Splasher cover art

Splasher

A haunted swimming pool slasher novel, perfect for Summerween.
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Splasher

By: Billie Host
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Drown your ghosts… or die trying?

Autumn 2006. Low-rise jeans are in, grunge is out, and all Spencer Brown should be worrying about is his new job as Assistant Swim Coach at Crestwood University. It’s been 10 years since that fateful night in the university’s wellness centre, but Spencer is determined to sink his skeletons and focus on a winning season for his team.?

Until two swimmers are found dead in the pool the first night of training. While everyone assumes it was an accidentally tragedy, Spencer is overcome with an ominous sense of déjà vu – this isn’t the first-time blood was spilt in the wellness centre. As freak accidents turn into something more sinister, the pool echoes with the ghosts of Spencer’s past, this time demanding to be heard.

© Billie Host 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 Genre Fiction Ghosts Horror Sports Supernatural Thriller & Suspense
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Critic reviews

This one goes on the shelf right between Night of the Dribbler and Aquaslash: nothing but a good time.
The perfect balance of campy fun, eerie dread, and chlorine-drenched mayhem.
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.
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.
Such a fun read - reminded me of Final Destination. Watery, spooky Y2K fun with a heart!
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.
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.
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.
With the ghostly vibes of classic horror’s yesteryears, Splasher by Billie Host takes the slasher novel to a new level, or, shall I say, to the deep end and back. I used to enjoy swimming, but now I’ll think twice before ever diving into a pool again!
Dripping with detail, expertise and various bodily fluids, Splasher is the early 2000s chlorine soaked ghost story you didn’t know you needed. Host sets the story in such a specific world that the horror hits hard and the stakes fell all too real. I recommend you dive in.
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