Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley is the horror slasher that I needed in my life. This book is smart with biting social commentary on the wellness craze. The writing is better than it needs to be (this is the second time I have said this about McAuley’s writing, and it is true). The novel is a slasher, but at its heart, it is a pretty gripping whodunit mystery. I predicted who the final 3 suspects would be, but kept going back and forth on who the killer/s was. The descriptions were just enough to play like movies in my mind. The kills were inventive, with each one ramping up the intensity. The story is about a woman dealing with the trauma after the death of her fiancé on vacation, only to be haunted by a masked killer on a yoga retreat. The story would be depressing in another writer’s hand, but McAuley writes such life and humor into his characters. Every character is pretending to be something they are not, which is the best place for a killer to hide. This story made me gasp, cringe, and laugh out loud. The pacing in this book is perfect. In the first line, there is a dead body, and many more to come. The story moves so fast, and it was so hard to put down. The ending was great, with a good twist at the end, and the perfect callback line. Breathe In, Bleed Out was fun, and if you are a fan of Scream, there’s a lot of clever references to it. Breathe In, Bleed Out was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award in Horror 2025. It did not make it to the final round. Breathe In, Bleed Out was published on September 2, 2025, by Poisoned Pen Press.

Why did I read Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley? I read a couple of short stories and his horror Christmas novella, Candy Cain Kills. I was very impressed with the writing and characterization. I knew about Brian’s writing from listening to horror podcasts, and he has become one of my favorite guests. He knows his stuff on both horror stories and movies. I got to meet Brian on a tour stop for Breathe In and Bleed Out. I had recently been to Joshua Tree on vacation, which added to my excitement to read this book. I got a Joshua Tree shirt on the trip and wore it to the signing to his delight. Brian McAuley was my favorite new author I discovered this year. I might try to sneak in Candy Cain Kills Again before Christmas.

Plot Summary: Hannah is dealing with the traumatic death of Ben, her fiancé. Ben died on a hiking trip shortly after proposing. Hannah is haunted by a vision of Ben, saying it was all your fault. The visions led to seeing a shrink and taking a hiatus after almost killing a patient at work as a nurse. Tess, a long-time friend who has grown increasingly concerned. She will not give up on her friend and invites her to an exclusive yoga and wellness retreat at Joshua Tree. On the way to the remote campsite, they hear a local legend about Waylon Barlow, a bank robber turned gold collector, who killed his crew as he made them dig deeper. Hannah starts seeing visions of Barlow everywhere. Is it madness, or did this evil mad come back? As the bodies start stacking up, Hannah will ask herself that. She does not trust Pax, the white guru, infringing on native customs, or Kimi, the rude native helper.

What I Liked: The mystery of the killer/s was done very well. The humor was great; it was like reading a sassy woman fighting her trauma. The legend of Waylon Barlow was written well enough that it stuck with me. The one character who uses yoga to escape the killer was both hilarious and tense. I love that they are flexing on their yoga skills in their head as they avoid the masked killer. The kills are very inventive and sometimes reflect the character’s dying. I noticed a couple of Scream movie Easter eggs. My favorite was the use of “red right hand”. The first line had me. This story is off to a fast start. The ending was great and satisfying. The final line that is said to the killer is a callback to a line earlier. The new context is perfect, and the way it relates to wellness. I loved the social commentary on wellness, in particular the appropriation of words and remedies from the indigenous people. The character reveals are all great. Everybody is hiding something, and it will all get revealed. At the end of the novel, there is an essay on Scream comparing it to an Agatha Christie mystery that is awesome. It made me look at Scream a little differently.

What I Disliked: I thought Ben, Hannah’s fiancé,’s death scene could have been better. It was unexpected, but I wanted a little bit more. I did not like that one of my favorite book/movie, Shutter Island, was spoiled. And the character laughs about it. I did think one part at the end, when a character passes out, the reader doesn’t know how much time passes. I felt that knowledge would have been helpful.

Recommendation: Breathe In, Bleed Out is well written and so much fun. It is a whodunit slasher with humorous social commentary. If you are a fan of Scream, the first one, you will get a little bit more out of it and find the Easter eggs. I think Brian McAuley has joined the company of Philip Fracassi and Stephen Graham Jones in elevating the slasher genre. The cool thing about this book is that if you just want a slasher, it is a great one. But, if you want to dig deeper and look at what McAuley is saying about the wellness industry, that is what makes this novel stand out.

Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley. I rated 4.8 out of 5.