I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Small Town Horror by Ronald Malfi Published by Titan Books on June 4 2024
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Eerie and atmospheric, Small Town Horror combines slow burn horror with shocking twists.
Ronald Malfi tackles a tried and true horror trope but gives his readers some fun twists in his latest, a creepy and atmospheric story that had me jumping at shadows. The often used story of “childhood friends reunite as adults in their hometown to vanquish an old evil” has been done—a lot. In fact, Malfi used this same trope in his last book, Black Mouth, but clearly it’s working for him, because Small Town Horror was a lot of fun, if not my favorite of Malfi’s books.
The story follows Andrew Larimer, a successful lawyer who works in Manhattan. Andrew’s wife Rebecca is eight months pregnant with their first child, and Andrew is starting to panic about being a father. Lately, he’s been having weird nightmares, and one night he thinks he sees the shadow of a person in his bedroom. Andrew brushes it off as stress, but when he gets a phone call from Dale Walls, an old high school friend, all sorts of old memories begin to resurface. Dale tells Andy he needs to come home—to the small seaside town of Kingsport where he grew up—but he’s vague about why. But Andy has a feeling that Dale’s urgent call has something to do with the tragic accident that happened the year they were sixteen, an event he’s tried to block from his memory.
Andrew leaves for Kingsport but doesn’t tell Rebecca where he’s going. When he arrives, Dale confesses that his wife Cynthia has been missing for over a week, and he believes it has something to do with the “curse.” Dale thinks he’s being punished for what happened back on July 4th of 2003, and even though Andrew doesn’t believe in curses, he can’t deny that things are very weird in Kingsport. His dad’s old house is teeming with flies, and there’s a terrible smell coming from the basement. Vultures and meadowlarks keep appearing every where he goes, and he finds a Roman candle under his old bed.
Later Andrew and Dan reunite with the other three who were present on that awful night: Eric Kelly, who is now a Deputy Sheriff; Tig Mayronne, who runs a town bar called the Wharf Rat, and Matthew “Meach” Meacham, a slightly unhinged drunk who claims that he’s seeing ghosts, and that the “witch” of Kingsport, a reclusive woman named Ruth Graves, has cursed the five friends for what happened long ago. The truth is, it’s almost exactly twenty years after that terrible night, and July 4th is only days away. Has the past come back to haunt them? Or is Cynthia’s disappearance something much more mundane?
Malfi’s atmospheric writing sets the tone for this thoroughly creepy and unsettling tale. I loved his descriptions of Kingsport, a small, decaying town full of people who can’t seem to leave. Andrew’s old house, which he inherited after his father died six years earlier, is full of flies, despite the fact that he’s hired a caretaker to keep the house running in his absence. The flooded basement was such a great touch, even though it’s never explained why the basement flooded, and what the hell was the caretaker doing anyway? Andrew sees wet footprints leading from the basement into the hallway, and later finds a squatter in one of the bedrooms (who turns out to be Meach!)
The supernatural elements are more subtle than I expected, but I was OK with that. At times, the story reads as more of a mystery/police procedural, especially in regards to Dan’s missing wife. Malfi drops lots of hints that suggest something otherworldly is going on, but at times it’s hard to tell whether these things are real or simply imagined. The author has a real talent for using imagery in his stories, and one of the recurring themes in Small Town Horror is his use of birds throughout the story. Vultures and meadowlarks keep appearing, sometimes flinging themselves into windows, and all of these scenes were very unsettling. He also uses objects in surprising ways, like the bicycle horn that Tig’s daughter Bonnie uses to let Tig know when she’s frightened. Fireworks also play a big part in the story, and a couple of times Roman candles appear in odd places. I love the way he always follows through with these random objects later in the story.
As to why this isn’t my favorite Ronald Malfi story, a couple of things. First, I didn’t feel a deep connection to any of the characters, which made the emotional impact less than Come With Me, for example, which is still my favorite Malfi book to date. I was also confused by a few things that should have worked better for me but didn’t. The recurring “bird” theme was certainly creepy, but it’s never really explained. There’s also mention of a weird storm where frogs fall out of the sky. I’m pretty sure these are both related to the witch’s curse, but the storyline revolving around the “witch” and the “curse” was a little too vague for my tastes.
And then there’s the ending, which I’ll admit had a couple of really good twists, but otherwise it felt oddly out of place with the rest of the book. Everything goes to hell very quickly, and I can’t say I enjoyed the way the author wrapped things up. In a word, it was a perfectly good ending for a horror story, but so weird and depressing that it left me with a sour feeling in my stomach.
Small Town Horror is still worth reading, though, especially if you’re already a fan of the author. This is spooky enough that you might want to read it during the day.
Big thanks to the author for providing a review copy.
Although I don’t read a lot of full blown horror I do like books that walk that thin edge between the natural & supernatural and keep you guessing as to what’s really going on. Although I’ll admit the ending worries me based on what you’ve said I’m glad you enjoyed this, even if it wasn’t your favourite by the author.
He did a great job of keeping the reader guessing!
I love the trope this story is based on, but maybe this particular book would be too “adult” for my tastes, with the married couple issues and whatnot. Also, I’m not a huge fan of depressing endings LOL.
Roberta R. recently posted…Offbeat Offline: May 2024
Yeah, the ending surprised me, and I feel like as a big horror fan I should have loved it, but it was a little too weird, lol.
The set-up here sounds a little like IT by Stephen King, and I usually enjoy stories that see childhood friends reunite in later years to deal with some evil, but not sure about an overly weird ending which was also depressing. Perhaps one of this author’s other books would be a better introduction for me 😀
Pages and Tea recently posted…Monthly Summary: May 2024
Yes, it’s got an IT vibe for sure. Honestly, if you want to try one of his books, I highly recommend Come With Me:-)
I’m intrigued by your description of the book as a “thoroughly creepy and unsettling tale”, which might be enough to make me forget the similarities with Black Mouth, but your comments about unresolved details and what sounds like a somewhat hurried ending have cooled my enthusiasm a little. Still, with a four-star rating I know I will have to give this novel a chance.
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…THE CLOCKWORK BOYS (Clocktaur War #1), by T. Kingfisher
It was actually very different from Black Mouth. It’s a solid 4 star book, but I usually expect to rate his books 5 stars, so just slightly disappointing in that respect.
Childhood friends coming back together as adults to confront some past trauma is such a good trope! This sounds like it has a lot going for it… but unexplained things (like the frogs) would really irritate me!
Yeah, the frog thing was weird…
I’m glad you enjoyed this for the first part. I have a couple of his books on my shelf but don’t recall reading from him. I hope to read Black Mouth soon. Great review!
Barb @ Booker T’s Farm recently posted…Cute Dogs For the Win!
Black Mouth is amazing!
So this sounds like one I certainly wouldn’t completely pass over, but maybe I’ll focus first on the Malfi I’ve already collected.
If you have Come With Me or Black Mouth, I recommend both!
I have been so curious about this one, but waiting for some reviews. I am sorry that the ending was a letdown- that often can really ruin a book for me. That said, I do love the idea of a lot of twists? So I still may give it a go, but keep my expectations in check. Great review!
Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight recently posted…June 2024 Discussion Challenge Link Up & Giveaway
Thanks Shannon! I think a lot of readers will enjoy the ending more than I did.
The cover is so eerie! I am sorry you didn’t love this one as much as you hoped (especially for what you wrote about the ending!) but I am glad you still enjoyed it!
It’s hard not to love his books, even if this isn’t my favorite:-)
I’ve found that a lot of the books I’ve read recently have “interesting” twists that seem like they came out of nowhere, and that can really take me away from a story. D: I definitely enjoy atmospheric horror books though… This is a tough one. I guess I’m filing it in the ‘maybe’ section of my mind. Great review, Tammy! 🙂
aimee can read recently posted…These Ships Have Sailed and I Love Love: Mini Reviews of Recent Romance Reads (Out on a Limb, In a Jam, Release)
ooh, this sounds like one I might really like! The trope sounds somewhat similar to It by Stephen King in a way. I’m sharing it with my mom and aunt who also like this type of story. Great review!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Book Blitz with Giveaway: Love Signals (Love Struck Romantic Comedy #2) by Melanie Summers
I’m going on vacation next week and this one’s coming with me. Very excited to check it out. Your comments about the ending makes me nervous-intrigued