Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this frightful tale! My thoughts are my own! The First Story “The Skin of Her Teeth” was interesting and started off great, I just felt it fizzled out, I would give that one a 3 star. The Second short story “The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride” was fantastic! I read it in bed at night with a sick kiddo cuddling, it was so atmospheric and creepy that my kid coughed, and I jumped out of my skin. SOLID 4 star! The story “This Book Belongs to Olo” is amazing and I got Twilight Zone vibes, old school Twilight Zone. AND I loved the crossovers, there are things, people, and objects that are crossing over from the other two stories which then gives me a Stephen King vibe. Just vibes all around and most of them are freaky! The last story called ironically “The Story” was one of my favorites! Loved the suspense and of course the hints to previous stories! 4 stars for this story which brings this book to a solid 4 stores! LOVED IT!

👻👻👻👻👻
Right in time for spooky season, I was so lucky to nab this from Netgalley! Ronald Malfi is a guaranteed favourite of mine. Huge fan.

If you enjoy psychological-existential horrors with great character development and interactions, and vivid environments that instil a slow terror.. pick up a Malfi book!

This book is a series of 4 short stories. Normally I'm not into it, BUT the stories are connected in little ways which tickled my happy lil horror brain. The way Malfi weaves little hints of the other stories, as if they'd crossed the pages and the characters noticed, was such a delight.

My favourite story had to be This Book Belongs to Olo, where we follow a sweetly intelligent, but creepy little boy named Bartholomew around his mansion. Not giving much away but the absolute terror and intrigue this story filled me with.. I felt for little Olo, but don't underestimate him. What an amazing character.

The other stories follow:
Two brothers on their last illegal mission together, on a strange request to deliver a box they are not to open. Both at odds with each other's personality, forming a dysfunctional little adventure into liminal space.

Another follows a guy who helps investigate his missing ex-lover, who appears to have disappeared into thin air. The only trace of her are her apartment walls covered in chaotically aggressive text and codes, as if crawling out from the PC. And with a final ominous touch of large black paint attempting to cover the scribbles of text, saying "DO NOT READ".

And then a scriptwriter who tracks down an author who went MIA at their remote cabin, to investigate the strange phenomena surrounding the book draft that seemingly doesn't want to be written. The haggard looking author describes having to build several boxes around it.. not to keep them from getting it, but to keep IT from getting out.

Amazing stories. Get into it!!


Thank you to Netgalley, Ronald Malfi and Titan Books for this advanced copy.

I'll admit I was a little disappointed in this one. I am still definitely going to read from Malfi, but this particular collection just wasn't for me --- But I can DEFINITELY see why others enjoy it.

1) The first story - Skin of Her Teeth - a no from me. I didn't enjoy this one at all. The main character was an idiot and I felt like the story could've been executed much better.

2) The Dark Brothers' Last Ride - I enjoyed this one more than the first, but it took too long to gain my interest. The most interesting part was the end.

3) The Book Belongs to Olo - This was the best one in the collection for me. The most creepy and interesting for me as it felt like it had a bit of fantasy. But, I wanted MORE from it.

4) The Story - I liked the concept but it just wasn't giving what I needed from it in terms of the unsettling feeling. I wanted more details about the tech and journey.

I just don't think books about haunted items/books are for me. While the settings were well done, I feel like the stories just weren't real enough for me, if that makes sense? Too predictable, and I was generally uninterested except for one story.

Narrators were great, but the pacing and overall execution wasn't what I expected. 2.5/5

Ronald Malfi has been doing a fantastic job of quickly becoming one of my favorite new authors. I read and loved Black Mouth earlier this year and now Ghostwritten (a 4-novellas in one book with an overarching theme about books) which was so good too. Also before the year is up I WILL be reading Come With Me by the same author.

While this may seem strange to say being that it took me almost 3 weeks to finish this book, Ghostwritten truly was an addictive read & so often during it I was completely immersed in Malfi's work.

He has this way of writing certain ideas & imagery that gets under your skin, sticks with you, and fills you with such unease.

Definite Black Mirror, Twilight Zone, and X-Files vibes at times.

So glad this author has a decent size backlist I can dig into.

I give Ghostwritten by Ronald Malfi 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Big thanks to @titanbooks & @netgalley for this e-ARC!

These four novellas were perfect for spooky season! I loved that each story was centered around a book and that they were all in some way intertwined. I enjoyed all of the stores but This Book Belongs to Olo was my personal favorite!

This was the first Ronald Malfi book that I've read and I'm looking forward to reading more. I actually found that I already had one (Little Girls) sitting on my bookshelf so I hope to squeeze that in this month!

Thank you @Netgalley, @titanbooks and the author for the e-arc of this book!

Ghostwritten is a collection of 4-novellas by one of the most compelling voices in Horror Fiction today, Ronald Malfi.

I didn't know anything about this collection going in, seeing Malfi's name on the cover was enough for me, but was so pleased to discover the connecting theme amongst the stories contained therein: BOOKS! We all love books, don't we?

How about haunted books, evil books or murderous books? Color me intrigued! I would definitely check them out.

This collection starts out with a bang with The Skin of Her Teeth. I adored that story. It was giving me Secret Window, Secret Garden vibes and I was living for it. The tone and suspense of it all helped me to fly through it so quickly. It was crazy fun!

The second and third stories, The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride and This Book Belongs to Olo, were both enjoyable as well. They were so dark, fast-moving and creative. How does he come up with this stuff? With these middle two though, for me, I wasn't captivated to the same extent as I was with the first story. I began to think that maybe the first story would end up being my resounding favorite. Then I started the fourth and final story, aptly titled, The Story.

The Story involves a very dark web, twisted version of a Choose Your Own Adventure story. I was obsessed with those types of books when I was a kid. I always wondered just what would happen if the choices I was making in the book actually had an effect on my real life. I guess Malfi once upon a time wondered the same thing...

I loved this one so much. It was horrendous in all the right ways. The way it ended, sheer perfection. Overall, this was a completely enjoyable, sure to be memorable collection.

For me, since the first and fourth stories were 5-stars, and the second and third were around 3.5-stars, I decided to slice it right down the middle with a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ final rating. Also, I definitely recommend the audiobook!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Titan Books and Tantor Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. If you are looking for a creepy collection to pick up this Spooky Season, you should absolutely get your hands on Ghostwritten. There's something for everyone here!!

Fifth spooky read of the season!👻🍂

I'm usually not into novellas, but the premise intrigued me. In the end, Ghostwritten exceeded my expectations (especially the first half)! I loved the links between the different stories and the fact that they are all about books.

The Skin of Her Teeth
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
I was enthralled from the start! I loved the characters, the plot and the detailed ending (sometimes, novellas tend to end abruptly).

The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Not perfect, but this creepy story totally deserves 5 stars because I had so much fun reading it!

This Book Belongs to Olo
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
The idea of this story was amazing! How come I didn't enjoy it more? I thought it dragged too much (and it was the longest novella). I still liked it!

The Story
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Really disappointed with the last novella... It feels like it was coming from another book.

Global rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Many thanks to Netgalley and Titan books for the ARC

Ronald Malfi has done it again! I only discovered his writing two years ago and I have been obsessed ever since.

This collection of four novellas is pure horror genius in print. I loved the connection of books throughout each story and how Malfi took a book as a focal point in each story, but still made each individual story so unique.

I loved all four novellas, but my favorite is probably "This Book Belongs to Olo." I will definitely be recommending this book and purchasing a physical copy for myself for my shelves so that I can revisit this terrifying collection.

Ghostwritten is comprised of four novellas, all relating in some way to the written word and stories themselves. I was very intrigued by the synopsis of this collection, but I was also a bit hesitant. I recently tried Malfi for the first time with his novel Black Mouth, which didn’t really work for me. But I hate to write an author off without giving them at least two tries, so I decided Ghostwritten would be our second chance, to see if we could mesh as artist and consumer. I’m happy to report that we can! While the collection as a whole was a 4 star read, two of these novellas are among my favorite horror stories I’ve ever read, and I can’t wait to read them again next October.

Below are my brief thoughts on each story.

The Skin of Her Teeth: 5 stars
Brilliant from start to finish. This is the story of a story that refuses to be altered, and I loved every minute of it. I think it might be one of my favorite horror shorts I’ve ever read. It’s definitely my favorite book-related horror I’ve encountered. I would buy a physical copy of this book for this story alone.

The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride: 4 stars
A story of a delivery trip gone wrong. And very, very weird. I actively disliked Tommy, but I think I was supposed to. It took me a little while to warm up to this story after having so deeply loved “The Skin of Her Teeth,” but it won me over. The un-rightness of the route followed on the trip was palpably creepy, and was my favorite part of the story. The book was also suitably disturbing, but I was in it for the abandoned towns and off-brand gas station snacks.

This Book Belongs to Olo: 5 stars
Olo is a very creepy child. Like, unbelievably creepy. And yet, the balance Malfi was able to strike with him was astounding. I was deeply disturbed by him, and yet I also felt an incredible amount of sympathy for him. His little homemade pop-up book was terrifying, and I loved everything about it. I also really loved Peyton; she was a powerful character, in spite of how little time on the page she actually had. This story is the reason I gave in and did indeed buy myself a physical copy of this book.

The Story: 3 stars.
I felt like this was the least original story in the collection. It was fine. The tension ratcheted up well, and Malfi evoked a great sense of impending madness and claustrophobia as the story progressed, but it seemed like a tale I’ve encountered multiple times before; it was just wearing a different dress, if you know what I mean.

I love all of the little details these stories share that tie them together. Those might be a shared background character, or a poem that crops up across stories, or a weird colloquialism used in multiple tales. Sometimes it’s a simple as a baseball. These touches and tie-ins made me unreasonably happy.

Overall, while half of the collection was definitely stronger, I found all of the stories at least somewhat enjoyable. I’m very glad that I gave Malfi another shot, and that this was the book I chose to try. I loved two of these stories so much that I immediately had to have a copy for my shelves, which says it all. I’ll definitely be reading more of Malfi in the future.

Positively eerie and atmospheric, Ghostwritten hits the spot. The book reminded me of Stephen King's short story collections but just a bit more digestible and I mean that in the best way possible!

Thank you to @netgalley and @titanbooks for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Ghostwritten is an anthology of four horror novellas all tied together by one thing: they are all centered around books.

Review: Ghostwritten is a horror anthology that I think will be a little extra enjoyable for voracious readers, and I know you are all voracious readers out there. It is such a fun concept to read horror in which the books are the big bad, and it’s one that could easily get really corny. Malfi, however, knocks it out if the park. His writing is superb, as it always is, and the stories are genuinely spooky. Each one being a novella instead of just a collection of short stories was also a really good move because each story is perfectly fleshed out. I highly recommend this anthology, along with all of Ronald Malfi’s work.

It's publication day!!!! (Well, actually that was the day before yesterday but I didn't get chance to post so happy third day of publication!!!) and this fabulous anthology is now sitting on my shelf in all of its paperback glory!!!!

And it really is glorious !!

I've never read Malfi before - I can't fathom why, I guess his is just not a name I've come across previously - but he's becoming a fast favourite since I first read this collection back in August.

Yes, I should have reviewed this sooner, but I really wanted to wait because I wanted to make sure I wasn't fangirling and was being completely genuine with my ratings and review, because let's face it - a collection of novellas about the power of literature - what's not to fangirl over?? And they're horror to boot! Fantastic!

Malfi weaves the power of literature through these novellas, exploring the idea that "stories" have the ability to be alive - that they're not confined to the pages they're penned on but can transcend time and even dimension. He also explores the power of the imagination and the danger of literature when it's used to control, or becomes something that in itself seems harmless but can prove to be dangerous in the wrong hands (with the wrong interpretation) Another idea I found extremely intriguing were the characters who knew of the various powers of books - and go so far as to collect them to keep them away from being used in irresponsible and dangerous ways. I loved all of these explorations and they have all really stayed with me. I am a lover of literature, the power of the imagination, and the longevity of the written word, and that Malfi explores these so well in fairly short stories really, really impressed me and I found myself loving every single page.

The horror in these stories is not jump scare, gore or slasher - it's visceral, palpable, emotive and haunting. It's insidious and classic - the sort that would make great episodes of Tales of the Unexpected or The Twilight Zone if the novellas were mini movies. It's that classic feel that added to my excitement - you can see plenty of influences of the genre in these pieces and it's refreshing to know that this type of horror is still as effective as ever.

Overall, this is a book that I absolutely loved (in case you couldn't tell) I have read it more than a few times as an ARC and now I have a physical copy, and I'll be buying more to gift to friends I think will appreciate it. I would recommend this in a heartbeat - especially if you like reading Stephen King, but it would suit any fan of classic horror.

I've rated this 5 stars. I can't help it. Ratings for the individual novellas follow below, and I did have a favourite. Which one will yours be?

PS: Totally fangirling!!!

The Skin of Her Teeth: 5
The Dark Brother's Last Ride: 5
This Book Belongs to Olo: 4.95
The Story: 4.75

Thank you so much to the author, Titan Books and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ghostwritten by Ronald Malfi.
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.
I really enjoyed this book. Creepy. I loved the cover. 4*.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I can't tell you how many other Malfi books I've tried to get into that just doesn't click with me. Unfortunately, this is another one. The premise is great and I don't mind his writing style, it just didn't suck me in. I genuinely believe this is a me thing and not an author thing, I'm just not the target reader here.

Books can be deadly….

Malfi is back with four novellas to sink your teeth into! Creepy and at times truly terrifying, Malfi’s stories are the perfect selection for spooky season!

The four novellas share the theme of haunted books, haunted writers and the power of the written word. They can be read alone but can also be read as one complete novel. Malfi has included plenty of references to his other works in these short stories which is a real treat for his fans!

The Skin of her Teeth - a cursed book that drives people to their deaths. Loved this story. Real Goosebumps for adults vibe!

The Dark Brother’s Last Ride- two brothers on the wrong side of the tracks whose delivery goes very wrong. My least favourite of the four. I didn’t feel any connection to the brothers and their predicament but it did remind me of Stranger Things with the alternate reality setting.

This Book Belongs to Olo- a lonely little boy who dreams of having friends makes a haunted pop up house which comes to life. Olo’s story is thoroughly creepy (the mannequins freaked me out completely!) and although I felt sorry for him, his logic of how to make friends is as scary as hell!

The Story- a choose your own adventure game with deadly consequences. Such an original story that sucks you into the world of the protagonists and makes you question what’s real.

Malfi’s novellas get creepier and creepier as you move through the book. A real page-turner full of suspense and the supernatural with the perfect amount of horror! A thoroughly riveting read. 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for the arc. Ghostwritten is out now!

I'll start by saying this. Ronald Malfi's imagination is incredible. This collection of four novellas with a similar theme of books and stories is absolute proof.

We start with 'Skin of Her Teeth' which is about a book that is an entity in itself that causes problems for Gloria. For me this one was my least favourite, but that's not to say that it was bad - I just preferred the others more.

The second story The Dark Brothers Last Ride is about two brothers that have to deliver a package to a person called Choptank. They must do so, following a specific route with a specific set of rules. This novella had some creepy moments infused with a dreamlike quality and I enjoyed it.

The third story This Book Belongs To Olo, centres around a creepy kid that just wants to make friends. He attempts this by inviting some of the local children to his birthday party, where there will be fun, games and prizes. Only it doesn't stay fun. This story was definitely a favourite because I thought it was genius - and you'll need to read it to know what I mean.

Lastly The Story. This is told from journalist Grady's POV when a colleagues mysterious suicide leads to a more mysterious and deadly story. This one I found to be really gritty and I enjoyed how the narrator of the story became unreliable as his grip on reality slipped.

Overall, this was brilliant. Thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for this book in exchange for review.

Four books in one! All about books with a common theme of books being deadly. Each story becoming more dark and creepier through the four stories. This was my first book by Malfi and I’m sure will not be my last. His writing is exquisite and definitely gave serious creepy vibes without gore or trying to do stupid scares. This type of writing makes you think and gets into your head and under your skin.


Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

<i>myself asks
am i here?
i've lost myself
i fear</i>

After the splendid novel "Come with me", Ronald Malfi is a A list author for me, and I will read everything this author has ever written and will write in the future. Thus, it was with much pleasure and anticipation that I started reading the new four novellas that from "Ghostwritten".

The first one, "The skin of her teeth" was my least favorite and was redeemed by the unexpected twist halfway through. "The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride" was mesmerizing and that end was seriously disturbing ! In the third novella "This Book Belongs to Olo" we meet the weirdest and creepiest child. It made me wonder what goes on in the mind of the author to come up with such an utterly strange and unsettling character ! Do I really want to know? "The Story" was my absolute favorite. Such a strange tale that I was almost too scared to read on.

It is far more in the horror realm than "Come with me" ever was, but is still very cleverly done and I also enjoyed the fact that all stories are interlinked by just the smallest fishhooks. Even though these are novellas, the author manages to flesh out real characters and complex storylines that are vivid and very graphic. Especially 'The Tale' would make a creepy movie. Brilliant !


A sincere and heartfelt thanks to NetGalley, Titan Books and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ghostwritten, by Ronald Malfi is made up of 4 brand new novellas. So I would say this is a good platter of Malfi for you to jump into. Especially if you’ve heard of him or have seen his name around and didn’t know where to start. These four novellas are all different, but carry a common theme.

The novellas are about stories and books and manuscripts. And they all have the horror undertones. They have the supernatural aspects Malfi is known for.

Now just in case you’re thinking since these all are about books or stories, they will become repetitive. That is not the issue. I didn’t think so. Each story is different, just connected with a theme of written words.

All four novellas are very strong and solid. There is one that didn’t click with me as much as the others, but I think it’s just a preference thing. We will get to that in a minute.

Kicking things off, we have “The Skin Of Her Teeth.” A book that makes people go crazy. It drives them mad. It involves the world of movies, with an agent, and a screenplay needing to be completed, a huge deal that may collapse if this screenplay isn’t done. It could possible have a little Meta. But none the less it has a lot of tension and what I call some good old horror. Pretty straightforward. A strong presentation. And a fulfilling delivery. A good way to kick off this collection. A mood setter.

Next up “The Dark Brother’s Last Ride.” This one is dark and gritty. Do you remember the movie SEVEN? They had to transport the box but couldn’t open the box? What’s in the Box? Same concept but with a briefcase. And it gets a little fun because you know someone is not going to follow directions properly.

The third story, “This Book Belongs to Olo,” is the one I may have struggled to really get into. It’s still a good strong story with an engrossing plotline. It just teeters a little on Fantasy. And I’m not the biggest Fantasy fan. I didn’t mind it being more YA compared to the others in the collection, because there are plenty of good YA horror stories. It’s more dark fantasy I think you can say. The heart of this story is one you may need to dig a little deeper about a child who is lonely and parents who are always too busy. That can be a deeply emotional story within itself. Actually I can see this one being a movie with cool special effects and I probably would be into it a little more.

And finally we have “The Story,” which is about, a story. You guessed it. And I think you are in for a treat with this one. It may play with your mind a little. I think I’ve read the concept attempted by others, but Malfi pulls it off. You see a characters descent into madness. Its great. And it’s a concept piece, so be ready for that. You may remember some of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” or “Choose Your Own Ending” type stories. Keep that in mind. And I think it’s one that may have the reader questioning their own existence. I don’t want to get too deep, so we will keep it at that.

So there you have four new novella’s all wrapped up in one collection by Ronald Malfi. All of them enjoyable. Just the third one I had a little trouble really getting into but I think you will be just fine.

Overall they all have very solid and well put together storylines and great character development. Grady is a great character in “The Story.”

Full of creepiness and suspense and high tension. And no need for cheap jump scares. This is a good collection from Malfi. Like I mentioned earlier it may be a good starting point just to get an idea for his style and his voice. I don’t think there is anything too extreme or graphic. There are a few tongue-in-cheek moments. And you may even find yourself getting lost at times being so wrapped up with the story. Those are the kind that you know work really well.

What a fun but unsettling read! I think Ronald Malfi is one of the most exciting, enjoyable authors in the horror genre at the moment. He has a real knack for building suspense, casually throwing spine-chilling moments out there and creating well rounded characters that the reader can empathize with. Ghostwritten allows his talents to shine in four loosely interconnected stories themed on books and the power of the written word.
All four novellas were really enjoyable and each one completely sucked me in to its own little universe. I couldn't decide on a sole favourite,but it's definitely a toss up between the final two stories, This Book Belongs to Olo and The Story. Both had very unique plots that were quite a bit darker than the other two stories. The Story ends quite abruptly and left me wishing it had been a full length novel!
I'd highly recommend this collection. Malfi fans and horror fans alike will find much enjoyment among the pages of Ghostwritten. Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

**Review posted to Goodreads account