Genre: Paranormal
Length: 400 Pages
Publisher: Titan Books
Release date: October 11, 2022
Synopsis: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.
Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review
As a fan of Ronald Malfi for going on a decade I have many favorites. The Night Parade, Bone White, and December Park, and a short titled, Mr. Cables. In my opinion Ghostwritten may very well be his best. It is on the top of my list for best reads this year. For fans of Ronald Malfi, this is must read material. Ghostwritten has everything horror fans want and thrill seekers need.
When an author’s main character is a writer and is writing a book the story has a magical quality to me, and it takes on a life of its own. In The Skin of Her Teeth we travel down the rabbit hole with Gloria as she tries to figure out the real story of a screenplay. The further down this rabbit hole we go, the stranger The Skin of Her Teeth becomes. Ronald Malfi has outdone himself with this novella. The tension and suspense are enough to make your heart race. This story gets Ghostwritten of to a bang. And, Ghostwritten only gets better from here as Ronald Malfi seamlessly slips in many connections to past works.
In The Dark Brothers Last Ride Ronald and Tommy are hired to transport what should be an innocuous item, a book. Transporting items is their business, but to their surprise, all is not what it seems with this job. The Dark brothers find out the hard way that not following directions can have dire consequences. This novella had me on overload with many tense and uncertain moments. I really didn’t know how it would all shake out, but it was fantastic.
This book belongs to Olo, started off a little slow for me but there was a lot of background to build. Olo’s parents are writers, so Olo’s decides to create a book of his own. His book is a work of art and a piece of magic. A pop-up book that is an intricate replica of his home, and can do the impossible. This book belongs to Olo was a thrill ride, it was horrific and the tension was on full blast. Ronald Malfi blurs what is real and make believe with the best of them. This was a great story, with a concept that had my head spinning.
Ronald Malfi may have saved the best for last, and that’s saying something considering the three previous stories. The Story, is a hard novella to summarize without giving it away. I’ll do my best, and apologize in advance if this wrecks it for anyone. I’ll start by saying that if I thought This book belongs to Olo made my head spin, The Story had me questioning everything. My head was fuzzy and disoriented, similar feeling as when I watched Inception. This novella took the blurring of really to the next level.
In The Story, Grady is looking for answers into his ex girlfriend Taryn’s suicide. What he finds is more then he can wrap his mind around, and nearly dives him crazy. Taryn was investigating an online dark web story, titled, The Story. The deeper Grady looks at the strange events leading to her suicide, the stranger the truth becomes. Ronald Malfi, again, loosely ties this final novella to the first, bringing Ghostwritten full circle.
Ronald Malfi, Biography-
Ronald Malfi is the award-winning author of the novels Floating Staircase, Snow, The Ascent, and several others. Most recognized for his haunting, literary style and memorable characters, Malfi’s dark fiction has gained acceptance among readers of all genres. He currently lives along the Chesapeake Bay where he is at work on his next book.
The Scary Reviews 