Ronald Malfi

Four brand-new horror novellas from “a modern-day Algernon Blackwood” all about books, stories, manuscripts – the written word has never had sharper teeth… BOOKS CAN BE DEADLY From the bestselling author of Come with Me, four standalone horror novellas set in a shared universe! In The Skin of Her Teeth, a cursed novel drives people to their deaths. A delivery job turns deadly in The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride. In This Book Belongs to Olo, a lonely child has dangerous control over an usual pop-up book. A choose-your-own adventure game spirals into an uncanny reality in The Story. Full of creepy, page-turning suspense, these collected novellas are perfect for fans of Paul Tremblay, Stephen King and Joe Hill.

Ghostwritten

 is comprised of four novellas, all relating in some way to the written word and stories themselves. I was very intrigued by the synopsis of this collection, but I was also a bit hesitant. I recently tried Malfi for the first time with his novel 

, which didn’t really work for me. But I hate to write an author off without giving them at least two tries, so I decided 

 would be our second chance, to see if we could mesh as artist and consumer. I’m happy to report that we can! While the collection as a whole was a 4 star read, two of these novellas are among my favorite horror stories I’ve ever read, and I can’t wait to read them again next October.

Below are my brief thoughts on each story. 

Brilliant from start to finish. This is the story of a story that refuses to be altered, and I loved every minute of it. I think it might be one of my favorite horror shorts I’ve ever read. It’s definitely my favorite book-related horror I’ve encountered. I would buy a physical copy of this book for this story alone.

A story of a delivery trip gone wrong. And very, very weird. I actively disliked Tommy, but I think I was supposed to. It took me a little while to warm up to this story after having so deeply loved “The Skin of Her Teeth,” but it won me over. The un-rightness of the route followed on the trip was palpably creepy, and was my favorite part of the story. The book was also suitably disturbing, but I was in it for the abandoned towns and off-brand gas station snacks.

Olo is a very creepy child. Like, unbelievably creepy. And yet, the balance Malfi was able to strike with him was astounding. I was deeply disturbed by him, and yet I also felt an incredible amount of sympathy for him. His little homemade pop-up book was terrifying, and I loved everything about it. I also really loved Peyton; she was a powerful character, in spite of how little time on the page she actually had. This story is the reason I gave in and did indeed buy myself a physical copy of this book.

I felt like this was the least original story in the collection. It was fine. The tension ratcheted up well, and Malfi evoked a great sense of impending madness and claustrophobia as the story progressed, but it seemed like a tale I’ve encountered multiple times before; it was just wearing a different dress, if you know what I mean.

I love all of the little details these stories share that tie them together. Those might be a shared background character, or a poem that crops up across stories, or a weird colloquialism used in multiple tales. Sometimes it’s a simple as a baseball. These touches and tie-ins made me unreasonably happy. 

Overall, while half of the collection was definitely stronger, I found all of the stories at least somewhat enjoyable. I’m very glad that I gave Malfi another shot, and that this was the book I chose to try. I loved two of these stories so much that I immediately had to have a copy for my shelves, which says it all. I’ll definitely be reading more of Malfi in the future.

Celeste Richardson

Ghostwritten is comprised of four novellas, all relating in some way to the written word and stories themselves. I was very intrigued by the synopsis of this collection, but I was also a bit hesitant. I recently tried Malfi for the first time with his novel Black Mouth, which didn’t really work for me. But I hate to write an author off without giving them at least two tries, so I decided Ghostwritten would be our second chance, to see if we could mesh as artist and consumer. I’m happy to report that we can! While the collection as a whole was a 4 star read, two of these novellas are among my favorite horror stories I’ve ever read, and I can’t wait to read them again next October.

Below are my brief thoughts on each story. 

The Skin of Her Teeth: 5 stars
Brilliant from start to finish. This is the story of a story that refuses to be altered, and I loved every minute of it. I think it might be one of my favorite horror shorts I’ve ever read. It’s definitely my favorite book-related horror I’ve encountered. I would buy a physical copy of this book for this story alone.

The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride: 4 stars
A story of a delivery trip gone wrong. And very, very weird. I actively disliked Tommy, but I think I was supposed to. It took me a little while to warm up to this story after having so deeply loved “The Skin of Her Teeth,” but it won me over. The un-rightness of the route followed on the trip was palpably creepy, and was my favorite part of the story. The book was also suitably disturbing, but I was in it for the abandoned towns and off-brand gas station snacks.

This Book Belongs to Olo: 5 stars
Olo is a very creepy child. Like, unbelievably creepy. And yet, the balance Malfi was able to strike with him was astounding. I was deeply disturbed by him, and yet I also felt an incredible amount of sympathy for him. His little homemade pop-up book was terrifying, and I loved everything about it. I also really loved Peyton; she was a powerful character, in spite of how little time on the page she actually had. This story is the reason I gave in and did indeed buy myself a physical copy of this book.

The Story: 3 stars.
I felt like this was the least original story in the collection. It was fine. The tension ratcheted up well, and Malfi evoked a great sense of impending madness and claustrophobia as the story progressed, but it seemed like a tale I’ve encountered multiple times before; it was just wearing a different dress, if you know what I mean.

I love all of the little details these stories share that tie them together. Those might be a shared background character, or a poem that crops up across stories, or a weird colloquialism used in multiple tales. Sometimes it’s a simple as a baseball. These touches and tie-ins made me unreasonably happy. 

Overall, while half of the collection was definitely stronger, I found all of the stories at least somewhat enjoyable. I’m very glad that I gave Malfi another shot, and that this was the book I chose to try. I loved two of these stories so much that I immediately had to have a copy for my shelves, which says it all. I’ll definitely be reading more of Malfi in the future.

Ghostwritten

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