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Splasher
- Author
- Billie Host
- Narrator
- Hunter Johns
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Publish Date
- 16 July 2026
- Run Time
- 9 hours 58 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Come on in, the water’s fine!
Autumn 2006. Low-rise jeans are in, grunge is out, and all Spencer Ward should be worrying about is his new job as Assistant Swim Coach at Richardson University. It’s been a decade since tragedy struck during his own college years, but Spencer is determined to sink his skeletons and focus on a winning season for his team.
Until, that is, two students are found dead in the pool on the first day of training. While everyone assumes it was a horrible accident, Spencer is overcome with an ominous sense of déjà vu.
There’s blood in the water, and not just because competition season has started. As increasingly severe freak accidents plague the students, and twisted shadows are seen by the poolside, Spencer and his swim team must work out what is hunting them before it’s too late. The pool echoes with the ghosts of the past, and they won’t rest until they are finally heard.
'Nothing but a good time.' - Stephen Graham Jones, NYT bestselling author of My Heart is a Chainsaw and I Was a Teenage Slasher
'The perfect balance of campy fun, eerie dread, and chlorine-drenched mayhem.' - Marcus Kliewer, NYT bestselling author of The Caretaker
'Point Horror meets It Follows in this dread-soaked supernatural slasher, which brings new meaning to the term 'bloodbath'. Obsessed.' – Josh Winning, author of Heads Will Roll
'There's no lifeguard on duty to save readers from this chlorinated gorefest. Splasher is a cursed whirlpool of horror and heart, some still bleeding, swirling about the page in brilliant arterial character arcs and pathos. ' – Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes
© Billie Host 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Critics Review
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This one goes on the shelf right between Night of the Dribbler and Aquaslash: nothing but a good time.
Stephen Graham Jones, NYT bestselling author of My Heart is a Chainsaw and I Was a Teenage Slasher
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The perfect balance of campy fun, eerie dread, and chlorine-drenched mayhem.
Marcus Kliewer, NYT bestselling author of The Caretaker
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There's no lifeguard on duty to save readers from this chlorinated gorefest. Splasher is a cursed whirlpool of horror and heart, some still bleeding, swirling about the page in brilliant arterial character arcs and pathos. Just when you thought it was safe to hop back in the pool, you have Billie Host's haunted romp to drown in.
Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes
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Had me gripped. It's SUCH a great read! Point Horror meets It Follows in this dread-soaked supernatural slasher, which brings new meaning to the term 'bloodbath'. With its queer heroes and ghostly mystery, this was equal parts eerie and evocative, and I loved every blood-dripping page. Obsessed.
Josh Winning, author of Heads Will Roll and Burn the Negative
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Such a fun read - reminded me of Final Destination. Watery, spooky Y2K fun with a heart!
Ellie Graves, author of Maneater
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A playful Point Horror-style story, for those who like a little bloodshed and trauma while sunning themselves on a holiday beach. The characters are lively and interesting and you care about them, which feels like it should be a cardinal sin in this sort of mega-death drama, but it really works. The crux of any horror novel, and particularly pop horror, is that there simply has to be suspension of disbelief, and so a balance must be found between the extreme world of the story and the stability of the familiar world we all live in...This is a tough balance to find, but this book does find it, managing to keep those inevitable nuisance questions at bay...impressive and enjoyable.
The Scotsman
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As if plucked from the shelves of your local Blockbuster, Splasher is a glorious B-movie extravaganza reflecting the best of classic horror and 2000s nostalgia.
Benedict Anning, author of Atomic Coffin
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The punning title alone is enough to earn Billie Host’s Splasher a mention.
SFX
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Splasher is riotous fun — spooky, bloody, and spilling over with 2000s nostalgia. Between the increasingly horrific accidents (who knew there were so many ways to get hurt in a pool?) and my growing attachment to its irresistible cast, this book didn't give me a second to catch my breath, and I'll never smell chlorine again without thinking of it. Prepare not to put it down once you start it, and good luck ever getting in the water again once you've finished.
C.N. Vair, author of Fawn
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An exciting venture into the world of competition swimming, Splasher is packed with 2000's era nostalgia and characters you can't help but love - or love to hate. I found Splasher to be a fun take on the slasher genre with viscerally gory moments that will make me second-guess jumping into the deep end of a pool.
Bonnie Quinn, author of the How to Survive Camping series
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Billie Host
- Narrator
- Hunter Johns
- Duration
- 9 hours 58 minutes
- Release Date
- 16 July 2026
- ISBN
- 9781529987959
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Genre
- Contemporary horror, ghost stories and supernatural fiction, Occult fiction / Paranormal Horror, Esoteric thriller, Sports fiction, Swimming
Synopsis
Come on in, the water’s fine!Autumn 2006. Low-rise jeans are in, grunge is out, and all Spencer Ward should be worrying about is his new job as Assistant Swim Coach at Richardson University. It’s been a decade since tragedy struck during his own college years, but Spencer is determined to sink his skeletons and focus on a winning season for his team.Until, that is, two students are found dead in the pool on the first day of training. While everyone assumes it was a horrible accident, Spencer is overcome with an ominous sense of déjà vu.There’s blood in the water, and not just because competition season has started. As increasingly severe freak accidents plague the students, and twisted shadows are seen by the poolside, Spencer and his swim team must work out what is hunting them before it’s too late. The pool echoes with the ghosts of the past, and they won’t rest until they are finally heard.'Nothing but a good time.' - Stephen Graham Jones, NYT bestselling author of My Heart is a Chainsaw and I Was a Teenage Slasher'The perfect balance of campy fun, eerie dread, and chlorine-drenched mayhem.' - Marcus Kliewer, NYT bestselling author of The Caretaker'Point Horror meets It Follows in this dread-soaked supernatural slasher, which brings new meaning to the term 'bloodbath'. Obsessed.' – Josh Winning, author of Heads Will Roll'There's no lifeguard on duty to save readers from this chlorinated gorefest. Splasher is a cursed whirlpool of horror and heart, some still bleeding, swirling about the page in brilliant arterial character arcs and pathos. ' – Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes© Billie Host 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
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