Well, That Was an Interesting Snakebite

 

TITLE: Breathe In, Bleed Out

AUTHOR: Brian McAuley

PUBLISHER: Poisoned Pen Press

PUBLISHING DATE: September 2, 2025

PAGES: 304   

SOURCE: ARC 

FROM GOODREADS: Hannah has been running from her demons ever since she emerged from a harrowing wilderness trip without her fiancé. No one knows exactly what happened the day Ben died, and Hannah would like to keep it that way... even if his ghost still haunts her with vivid waking nightmares that are ruining her life. So when her friend group gets an exclusive invitation to a restorative spiritual retreat in Joshua Tree, Hannah reluctantly agrees in search of a fresh start. 

Despite her skepticism of the strange Guru Pax and his belief in the supernatural world, Hannah soon finds healing through all the yoga, sound baths, and hot springs offered at the tech-free haven. But this peaceful journey of self-discovery quickly descends into a violent fight for self-preservation when a mysterious killer starts picking off retreat attendees in increasingly gruesome ways. As the body count rises and Hannah’s sanity frays, she’ll have to confront her dark past and uncover the true nature of a ruthless monster hellbent on killing her vibe for good.

MY THOUGHTS: I love a good slasher book, and this is one of the best I've read in a while. And those who know me know I'm terrified of snakes so if I found a snake scene interesting and unique, that says something.

Hannah is coasting through her residency high on prescription drugs and fueled by nightmares of her fiancé Ben's death. She makes a potentially catastrophic mistake at work one night when leads her to having some time off which happens to coincide with a spiritual retreat set up by her best friend, Tess.  Ever since Ben's death, Hannah has been avoiding her friends and after some convincing, she agrees to accompany Tess and three other college pals to Joshua Tree.  However, Hannah soon learns this was not a good time to stop her medication cold turkey.  Is someone out to kill everyone at the retreat or has Hannah's demons finally caught up with her. 

This book was so much fun and perfect for spooky season.  It's compared to Midsommar and Scream, and having seen both of those movies, I would say it lives up to those comparisons.  Hannah's friends are a mixed group of personalities and attitudes, and I have to admit, I was actually cheering on some of the deaths which happened.  I also really liked Hannah in the beginning, but towards the end, realized she was not necessarily the victim she had been playing for over a year.  Guru Pax was an interesting character and one of my favorite characters ended up being Kimi, Pax's assistance.

Breathe In, Bleed Out is a great addition to my slasher collection.  I can easily see it playing out on the big screen and my only real complaint was the number of twists thrown out at the end.  They came so fast they kind of gave me whiplash for a moment.  I will definitely be reading more from this author.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS