Good but uneven collection of novellas from Malerman. The first one, Half the House is Haunted, is the best, the next three are good but drag out a bit too much and the last, Egorov, is just a slog that goes on and on repetitively without a satisfying ending in sight. Wish it finished as well as it started. Overall a pretty good collection but not quite as good as I had hoped. Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The more I think about these five short stories, the more I like Spin a Black Yarn. This author has a way of making you think about a person and see deeper, sometimes exposing dark and despicable parts or flawed personalities. The way he weaves the story, you are drawn in before you even realize it. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

I loved this collection of short stories!! I thought they were all so unique and weird. Some I enjoyed more than others, as is the way with a collection like this.

Half the House is Haunted, 5 stars
A very quick but really scary depiction of brother and sister who lived in a house she always claimed was half haunted. The imagery in this was perfect.

Argyle, 4 stars
A man, on his deathbed, is finally able to tell the story about how he has always been a victimless killer. This was incredibly fun to read.

Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer TM, 4 stars
This one was a great dynamic between a snobbish and jaded husband and wife, somewhat looking back on the path that brought them to where they are.

The Jupiter Drop, 5 stars
For no particular reason aside from the feeling of the story, this one was my favorite.

Egorov, 3 stars
The longest story in the book and the one I sadly enjoyed the least. Still great though.

Overall, this was a really great dive into the strange brain of Josh Malerman. I hope he makes more of these!!

I received this book from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This statement is always true. I’m not given compensation to discuss a book and I’m not told how to rate a book. I am given a book in exchange for my opinions on it, and I am truthful in all my reviews whether I loved them or not.

This book is filled with 5 unique stories, 5 unique writing styles, 5 smartly written stories. I am going to rate each story individually.

The first story in the book, "Half of the House", is about siblings, six year old Robbie and his eight year old sister Stephanie, who loves to do nothing more than try to scare and torment her brother, as all older siblings do. They live in a Victorian style house from the description I get, which consists of 3 floors and a basement, and more rooms than can be counted. Stephanie insists that half the house is haunted, but what part, is it?, every other step, is it this drape but not that drape? is it the basement and second floor only, is it half of this room or that room? Stephanie really takes you through a lot of the rooms in the house, questioning Robbie all the way through. The story dialogue is very interesting, the conversations are one sided, but as a question or statement is asked, the dialogue continues as if the person answers, but without the other person speaking. They reunite in their 40s and then in their 80s. These conversations continue throughout their reunions. The conversations are very much interesting and intriguing, and it makes you wonder, is half the house haunted? You'll have to read it to find out.

"Argyle" is even more extreme than the first story. Shawn is dying. He is on his deathbed surrounded by his family and friends to say one last goodbye. Shawn has a confession, a strange confession at that. A confession about sin, killing, and death. A confession no one wants to hear, but so intrigued by his words, his children sit and listen about his life stories and his fantasies that he may have made reality. This story goes deep into the mind of a 'serial killer', how he thought, how he acted, how he "succeeded" in life with his fantasies haunting him every step of the way. Will Shawn confess to an actual killing or killings? Will this man, who has been a loving husband and father confess to the most deadly acts that can be mustered up? Is this Shawn's way of repenting his actions?

The third story, "Doug and Judy Buy a House Washer," was very interesting. A rich, greedy, selfish couple who want to impress as many people as they can wth their money, riches, and "toys." They purchase a "House Washer" A machine that cleans EVERYTHING in their house without ruining it and placing it back in it's proper spot. Everything from papers to pictures to knick knacks, to old worn out sneakers that haven't been seen in decades. As these items are cleaned, the secrets of the Doug and Judy are revealed to each other, deep secrets they had no intention on sharing about how far their individual greed goes. This was very creative and as each secret is revealed, it keeps you wanting for more. Will Doug and Judy be able to work out and solve their differences or will being locked together in a tube for 90 minutes as the House Washer works destroy the shallow lives that they built?

The fourth story, "Jupiter Drop," is more of a sci-fi story that looks deep into a man's soul. A freak accident, and his life is turned to shambles. He losses his wife and kids to divorce and is reveling in his pain about why his wife left him. He then takes a plunge to take a trip from Jupiter back to Earth in a free fall drop in a glass apartment. This apartment has holograms and voice recognition. He then relives the accident that caused his family to fall apart. In the end, does he fall apart? or does he survive the "Jupiter Drop"? A man's sanity is tested in this thriller and suspense of a story.

And the fifth story, "Egorov," is a revenge story of triplet brothers Barat, Mikhail and Pavel. Mikhail is murdered. Their mother and father want justice. The two remaining of the triplets delve into a world of intensity and thrill as they find the truth behind Mikhail's murder. The descriptions of Little Russia feels as if you are there, living in this book. Every detail, every plot twist, carefully written out. The suspense keeps you going right through it. Revealing any more might give away too much of the story, but it is intensifying and worth the read to find out what happened to Mikhail, or not

I loved the uniqueness of the characters, stories, and dialogues of each individual novella. Mr. Malerman shows that he has many writing styles and executes them perfectly. For people who love short stories of different kinds, suspense, thriller, horror, sci-fi, it is all wrapped up in this anthology. Overall, I give the book 5 stars and look forward to more of Mr. Malerman's books, if I am so lucky to ARC them, as well.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine for the honor of this ARC for my honest opinion and review of this book.

Look what we got after our Malerman-style Easter Egg hunt: five well-written, unique, original, mind-bending novellas! The best part of this experience is that the entire stories are big winners. They are intelligent, captivating, and riveting enough to draw you in.

The first story, "Half of the House" (4 stars), takes a little time at the beginning because the narrators are six-year-old brother Robbie and his bullying tormentor, eight-year-old sister Stephanie, living in a gothic triplex house that may be haunted by something sinister. At least, sister Stephanie insists that half of the house is haunted. Their mumbling/gibberish style inner thoughts take a little time to decipher, but it is still intriguing. Then, we move forward to see the reunion of the siblings at the age of 40-42 to revisit their memories at the house, and the last chapter takes us to their time in their 80s. The big secret about the house still remains: could half of the place be haunted?

It was a creepy but also thought-provoking approach to how a person's fears shape their path. Is making them a daily part of your life the best way to confront your fears?

The second story, "Argyle" earned my five stars, is about Shawn Hasbro at his deathbed, about to take his last breath. He has never been so happy in his entire life because he made it. He did not kill a living, breathing human being, even though he is full of killing instincts. Shawn starts his confession to his son, his daughter, and his best friend at his deathbed. If his best friend Argyle had not stopped him and his sister Ethel had not watched him throughout his entire life, what would truly have happened? The suspense is killing! Even though the ending was predictable, I liked this story about killing instincts a lot.

The third story, "Doug and Judy Buy a House Washer," is also good, about a pretentious, extra assholish couple who dedicate their entire lives to monetizing everything by destroying anyone who gets between their rising and climbing the corporate ladder. They buy a house washer to show off to their neighbors, but what if that washer is not only cleaning their house but also their dirtiest secrets? I'm giving my five stars to this smart redemption story of the most despicable human beings.

The fourth story, "Jupiter Drop," is a wealthy man's redemption journey to Jupiter for atoning for his guilt feelings after an accident resulted in the death of his neighbor. It's surrealist, unusual, and absolutely a smart and somewhat heart-wrenching journey. I'm giving it four stars.

And the fifth story, "Egorov," is absolutely the BEST and my favorite story of the book! It's a riveting, heart-pounding revenge story of twin brothers Barat and Pavel, who try to find the killer of their triplet brother Mikhail. The description and tense atmosphere of Little Russia neighborhood couldn't be portrayed better. You feel like you're transported to that place, and the suspense gets you more thrilled and agitated at each chapter. This is the longest novella of the book, but interestingly, I read it faster than the others. I'm giving it highly deserved five stars.

Overall, it was a pleasure to return to the Goblin, Daphne, Samhatten universe. I loved each of the creative novellas. I highly recommend this anthology to thriller/mystery/fantasy lovers!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Ballantine/Del Rey for sharing this amazing novel's digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

Firstly, I love the book cover. After reading the book, it fits nicely with the vibe & overall theme.

This was a creative, dark, horror-filled set of horror novellas that I would recommend to all horror fans.

For me it was an enjoyable crash course in Malerman's repertoire since it is a collection of novellas. I look forward to more work from this author.

Tysm for granting my netgalley 'wish' & allowing me to be an ARC reader for this. I will definitely promote it on my tiktok.
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Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

I love this authors writing style! Every story had its own unique atmosphere and vibe and felt fleshed out. I don't necessarily love novellas or short stories but this collection had me in a chokehold.

There's something about this author's writing style that's irresistible regardless if I like the book or not. With this collection of short stories, I really liked the first half and although I wasn't too crazy about the last half, it still held me in it's grip. This is a mix of horror, mystery, thriller and science fiction all in one. Fans of any of those genres will enjoy this one. Three and a Half Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC.

BLUF - This is a unique collection of stories from Malerman, each one bringing a different type of weird to the table. There are references of Samhatten and Daphne and Goblin, but this collection definitely stands on its own. We get an interesting haunted house story, a serial killer that doesn't kill, a crazy house washer and the evil people that buy it, a sci-fi story about letting go of mistakes and the tale of two brothers haunting the killer of their triplet sibling. It's a crazy mash-up of delicious novellas and it was fun to read.

I struggled at the beginning of Half the House is Haunted, the jabbering back and forth of the two kids was jarring, but as I got into part 2 I realized this was by design. Malerman made you feel like you were in the heads of the kids. The story matured as it went and I ended up really liking this story and the message about overcoming fear.

Argyle was such an interesting plot set up and even though I didn't love the extremely long paragraphs, I still couldn't put this one down.

In Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer(TM), I couldn't stand the two main characters (by design). But this is a totally off the wall idea and I ripped through it so fast to find out what would become of Doug and Judy.

The Jupiter Drop was another "out there" concept and even though it is weird idea, Malerman inserts some themes of letting go of the past that I enjoyed.

Egorov follows two brothers as they avenge their brother's death (they are triplets). It was gritty and spooky and I loved the quick hitting chapters. I think this was the longest story in the book and I probably read it the quickest.

Overall, I really enjoyed the collection. Malerman's brand of weird is on display and I couldn't get enough. Recommended!

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing an eArc. All opinions are my own.

These four novellas are Josh Malerman at the top of his game. His novels Bird Box, Unbury Carol, and Daphne are among my favorites. But what he does here is simply astounding.

His words cut through your mind like a knife through butter and once you begin reading any of these stories you'll be hard pressed to stop until the last word has been read.

Ghosts and a haunting, a serial killer who's never killed anyone, a machine with incredible cleaning capabilities, a once in a lifetime trip to another planet, and a grieving set of twins who seek vengeance against the man who killed their (triplet) brother are here. But these stories are about much more than their premise.

There's also a thread that runs throughout them all. If you're familiar with Josh's previous work you'll definitely enjoy the little easter eggs in here.

This is a superb collection of smart, dark, and well written horror. I highly recommend it.

This book was great. Each story had its own magic. I can't even pick a favorite. Malerman continues to write with edge, mystery, and magic. He's a writer I will always follow.

Malerman's latest collection of novellas and short stories is a showcase for the author's creativity and talent for original perspectives. The five stories in Spin a Black Yarn vary in tone, length and structure, but all of them have something to offer fans of dark speculative fiction. If you enjoyed Goblin or Daphne, you'll be right at home with a return to Samhattan, but fans of Malerman's other works, particularly those that tend towards the science fiction genre, will be just as satisfied. These yarns are a delight to unravel.

Below are my ratings for individual stories:

"Half the House is Haunted": 4/5 - a sort of stream-of-consciousness transcription from alternating perspectives, which works to build suspense and make the creepy parts more chilling. Not a lot to dig into, but a fun read.

"Argyle": 2/5 - a dense narrative depicting a father's dying confession to his family about long-harbored desires for murder and cruelty. It manages some thought-provoking parallels and analogies, but the lack of paragraph structure and the ankle-deep character development sets this one firmly in the Daphne/Samhattan/Goblin universe. The ending seems redundant and meaningless.

"Doug and Judy Buy the HouseWasher": 5/5 - this thoroughly Bradburian moral explores the lives of a wealthy power couple who compromised their values in exchange for a higher standard of living. A recently purchased gadget forces them to confront their sins in classic Tales from the Crypt fare. Note-perfect irony and sardonic humor compensate for any lack of depth to create a satisfying, polished--and more importantly, fun--story.

"The Jupiter Drop": 4/5 - this one works on basically the same principle as the preceding entry, but in a completely different setting. In this one, a wealthy man struggling with guilt over a fatal accident takes a life-changing trip into outer space (in a glass box) to confront his remorse. A cool concept, but less convincing than the previous.

"Egorov": 5/5 - this final story is a more ambitious work than the preceding stories, both in terms of length and scope. In it, a Russian family living in Samhattan is traumatized when a son, one of three triplets, is brutally murdered and left in the street. The vivid depiction of the Little Russia neighborhood and its customs are immersive and the plot moves with relentless pace. This one stands out, even for Malerman, as an entirely original idea, authentically told and visionary.

A big thanks to Ballantine, Del Rey and NetGalley for the ARC.

4 stars

This is my 2nd Malerman book and I’ve got to say, it was great. I enjoyed every story. His writing is good, and the stories were all well thought out. There were a couple that could totally be expanded on, to create a full novel. I think his fans will appreciate this book, and I think he’ll also gain some new fans along the way.