.

Years later, the friends reunite at the remote cabin where Slasher was filmed. They've changed since high school—Carrie found a boyfriend, Patrick came out, Mikey bulked up, and, well, Freddy's still stoned—and they're looking forward to a weekend to catch up. But when night falls, and the eponymous masked killer is spotted, the reunion takes a deadly turn. The friends discover their tires deflated and the phone line disconnected, and soon they’re being stalked by a mysterious assailant. Is someone trying to make their Slasher experience as authentic as possible?

One thing is for sure. Before the night is over, they each will have to take on the role they thought they'd left behind.

AUTHOR BIO: 

E. L. Chen is the author of Sweetside Motel and One of Us Is Already Dead. Her YA fantasy Summerwood/Winterwood was longlisted for the Sunburst and recommended as a Best Book for Kids and Teens by the Canadian Children's Book Centre, and her short fiction has appeared in venues such as Strange Horizons, On Spec, and The Dark. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her son and a towering TBR pile.

" Slasher Summer is a masterful tribute to the genre, weaving together hilarity and vicious murders before flipping the lovable formula on its head. Chen's respect and love for the familiar tropes go much deeper than blood and gore. You could not ask for a better time. This is truly a slasher story after my own heart." --Vincent Tirado, author of You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom