"Beware the Cirque on Solstice Night
Nine souls are needed for sacrifice
Behind these gates lay dread and fear
Doomed are those who enter here."

This was a fun and campy summer slasher told between two timelines and centered on one diabolical amusement park, Cirque Berserk. In so few pages, Jessica Guess dials up the gore once a group of bored teens arrive at the gates of the dilapidated park looking for thrills to commemorate their high school graduation. What these teens don't realize is that waiting in the park is another group of friends who play a game every year. A game that requires the sacrifice of nine souls in exchange for their immortality. The stuff of urban legends and haunted tales whispered at sleepovers emerge from the pages of 'Cirque Berserk' with a relentless pace and packing an emotional punch.

Things I loved - a Black girl as the star in this novella, the cultural references to the late 80s and early 90s, the humidity and heat of the Florida setting, and the believable and fully-formed characters.

One downside is that there are a few typos that will take you out of the narrative and a closer editing job upon reprint is recommended. Because this story is so flawless otherwise and it deserves the best.

Read with the Queens of Horror Book Club group on Instagram.