The novellas presented here could be spectacular short stories, if they were tightened up by a good editor. But as they are, they're overlong to the point of extreme dullness.

Awesome! I have loved everything written by this author! Highly recommend and will be purchasing a physical copy.

This little collection, was a great disappointment to me. I'd expected a sure fire spooker from this author but was alternately dazed and confused with the one exception. The only yarn that spun anything of any color for me was The Jupiter Drop.

Spin a Black Yarn is a collection of short stories by Josh Malerman. In most anthologies, some stories are hits and some stories are not. For me there were two stories that I enjoyed more than the others but they all were interesting to read.
Half the House is Haunted is the first story. It is story about a brother and a sister growing up in a large house with little adult supervision. It is a ghost story of sorts but it can also be perceived as an examination of child neglect and the effects on mental health. Is the house haunted or are the children haunted by their upbringing?
Argyle is the second story and the best of the five. I loved this story of a dying man's last confession. I felt like I was at the bedside listening to the confession. I wish this was an entire novel because I wanted more.
Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer seemed like a story right out of The Twilight Zone or the Outer Limits. I could imagine watching this episode and waiting for the catch. Oh what a catch it was! Doug and Judy got exactly what they purchased .
The Jupiter Drop was a little weird. It started out really good. I was hanging on waiting to see what adventure awaited in Jupiter but it fell a little flat at the end.
Egorov was my least favorite story. It was very wordy and dull. I think it should have been shorter and more to the point as it dragged on in the middle.
Josh Malerman is known for his post apocalyptic horror stories. These stories fall more under ghost stories or cosmic horror but if you are a Malerman fan, you will enjoy reading these as well.
Thank you to Netgalley and Del Ray Publishing for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

Josh Malerman is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and I haven't even read Bird Box yet! This collection of novellas is so unique and different it took me a bit to decide if I loved it or hated it. The stories are not connected at all, one is even sci-fi, but the Samhattan Easter eggs are fun when you spot them. The MalerVerse is alive and well. I did enjoy the first half more than the second one, which includes a very long story I was a teensy bit bored by but the impressive prose kept me reading. Thanks to Netgalley for this Arc!

This is where I admit that I didn't like Bird Box, and I went along my way thinking that Malerman just wasn't for me. After falling in love with Daphne and absolutely loving Spin a Black Yarn, it's becoming clear that Bird Box was an anomaly for me.

Spin a Black Yarn is, like Goblin, a collection of novellas that peer deep into the human heart and psyche. The stories in SaBY take place in Malerman's fictional universe, this time just down the street from Goblin. Each one of them packs a punch, but my absolute favorite is the last one, "Egorov," in which one of a set of triplets is murdered, and the surviving brothers devise a "haunting" in order to drive the murderer out of his mind. Malerman channels Dostoyevsky like he has an inroad to the other side in that one. Though, each of the five novellas [one of them is arguably more short story length] is raw with heartbreak and sparkles with the magic of an author who seems to get better and better.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Spin a Black Yarn. Josh Mallerman has written some great books This book has Five short stories and I liked most of them. Thought provoking and quite scary these novellas are spooky and different.
If you want a change of pace and want a jolt of scary this is a good read!
4 stars

I’ve enjoyed all of Josh Malermans short stories in the past, and this was no exception. Spooky but engaging is the perfect mix for me. I definitely recommend for Malerman fans.

From the moment I started and ended this held me firmly in it's grasp and DID NOT let me go. We're here again with some of Malerman's prolific and mind-numbing horror. His suspense and mystery give way to fantastic thrillers. He knows what he's doing and continues to do it well. Each one in this collection has something so intriguing and attention grabbing. Maybe it's the way he writes and his description of even the littlest thing that sell me. But I would most definitely recommend this to anyone who's a fan of the genre. You definitely have to read this one for yourself.

wow, this was a total let down. none of the stories felt particularly compelling or complete. i didn’t enjoy a single novella in this collection because most of the action happened within the dialogue. there was a severe lack of description. the stories are mildly creepy, but not at all scary or thrilling. the ideas behind a lot of these novellas were quite good, but the execution was just not to my taste.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The writing was mediocre and nothing special. The idea behind the stories was amazing but the author didn’t give each story enough to make it special. The stories needed to be fleshed out some and given more of a story. I was looking forward to this book because I’m a huge fan of thrillers and horror but this fell far short.

It goes without saying that I am a massive Josh Malerman fan and if you say that you aren't, then you clearly haven't read enough of his work. Josh Malerman is a master of horror and suspense, and all together is just an amazing storyteller. (Don't believe me - peep Daphne being a current finalist for a Bram Stoker award). What follows is my take on these novellas as soon as I finished them.

Half the House is Haunted - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- This story was fantastic. It follows two siblings with counteracting stories in a few snapshots of their life as it relates around their childhood home. This story has the classic Malerman creep factor that I've grown to love and cherish.

Argyle - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Whoa. This story was everything that I've come to love from Josh Malerman. It's dark and it's great storytelling. This story follows a dying man's confessions and when I say I was on the edge of my seat the entire time just WAITING. I wasn't sure how this story was going to end, but I know readers everywhere are going to love this one!

Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
- Privilege comes with its prices and that's illustrated so well in this novella. I'm not sure if I was just imagining the Henrik Ibsen vibes but I was loving it all the same. This was such a great story and although I had a feeling this story might take a turn for the turbulent I still found myself with my mouth wide open upon reading the last sentence. So great and so deliciously page turning!

The Jupiter Drop - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Wow! This was not at all what I expected from Josh Malerman, but it was amazing nonetheless. Describing descents into madness can be difficult to get right, but this story nails it in a short amount of time. This story felt claustrophobic, disturbing, confusing, and paranoia inducing. I don't want to give too much away, but the ending left my mouth open and I was shocked.

Egorov - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- What a unique mixture of plot techniques. I found this novella such a different moment than anything else in this collection and that's a good thing. It's like an Alfred Hitchcock story mixed in with Sweeney Todd vibes. It's just so amazing. Check this out and you won't be disappointed.


All in all this collection is everything that I could have wanted. Not only that but Malerman has now shown new scares and thrills for me to love. Malerman continues to exceed all my expectations and I know readers are going to love this!

Check it out!!

Gifted writer of “Bird Box”, Josh Malerman’s uniquely satisfying collection of short fictional stories showcases Malerman’s talent for diverse styles in writing. Malerman has said he usually turns his smaller ideas into songs (being the lead singer/songwriter for the band The High Strung). So this book feels like a “once in a lifetime event” that NO Malerman fan should pass up.

Malerman’s and Stephen King’s short stories are good because of the central concentration on one concept, which I like to read in-between longer novels. I have read King’s collections, and find Malerman just as talented. It’s exciting, as Malerman is one of my favorite authors. I loved Bird Box and Inspection, and have others to read still.

"Half of the House" is about siblings living in a house that could be half-haunted, or is it? “Argyle” is terrifying, where we dive into the mind of the things a “serial killer” should NOT talk about out loud. "Doug and Judy Buy a House Washer” is a juicy train wreck about the neighbors living around you. My favorite stories were “the Juniper Drop” and “Egorov” because they are intensely horrific stories about sanity and much more. Readers will LOVE the wreck of emotions and mind-bending that will stay with them long after the last chapter. This is why I love Malerman. I can’t stop thinking of the stories as I finish his books.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey via NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are voluntary and 100% my own.

A collection of five horror novellas . This is a good but to me uneven collection . Some such as the House washer I couldn’t wait to turn the page . Others were a little drawn out and I struggled to finish . Nevertheless he is a terrific writer and keeps you reading .this just was not my favorite of his

The first Josh Malerman book I read was Bird Box. Let’s just say that I loved it and I get super excited if I can get my hands on an early digital review copy of any of his books. So I did the happy book dance when thanks to Del Rey Books, I was able to read Spin A Black Yarn publishing in the US in August. Luckily, I had read all of my March books because I couldn’t wait to start these five novellas.
In the publisher’s book description, there is a great one or two sentence summary of each story. I don’t want to say much more than the publisher did, but I’ll just add my brief thoughts on each story.

“ Half the House Is Haunted” - besides being creeped out, this story is another reason. I’m glad I’m an only child. Creepy… Creepy… Creepy.

“Argyle” - the story made me make my partner swear that if he has anything to tell me, involving any deep, dark secrets, he’ll do it before making any sort of ‘What’ deathbed confessions.

“The Jupiter Drop” – I always loved the idea of traveling to Jupiter ever since I saw the rings as a child, (I loved my telescope). After reading this story, I finally crossed that off my ‘I wish I could go to Jupiter’ bucket list. What a lonely and unnerving journey it was. I will pass.

“Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer™ - a truly loathsome couple who really got everything that they deserved.

“Egorov” - two brothers make the man who killed their brother pay dearly for his crime. I loved how they got their revenge.

Everyone of these novellas was a four or five star read. I love the fact that Samhatten, Goblin and Daphne were seen again too. The author wrote a winning collection in my opinion. I also love the cover!

I am a fan of Josh Malerman and was extremely excited to have gotten this ARC of his short stories. The first two, Half of this House is Haunted" and "Argyle" were my favorites. The last one, "Egorov" was slower and dragged on in places but this book a worth a read!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Grouo for sending this ebook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Spin A Black yarn is a collection of novellas by Josh Malerman. Malerman has such a skill with words, inciting intense reactions from his use of imagery.
We encounter siblings in a half-haunted house, a father's death bed secret, a couple getting exactly what they paid for, a mistake on Jupiter and, a haunting of triplets turned twins.
I grew up loving the Goosebumps books, this book felt like Gooosebumps for adults! Perfect read for spooky season.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group and Del Rey for this ARC! I was very excited to read these novellas because I’m a huge fan of Josh Malerman’s writing. His prose is haunting in every one of these stories. My favorite of all them all was Argyle, but I really enjoyed all of these novellas!

Collection of novellas here.

My favorite was "Argyle," which explores a murderous philosophy. Least favorite was "Egorov"

I've read just about everything Josh has written, and I put this firmly in his top tier. I even liked it more than his previous collection, Goblin.

I found one story in this book enjoyable, and the rest bored me. I'm sure many readers will like the writing style and stories, but I had no interest in most of the characters or what happened to them, there were many times I hadn't a clue what was supposed to be going on, and there were many repetitive phrases in most of the stories that became annoying.
This was not at all a book for me.