Ronald Malfi's follow-up to his last two (spectacular) novels is what the music industry would call a concept album. Ghostwritten features four novellas with the common theme of a mysterious (evil? cursed?) book at the center, each is its own tale, but they have some nods to each other, and still feeling like they belong together. Malfi is just tearing it up with his writing as of late. The four stories are all quite excellent, and stray all over the place in terms of plot. He has actually managed to hide his writing style and still produce words of the upmost quality, Had I been given the stories to read without knowing who wrote them, I would have guessed Stephen King for the first two and Joe Hill for the third, simply because they way they played out felt like the best of those two's works. The fourth is only one that felt definitely like Malfi's style, but elevated, even so.
"The Skin of Her Teerh" features a literary agent trying to find out why one of her clients has not only failed to produced the movie screenplay whose deadline is here, but also why he has stopped taking or returning calls and emails. When she visits him, he claims it's because the book upon which the screenplay is based is stopping him from completing it. Things only get crazier and more disturbing from there. "The Dark Brothers' Last Ride" features two brothers who act as couriers for a gangster-type are tasked with delivering a strange book to a new client. But the delivery comes with some very specific and odd instructions. As the brothers set out, they soon wonder just what they got themselves into. "This Book Belongs to Olo" is about a young, peculiar boy with fairly absentee parents and no friends who is excited for his upcoming birthday. So much so that he invites all the kids in the park even though he doesn't know them and they make fun of him. What they don't know is the special book he's created for himself and magical properties it has in connection with house. The final tale is "The Story" about a podcaster who kills herself and her estranged friend and former partner who discovers what she left behind. What started out looking like some nonsensical investigation into a mysterious book that is somewhat of an urban legend on the internet, but has now gotten him involved.
Of the four, I would have to say The Story was my favorite There are versions of this plot out there in book, film, even video game form, but Malfi puts a new spin on it, and the tale just built the tension and and anticipation right to the end. "The Skin of Her Teeth" was my second favorite of the bunch, and I still really enjoyed the other two. If you haven't yet discovered the brilliance of Ronald Malfi's writing, this is a great place to start.

What an awesome book! Again Ronald Malfi at his finest! I just love his books! This one is very special too!

3⭐

This is a collection of 4 novellas, all about cursed books. This collection was ok for me. I love Malfi's writing, but none of the stories stood out as new favorites. The first story "By the Skin of Her Teeth" was pretty entertaining, but the other three stories were very middle of the road for me. I am finding I really enjoy Malfi's full length novels a lot more than his short stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for an advanced copy of this collection

This is an autor I've been wanting to read for a long time. I have been recommended Come with me and Black mouth, so when I received a copy of his new collection of four novellas I was very excited to say the least.
Each one of the novellas in Ghostwritten is an adventure, it explores its own world, its own characters, but they all revolve around certain themes such as passion, guilt, loneliness. In addition, Malfi does usewith great mastery books as the main element. A cursed novel, another book that is a trap or a portal to other dimension. There are ghosts, murderers, realities that are distorted and even a western in this collection.
His writing style is agile, precise, with a large dose of humor and satire.
I must admit that my favorite was the first 'The Skin of Her Teeth'. While the cursed book trope has already been extensively explored in horror literatura, I feel like the story that managed to innovate the most was the first one.
I recommend it for those who love stuff like The Twilight Zone.

Malfi's short story collection had me coming back again, impressed at his ability to weave mystery and the supernatural together into such thrilling narratives.

Ronald Malfi once again sucks you into his prose and leaves you craving more once you read the final word. While each novella is its own entity they flow seamlessly together. I found the characters engrossing, the stories intriguing and the conclusions heart pounding. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

4+ stars.

Wow! I really enjoyed that. This was a book comprising four loosely interconnected stories where some of the characters made appearances in more than one story and they were all about strange books or stories that had some weird otherworldly power. While none of the stories were scary as such, they all had Malfi’s signature talent of being disconcertingly creepy. While Malfi doesn’t slap you in the face with ‘jump scares’ each story was darker and creepier than the previous one. The last two were definitely very unsettling.

The first story - the Skin of Her Teeth was about a book that contained an evil entity. It was to be turned into a movie but the book defied all attempts to ‘change’ a single word and therefore any attempt to write a screenplay.

The second story - The Dark Brothers Last Ride is about two brothers, Danny and Tommy Drake being commissioned to deliver the book (from story 1) to a man called Choptank with very specific instructions - don’t open the briefcase, don’t stray from the convoluted route mapped out on a paper map for the journey (even though the direct route would have halved the journey time) and don’t talk about the assignment. To anyone! Well, Tommy is a hothead who doesn’ take direction well and things don’t end well for him.

The third story - This Book Belongs to Olo is about a very creepy kid who has made a three dimensional pop up book of his already weird house. I’m sure you all remember those kids books that you opened up and this diorama style thing popped up. Well Olo’s book was meticulously accurate but when he changed things in the book things changed for real in the house. Olo invited all the neighbourhood kids to his birthday party. It didn’t quite go as planned.

The last story - called simply The Story is impossible to describe but it was essentially about one of those ‘write your own ending’ stories only this was a game that would blow your mind and it was almost impossible to win. I am really coming appreciate this author’s talent for creating very unsettling, disturbing stories. Many thanks to Netgalley and Titan Books for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Ronald Malfi’s “Ghostwritten” contains four horror novellas about haunted books. Brilliant and creepy, each novella stands alone and yet combined, they can be read as one novel with each piece a link to a bigger picture story. I enjoyed all four novellas (the Skin of Her Teeth, The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride, This Book Belongs to Olo and The Story) and while all horror, they each pull elements from other genres such as noir, fantasy, and sci-fi. My personal favorite of the bunch is This Book Belongs to Olo, which starts off with a child donning a clown mask silently observing his peers on the playground. Heck. Yes.

What Malfi captures again in Ghostwritten, and what I’ve come to appreciate about his writing, is the thought-provoking factor he adds to his horror stories. I’m always left (scared) thinking bigger picture or greater meaning behind the works he presents. Unsettling and intriguing, "Ghostwritten" is another winning piece to add to Malfi’s growing anthology of notable horror stories.

Four novellas all sort of thematically linked in one book from Ronald Malfi - yes please.

We are in the genre of the fantastical and horror here, the four stories wildly different but all around the same theme of a book with, for a better description, magic powers.

I wasnt 100% sure after reading the first story. Malfi is a master of making a book unsettling, the tone gradually becoming more and more unsettling as the book progresses and I was worried that the shorter format was taking away from this somewhat, but, after getting into the second story I really started to enjoy the experience more. If anything I would say the stories get stronger as you read them.

There are some pretty wild and fantastical ideas here, it really reminded me of something Clive Barker would have put together in his hey day.

When I finished the book I felt like I wanted to read it again. Can there be a higher compliment for a book?

After initial reservations this is an easy 5 star read. Bonkers and interesting in equal measures.

Special shout out to Olo, one of the most memorable fictional child characters in recent times.
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

After finding this author earlier this year and loved his work, I could not wait to start reading Ghost Written. A series of four novellas into the dark and twisted mind of this very talented author. Cursed books that was it I was hooked. I cancelled everything else and sat down to read. Gripping, disturbing and so good. Four stories about books that have their own powers. I loved it the only downfall was the Story so confusing and in my opinion was not needed, but each to their own. Almost five stars and a MUST READ from one of my favourite authors.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

Wow, where to start. I had heard a lot about Ronald Malfi in the horror book community, but up until now I had never tried it for myself. I stumbled upon this gem as I was looking through advance review opportunities, and let's just say Ronald has gained a new fan.

This book is made up of four novellas that are all connected, but could also stand alone. The vibe reminded me of Twilight Zone, Alice in Wonderland, and the movie Southbound.

Each tale centers around a protagonist (or protagonists) who has been somehow affected by a very special and unique book. It's really hard to give more detail not just for fear of spoiling it, but for the difficulty itself in describing such a unique premise that bends reality and perception. This book is dark, clever, and cerebral. How do stories affect our reality? Where does the difference between a story and reality start and end?

I can't recommend this book enough. I wouldn't say it's extremely violent or gory, though it certainly contained its share of blood, death, and madness. It's dark, uneasy, and tense and I was here for all of it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for allowing me access to this advanced review copy. My opinion is completely honest and unbiased.

This book was my first taste of Ronald Malfi’s, but it definitely won’t be my last. Malfi writes easy to read stories or, as the case is here, novellas. I’m not sure that any of these particular stories will stick with me. I did like Malfi’s work enough to read other books by him, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

It turns out I'm not as interested in cursed books as I thought I might be. This was my first experience with Ronald Malfi's work so I wasn't sure what to expect. I liked the writing style, but I just didn't find myself super immersed in the stories due to the topics. If you like stories about cursed books, you'll probably like this better than I did!

I still want to check out more from this author and am planning on picking up Come With Me!

Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an ARC via NetGalley.

This was my first book by Ronald Malfi. I had heard such ah-mazing things about his books before snagging this off Netgalley, so maybe my expectations going in were too high.
But friends, this book ain’t it.
It wasn't at all scary, the writing wasn’t that good (talk about pretentious), and most of the plots were too reminiscent of things that have been done many times before.
People rave about Malfi as if they stand in line to lick his butthole & I’m just sitting here feeling confused wondering why because I don't think it's a very good butthole.
I loved Olo in the third novella, but I don’t think was the point of the story. And I wanted more about his mom and her husband’s claim that she was a vampire. If that had been expanded upon, this story could’ve been its own book. And likely a good one.
I’m not saying I’m a genius, but I have a pretty good vocabulary in real life. Don’t let the y’alls & butthole usage fool you. Now if you’re into facial piercings I get the word ‘philtrum’ might be common for you, but if you’re just talking about a sweaty dude, why use that word and not ‘upper lip’? I don’t think I’ve ever once in my life heard someone say ‘foible’. Most people would say shortcoming or weakness, but not Malfi. This book was full of foibles and philtrums and half a dozen other words I have never heard anyone say organically.
Rating: 3 stars because of the Olo story alone.

Thank you to Titan Books & @Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

At the time of receiving this book, I had never read a Ronald Malfi that I did not enjoy. That winning streak continues with Ghostwritten.

These four novellas share a theme, a story about a story if you will...but they are each complete standalone works even though they are connected in a way.

In the first Novella a writer sets out to turn a successful book into a screenplay, but there are disturbing reasons that his is not the first attempt at it. When he seemingly drops off the grid without meeting his deadline it is suspected he may have fallen off the wagon. If only that were the case! I loved this one and thought it would have made for a great episode of American Horror Stories or Creepshow.

The Dark Brothers' Last Ride tells the story of a very strange delivery in which a road trip to drop off an unknown package that is not meant to be opened has dire consequences when one of the brothers is too curious for his own good. This was my favorite story, there were so many freaky happenings and the relationship between the brothers was riveting.

I'm not sure why I was not as engaged in the third novella, This Book Belongs to Olo. Anything to do with creepy children is usually a big hit with me. Olo is certainly creepy enough as he shows up on the playground with his weird mannerisms to pass out invitations to kids who most obviously do not want to befriend him. I expected to love this story and at first, I did, but the longer it went on the less I enjoyed this one.

In the final tale, The Story begins with a suicide and a warning not to read, before it delves into the mystery of the powers of the written word, something this author is quite skilled at.

Ghostwritten will be published on Oct 11 and is available for preorder

My thanks to Titan books for the review copy.

I firstly want to thank Titan Book and Netgalley for sending me an E-Arc this book to review. My review is left voluntarily and is completely honest.

After recently reading an ARC of Black Mouth by Malfi I was interested to see what their novellas would be like. Ghostwritten is an interesting collection of four short stories tied together by a single thread. While the style is a bit of a change from previous novels we still get Malfi’s mastery of the uncanny and chilling. I personally preferred the third novella in this collection since I felt there was more to connect with.

The only issue I really had with this one, which lowered the rating to four stars is the characters do not really stand out to me, apart from in the third novella as mentioned. I just couldn’t really get invested enough to actually care or worry if they would survive the chilling tale. Of course being shorter in length there is not lots of space or time for character building but for me it just made it a tad less worrying since I honestly wasn’t that bothered if they lived or died. That might say more about me as a reader and horror fan than Malfi’s writing. What I will say though is we do have an interesting cross section of characters from literary agents to mob underlings.

I did enjoy the idea of the horror coming from the written word. Malfi’s horror is something I am enjoying and I can see them becoming a staple in the genre in the future. Definitely a good chilling read for spooky season.

This book is 4 novellas is one book. I loved the weirdness, the unsettling nature and the style of each story. Stories 3 and 4 were my favourite. Each story was easy to read, was the perfect amount of creepiness and cleverly written plots. Story 4 rounded the book off perfectly!

Thank you to Netgalley and Ronald Malfi for the ARC of this book

Ronald Mafi is a horror genius. I couldn't click fast enough to grab this book when I saw he had released a new book. A compilation of short stories with an interlinking theme about the power of stories and books. While I didn't enjoy this one as much as Malfi's full length novels it was a fun read between other books. Malfi's storytelling and narrative is superb as always. A horror treat perfect for the upcoming spooky season.

Four novellas about books and writing, each is unique, creepy and moving in the study of human emotions. As a writer myself, I enjoy books set in the literary world and although these stories are more horror than literary themed, they relate to topics faced by authors and all humans. The first story, The Skin of Her Teeth is about a book that cannot be changed or something terrible will happen to the person changing it. It features characters that also show up in later stories and it serves as a metaphor for authors who don't want to 'change their darling manuscript. In this case, a screenwriter tries to build a jail for the book so he can get his script completed but the book just isn't having it. His literary agent Gloria is determined to save her deal at any and every cost.

The second novella The Dark Brother's Last Ride is almost Twilight Zone like in that it's a story about two brothers taking a journey into a land that should be familiar but isn't. In this case the two brothers who work at special deliveries are tasked with taking a very special book to a certain buyer and in the process they will find themselves in a world they cannot comprehend. Part horror, part a story about grief, the book could also serve at the strange world we find ourselves in when a loved one dies and nothing looks the same.

The Book Belongs to Olo was very creepy to me since I have an issue with people being trapped with no way to get out. It is a story about a very strange little boy in a clown mask, his author mother and stepfather who ignore him and force him to make up his own friendships and interests and the very scary way he creates his own friends and his own world. I thought this one went on a little long, but it will stay with me.

The Story is about a choose your own adventure website, possibly from the dark web and beyond and it deals with the consequences of getting involved in something you should walk away from. A man named Grady wants to find the answers to a friends suicide and the answers put his sanity and his life in danger. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I thoroughly enjoyed these novellas! They were creepy, with strong characters and a great premise. I would recommend this book to any fans of thrillers and books in general.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.