Hmmm.... I'm having a hard time rating this one and rating it any higher than 3 stars. I didn't dislike this book, it just was not what I was expecting. Besides that, I was also expecting to be scared and I wasn't. Overall, the book had a good message and a good creep factor, I just felt it fell a little flat for the horror I was expecting.

An evil entity, who just so happens to be a KISS fan, comes and kills teenagers when they think about her? I don’t think anything could be more my type of book. I really enjoyed the combination of a small town ghost story/slasher hybrid. I’m a huge fan of local legend horror in general. Despite being a great concept, I definitely found myself wanting a bit more. It was a slow start but paid off in the end, the gore was well written but I definitely wanted more, I felt a bit of a disconnect with the writing style but the setting was fantastic. I also felt the end was a bit too quick and felt unsatisfied. Amazing premise but didn’t really stick the landing for me. Overall a fun read though that I will recommend to my horror loving friends.

4.5/5 Stars!

This Review is Spoiler Free.

The small town of Samhattan has an unspoken urban legend. Everyone seems to know it before they hear it, but once they hear it, they cannot stop thinking about it. Daphne, the 7 foot tall, denim-clad, KISS makeup-wearing woman will come for you and crush you with your bare hands.

Daphne is many things: A slasher novel, yes, but also an incredible analysis on anxiety, the curse of fixation, and the power of collective thought. Truly chilling, this book is an absolute must read for fans of horror.

If I were to compare Daphne to anything, it would absolutely by Nightmare on Elm Street. The atmosphere, the slow-building tension, the overwhelming dread of feeling powerless in your own mind - it's all there. But Daphne is not simply a rehash of a story already told. Daphne takes the very thing that made Nightmare on Elm Street scary and turns it up to an 11 in an incredibly literary and speculative way.

Josh Malerman nailed it with this one.

*I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

Daphne.

Don't think about Daphne or she'll come for you. That is the truth Kit Lamb knows and the grim reality of Samhatton, Michigan. A quaint town, a lovely small town like any other, with a terrifying urban legend based on a seven-foot-tall woman named Daphne. But this is a horror novel and of course, Daphne is real.

And she's angry.

And she's coming.

Let me preface with personal details, for I feel it's only fair after Josh Malerman pours out so much of himself upon the page for the readers: I suffer from chronic anxiety, which Malerman himself discusses in the afterword with the reveal of a particularly harrowing scene in the novel happened to him. It is impossible to look at Kit and her struggles and not read the difficulties in a killer who comes when you think about them as metaphorical to some capacity.

Daphne is a brutally efficient killer and I found myself captivated by the passing sequences. When Daphne shows up, she is no waifish Yurei to slip from a television and leave a twisted corpse in her wake. She is a brutal, towering monster who seizes her prey and makes nothing but anarchy of them. And as a perfect metaphor for anxiety, you cannot just stop thinking of her. You cannot simply banish it from your mind so easily when the thoughts are on you. How do you stop something like this?

Can you? That is the question Malerman is trying to answer while spinning a brilliant horror yarn throughout. Daphne is all at once a slasher novel and so much more. You have a cast, many of who exist to be slaughtered by Daphne. You have what the film Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon would term an Ahab in an investigating detective who functions as the secondary protagonist. You have Kit, whose relationship with basketball is that of a parishioner to an oracle, asking questions of the omniscient rim that are answered by her landing baskets.

The steady reveal of Daphne in life, her deeds and the reasons for the urban legend left me feeling genuine horror. Other writers are more visceral, more brutal and perhaps more poetic, but there are none who can rival Malerman for deftness. Each of his novels is a trip through the surreal and the emotional, his style unmistakable. So to is it with Daphne, where the narration's delicate tones both exacerbate and belie the brutality unfolding.

And I stress again, Daphne is terrifying. There is no saving the victim when she closes in. She does not speak, for her actions speak for her. You cannot plead, you cannot run. One memorable sequence is her stalking a girl in her own home, where her mother cannot see Daphne and is of no help, reminiscent of scenes from the film It Follows and its invisible monster.

Malerman refers to this novel not as a love letter to anxiety but as a correspondence. It shows. The wrathful specter is summoned by thoughts about her, however inadvertent. We're left on the edges of our seats all the while.

Terrific novel.

Daphne creeps into the dark corners of your mind like a mysteriously chilling fog. The tendrils steadily increasing as the anxiety and terror builds. Being told to not think about Daphne just makes you think about her more. As she materializes and takes form, becoming an intense horror reality to the Samhatten girls basketball team. No one on the team seems safe from Daphne.

This slasher novel is gripping from the get-go. It's a slam dunk in terms of being an intense read that has you gripping the book, holding on for dear life as we reach the explosive ending. The beauty of reading a Josh Malerman book, is that they are all so fantastically different. The chills come from all different directions. Daphne was a thrilling read that I was unable to put down and would highly recommend it!

Thanks to Ballantine, Del Rey and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Josh Malerman's 'Daphne.'

We all do it - hang big decisions, outcomes, and answers to big questions on inane everyday actions. If I make the next two lights on the drive home then my team will win the next match. If I get this ball of paper in the trash can without touching the edge, my dog won't die. All that nonsense.

In 'Daphne' the whole story plays out as a result of such a decision by a high school basketball player. In asking a seemingly innocent questions of 'the rim' (make the shot or not) she unleashes a horrific chain of events that she doesn't seem equipped to control.

Anxiety and the main character's relationship - her conversations with it and about it and how she deals with it - plays a big role in the book. While I was reading it I thought to myself that Malerman must either suffer from anxiety or has a close friend or family member who does because it's so well portrayed. The afterword confirmed that suspicion. The entire book feels like an approaching or building panic attack with the tightening of the tension happening, the quickly creeping dread of anxiety as the story progresses. Really well done.

The horrific action happens in the city of Samhattan which occupies the same universe as the author's other fictional creation, Goblin. Goblin and Chaps are mentioned frequently throughout the book and you can't help feeling that he's laying the foundation for a fictional geography similar to Stephen King's Derry, Castle Rock, and Jerusalem's Lot. Just like those towns, there's something either mildly or wildly off-kilter in Goblin and Samhattan. Samhattan has a cemetery as a town square and only very infrequently in the narrative is it commented upon that this isn't exactly normal. It's not just the cemetery - there's a group consciousness (not in the hive mind sense) that exists and that helps allows the horror to be contained.

Between this novel and Stephen Graham Jones' 'The Only Good Indians.' horror featuring teenage girls playing basketball could become a sub-genre!

I've knocked a star off because I thought the ending was a wee bit rushed. We get a massive revelation quite close to the end and I felt that that element of the story could've been teased put some more and it would've added to the enjoyment, mine in any case.

Another really terrific read from this, thankfully, prolific author.

I have to say as a Malerman fan I'm a lot disappointed with this book. It reminded me a lot of Nightmare on Elm Street with the kids seeing her and parents can't which I liked. But over all I was kinda bored and skimmed a lot and didn't feel a connection to any of the characters or care for their outcome really.

The outstanding Author of Bird Box and Pearl comes a new riveting, jarring thriller... Daphne. And y'all this story blew my damn mind!
Malerman's writing is sharp, phenomenal and honestly IMO one of the best.
Definitely one of the most exciting and original horror writers out there today.
This story grabs a hold of you and doesn't let go.
Daphne, gripped me from the beginning and I was hooked.
My mind played this book like a movie in my head. And I freaking loved that.
The visualization here is outstanding.
This book was intense, mysterious, and fantastic...
Overall, I read it, I loved it and Josh is officially a favorite of mine!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Ballantine|Del Rey,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

This new book by BIRD BOX author Josh Malerman combines basketball, horror, ghosts, and anxiety in an unusual, but not completely successful, way. The night before the final summer basketball game, the high school girls team has a sleepover, where Natasha shares a ghost story about Daphne, a person from the past who was mistreated by her school mates, who died in what may, or may not, have been an accident, and who may return to life if too many people think about her. So, of course, the entire team thinks about her, after which teammates begin to die. Kit suffers from severe anxiety, which, coupled with the story of Daphne, puts her on the extreme edge. There are many vivid descriptions of Kit's anxiety, which may cause concern in some readers, and may help others. The story is written in an unusual style, which slows down the flow of the story. I also think the book is a bit too long, with the girls' internal struggles taking up a lot of the book. Thanks to NetGalley, Random House, Ballantine, and Del Rey for providing an ARC.

Josh, this may be my favorite book of the year so far on top of favorite from you.

Thank you Netgalley for a chance at reading this arc.

Daphne. Don’t whisper her name or think it, will you be her next victim? This Bloody Mary esque legend begins seeping in the minds of the Samhattan basketball team. When one by one the girls basketball team are murdered by a mysterious seven foot Kiss resembling force, Kit the team’s anxious game point star has to confront her own inner demons to face her.

If you love basketball? You will love this book.
If you love horror? Ditto

But for me why I will hold this dear to my heart is the very very real way Malerman describes what it’s like to battle and be in company with severe anxiety everyday. This is me and my own daily reality. I’ve never felt so seen on pages before. Thank you for this!!!

Daphne is a ghost…
Daphne was a woman who lived in Samhattan in the '80s and '90s. She was a seven-foot social freak who had no friends and no family that anybody knew of.

She gave creepy looks, staring at kids at food courts of the town mall, alerting parents because those kids reminded her of her stolen childhood.

She wore kiss makeup but not like a star man or a cat or anything… it’s all eyes and long tongues. Her whole face.

She loved wearing denim head to toe, patches of her favorite bands all over, all metal stuff, hair rock, scaring the sh*t out of people.

The basketball team cracked her on the inside of her head/ or some bullies from school pulled a prank by locking her into the garage. She’s left to die alone!

When you think about her, you instantly summon her! She comes for the athletes, avenging her own death, wearing Kiss makeup to hide her blue face, killing each of them with her BARE HANDS!

Just like the way Freddy Krueger feeds himself by nightmares of people, she’s feeding herself with your fears and she’s coming for you! Don’t dare to run! There’s nowhere to gun, nowhere to hide! If the fear of life takes control of your body, your fate is sealed! You’re gonna be another victim of her vicious massacre play!

No more words! This book scares the living daylights out of you! But it also teaches you how to take control of your life, fighting against your PANIC ATTACKULA ( this could be a great rock band name) confronting with your own fears!

Kit who is fighting so hard with her anxiety issues, Dana; tough, supportive best friend, Natasha; creepy storyteller, dealing with depression , Tammy : young and rising star of the team, enjoying graveyard parties were great characters to resonate with.

This is not a slasher horror story, this is riveting, unputdownable, captivating psychological thriller novel that keeps you in your toes! In my opinion it’s one of the best works of the author deserves more than my five stars that I extremely recommend you to read!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine / Del Rey for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

“Daphne” is a horror/supernatural book by Josh Malerman.

When someone says “don’t think of X” of course you are going to think of X. In fact, you might find yourself thinking more about X in ways you didn’t before. This book is a twisted take on that - don’t think about a person, don’t think about a name. Toss in the fact that the name is a pretty common one (I mean, Daphne is one of the Scooby-Doo kids and I know a few women with that name - is Scooby-Doo banned from the town, along with anyone with that name?) AND toss in a ghost story (or is it?) AND toss in ties to a basketball team … you get a chunk of this book. Where Mr. Malerman took a bit further was adding in the subject of anxiety.

What worked for me was the overarching story. Though I must admit, I kept waiting for the Winchester boys (from “Supernatural”) to appear - this was so up their alley. I liked some of the characters - being a parent I empathized with Kit’s parents - what the heck do we do to protect our daughter (especially after the scare in her bedroom, which bothered me more than it should have). I also liked how the new to the town police officer tried to reason out and put the puzzle pieces together. However, the pacing of this book I found off - at times it was painfully slow moving and I wished an editor had cut down some information and at other times it moved at such a fast pace I found myself rereading paragraphs to see if I’d missed something. Another thing I’m not a fan of is multiple POVs when a large chunk of the book had been focused on one person. I could see this being a TV movie (I’m old enough to call it a “Movie of the Week”) and it being done effectively. I could also see it as a “Supernatural” episode - too bad the show’s over.

A quick read and it was different from other books I’ve read in this genre.

This book was sent to me by. Netgalley for review… mystery and intrigue…friendship…the characters are not really likable…the story does have red herrings to confuse the reader as to what will happen next…keeping the ending a surprise…the story moves slowly at times…

Thank you, Del Rey, for allowing me to read Daphne early!

I didn't read any of Josh Malerman's works before, but I did definitely hear of his previous titles. Bird Box in particular, after its cinematographic transposition released by Netflix was everywhere for a time, but my viewing of the film didn't inspire me to seek other books by him. That said, Daphne was not it for me. I perhaps had too high expectations after reading the synopsis and I was irked when it didn't deliver for me.

What the heck did I just read?! I was bored about 30% of the book until it got pretty good. Unsure of what I was reading I had to reread certain parts. It built up so much and then it just ended. I wish the author would have added a little more to it. It was pretty good over all.

Daphne Vann is a legend in the town of Samhattan; a legend that has somehow come to life. You’ll smell her before you hear her; the odor of cigarettes and alcohol. You’ll hear her before you see her; the “stomp”, “stomp” of her boots to the beat of her metal music. Once you see her, a seven foot tall woman with huge hands, dressed in a jean jacket with oily hair covering her face, you have breathed your last breath. Don’t think about her. Don’t even say her name. She will come for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC of Daphne by Josh Malerman.

When a highschool basketball team has a sleepover before their big game, one player tells a ghost story about Daphne, a towering, malicious woman who slaughters those who speak her name. Soon the players start to die one by one and the horrors of the past become the present.

I've always loved a good ghost story and when it's combined with a slasher type villain, I'm thrilled. This one had such a good premise that just didn't deliver for me. I felt it rambling at times and just didn't care for the writing style. Overall, the story, darkness and setting was amazing. I just wasn't crazy about this or it's delivery.

Ohhhh I loved this. It’s a short read but ohhh so deliciously dark. A winner for all horror fans! Highly Recommend!