Unhappy New Year: A Slasher Novella

by Judith Sonnet

THREE . . .

The girls at Alpha Gamma Beta just wanted to party for New Years Eve.
Too bad they have an uninvited guest.

TWO . . .

His name is "Big" Vic Appleseth, but the police call him "The Human Bulldozer."
He's been hiding, watching, waiting . . . and tonight will be HIS night.

ONE . . .

Run . . . Hide . . . But don't try to fight him . . . there's no way you'll survive!
This killer doesn't need a weapon.
HE IS ONE!

DIE!

Unhappy New Year.
"Oh God . . . Oh God . . . PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP US!"

Rated R

This novella comes with three bonus short stories! Tell Me How It Is You Love Me, The Nativity Scene, and Heaven is Remembrance.

Genres: Horror

180 pages, Paperback

Published December 13, 2025

About the author

Used to write extreme horror but now I write WEIRD horror and I'm having a blast with it! Check out OUR SARNATH on November 22nd!

Reviews

[Veronica ☠️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Director Charlie Baker has finished his movie, Unhappy New Year, and is ready to show his producer. Charlie is super proud of this one! First on the screen is a young couple on Christmas day. They're enjoying their night when suddenly the husband sees a strange snowman outside. He goes out to see it when he is met with his demise. A huge man is lurking in the snow, waiting to make his move.

Causing havoc on Christmas night, the big beast escapes and the neighbourhood is convinced he is long gone. That is until New Years Eve. The sorority house in the neighborhood is having a little get together. Drinking, dancing, and sex start happening, but also the blood starts to spill. Who is hunting and killing these collage kids? Who survives?

I really enjoyed how this was a movie and the ending was a nice touch. Big Vic is scary and you definitely don't want to be in his way. This gave me Black Christmas vibes and I did like the tone. We also get 3 bonus stories at the end which were fun. My favourite of the three would definitely be Tell Me How It Is You Love Me. Just don't lie!!! If you love the 80s slasher vibe, you will really enjoy this one.

[Kevin L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another banger from Sonnet, really grooving on her latest work.

The title novella is an excellent slasher with just the right amount of gore, sex, and thrills. Great fun even if I knew how it would end.

[Kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlie has made his best film yet (in his opinion). About a vicious killer on Christmas going around attacking people. first it was a happy couple then it went to a sorority house with a bunch of girls. Charlie will show the producer how well people will love this one. This is a fun 80’s style slasher story. Super easy to read and the killing scenes were great. You also get 3 bonus stories at the end witch were good! 

[Schalka · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great way to end 2025! I devoured this book in one sitting and I loved it. Especially the main novella. The characters were well fleshed out (as always in Sonnets books) and the plot was full of tension, disturbing scenes and fun! The role play sex scene was my favourite, I think! That one was so original and charming!
Five stars for this fantastic read.
Highly recommended!

[Evillllllyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Judith Sonnet never misses! This sorority house slasher was awesome and filled with blood and gore. When Big Vic comes you better run! He'll rip you apart with his bare hands.

[DJJarvisReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED Unhappy New Year by Judith Sonnet. Being a fan of gory slashers like the Terrifier, I honestly think that Judith did such a great job writing this gruesome sorority house slasher. I really enjoyed reading this one. It was the perfect book for my first read of the year! Especially with the extra short stories at the end, those were all individually great as well!

I really enjoyed the concept of this story. Without spoilers, I can’t say much, but I did not expect the plot twist. At all. I love a book that I can’t predict exactly what is going to happen, and Judith did a great job hiding the truth in this one! I also think that Judith did a really good job writing these characters. Big Vic is one hell of a killer! He doesn’t care what kind of messes he makes, and I loved that. The gorier the better.

Unhappy New Year is very well put together, very gory, very unpredictable! I definitely recommend this to any horror fan! Especially if you love gore and slasher films!

[Kalaya Stutesman · Rating 5 out of 5]

another slasher book! these books are as good as a mug! I fucks with these slasher books! I am tearing these bad boys up!
Judith Sonnet is always a solid writer i love her and her beautiful descriptions of gore!
but also fuck you (affectionately) for making the last short story sad wtf

[Erica Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just one reason Judith is one of my favorite authors! Loved this so much, Unhappy New Year is a great slasher story! And the three bonus stories in the book just blew me away!

[Jacinta Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing read by Judith Sonnet. A great slasher book that reminds you to go home for the holidays!

[Mike C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Awesome Gorefest

If you love slasher films you’ll love this. Reminds me of some of the best movies I watched as a kid. I absolutely love how Judith has a way of making you feel right there with every word. The social commentary slid in really makes one think a lot of you have an open mind as well. Great novella. Still haven’t been disappointed. Well done. Oh. And the bonus stories are pretty awesome as well.

[Lauren McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn’t bad but not as good as NORFF. To this day that was one of, if not the nastiest book, I ever read. The plot and idea was great but lacked the “ick” and maybe a little description she usually has.