Ghostwritten is a wonderful collection of novellas all touching on the topic of books. As a reader, I very much enjoyed these creepy tales about scary books -- especially the choose your own adventure aspect of the last story!

4.5
4 novellas from Malfi all with the common theme of haunted or cursed stories/books. There wasn’t a single one I didn’t enjoy although 2 of them I enjoyed more then the others. Malfi is slowly starting to become one of my go to authors for horror and thrillers.

Review originally published at:
https://runningreader87.wordpress.com/2023/01/05/book-review-ghostwritten-by-ronald-malfi/

I'll begin by saying that this is my second ever Ronald Malfi book- the first being Bone White. And while it's too early to say what I think of him as an overall author, I can honestly say I will be actively seeking out more of his books!

Ghostwritten is a collection of 4 novellas. In each story I was sucked in early. The writing style and the detail Malfi uses are captivating. There are elements of beauty, sadness, grief, action, horror, and comedy.

The overarching theme of this collection is stories/ books and their power.. As an avid reader this intrigued me. One of the best things about this book is that while each story covers a similar topic it is also completely unique to the others. This being the case, I think the best way for me to give this book a full review is to give each novella a mini-review. I'll also say this before I dive in: all of these stories are well developed for novellas. You tend to forget you are not reading a full novel.

Let's begin:

The Skin of Her Teeth:

Quick Summary: Gloria is an agent and has a major problem. Her writer, Davis McElroy, has disappeared. He went to a secluded cabin to adapt a novel into a screenplay. Now all communication has ceased. She must track down the writer. But what she finds when she finds Davis is a man who has surely gone mad, talking about a possessed book. Gloria must clean up the mess before it's too late and the deal is dead. But as she works to fulfill the contract, she realizes Davis just might be right.

Quick Review: The description and vocabulary are excellent. The story starts out with intrigue. You want to know what happened to the writer.

Then in the middle of the story, you shift gears entirely. The writer is found, and the story becomes more about what drove him mad, namely the book. I was not necessarily expecting this shift, and it took us places I wasn't anticipating, but were a whole lot of fun.

Story Comparison: Ghost Story, by Peter Straub

The Dark Brother's Last Ride:

Summary: The Dark Brothers, Danny and Tommy, are couriers. And not the UPS kind. No, their clientele more closely resembles the Corleone's. They're used to delivering some pretty heavy stuff, so when their boss asks them to deliver a book the brothers are confused. And what they're to be paid is surely it's too much.. This is clearly no ordinary book. What follows is a journey that will bring the brothers to the brink.

Review: The Dark Brother's tale was perhaps my least favorite in the collection. And honestly there isn't a great reason for this other than when I look back at the book I don't remember it as fondly as I do the rest. That doesn't mean it isn't good. It is! The characters are all delightfully gritty. The tone was one of total bewilderment, mystery, and adventure. I enjoyed this tale and think there could be more written about Tommy and Danny, which I would happily read.

Story Comparison: An episode of Supernatural.

This Book Belongs to Olo

Summary: Olo is an oddball and an outcast. He has strange tendencies- such as wearing a clown mask in the middle of summer- he has a strange family, and a strange house. So, one day when he shows up to the park and invites all the kids on the playground to his birthday it does not go well. But Olo doesn't mind. He knows his invitation will attract guests. And when he gets them to his house Olo plans on using his own specially created book to ensure he will never be friendless again.

Review: This was an oddly captivating tale. It has the aura of a fairy tale gone askew. You can't help but feel for Olo, but at the same time you can't help but feel for everyone else in the story. It's distinct because at different times each character seems to be the protagonist and antagonist. This one is not for those who don't like a touch of whimsy in their stories. When I look back on this novella, I remember the tale vividly!

Story Comparison: A Neil Gaiman story.

The Story

Summary: Grady Russo is a journalist who gets a call one night that an old colleague, friend and former lover, Taryn Donaldson, has committed suicide. But the circumstances of the death and the events leading up to it are odd. Devastated, Grady does what he does best: investigate. He learns that Taryn got involved, not with drugs, but in something known as The Story. The Story is an online choose-your-own-adventure tale that drove her mad. Now Grady wants to know more about The Story. But he has to be careful or he may just walk a similar path down the road of obsession and madness himself.

Review: This was my favorite story of the group. I loved the overall tone and feel from the beginning. Grady is a run-of-the-mill sort of guy, one the reader can empathize with. This is good because the accompanying characters are off-the-wall to the point of near absurdity. However, their eccentricities make them somehow believable, and certainly memorable. The tale itself unfolds like a mystery, with one clue leading to another, becoming darker along the way.

And the ending is haunting! I’ll just say, you're certainly rewarded for reading all the way through the rest of the book!

Story Comparison: The Twilight Zone or Black Phone.

Conclusion:

If you're an avid reader this book is for you! One of the nicest things about it is the fact that you can read one story without investing too much into it and still get a wonderful tale. I found that each story flowed well and would absolutely recommend this book especially if you've just finished an long book and need to break things up a bit.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ love Ronald Malfi and he does it again with this group of stories. Definitely worth checking out. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

With thanks to the author, publishers Titan Books, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC on this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

This is a really entertaining collection of horror novellas from the pen of one of my favourite horror authors, Ronald Malfi. All four novellas have at their centre a cursed book of some sort, and all are entertaining in their own right, but for me The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride and The Story were the best of the four.

I really enjoy the writing of Ronald Malfi, having read both Come with Me and Black Mouth in the last couple of years. Also his horror novella Borealis is a favourite of mine, and this collection continues in the same strong vein. Recommended.

This book is perfect for any spooky, magical realism bibliophile. Each story is centered around how books hold the power to swallow you up 😳 literally.

After reading this, I am a certified fan of Malfi’s. I’ve learned that I prefer writing that gets straight to the point, while still maintaining the ability to create a beautifully vivid picture. His four stories do just that. And while each one can stand alone, there are little Easter eggs that tie them together, which is quite satisfying. I highly recommend!

This is a weird one to rate. Each story was based around a deadly or cursed book, which was an interesting topic but only worked in two of the stories for me…

The Skin of Her Teeth, 2 star. Did not vibe with this one. The story was odd and I had no real interest in how it was going to play out for the majority of it. Strangely enough, I did end up liking the conclusion of why what happened did, but I just wish it hadn’t happened at all tbh 💁🏻‍♀️

The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride, 4 star. I shouldn’t have liked this one because it followed both a plot and types of characters that I don’t tend to like but the story ended up hooking me and it had some genuinely unsettling moments. It fell off a bit towards the end and went on for too long after a point where it could’ve perfectly ended. But overall entertaining.

This Book Belongs to Olo, 2 star. This should have been one I enjoyed because it featured a strange house but the story was boring, not spooky, and irritating.

The Story, 5 star. Saved the best til last! This was a ‘choose your own adventure’ story that spiralled into unsettling realities. I was intrigued from the start, had a lot of fun working out the mystery and story as it went. Could see this being an amazing TV show if fleshed out more!

So yeah, a weird experience overall. I will still continue to read Malfi as I like his writing, but this collection wasn’t too much of a hit.

A great collection of stories by a fantastic author, I would highly recommend to fans of Malfi. I read this over October and it's the perfect spooky season book.

I LOVED THIS. Perfect for anyone who is look for a quick and spooky set of stories! Pick this one up

This is a phenomenal hit from Malfi. A cursed book, a deadly delivery, the pop up book from hell, and the choose your own adventure tale that comes to life- all four novellas are part of the collection Ghostwritten.

I loved, loved two of these, and the other two were well-written but didn’t quite land with me. However all four novellas pack a punch, and together, they make a collection that will delight any horror fan and thrill Malfi fans.

Definitely worth the read, and would make a great gift for the horror fan in your life.

Many thanks to NetGally and Edelweiss books for the digital ARC- my opinions are my own.

Ghostwritten by Ronald Malfi is a vicious, and visceral punch in the stomach.
A collection of four related novellas that explore the idea of reality and stories. "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 unusual pop-up book. A choose-your-own adventure game spirals into an uncanny reality in The Story." are the stories in this book.
To be honest this is the second book by Ronald Malfi that I have read (the first being the Night Parade) and I found this one to be an entertaining and intriguing collection. The final tale The Story is by far my favorite and a fitting finale to the book. I plan on looking up more work by Ronald Malfi.
Thanks to #NetGalley, #TitanBooks, and Ronald Malfi for the ARC of #Ghostwritten.

Ghostwritten is a collection of 4 stories about books; books that have gone to the dark side. Each story is peculiar and creepy!

Skin of Her teeth - Possessed book that has a mind of its own. What creepy things can it think and do.. imagine!

The Dark Brother’s Last ride - Two brothers are tasked with transporting a briefcase with a book, only rule - do not open the briefcase. Human curiosity interferes and what might happen if the briefcase is opened.

The book belongs to Olo - an intelligent boy Olo plays hide & seek with friends, when they all hide, Olo opens his book. No worries, its just “another” book!

The Story - have you come across that game where you get to choose between options for the characters? Same concept, but with a book in one story and the result / ending can be deadly.

Malfi has great expertise in writing horror stories about different themes! He has crafted “ghost” stories creatively with books as a theme this time. Enjoyed very much!!

Thank you Titan books via Netgalley for the arc!!

I have fast become a Ronald Malfi this year after previously reading "The Night Parade" and "Black Mouth", and to me, his writing style and character development is akin to the great Stephen King! I am a huge fan of short story collections, so I was very excited to read "Ghostwritten." It's really cool that the theme of all 4 stories in this book is "dangerous books," and each story left me wanting more! My favorite tale was "This Book Belongs to Olo," a story about an eccentric lonely child from an affluent family who only wishes to have more friends. It reminded me of Joe Hill's "Locke and Key" series. The Dark Brothers' Last Ride, a delivery job undertaken by a pair of criminal brothers is similar to "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" or even "The Stand." Malfi's books uncover that part of the soul that breeds existential terror of the unknown, and I leave his books with much on my mind. If you love reading and short horror stories, then please don't hesitate to read this one! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing the ARC!

GHOSTWRITTEN, by Ronald Malfi, is a collection of four novellas that each take place in a "shared universe". While not quite a "wrap around" story, I really loved the fact that each of these stories had characters or pieces of previous ones added into them. This made it feel like we were reading a "collected work" based on something larger behind it; which, in essence, we were.

The first novella, THE SKIN OF HER TEETH starts us out on the perfect note. We get the background of a lot of characters, a book that--literally--does not wished to be changed, and knowledge of a group somewhere that knows much more about these kinds of things than the average person...

Second is THE DARK BROTHERS' LAST RIDE . This is a "gangster-style/deliver the package" story. The package in a locked suitcase being, of course, a book. With a ridiculously large amount of rules as to how this package is to be delivered, you just know nothing will go smoothly. Although there were parts of this that I absolutely loved, the overall ending of it made it feel somehow less magical than it was earlier.

Next we have THIS BOOK BELONGS TO OLO , in which a lonely, extremely creative boy creates a sort of "pop-up" book that is so much more.... This one had all the right notes for me, emotionally, physically, and tied into the "Otherworldly Realms" so well that I have to say it was my favorite of the group.
Try telling me that a plastic clown mask isn't creepy in any situation....

Last we have THE STORY . This one was more realistic feeling than the rest, perhaps due to the fact that it opens with a death, and the sorrow, guilt, and loss associated with it. It did take me a while to get into, primarily because the "story"--a choose you own adventure type that only can be "found" when it chooses to-doesn't appear until later in the book. Before that, it was so full of grief and regret, that it just didn't seem to fit in with the alternative areas the other tales did. However, once it DID breach that area, there was no going back. The ending packed a punch that concluded the collection on the perfect note possible, in my humble opinion.

*Thank you NetGalley, for the ARC.*

Recommended!

Thank you for providing me with a copy of this book.
I run out of time so sorry I wasn't able to finish this just as yet, I will edit this review soon as I finish.

All four novellas were thrilling, the strongest being “This Book Belongs to Olo” in my opinion. I loved the subtle interconnected nature of the stories and the way each character was uniquely haunted.

Ronald Malfi is becoming one of my favorite horror writer and these novellas about books met my expectations and I thoroughly enjoyed them.
They're well written, kept me on the edge, and are great examples of how well Malfi can write.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This is the perfect fall read, especially around Halloween! As a compilation of 4 short stories by Ronald Malfi, this book is easy to read each story individually or all at once. For me, I prefer to read one and then come back in between longer books to read more. My two favorite stories from this book were The Skin of Her Teeth and The Story. I read the first two stories and listened to the last two and I would recommend this book either way. The narrator, Joe Hempel did an excellent job. This book is perfect for horror fans looking for a short and fast read! I’m giving this 3.5 out of 5 stars, rounding up to 4 on goodreads.

A big thank you to Titan Books, Tantor Audio, NetGalley, and Ronald Malfi for providing me with both the ebook and audio copies in exchange for my honest review.

Ghostwritten by Ronald Malfi is made up of 4 novellas and it’s the perfect Spooky Season Read. These 4 short stories are about books and manuscripts which all tied into one another. Are short stories and horror your jam? If so, Ghostwritten is definitely for you. Ronald Malfi is such a creative, spooky horror writer. His works are so mesmerizing and hard to put down. And Ghostwritten was no different.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher, Titan Books and Tantor Audio for both a digital copy as well as an audiobook copy in exchange for my honest review. I very much enjoyed the reading experience. Listening while reading along has become one of my favorite ways to binge read books at record speed.

I didn’t know anything about this book except that Ronald Malfi was the author and I couldn’t say no. This was a memorable collection for sure. Overall, I’d give this 4 stars. Some stories I enjoyed more than others but overall it was an enjoyable read. I highly recommend this spooky collection found within the pages of Ghostwritten.

Thank you so much for the early access!
Four different stories, four different haunted homes, and all the same fright. This was perfect for the halloween season, It was creepy, mysterious, horror blends, scary, intense, and dark. I really enjoyed the writing and each story. Loved the connections between everything: characters, plots, writing. Some of the novellas just didnt feel as developed and connected as others which was kinda a let down. Slow paced but not a bad thing. Overall, I enjoyed this and would recommend!