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Winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel Shirley Jackson meets Friday the 13th in the rollicking, bloody first novel of The Indian Lake trilogy by the master of modern horror Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians and The Buffalo Hunter Hunter. “Some girls just don’t know how to die…” Shirley Jackson meets Friday the 13th in My Heart Is a Chainsaw, written by the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians Stephen Graham Jones, called “a literary master” by National Book Award winner Tananarive Due and “one of our most talented living writers” by Tommy Orange. Alma Katsu calls My Heart Is a Chainsaw “a homage to slasher films that also manages to defy and transcend genre.” On the surface is a story of murder in small-town America. But beneath is its beating heart: a biting critique of American colonialism, Indigenous displacement, and gentrification, and a heartbreaking portrait of a broken young girl who uses horror movies to cope with the horror of her own life. Jade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her. She lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies…especially the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold. Yet, even as Jade drags us into her dark fever dream, a surprising and intimate portrait emerges…a portrait of the scared and traumatized little girl beneath the Jason Voorhees mask: angry, yes, but also a girl who easily cries, fiercely loves, and desperately wants a home. A girl whose feelings are too big for her body. My Heart Is a Chainsaw is her story, her homage to horror and revenge and triumph. Read more
Publisher : S&S/Saga Press
Publication date : March 29, 2022
Language : English
Print length : 432 pages
ISBN-10 : 1982137649
ISBN-13 : 49
Item Weight : 12.8 ounces
Dimensions : 5.5 x 1 x 8.38 inches
Book 1 of 3 : The Indian Lake Trilogy
Best Sellers Rank: #25,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #26 in Indigenous Fiction #182 in Psychic Thrillers #793 in Horror Literature & Fiction
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Top Amazon Reviews
Nestled in what could be a National Forest, Indian Lake in Proofrock, Idaho, is being threatened by a developer who envisions wilderness mansions for the wealthy on the pristine side of the lake with impoverished locals, many of them Native Americans, living far enough away on the other side of the lake. More than merely threatened are two tourists from the Netherlands: Sven and Lotte. Hoping to “soak in” the natural beauty of the area before returning home, they encounter something evil on the water as they venture out upon it in a canoe. Something that has survived which shouldn’t have. Something which makes sure neither Sven nor Lotte will survive. The two of them are only the beginning. MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW (2021) is the latest novel by the remarkable Stephen Graham Jones. As he does in his last novel, THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS (2020), Jones brings a beautifully composed, literary style to a novel which is quite dark (with occasional sparkles of humor) and references to Native American life today as well as cultural beliefs with roots in what many would deem to be the supernatural. Lush with vivid description which appeals to one’s various senses, Jones chronicles his story in a leisurely fashion, slowly building suspense and fright, until the latter portion of the novel becomes quite cinematic and frantic in tone and action. A superb trait of Jones’ writing is his ability to create and animate amazing, diverse characters. Minor characters as well as those principal to the plot are real and believable. Foremost among them is high school senior Jade Daniels, a Blackfeet native. All but alienated from her peers, having taken a leave from school after an attempted suicide, Jade’s closest friends are a history teacher, Mr. Holmes, and the local sheriff, Hardy,—both of whom are ironic choices as friends because Jade is constantly in trouble with both of them—and others as well—until Letha Mondragon appears on the scene, her family planning on moving into one of the mansions across the lake. Far from being a mere fan, Jade is a walking, talking encyclopedia of slasher film knowledge. She lives and breathes slasher films and wishes she actually was in one. Slasher films are obviously her escape from the grim reality she sees daily. “Horror is [her] religion.” Jade also envisions her new friend, Letha, becoming a “final girl,” the one who nearly always is the last one standing, the survivor in slasher films. As much as she would like to be a “final girl” herself, Jade knows the rules: “Final girls are good, they’re uncomplicated, they have these reserves of courage coiled up inside them, not layer after layer of shame, or guilt.” Jade doesn’t fit the mold. She is far from an innocent much like most “final girls” and Jade also carries within her a dreadful secret. The papers she writes for Mr. Holmes to receive extra credit so she can still graduate are all devoted to slasher movies. Jones’ omniscient narrator and Jade throughout the novel provide a primer on slasher movies with frequent mention of and discussions about film titles and content. Some of Jones’ references, however, are subtle, but to fans of the genre, they are readily identifiable. However, even dedicated slasher film fans are likely to add titles of films they need to see or re-watch from reading MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW. With the deaths of Sven and Lotte along with an ever-growing list of victims, Jade has the confirmation she has long perceived—Proofrock is about to become front and center in a real-life slasher film with grisly horrors fast approaching. Adding further validation to Jade’s theory and worse of all—what could be better timing and a more ideal setting for a slasher attack than a Fourth of July celebration in which the entire town participates. It is an annual Proofrock celebration and fast approaching. As Jade attempts to “train” Letha to become a “final girl,” the two are plunged deeper into a world of terror and personal peril which Jones masterfully relates. The author deftly builds suspense in MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW and if possible, the novel takes on a darker and darker tone, growing deadlier teeth, as it becomes more and macabre. Amazingly, with all of the nightmarishness, Jones utilizes Jade and her at times flippant attitude to add touches of sardonic humor throughout. Jones also makes sure his readers never lose sight of the humanity involved as well as the motivation behind the ever-growing number of deaths in his story. His messages regarding American life today and poverty never become intrusive or moralizing. Readers who patiently follow the plot of MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW and its growing intensity with anxiety are treated to a tremendous climax during the town’s Independence Day celebration. Ironically, part of the town’s celebration includes a yearly outdoor showing of the movie JAWS, a film Jade explains earlier is a slasher film at heart. Jones pulls out all of the stops as chaos reigns in the water in the projected movie, just as does blood, killing, and a bountiful supply of gore in Indian Lake itself. True to the tradition of slasher films, the nerve-wracking bedlam which takes place in Indian Lake is followed by an even more potent, personal show-down between good and evil. The conclusion of MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW is tremendously successful and unforgettable. Stephen Graham Jones follows the story with a most heart-felt and insightful Acknowledgements in which he gives thanks to numerous people for aiding in the completion of MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW and why. He also informs readers the novel was ten years in the making, having undergone a number of total rewrites until a satisfactory story was given birth. The effort put into MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW is most evident throughout. Readers will be pleased.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2022 by Eclectic Reader
Format: Kindle
I think this is a great book, I loved Jade's character and her backstory. Plus the twist in the story was creepy!
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2026 by Mikaylah
Format: Paperback
I really wanted to love this book. The setup is exactly what I look for: a gritty, dying lake town fighting against wealthy gentrifiers, with a deep connection to the history of the land and the Native community. The atmosphere of "Old Town vs. New Money" was the strongest part of the book, and there were moments of real rural noir brilliance (the guy in the pickup truck was the most grounded, authentic character in the whole story). But I just couldn't connect with Jade. Instead of feeling like a real traumatized teenager, she felt like a vehicle for the author to list off horror movie trivia. It felt like the book was trying to "sound smart" by encyclopedically referencing slasher tropes rather than actually playing them out in a unique or organic way. It made the character feel artificial—a collection of references rather than a person. The pacing was also a struggle; it meanders for a long time, and when the action finally kicks in, it feels convenient rather than earned. If you are here for the slasher history lesson, you might love it. But if you want a character that feels human and a plot that moves, this might leave you cold.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2026 by Aadel Bussinger
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story.. It felt exactly like watching a horror movie.. a slasher movie to be more specific. It was scary, and super creepy, and the tension built slowly just the way i like it Jade is our main character and she is a horror movie fan.. specifically Slasher films.. She is narrorating our story and so badly wants a real life slasher to appear in her town.. She is watching for the signs that she knows preceeds a slasher in every movie, and has almost encyclopedic knowledge of these movies. In fact she reminds me of Randy from the Scream movies .He was a character obsessed with Horror movies like Jade and told everyone how the real life killings in Woodsborough would play out .Like Randy when Jade realizes that what she wants most is actually happening she does her best to warn/prepare the final girl (the girl who always survives at the end of a horror movie) for what is about to come. I would have totally been Jades friend in high school. While I don't remember every detail of horror movies, they are one of my favorite genres and we actually get mentions of my favorite movies like Scream, I Know What you Did Last Summer and Chucky. I think we would have gotten along real well. Jade was an amazing character, and I loved her. She did her best to be herself and not let anybody change who she is. She knew what was coming and did her best to warn people even though it fell on deaf ears until the carnage started. She is brave and completly independant. While I was following Jade along on her quest to find out who the Slasher is, and her trying to help the final girl I felt like Jade knew exactly what she was doing and thinking.. When she was confident in her decisions so was I, when she second guessed herself I did too.. and that ending was totally and completly unexpected and I loved it.. We were left with some unanswered questions at the end but I think that is the nature of a horror movie.. We never completly know the persons motive or what happens when the story ends.. However I would love if this book got a sequel at some point.. Even if it didn't specifically follow Jade again, or just made some vague mentions of what happened at Indian Lake and what happened to Jade afterwards.. you'll know what I mean when you finish the book.. While both of my siblings like to read, we really don't have the same reading tastes. We all do love horror movies and this is a book I could confidently recommend to both of them and know they would both enjoy it. I would definitely read more books by this author in the future and look forward to reading his backlist titles.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2021 by D. Bush
It seems lately that a lot of authors and filmmakers are interested in producing not only horror stories, but specifically self-aware or self-referential meta-horror. This is no exception. However, while I largely feel like that trend has worn itself out despite being interesting in the beginning, this particular book stands out from the crowd in all the right ways. The main character, Jade, is a psychologically complicated horror fan who believes she sees the beginnings of the "slasher cycle" in her small town. Told from her point of view, the story allows us to see inside the workings of a slasher story from the perspective of a horror fan well-versed in all the tropes and yet somehow directly involved in the story. Horror fans will find the constant references to slasher movies, new and old, popular and obscure, fascinating and entertaining (though if you're a stickler about spoilers, be warned that the book does give away a few of the endings of said horror movies). But what's even more important is that this format allows us to get a look inside the main character's mind, and she's a fascinatingly complicated person. Deeply flawed (as she admits herself several times throughout the narrative) yet nevertheless likable and often relatable. The plot has plenty of red herrings and takes plenty of turns, to the point that even a slasher fan like myself (or, indeed, like the main character) can't figure it out until we're meant to, which is a towering accomplishment in a genre that, let's face it, often skews toward the formulaic. Stephen Graham Jones has a talent for exploiting those formulae to subvert our expectations, and it makes this book not only a great horror novel but a thrilling mystery. It does take a little while for the plot to really get going, but that's not a problem here because the character study that dominates much of the book's length is gripping throughout. However, in an attempt to plug the reader directly into the character's mind, the book is written in a stream of consciousness style that won't be to everyone's taste. I mostly found it stylistically elegant, though even I struggled to keep caught up with a couple of the twists and turns in the main character's inner monologue. Others will likely find the style distracting. Even if you find yourself in that camp, though, you really ought to read the book anyway, because the plot and characters are well worth it. And the final reveal--or at least part of the final reveal--will send chills down your spine, especially once you start to reflect on some of the earlier passages in light of the new information. This is a psychologically deep (and sometimes devastating) book that belongs in the library of any horror fan.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2021 by Bob Lewis
After The Only Good Indians last year, Stephen Graham Jones set the bar higher than most authors could dream of achieving. I say that because The Only Good Indians was easily one of the best novels I’ve had the pleasure of reading, regardless of the genre…ever. My Heart Is a Chainsaw isn’t likely to leave quite as profound of a lasting impact as that book, but it’s a different sort of beast altogether. And boy, is it a beast. Jade Daniels is a walking, talking archive of all things slasher-related, or even slasher-adjacent. She’s a socially awkward outcast who speaks to others in slasher genre shorthand. To her, everything in life can be easily compared and contrasted with plot points of one or more of her favorite movies. Every occasion has an appropriate quote from the slasher genre. As a person, she’s equal parts aggravating and endearing to the reader–assuming the reader, like me, is a hardcore slasher fanatic. Finally, her dead-end life in a dead-end Idaho town appears to be heading toward a fantasy come true. With the arrival of Lethe Mondragon, the final piece falls into place as Jade determines she’s located the archetypal “final girl” for the real-life slasher horror to play out. Is Jade another Cassandra, doomed to warn everyone of the impending nightmare and tragedy, only to be dismissed as all youth are in the movies she so adores? Is she simply a troubled girl who has lost the capacity to differentiate between fantasy and reality, on the verge of returning to the institution from which she’d only recently been released? You’ll have to read the book to find out. If you’re familiar with Jones as an author, you should know you won’t be disappointed. As you reach the halfway point of this novel, everything begins cascading out of control with a feverish pace and such a dizzying assortment of horrors that you’ll hardly see the next twist coming–and there are indeed twists. The novel is so much more than a slasher story. I’d love to tell you more, but I’d be giving too much away. My Heart Is a Chainsaw is also a coming-of-age tale about an indigenous girl haunted by her past and fixated on the haunted history of the mountain town she calls home. This is a story of friendship, a dysfunctional family, and an even more dysfunctional community. My Heart Is a Chainsaw should assure any readers that Stephen Graham Jones is–I say this without a doubt in my mind–perhaps the single greatest writer currently active in the horror genre.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2021 by Nikolas P. Robinson
Format: Paperback
This book was biggest disappointment of the year given all of the hype that I read about it before purchasing it. It's not the least bit scary, Jade--the protagonist--comes off as whiny and unsympathetic, and the prose is little more than meandering inner dialog that is: 1. trying too hard to be edgy and failing miserably; 2. uninteresting; and 3. bad story-telling. Unfortunately, I bought all 3 books in this trilogy together as a set, but at least I was able to cancel the 3rd installment as it was still in pre-order status.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2024 by David D. Warner
Format: Kindle
I don't think that I was the best audience for this book. My teenage or twenty-something self would have loved it. Especially since it's an homage to the slasher films of the 70's and 80's, which I loved. This book falls into the horror genre, which isn't my favorite because I cannot handle the too scary anymore. This book isn't too scary. There are moments, of course. Jade is an about to graduate high-schooler. Her town in Idaho is small. There is a large lake in the center that was created when the valley was flooded - on purpose. So, there are many wives tales surrounding the lake and the abandoned camp on the other side of the lake. It would be a perfect setting for a slasher film. Another reason Jade is obsessed with these films. She has seen every movie and believes there is a formula. She is just waiting for these type of events to happen in her town. Construction begins on the far side of the lake. Bringing some very wealthy people and a girl that Jade believes will be the Final Girl in the real life slasher film that will play out in her town. In looking for the start of these events, Jade gets herself into trouble with the police chief. They think she is acting out because her father abused her, which she denies. Deaths do start occurring, but no one believes Jade's ideas. To keep her safe and from being the cause of the troubles, the chief locks her up. She manages to escape just in time for the final curtain call. Who is the killer? Is there more than one, like in Scream? Jones gets credit for a unique story and ending to this book. But it can't be the final end, right? - like every good horror movie franchise. Just like you cannot kill Jason Vorhees - you can't kill the Lake Witch. I had a hard time getting into this book as it is written almost as a stream of consciousness type writing of the main character's, Jade, thinking. There are also chapter inserts that are titled Slasher 101 that are her papers she's written for history class that really detail the history of the slasher film, but again her thoughts are inserted (like a high-schooler might write a paper). It was a little disconcerting and made it hard for me to find my groove. Ultimately, I liked this book. I just don't think I was the right audience for it.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2022 by Tracie Gutknecht