Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC and Bantam Books, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of Scary Movie Night in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Bantam Books / Random House Audio
Published: July 14, 2026
Summary:
In this nail-biting thriller, a horror-themed birthday party turns deadly when guests start disappearing—and the birthday girl realizes that she must face a long-buried secret to make it out alive.
Tippi is ready for a fresh start. After breaking off her engagement to an increasingly demanding, controlling, and emotionally unstable man, she is newly inspired to do whatever it takes to put herself first. Plus, her thirty-fifth birthday is coming a perfect occasion to ring in this new era. Tippi’s friends see the opportunity, too, and lean into her love of horror films by throwing her a lavish theme party at a secluded mansion, where everyone dresses as characters from iconic scary movies. But Tippi’s attempts to enjoy the night are shattered when she starts receiving terrifying messages from her ex, Oliver, to expose a secret she was ready to take to the grave.
At first, Tippi can’t believe her eyes. Oliver moved across the country after they broke up—he can’t have crashed her party. Could one of her friends have found out? But when her guests begin to disappear one by one, it becomes clear that the threats have very real consequences. And the messages make clear one the call is coming from inside the house.
As Tippi is forced to navigate the deception of those closest to her, she realizes that in the end, some things are indeed like in the movies, and she’ll do whatever it takes to just survive the night.
My thoughts:
This is my 1st time reading Miranda Smith but it definitely won’t be my last. In fact, I already have her previous book, Smile for the Cameras, on my shelf — in fact, if you saw my Haunt the Readers tbr post, you saw that book! And yes…Miranda will be there and I cannot wait but even better, I’ll be seeing her tomorrow night for the launch of this book, Scary Movie Night!!
This was such a fun, crazy read! While I wasn’t familiar with any of the horror movies mentioned…I know, I know — I need to fix that asap!! — I did love how they played a part and it has me eager to now watch them all! Plus, a good locked-room mystery is always a huge win for me and boy did this one keep me guessing all the way until the end. Between the twists, the red herrings, the secrets that seemed to be revealed at just the right moment, and the old mansion that created the perfect atmospheric setting, I couldn’t put this one down.
Audio thoughts:
This was incredible on audio, with the narrator, Ina Barron, doing a fantastic job bringing the story to life. She infused just the right amount of tension and suspense into her voice as needed.
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