Small Town Horror - Malfi's Latest!
“An accident. That one fateful incident has resonated in me with all the clamour of a star imploding, and no matter what I do - no matter what I’ve done - it never stops resounding.”
Andrew’s life is going well; his wife Rebecca is pregnant and he’s moving up the ranks of the law firm he works at. But why does he feel like everything is about to fall apart? When he receives a call from a childhood friend to return home immediately, Andrew’s life quickly does begin to tear apart at the seams as he is faced with past sins and something deadly that no one would believe.
Small Town Horror is the latest release from Ronald Malfi, which hits shelves June 4th.
“We were just two men, bound by blood, negotiating the creaky corridors and passageways of this cramped and musty dwelling. This house never felt more like that to me than it did now - a thing whose sole purpose was to contain.”
Listen, I’ll read ANYTHING Malfi writes. Even if it’s a poorly executed haiku on a napkin. But lucky for me, Malfi is a phenomenal writer who only gets better and better with each book he releases. And Small Town Horror continues that trend.
This story feels like a mix of I Know What You Did Last Summer meets IT but remains completely unique in its own way. Malfi has a talent for writing about towns and homes that feel so incredibly real, when you put down the book you expect to be there. In this story we have both a town and a creepy house to play around in. I swear I could smell the brine and feel the fog on my skin while reading.
All of the characters in this book are morally grey, which makes for an interesting read. Each character has clear motivations, and balances carefully on the line of morality, as the story progresses they dangle on either side. Meach was my favourite though.
There’s a couple of great twists in this story, one that was so shocking to me I dropped the book. And the ending’s twist is so delightfully satisfying yet somehow deeply sad at the same time.
Overall, Small Town Horror is another great story from Ronald Malfi and it somehow feels like coming home and also running in fear. A big thank you to Titan Books for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Pick up your own copy when this hits shelves on June 4th, or better yet; pre-order!
“It’s not the killing that’s the trouble, I would think, but the mess that follows.”
