Small Town Horror starts out as the classic tale of childhood friends sharing a terrible secret. Andy left his childhood home years ago, but gets sucked back in as his former friends' lives start to fall apart. Of course, this dredges up everything from the past, and secrets beget secrets beget secrets. While the architecture of this story is familiar, Malfi gives it his own unique flare that keeps you glued to the page throughout. Certain aspects of the story I didn't connect until moments before they were revealed, and I had multiple "oh sh*t" moments of audible surprise. All-in-all, this was a wholly enjoyable ghost story/not ghost story about secrets and small towns.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow what a book. I am quite new to reading horror and this has so far been the best one for suspense and creepy vibes.
Some parts were a little repetitive but it didn't annoy me because the story and the character development was amazing.
Will definitely be going back to read more from this author.

This was an enjoyable mysterious story about five friends reuniting as adults to confront the dark tragedy in their past. Told in multiple POVs and two timelines, Malfi weaves the pieces together fluidly to a satisfying ending. The characters were unique and captivating. The eerie environmental hauntings were gripping. The ending was very unique. The emotional depth that is instilled throughout fuses with its environment, further pulling you under its spell.

I really enjoyed this chilling tale from Ronald Malfi. I do admit I love the whole “adults return to the town they grew up in, where shady things happened and even shadier things are now going on”. It always gives me Loser Club vibes and I, for one, am here for it.

I love the attention to detail in this book, there is nothing better than when a story envelopes you completely and you feel like you actually live in this cursed spooky small town. Although with everything that has gone down I’m really glad I don’t live there because I would not survive.

The dual timeline worked so well for this one, and there was never a point where I struggled to keep up (I’m a simple being, sometimes dual timelines can drive me crazy). The ending had me though, I did not see it coming. What a clever little book. This is the reason Malfi is an auto-buy author for me. All hail.

Thank you to @titanbooks for sending me an early copy to sink my teeth into!

✩✩✩✩✩

I loved the small town aspect. It reminded me of It with the group going back to their small town. It took a bit to fit out what exactly had happened in the past, but it helped to build suspense.

2.5 stars.

How am I rating one of my favorite authors so low on the scale? Because dammit I'm tired of the whole group of tormented kids grow up and have to return to their hometown to deal with some stuff from their childhood stuff.

It's not a bad book. I was wrapped up in seeing how this played out and if it really was a booger chasing them or were they just imagining stuff from their guilt.

Not my favorite Malfi book but I'll still read anything he writes.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

"Small Town Horror” by Ronald Malfi was a chilling 5-star read! Andrew Latimer is summoned back to Kingsport by his childhood friend, Dale. Andrew had vowed never to return to his hometown, but his friend sounds desperate, so Andrew agrees to help. Andrew quickly reunites with his other friends from the past—Meach, Tig, and Eric—to try to understand the dark forces that have been haunting them all.

I thought this was a very interesting story that I really enjoyed! The story is mainly told in the present from Andrew’s point of view, with some flashbacks to the past that are crucial to the story. I wouldn’t really call this a scary story; creepy and supernatural is probably a more appropriate description. There are plenty of twists and turns that kept me wanting more until everything was finally revealed. I don’t read a lot of horror, but for hardcore fans of the genre, this type of story may feel played out. I look forward to reading more by Ronald Malfi.

Thanks to Titan Books, Ronald Malfi, and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest review.

If anyone can write a horror novel about any subject and scare the bejeezus out of the reader just read a Ronald Malfi novel. The reader thinks the story is about a cursed group of kids who commit a terrible accident, fail to report the accident and then have to face the truth many years later and that is how this book begins. The story is told via Andrew, one of the cursed kids, as he tries to decipher what is happening to the group. The action is told through two timelines; one as the group are teens and then as the group reunifies to solve whatever is happening to them. Each person is responsible for a different part of the accident yet each one will have to pay a different price. I have never been more afraid to enter a cellar than after I read all the descriptions by the author of the cellar in Andrew’s home. I could almost smell the dank smell, hear the dripping water and picture the black water. The book is instrumental in planting pictures in my brain that I cannot forget as I am reading. Even when I stopped reading (to give my heart a chance to stop beating out of my chest) the images stuck with me invariably drawing me back to finish the book. There is something in this book that makes your mouth drop open (no spoilers here) and go back to look and see where you may have missed something. Excellent atmospheric book that I cannot recommend enough.

While the childhood friends who have done something terrible in the past reunite in the present is somewhat derivative, Malfi does some really creepy and cool things with it, in a very evocative setting. There are some twists near the end that are absolutely jaw-dropping.

[Snack Size Review] Small Town Horror, by Ronald Malfi

Quick Bite: Y’all, this book is grim and bleak and absolutely delicious.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

What It’s About: Raise your hand if you’ve heard this before… Twenty years ago, a group of teenagers in a small town did something terrible. Today, they must reunite in order to fight the terrifying thing they unleashed.

A Word From The Nerd: Sound like a super familiar setup? That’s probably because it is. I’m pretty sure that every big (and small) name in horror has done some version of this exact story, complete with the same cast of characters - the Troubled Addict, the Alluring Tomboyish Girl, the Weak-minded Rich Guy, etc. It can be hard to muster much enthusiasm for yet another version of the story. But Mr. Malfi has a way of making me go “Oh, this again?” and then somehow adding something completely unexpected. And he often does so in ways that hit me deep in the emotions. So I’m left with this confusing jumble of “Pretty sure I’ve already read this book a dozen times” and “oh man, I did not see that coming, and I’m not OK.” It’s a lot for my poor sugared-up brain, but you guys, I can’t get enough of it.

The Nerd’s Rating: FOUR HAPPY NEURONS (and some fireworks - I live in WV, it’s allllll legal.)

An astonishing read from the very first page.

My words cannot express how great this book was. I wish I had the flair and eloquence Ronald Mafli displays within these pages, to then be able to do this book justice in my review.
What I will say is that if you want an intense, well drawn supernatural story to read then this is for you.
Superb!!

“Maybe this is a ghost story … one dark secret … one small town horror”

Suspenseful, supernatural and scary!

Andrew Larimer left his home town Kingsport a long time ago to become a successful lawyer in New York, then late one night he gets a phone call from an old friend telling him he needs to come back right now!

Andrew and his four friends have kept a dark secret for twenty years, but is it time for them to face their guilt?

Oh wow, I loved this book! It should be made into a movie. It’s a real page turner. It’s creepy, atmospheric, so realistic and well done. I don’t want to give anymore away, out on 4 June, go and pre order, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @RonaldMalfi for the ARC, much appreciated.

This was my first time reading a Ronald Malfi book and I absolutely loved it. The creepy atmosphere and suoernatural vibes buily nicely. I enjoyed the character building and descriptions that were well fleshed out but not too much. I felt the ending was a bit cliche but done in a bit of a different way. Overall i enjoyed this book and will be adding more of Malfi's books to my TBR.

I love a good small town horror story and this had all of the elements I love!! This checks all the boxes.

Andrew, workaholic lawyer with a VERY pregnant wife has done everything he can to escape where he grew up. But, when a friend from back home calls him in the middle of the night, desperate for him to come back, Andrew heads home to Kingsport.

His friend’s wife has gone missing, just one of a string of strange things happening in town, and fearful he will be the main suspect, he needs Andrew’s help. Something much more nefarious could be at play though, because Andrew and his friends share a secret. Andrew, Eric, Dale, Tig and Meach experienced a terrifying night years ago… something nobody was supposed to know about. And they are starting to think it is all connected.

The way all of this plays out was masterful. I love the plot line of someone who got out, left their past behind, only to be pulled back in years later, along with a group of old friends who all share a dark secret… it’s catnip to me! Small Town Horror has done this so well.

What a wild ride. The beginning gave me Stephen King’s It vibes, down to the whole gang being called back to their hometown. I was surprised where the book went though and have to say I’m happy that it wasn’t a carbon copy of It.

Writing is excellent and really creates a fast pacing that immerses you into the story. I had to finish because I had to know the fate of the characters.

Speaking of characters, I really enjoyed Malfi’s portrayal of friendship within a small town setting. Despite years of being apart, certain characters kept the same loyalty to their childhood friends. It made the story believable, and more set in reality despite supernatural elements.

I enjoyed the supernatural element as well because it wasn’t too over the top or out there.

I don’t want to spoil too much, if you’re from a small town, pick it up. It will give you all the cozy vibes from home. If you’re not from a small town, like me, still pick it up and live vicariously through tight knit relationships and small town secrets that refuse to stay buried.

In ‘Small Town Horror’ an unpunished crime resurfaces after
twenty years with five old friends unable to escape their past

For the last decade or so Ronald Malfi has been on a seriously hot streak, which includes the exceptional novels; Bone White (2017), Come With Me (2021) and Black Mouth (2022). This has been backed up by an ultra-slick interconnected sequence of novellas Ghostwritten (2022), the repackaging of earlier novellas They Lurk (2023) and We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone (2017) a collection of career spanning short stories. If you are new to this author, he undoubtedly has one of the finest back catalogues in horror, which has strengthened as he has matured as a writer. All of Malfi’s recent work has been published by Titan (in the UK) and it looks like they will be rereleasing further earlier work, watch out for The Narrows, which is out in October 2024 and is another terrific novel.

His latest, Small Town Horror is another quality supernatural page-turner, with a similar feel to Black Mouth, with the main character returning to his old hometown of Kingsport after many years away. Andrew Larimer has made a new life for himself and has a successful career as a lawyer, however, a desperate telephone call from an old friend takes him back home and into the orbit of the four former best friends he has not seen for twenty years. Although it was a good read, the story was not exactly original, as we realise they did something horrific twenty years earlier as teenagers, which might potentially resurface. This incident is the reason Andrew has never returned, turning away from the guilt, and there were few surprises in the direction this story takes.

The flashbacks to 2003, leading up to the incident were nicely handled, with a convincing coming-of-age vibe with the five teenagers roaming around their small town until their lives are changed forever. Upon his return Andrew finds out that the wife of one of his old friend’s (Dale) has disappeared, he is the prime suspect, however, the water is made even murkier by the fact that the current sheriff (Eric) is also one of the five. There are secrets everywhere.

The supernatural element of the story is a slow burner and for the most part lurks too far in the background, carried limited threat and could have had more bite. I felt this part of the narrative could have been stronger and lacked the intensity that the supernatural narratives had in Bone White, Come With Me and Black Mouth. This was a strong supernatural thriller, but I would rank those other three novels above this.

As the story advances I was stuck on what I believed to be a potential plot hole, or an aspect of the narrative which deserved further exploration, however, apologies to Ronald Malfi as this was connected to an almighty and very clever plot twist. If ever there was a development which turned a story on its head then this was it, with the reader realising which Andrew tries to keep his distance from his old friends.

Life has not been kind to all of the five, Meech, a homeless alcoholic and drug addict, believes the group has been cursed for the incident from the past, with incidents intensifying as the twentieth anniversary approaches. The dynamics between the five was one of the strongest aspects of the novel, particularly with Tig, a single mother and owner of one of the local bars and secret girlfriend of Andrew when they were teenagers. Although she remained in the background, I also enjoyed the interactions with Andrew’s wife, who seems to have her own sixth sense and is troubled by nightmares whilst heavily pregnant.

If you have never read Ronald Malfi before this is a solid introduction to his work, even if it fails to reach the heights of his three most recent novels. Once you get past the very well-used trope of adults returning to the guilt-ridden location of a dumb teenage crime it was a melancholic dark thriller, full of regret, good twists and characters unable to escape their past.

Another excellent story from Ronalld Malfi. All of his works have suspense, scares and heart and Small Town Horror, a story about 5 friends that have kept a big secret for 20 years, is no exception. If you think you are familiar with that plot line, Malfi very much makes it his own. Books like this make him a must read for me.

4 stars

This was my first Malfi book and it did not disappoint.

I group of 5 friends are brought back together after 20 years as one of their wives has gone missing.

The story is based mainly on Andrew Larimer who gets a call demanding him to come back to his hometown. It’s a great slow burn, with a satisfying ending.
Creepy ghost story and it keeps you wanting more!

I can’t stop thinking about the last few chapters and how I was in complete shock, it wasn’t what I was expecting in a good way. I know I will be reading more from this author.

Thank you to Titan Books and to Netgalley for letting me review this arc!

Ronald Malfi writes a captivating and absorbingly dark horror story that chills you to your bones as you find yourself sinking deeper into the hellish depths of the story. The first-person POV works to creep you out, as if you’re seeing all the horrors first hand. A must-read.

This had some IT vibes as childhood friends are called back to their small hometown to face a dark past.

For a chunk of the story it went in circles with long chapters that were a bit redundant. As a reader, you know a boy named Robert was killed, and you know the friend group had something to do with it, but the details are not revealed and it is just mentioned over and over and over as the boy's ghost haunts certain members of the group.

The second half of the book picks up nicely and I liked some of the twists and creepy moments that Malfi provides.

Although I didn't absolutely love this one, I do tend to really enjoy Ronald Malfi's work and will for sure read more of his novels in the future, regardless.