Book Review: The Cold Read by Tara Laskowski
Solid Turn Of The Millennium Style Slasher Horror. If you're a fan of those turn of the Millennium slasher style horror movies like Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Final Destination, and oh so many more, you're going to love this combination of that overall vibe with a storytelling technique that goes all the way back to (and really far beyond) The Bard himself (yes, there are at least *some* connections even there - at least to my own hyper-connected mind).
Told primarily in three different perspectives, one thing that does get difficult at times - even deep into the tale! - is keeping two of them in particular distinct in your own head, as both are written very similarly in first person narration and both are female characters, so many of the context clues that would separate a male voice from a female voice, for example, don't apply here. Still, the characters themselves are complex and compelling within this setting and story, even as they are both also quite ancient archetypes overall.
And yes, this is absolutely one of those stories with meta level comments that never really gets overly preachy about anything, just more kind of tongue in cheek nods to "hey, I know I'm writing a slasher horror based book here, I know that world quite well, and here are some of my inspirations and thoughts on the genre"... completely within world and within the story being told.
One other issue that will be at least somewhat divisive (though I personally always *love* to see) is that the ending... well, let's just say that there are absolutely precedents for this within the overall genre this book is firmly within. ;)
Overall truly a fun book, well told, that uses both its characters and its setting quite well indeed and is just scary enough and just thrilling enough to raise the pulse a bit without being so scared that you'll never enter a dark area ever again.
Very much recommended.
This review of The Cold Read by Tara Laskowski was originally written on November 15, 2026.
