ARC Review: Janitor by Oscar Brady
Release Date: June 1st
Going into Janitor, I was already a big fan of Oscar Brady’s Bunny Room, so I was thrilled to get an advanced reader copy of his latest. And let me tell you, it absolutely delivers.
Brady takes a cool, meta approach with this one. In the prologue, he explains that he’s novelizing a movie he remembers watching on VHS with his brother when they were kids growing up in a small town. The movie was obscure, hard to track down, and supposedly based on a true story. Whether or not you believe that part is up to you, but it adds a fun layer to the experience and sets the tone perfectly.
Once the actual story kicks in, it's full-throttle 80s slasher goodness. The book centers on Franky, also known as “Stanky Franky,” the head janitor at a fancy high school. Alongside him is Lucy, a student with a quote-unquote secret she’s keeping from her classmates, and a cast of classic high school jerks who clearly have it coming.
Frankie is given some information that he absolutely does not want to hear, and what follows is a violent, splatterpunk-fueled rampage. This book is brutal, bloody, and wildly entertaining. But it's also smart. Brady knows the genre inside and out, and he plays with the tropes in a way that feels fresh. He even weaves in some progressive themes that add real depth without slowing the momentum.
If you're a fan of 80s horror, splatterpunk, or just love a slasher that swings hard and sticks the landing, Janitor is a must-read. It's savage, sharp, and a hell of a lot of fun.