DAPHNE – by Josh Malerman

‘It’s the last summer for Kit Lamb: The last summer before college. The last summer with her high school basketball team, and with Dana, her best friend …But the night before the big game, one of the players tells a ghost story about Daphne, a girl who went to their school many years ago and died under mysterious circumstances.’

‘Some say she was murdered, others that she died by her own hand. And some say that Daphne is a murderer herself.’ They also say that Daphne is still out there, obsessed with revenge ….’

DAPHNE is admittedly a hard book for me to review. I love the main character, Kit, who is very relatable; however, I found myself wanting to know more about Daphne, the specifics I won’t reveal here as it ventures toward Spoilerville Lane.

Though the first half is a bit of a slow burn, the hook is immediate and pulled me in; followed by some cringe-worthy scenes that had this horror fan's full attention, with a conclusion I love but felt like it needed to be fleshed out a bit more.

Thank you, NetGalley and Del Rey (Random House Publishing), for providing me with an eARC of DAPHNE at the request of an honest review.

“You can think anything into being.”

Daphne. Say that name.

A high school team is being brutally slain one by one and no one can stop it. All because they think of the name Daphne.

Who is Daphne? It seems like the whole town knows her, but no one wants to even say her name. Don’t even think it.

This book had me at the edge of my seat, my heart pounding, and legitimately freaked out. Daphne is terrifying.

Josh Malerman did a fantastic job personifying anxiety into a truly nightmarish horror story.

This gave me vibes of the newer movie “It Follows” with a dab of “Nightmare on Elm Street.”

I loved everything about it. Excuse me while I go pick up the author’s entire back catalogue.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Daphne by Josh Malerman is officially one of my favorite books of 2022 and Josh Malerman is officially an auto-buy author for me! Fantastically frightening and well-paced, the story of Daphne will have you looking over your shoulder. I loved the storytelling, the sequencing, and the imagery! So glad I started the Fall with a win. This is easily 5 stars!

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Published on Goodreads 9/25: I’ve read a couple of books by Malerman that I really enjoyed, but this was pretty disappointing. I contemplated DNFing multiple times and really had to push to get through this. The whole folklore behind Daphne has the potential to be interesting, but this really wasn’t it for me. Also, there were a ton of characters in here and it was extremely confusing to keep track of them all and it took aware from the story.

This was such a tense, spooky read. Perfect for this time of the year! I loved the multiple POVs that never felt confusing. Usually I feel overwhelmed when it’s more than 2 POVs but it worked well in this case. I also loved how the story revolved around anxiety and basketball. The former because I suffer from it and found the depiction of it relatable and the latter because it’s one of my favorite sports to watch. Though I predicted the ending, it was still thought-provoking. I would definitely recommend this book and plan on reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book started slow, and I had a hard time immediately getting into it. It soon began to grow on me though; this was a decent horror story!

Daphne is a teenage girl who died while listening to music in her running car. She’d returned home, fell asleep, and then the garage door shut, killing her with carbon monoxide poisoning. Was it a suicide, or was it murder? The rumors abound: she was a basketball player, seven feet tall, who could crush a ball in one hand. The story is that she kills with her bare hands, and the only way to not get killed is to not think of her or talk about her.

Kit is a high school basketball player, and as all of her “baller” friends are, obsessed with Daphne’s legend. The rumor that Daphne haunts their town of Samhattan is something that haunts Kit. She knows Daphne goes after other players, and can’t escape the feeling that she’s in danger after winning a critical game and getting a premonition from the basketball rim.

What exacerbates the problem is that Kit suffers from panic attacks/panic disorder. She writes extensively about her fears in her journal, named Jolly. I saw one review say that Daphne was a metaphor for anxiety, and in the epilogue, the author seems to hint at that, too. Anxiety or not, Daphne is on the prowl, and the bodies keep piling up…

I don’t normally like haunted/ghost stories, but this one was better than most. The writing was excellent; my only complaint was that it was quite long and had a slight YA feel. You can write a book about teenagers without it feeling like a book for teenagers, but it wasn’t perfectly executed here. Still, quite a good book and a fair four stars.

(Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Josh Malerman, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

Like many readers I read and loved Bird Box by Josh Malerman. I’ve since read a couple of his books hoping they would be as good as Bird Box but they were just ok. The same can be said for Daphne. It was ok, not fabulous.

I loved the ghost story aspect, I thought it was very original and creepy. The teenage girls were interesting as was the lead detective. I was a bit nervous that a male writer would write a story with a female villain, detective, coach, and a high school basketball team but they weren’t cliche characters. What I didn’t care for is all the basketball. So much basketball. If you read The Only Good Indian by Stephen Graham Jones and didn’t like it because of all of the basketball this is kind of the same though the basketball does relate more directly to the story in Daphne.

Overall it’s a decent ghost story.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc I received in exchange for my review**

When you’re told not to think about a certain thing, see how well you do. It’s not easy. At all. In this novel, if you think about Daphne, she comes for you. And you won’t survive the visit.

Daphne is kind of an urban legend in this town. Seven feet tall, the owner of a muscle car, and rumored to be a murderer, she was an outcast in high school, but has been dead for many years. Or has she? When one of the basketball players tells a ghost story about Daphne to the team, the body count begins a couple days later. With her friends dying one by one in horrific ways, Kit is sure it’s only a matter of time before Daphne pays her a visit.

If you’re a fan of both basketball and horror, you’ll be thrilled with this book. Basketball isn’t one of my interests, so I skimmed over a good bit of those parts. But when Daphne is on the page? I couldn’t look away. Those scenes are creepy, bloodcurdling, and exactly what I’d hoped. For me, this had the feel of an 80s slasher movie, and it was something I really liked. As a KISS fan, I also appreciated them being mentioned, but chuckled over Kit not knowing who they were.

Daphne is a chilling blend of horror and psychological thriller that may keep you awake at night. Just try not to think about her. Good luck.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Daphne is a great pick if you are looking for a spooky season read. It is a multilayered, dark, psychological thriller that revolves around a town's urban legend. The main character deals with severe anxiety and keeps a journal about her relationship with it which is a large part of the story. How our minds can play tricks on us, and the sheer power of our thoughts is woven throughout this book. Facing your fears when you are almost crippled by panic and pushing through is also something I took away from this book. This is not just a scary ghost story; there are layers to it which I always appreciate.

Kit Lamb is a seventeen-year old high school student enjoying her life with her friends and looking forward to going to college in another year. What Kit loves the most in her life though is basketball. She has been on the school team for years along with her closest and dearest friends who all just Get each other which is so important in a teenager's life especially when all the girls have their own individual issues that they are trying to conquer as they grow into young adults. These kids just live and breathe basketball and they're really good players as well but Kit's major drawback is anxiety with a capital A. Kit tries to hide from it since she doesn't understand what it really is and thinks her feelings and actions make her less than and different from other people she is so fearful of the feelings and thoughts that truly overwhelm her at times that she doesn't talk to her parents about it and they more or less tippy-toe around her problems not wanting to upset her. What are they afraid of? Why are so many parents uncomfortable and nervous to really talk and listen to their kids?

Other than anxiety, life is pretty great until the night before a big game when the girl's basketball team are having a sleepover and one girl tells the spooky (supposedly true) story of an ostracized girl in town who was quite frightening in appearance and attitude, drove and more or less lived in her muscle car while always having the windows down playing the loudest, heavy metal music everywhere she went even parked in her garage til all hours of the night not caring what others thought about her. The story ends that she died in her car. Some say murdered some say natural causes but no-one knows the real story surrounding this strange, fearsome creature named "Daphne". The key to this horror story is you must not think or say her name because she will know and then..... Well, just make sure noone thinks her name. Now all the girl's can't stop thinking about " DAPHNE" Was this girl a victim or a monster in the making.

The problem with this so-called true story is that none of the girls had heard of "Daphne" before so they know it's a tall tale. After the storytelling night, one by one the girls on the basketball team are being brutally murdered and no-one knows why or how to put an end to these senseless killings and Kit's anxiety is through the roof by now and she might die by her own attacks (so she thinks) before the killer finally comes for her.

This was an engaging story about horror and coming of age in a small town where everyone knows everyone else. Anxiety and Panic attacks were the soul of the story. Kit was a wonderful character and had a tortured young life with her crippling anxiety which she just couldn't understand or get a grip on and her parents were lovely people but they weren't any help to her at all. Now, "Daphne" was a great spooky story or legend and was pretty darn creepy with a lot of potential for true horror but I felt it missed the mark for me. Maybe I wanted to make too much sense about something that was senseless or I just got lost with too much information that didn't fit the facts. The story overall was good but I wanted more scare and not a mismash of gory muders. Now, the book was a terrific learning lesson about the cycle of anxiety attacks leading to panic attacks that was well done and realistic. If anyone has ever suffered actual panic attacks (completely different from regular anxiety) I think they will appreciate this book and understand what poor Kit was suffering through. I did enjoy the book although it just wasn't what how I hoped it it would all play out. Josh Malerman is a fantastic writer who has a way of creating vivid descriptions of characters and places that the reader can easily visualize and imagine into a reading reality.

I want to thank the publisher "Random House Publishing - Ballantine" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book by Josh Malerman and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this book a rating if 3 1/2 ANXIETY RIDDEN 🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!!

Josh Mallerman really knows how to pack a punch… or swish that free throw of horror every time. Who knew basketball and horror could coexist in a novel that induces anxiety, yet is also a love letter of sorts to all three subjects.

While initially a bit slow, Daphne dribbles fear one bounce at a time, leading up to a twist, a “no look pass” to who and what Daphne really is.

A nod to the love of basketball. A horror master at both creating and dealing with anxiety. Josh Mallerman knows how to insert an ear worm. Not written in chapter form, but as breaks in time, this tale charges full force daring you to take a break.

This is one to recommend for anyone that loves the horror genre, loves basketball, and anyone who runs life’s court with the courage it takes to face the rim… and shoot.

Josh Malerman’s Daphne is quite the intense journey. Who is Daphne? Or better, what is Daphne? She’s just an urban legend, right? A ghost story about a one time high school student, a seven foot tall loner, who died (or was killed) under mysterious circumstances? That’s who she was, right? Maybe…maybe not. Who is she now? And why does no one say her name? On some level everyone seems to know of her, and yet they’ve all also seem to have forgotten her…or have they? And if that is who she was when alive, what is she now? Why don’t people remember her? Why do people shiver at the mention of her name? Is she now a malevolent force of nature? A vengeful spirit? A killing machine? Possibly. And if the only way to avoid her is not to think of her, how do you possibly do that? How do you not think about something that is coming to kill you? That’s the question high schooler and basketball star Kit Lamb and her friends are faced with. Various parts/aspects of Daphne reminded me of a couple of Stephen Kings novels as well as a few movies, such as It Follows. In this chilling and relentless thriller, Kit is forced to face her almost crippling internal battle with anxiety even as she faces the looming threat of Daphne’s pursuit. This one screams to be made into a movie/miniseries, and I hope someone makes that happen! Thanks so much to NetGalley and the Random House for the chance to read and review an eARC of Daphne. (4.5 stars rounded up to 5)

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/daphne-josh-malerman/1140555561?ean=9780593157015&bvnotificationId=8fba7353-393e-11ed-b02a-12a991d37eef&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/217603533

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2123VCNSGA2HT/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"The mind can be a scary place. You can think anything into being."

LOVED reading Daphne! It's my new favorite of 2022. This is the first book I've read by Josh Malerman and I devoured every sentence as fast as I possibly could. I even stayed up until 3am to finish this book.

The story of Daphne was beyond anything I thought it was going to be. Daphne brought back all kinds of memories for me. From saying "Bloody Mary" in the mirror three times in middle school to my high school days. The high school girls basketball team was perfectly likable. Kit's character was perfectly flawed. I could definitely relate to her anxiety. I too have anxiety, so I connected with Kit on that level and understood how Kit mentioned how much it played with her mind.
It also reminded me how much I loved basketball in high school. I enjoyed going to the games at school and I was obsessed with watching Duke University basketball tv. Duke newspaper clippings hung all over my bedroom walls.
The ending was crazy. It went a little too quick for me and I was still questioning things..don't want to say too much and give anything away!

Daphne is going to stick with me for a long time. It was creepy, scary, heart-pounding, thought-provoking good! It's a book you will want to read all in one sitting. A horror must read for 2022!

What a great take on urban legends. That’s what daphne is, and that’s what our main character Kit is worried about. See her basketball team during a sleepover talked about this urban legend and how
If you think of her she comes for you. The set up was fantastic we learned enough about each character to care and the ending is great too. This is a fast moving book and my first by Josh. Won’t be the last that’s for sure

4⭐️

<b>“You can’t think about Daphne. If you think about Daphne too much . . . she comes for you.”</b>

Daphne is a local myth in Samhattan that everyone collectively decided to forget about, and for good reason. Daphne is a ghost, a thought that sticks that you just can’t shake out of your head, and something you realize you vaguely remember when you hear someone say her name again. Kit is 17 and on her high school’s basketball team. The night before the big game, one of Kit’s teammates scares everyone with the tale of Daphne, a denim clad 7 foot tall woman with KISS makeup who kills people with her bare hands if you think about her. Kit becomes obsessed with the legend, and asks the basketball rim if Daphne will kill her as she makes she makes the game winning shot.

Kit keeps thinking about Daphne over and over again and can’t seem to stop. When her teammates mysteriously start dying by being crushed by bare hands, Kit becomes even more obsessed with Daphne and her journal entries showcase her descent into madness. Ultimately, this book is about anxiety (and basketball). It’s very repetitive and mimics how someone can constantly worry about something and can give life to or manifest even the bad things. Overall, a super interesting horror!

<b> “Isn’t this what people say? That it’s impossible not to think about whatever you’re told not to think about?”</b>

Daphne was only me second book by Josh Malerman, but based on only the two I have read, I am of the opinion that Josh Malerman is not really writing about what you think he is writing about. Daphne, like the previous one I read, is a horror that is really more about psychological states. The House At The Bottom of the Lake was about the psychological state of people experiencing first love. Daphne is about all the psychological states of adolescents as they are about to transition from child to adult. There is also a significant amount to be read into how damaging it can be for individuals and communities to choose to NOT speak about traumatic events.

The main characters of Daphne were the members of a high school basketball team who learns a ghost story about a woman from their small town who was 7 feet tall, dressed in head to toe denim, and who loved metal music. She didn't fit in and creeped people out. She was eventually killed and now haunts and kills those who think too much about her. Daphne becomes the community He Who Shall Not Be Named. Of course, now that they have all been told the story, they can't stop thinking about Daphne. When one of them is murdered, they all start wondering if the ghost story is true and Daphne is coming for them.....

Another main character is the cop investigating a murder. She is not from the town and therefore doesn't have the mythology of Daphne in her mind and thinks people are crazy for trying to tie that ghost story into real life murders.

The book is great in that there are heavy life topics wrapped around a creepy, entertaining story. I loved how the book touched on the anxiety and fear that adolescents might experience because they are told at such a young age "You can do anything you want to do with your life, but decide quickly!" There were characters with disabilities, physical and mental. There were kids that had home struggles. There were characters who just wanted to fit it.

So the plot of the book was fun, but the deeper observations on anxiety were what I loved best about this book.

Who is Daphne? Daphne is an enigma - the local urban legend in Samhattan. She's super tall, super creepy, and super murderous. This is Josh Malerman at his best, with atmospheric horror that is in no way superfluous. Daphne is part slasher, part deep-dive into mental health and revenge. Oh, and basketball. Maybe a bit too much basketball. Still, for fans of Malerman this one won't disappoint.

I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me a chance at reading this book.

Daphne is a very interesting book and one that is not meant for everyone. Malerman wrote this as a way of bringing awareness to a mental health issue he has. Intrusive thoughts / anxiety / ocd is something I suffer with and I was quite surprised that the horror element / villain of this piece is the human embodiment of that issue. What if Freddy Kruger was instead a person who feasted on anxiety / mental health? that just thinking about him, in this case Daphne, caused him to appear and kill you?

Daphne is stalking / preying on the girls basketball team, picking them off one by one. Tell her story and you will never get it to go away. Was she a myth? Was she based on someone real? How do you stop thinking about a killer you can't see or hear?

While I enjoyed the 'story' and the killer / villain, I felt their backstory was a little confusing for me and the rules and or aspects of how they interacted with the real world messy. Whereas Freddy Kruger's backstory was a bit more stronger / well written (though it never really explained how he became the single embodiment of fear / nightmares) you never quite understand how Daphne became the embodiment of anixety for people since her story didn't really connect to mental health,

I enjoyed it but I felt with those issues it left me from enjoying it more than I did. I also warn people that if they have triggers of anxiety or OCD due to horror and or ruminating thoughts in general this book may trigger that.

I don't know about this one, guys. It's sort of a 2.5 but I can't bring myself to round it up to a solid 3. I was initially interested because Malerman tweeted something about Daphne not being a "female Jason" and I was like "oh snap, I love Jason, I have to read this". But like, he was definitely right-- not Friday the 13th like at all, so maybe that disappointment is on me.
But really! The thing that knocked it down a star was
1. That Kit's journal sounds nothing like a high schooler. No offense to Malerman, but he's a dude and I'm not convinced he can write women, and especially teenage girls, believably.
2. The reveal of why she had her first panic attack was simply too dumb. Listening to Nine Inch Nails on vinyl? That's the lamest. Embarrassingly lame.
3. The ending was frankly confusing and felt like it wrapped itself up way too quickly.
4. Daphne wasn't that scary! Like I get the whole thing was maybe a metaphor but I didn't feel spooked one bit, which is a bummer.

Josh has proven again and again to have the ability to fill up the horror shelves with enough stories for a lifetime if no one else is up for the challenge. Thankfully the horror genre hasn’t been this exciting and fruitful in literature in decades and Josh is a good reason for its health.
Thanks for the galley. I’ll post on GR and elsewhere soon.