Ronald Malfi is a longtime favorite and I look forward to all his titles. This one goes into territory very familiar to thriller readers (not Malfi's usual well to draw upon): Childhood friends reunite and must deal with secrets of the past, told in dual timelines. You can find dozens of titles with this plot. What you can't always get is grippy storytelling with genuine heebie-jeebies. I really enjoyed this NIGHTMARE inducing horror book.

This book is absolutely phenomenal!!
It was so chilling, extremely atmospheric, and every thing a FIVE STAR Horror read should be. And, that ending was a punch to the gut! This was my first Ronald Malfi read and it will definitely not be my last!

Highly Recommend!!!

Nostalgia is common, and returning to one’s roots after many years can be a wondrous reflection. This town is where I grew up. This is the street I lived on. This was my school. This was my home.

But for Andrew Larimer, his roots are coated in blood. He doesn’t want to return to his childhood home, Kingsport. He’s built a new life with his pregnant wife in New York, but when an old friend rings, asking for help, Andrew has no choice but to dig up the secret he’d buried.

Ronald Malfi’s 400-page Small Town Horror circulates between five friends: Andrew the lawyer, Eric the town’s deputy sheriff, Dale a real-estate developer, Tig a single mum and bar owner, and Meach a drug addict and alcoholic. They are bound together by a deadly secret. Only this secret is now haunting them after twenty years. Small Town Horror is a slow burn, hinting at the paranormal and strange ongoings, while shifting perspectives from the present day to 2003, on that fateful night when their lives changed forever.

For me, the horror was explosive. Spooky shadows, corpses, animals, things that appear at random, etc. The list goes on, diving from eeriness to disturbing to full-on gore. This is not for the faint of heart or for those looking for a gothic-like ghost story. This ghost plays tricks on your mind, disturbing your mentality. Is there a ghost or not? With some characters like Eric and Dale in denial about the weird things occurring, it is easy to follow their reasoning. Andrew never concludes an opinion about it, which was frustrating, so it felt almost maddening as I read on.

As for the characters, none were particularly likeable. I didn’t feel any connection towards them, but a bit of sympathy for Meach, who suffers hallucinations and warns the group over and over about the ghost. A ghost that is a part of a curse.

The plot overall was phenomenal. Every disturbing occurrence and weird event connected with no gaping hole to the structure. There was a huge twist I didn’t see coming and once it’s revealed everything slid into place like a jigsaw puzzle. It’s worth the journey to reach that twist, I assure you. The ending was interesting with some of it obvious to me. There was no other way it was going to go. The ending also concluded with a sort of limbo that perfectly satisfied me. How we end up in this limbo, however, was a bit weak in the story-structure.

Small Town Horror is sharp, dark, creepy, and tense throughout. Malfi writes with an elegance to his language and sentences, poetic in parts, while relentless with his gory, heart-pounding, and terrifying events. His characters do not hide their ugliness, nor do his settings. For fans of the small town horror trope, this should be high on your to-be-read list. If you want to be truly terrified, you can do what I did, which is read it when there’s a power cut, when you’re home alone, and when it is dead of night. I won’t forget Small Town Horror anytime soon, that’s for sure.

I could taste the salt in the fictional air. A basic premise involving friends coming together in their home town because of an event that happened years ago. It doesn't reinvent the wheel in that sense but it still works all the same with some basic character tropes. Good moments of thrills and it kept me interested with the dialogue even if the ending didn't do it for me.

This slow burn ghost story has plenty of elements that we are all familiar with- the small town setting, a group of friends whose actions as teens catches up with them, haunted houses and a sinister presence plaguing the friends. But what stands out for me is Malfi’s writing; how he sucks you into the story and builds the tension and creepiness within the book until it reaches boiling point.

None of the characters are likeable and I mean none of them! The best written character is Meach and he’s probably the only one that I felt the tiniest bit of sympathy for. The group’s descent into hysteria and paranoia is perfectly drawn out by Malfi and the reader gets to watch them spiral slowly and painfully into the darkness.

One of the standout elements of this book is its setting. The small town setting with the cliff overlooking the ocean and the almost sinister presence of the creepy lighthouse witnessing the actions of the group adds to the sense of tension, unease and the eerie quality of the story. Malfi excels in bringing the setting alive – the smell of the putrid water in Andrew’s basement, the noise of the flies swarming around the characters’ heads, landing on their faces, the sound of footsteps in the hall outside the bedroom. Maybe not a good idea to read this book late at night!

The ending was so good- the twists, the revelations and Malfi finishes his story in the most perfect way. Did not see it coming! Small Town Horror is more mystery than horror, with the supernatural elements giving the reader a real sense of nostalgia for all the classic tropes we love. A gripping read that will make your skin crawl and make you want to leave a light on at night!

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for the arc. Small Town Horror is out now. 4 ⭐️

This was my third Mali and it certainly won't be my last. Reminiscent of 80s horror classics, Malfi does an excellent job of telling a "small town horror" story with a tone and atmosphere that starts off creepy and builds and builds to an exciting climax. Highly recommend this book.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Ronald Malfi. After reading "Bone White" last summer, I was left with mixed feelings, but I still find myself thinking about the book. Therefore, I was quite excited when I received an advanced reader copy (ARC) of his newest release, "Small Town Horror".

The story follows Andrew Larimer, a successful attorney in New York City who is still haunted by his dark past despite his achievements. One night, an old friend urgently calls Andrew, asking him to return to Kingsport, a town he never wanted to go back to.

I found it enjoyable to read about Andrew's story as it alternates between two timelines: the present and the troubling year of 2003. We also get to meet Andrew's old friends, a dysfunctional group of people, none of whom I personally liked. :)

The story takes a spooky turn and quickly starts spiraling downward from there. Despite the slower pacing, Malfi's writing style makes it a fast read, and before you know it, you're already at the last chapter.

The eerie summer horror vibe was intriguing, but I found the events to be somewhat anticlimactic. The characters were intentionally unlikable, but they came across as just plain foolish. The only character I found redeemable was Meach. Surprisingly, the ending was a pleasant surprise for me, despite not usually enjoying this type of conclusion.

After reading "Small Town Horror," I'm definitely still willing to give Malfi’s books a chance. It was a thrilling and fun read overall.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Titan books for this ARC!!🌲

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Andrew Larimer thought he'd left his small-town horror behind, moving forward with his pregnant wife into a promising future. But a late-night call from an old friend drags him back to his hometown, forcing him to confront dark secrets he desperately wanted to keep buried.

At first glance, the story might seem to rely on familiar horror tropes—a group of friends bound by a night that changed their lives, haunted by dark secrets—but it quickly distinguishes itself with unexpected twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. Ronald Malfi builds tension and suspense, unraveling just enough of the mystery to keep you hooked while leaving you craving more.

Though it starts as a slow burn, the story picks up momentum in the second half, transforming into a gripping page-turner with a satisfying payoff at the conclusion. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to uncover what happened all those years ago. The intricate plot and well-crafted characters make this one not to be missed!

3.5 stars This was suspenseful, with a good end twist…:but not for the faint of heart. This was pretty gory. Not my favorite by this author…but he does not disappoint.

Thank you Titan Books & Ronald Malfi for this read.

I was totally hooked from start to finish with this book. It has all the vibes of past mistakes and secrets that eat up the protagonists alive.

This book is so well planned and thought out. Everything ties together so unexpectedly at the end and I couldn't think of a better way to finish things off.

Throughout this read I felt myself getting creeped out multiple times. There is so much going on and some vividly spooky scenes.

Another solid read by this author! They know how to develop their characters so well, cast a plot that'll hook you from start to finish and as always end with a BANG.

Love this book! Love this author!

I am a big Ronald Malfi fan. In fact, he is one of my favorite authors. But, this book just felt different from the others that I've read.

If I didn't listen to the audiobook of this, I sadly would've DNF'd it pretty early on. I couldn't connect with the writing. The words were so flowery, complicated, and seemingly using big words to change up his normal writing style. But I enjoy his normal style. This felt like he was trying to be a different author.

The very basic storyline was good. It was interesting to a degree and had potential. But it was like trying to make a novel out of what was clearly a short story.

While this book just wasn't for me, I very much look forward to reading more of Malfi's work.
I gave this 3⭐️.

As always, I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to have an advanced ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

🖤💛🖤💛🖤💛🖤💛🖤💛🖤💛🖤💛🖤💛🖤💛🖤

Small Town Horror is the latest release from one of my favorite authors, Ronald Malfi. As you could probably guess, it's also one of my most anticipated releases of 2024. I'm please to announce, it did NOT disappoint!!

In this story, we follow Andrew Larimer, a NYC attorney, who suddenly gets called back to the hometown he fled almost two decades ago.
Kingsport, Maryland, was where Andrew grew up. The beautiful coastal town holds a lot of memories for Andrew, but one in particular, an event that happened on his 16th-birthday in 2003, made him want to never look back. When he gets a call that his childhood friend, Dale, is in trouble though, and that he could really use Andrew's help, Andrew begrudgingly packs his things and returns to the place he swore he'd never see again.

Once in town, Andrew is ultimately reunited with all of his old friends: Dale, Meach, Eric and Tig. It's like getting punched in the face by the past. There's so much unresolved between them, you can feel the tension oozing off the page. Andrew is also staying at his childhood home, his father's house which transferred to him upon his father's passing a few years ago. The house is in disrepair, with a flooded basement and insects, it's a house of horrors come to life.

Through past and present perspectives, the Reader is slowly keyed into the truth of what happened on Andrew's 16th-birthday, which also happens to be the 4th of July. I found both perspectives equally interesting. The past did have an added nostalgic feel to it, which I always appreciate, but the present had an intensity that I couldn't turn away from. I felt like the connections between the past and present were also so well done.

The creepy imagery and lush atmosphere were absolutely fantastic. The coastal town, the lighthouse, the birds, the dark endless water, the mystery, the intrigue, the supernatural flourishes, it was all top notch stuff. Malfi is an incredible writer, who never fails to draw me in. While not all his characters may be particularly likable, they're always believable. Hell, I don't like a lot of people in real life, so why would I expect to like all the characters I read about?

I did feel for Andrew in this one though, and maybe even Tig. They weren't perfect, but I think the choices they made were understandable. As they transitioned into adulthood, they truly never got past the things that happened that one 4th of July night. The shadow they couldn't shake. The idea of hauntings, or being haunted; it's not just places and it's not just supernatural, people can be haunted for a variety of reasons, and I enjoyed that exploration here.

Malfi is always able to channel such emotion into his writing. It feels like he is pouring his heart into his stories. Honestly, it must be exhausting, but I feel like that extra touch makes his stories stand out against the crowd.

As an atmosphere girlie, I can't stress enough how deeply atmospheric this story is. As I was reading it, I was swept down the coast to Maryland. I could feel it. Unlike the standard Autumnal vibes we're used to getting from Horror novels though, this exudes Summer Horror. If you do not have this on your Summer TBR, you need to change that immediately. This isn't one you want to save until October. You need to read this now!

The beginning did remind me a lot of Black Mouth, but of course, Malfi brought it in its own distinct direction. I walked away from this silenced. I had to just stare off into space for a while and ponder everything I'd read.

The ending, wow. Dang! It was completely unexpected, yet somehow a perfect conclusion. It sort of broke my heart, but also made me just so excited that talent like Ronald Malfi's exists in the world, and that I can keep picking up his books for a long, long time.

Thank you to the publisher, Titan Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I recommend this to any Horror Reader, particularly if you are looking for great Summer Horror with palpable small town vibes.

Did not expect to like this one as much as I did! Moves at a steady pace revealing enough to keep the pages flipping with some gripping suspense along the way. Read in one day. This was my first by Ronald Malfi but I can't wait to devour more. My thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

BLOWN AWAY right now. Trying to be coherent and avoid spoiling this experience, which was visceral, disturbing, and did not go how I expected, in all the best ways possible. Adding fireworks, frogs, and anything made of wicker to my "avoiding it" list. Birds were already on that list but they're on their twice now.

Secrets and lies, no one can ever really escape their past. This one really is a small town horror, a group of friends that grew up together in this small town are all brought back together when lawyer Andrew receives a phone call from one of his old friends as his wife has gone missing and due to their troubled relationship he is a suspect and needs his lawyer friends help. But when Andrew returns to town, along with the mystery of the missing woman, secrets of the group of friends start to become unveiled.

“We were doomed from the beginning.”

A group of adults reunite in the town they all grew up in. The secret they’ve been hiding since they were kids is about to be exposed. I’ve read so many books with variations of this theme but I keep going back for more.

There’s something about nostalgia, even when it’s someone else’s, that draws me in. Nostalgia contaminated by unspoken trauma that’s been dragged into adulthood is intoxicating.

While I want to run in the opposite direction when drama threatens to knock on my door, I can’t get enough of it where fictional characters are involved. I blame a steady diet of shows like Days of Our Lives during my formative years. I mean, who can watch Marlena get possessed and not become a drama junkie?! But I digress…

Even though I was fairly convinced I’d been there, done that, I still wanted to read this book. It was in part because I’ve yet to meet a Ronald Malfi book I haven’t enjoyed. However, I also needed to know what the secret was and watch it bring together or destroy the friendship of the people who’d been living with it for so many years.

Andrew has secrets. There’s the big one from his past but there’s also the fact that he owns a house his wife doesn’t know about because … reasons. At least it gives him somewhere to stay when he takes an unwanted trip down memory lane.

“The five of us are cursed, man.”

I love so many of the books I read but, for whatever reason, they rarely surprise me these days. This one did. I was blindsided more than once and it absolutely delighted me when my assumptions kept being proved wrong.

I’d argue that every horror story needs a lighthouse. This one also has turkey vultures and itchy eyes. Counting has never been so creepy. This was such a fun read!

“You shouldn’t have come back here.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Ronald Malfi serves up a dark-noir mystery with a slice of small-town Americana with his latest novel Small Town Horror.
Despite the title, the book is largely a departure from the horror genre and follows a group of childhood friends drawn together to their childhood town following the disappearance of one of the group's wives. The reunion brings up a troubled past and an old secret that threatens to tear apart the fabric of the group.
The story itself is a study of guilt and a group burdened by the sins of the past. The key modern-day mystery of the wife's disappearance at times takes a backseat and is almost secondary to the relationships of the former friends.
It's a solid character-driven novel but a very different one to Malfi's usual work.

This is not the first Ronald Malfi book I have "owned" (I know I don't technically own this one, but I'm not sure how else to describe it) but it is the first one I've read, and after all of the great praise I've heard about his books/writing I do have to admit I'm a little let down. First off, when I requested this book I think I was expecting something a little more akin to Stephen King's IT, and while there are a few similarities, I would more akin it to I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. Which isn't a bad thing, but if you go in expecting one thing a find something else it can affect your perception, so please do keep that in mind for my review. Now I do want to say that the writing was fine, there wasn't really anything wrong with it, and while I perhaps found the phrasing of a few things odd that wasn't really the cause of my disappointment. I think at it's core my issues were 1) a kind of "meh"-ness, and 2) I didn't really find it scary in any way shape or form. So point one; I feel so much of this book was just...fine. The story didn't stand out, the characters didn't stand out, even the idea didn't really stand out. It also just seemed, for lack of a better word, hesitant. It's like it couldn't decide if it wanted to be a ghost story, or just a revenge story. I'm still not entirely sure there actually WERE any paranormal elements here. Sure, if it's not there were some pretty wild coincidences, but nothing really came out and screamed "ghost". And maybe that was the point? "Is it really a ghost, or is it just the guilt haunting them?" I don't have an answer for that. As far as my second point goes I don't think it requires an insane amount of explanation, but I will expand on it a little. Were there a few kind of gross scenes? Absolutely, but I don't really recall any scenes that gave me that horror-story chill down my spine. In fact, I think the biggest reaction I had was from more of a plot-twist element that wasn't actually part of the horror element at all. Sure, it made me go "oh, shit", but not in a scared way, more of a drama way. I feel like it also took a rather long time to dig into the why of what was causing these things to happen and I'm not sure why. I honestly don't think the story would have been much different if we had just opened with the terrible thing that happened all of those years ago. Seems like this just wasn't the right book/story for me, but seeing as I do still have a few of Malfi's other novels and there wasn't anything terrible about this one I'll probably end up reading at least one more at some other point, but I don't think I'll be going out of my way to recommend this one to customers.

An atmospheric, deliciously creepy, and haunting story of revenge. This dark tale is told mostly from the perspective of Andrew Larimer, although the story surrounds him as well as his four friends in a dual timeline. He's forced to return to his small hometown of Kingsport to deal with the ramifications of a tragic incident in the past that threatens to upend his happy life. With the pacing of a thriller and the darkness of a horror tale, this was a dream read for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Who doesn’t love some small town horror?

Slow start but it did help set the creepy vibe that followed throughout the entirety of the book, loved the atmosphere and the suspense. It was twisty, many I saw coming but others left me shocked.
Have enjoyed every book from this author and looking forward to reading more from him.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to @titanbooks and @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.