Advance Review - Soulcutter by Lexa Cain

The Soul Cutter is hunting again.

Seventeen-year-old Élan spends her free time videoing psychic scams and outing them online. Skepticism makes life safe—all the ghosts Élan encounters are fakes. When her estranged mother disappears from a film shoot in Egypt, Élan puts her medium-busting activities on hold and joins the search.

In Egypt, the superstitious film crew sucks at finding her mom. When a hotel guest is killed, whispers start—the locals think their legendary Soul Cutter has come back from the dead. Élan's only ally is Ramsey, a film-crew intern, but he’s arrogant, stubborn—and hiding dangerous secrets.

When Élan discovers the Soul Cutter is no scam, she finds herself locked in a deadly battle against a supernatural killer with more than her mother’s life at stake.

Élan is fighting for her very soul.

Wow – what an original premise! Elan is used to exposing psychic scams via her online site, but when her mother disappears when filming a movie in Egypt, she finds herself in a supernatural event that’s all too real. A string of murders lead the film crew to suspect that the legendary Soul Cutter is back from the dead, and Ramsay, an intern who agrees to help Elan, has a dark secret of his own – he is part of a bloodline who constantly hears the voices of bloodthirsty spirits.

This is YA horror as it should be! Packed with tension from the start, the story is full of ominous foreshadowing, and when the supernatural element kicks in, it’s completely convincing – and scary! I love that it’s set in Egypt, like The Mummy, one of my favourite films. It has a totally unique mythology which is really refreshing. Elan is a strong-willed protagonist who’s had to deal with a tough life, whilst Ramsay is the perfect complement to her. I was completely drawn into the story. With romance, creepy monsters and nail-biting suspense, this is a horror read you don’t want to miss!

Rating: ****