Although he’s not an author who’s brought up often, Ronald Malfi is one of the best in the (horror) business. At least, that’s what I’ve learned after reading his two latest novels and his most recent collection of novellas. Thankfully, there’s quite a bit more in his library, meaning I have a good amount left to read, which I look forward to doing so. In fact, I’ve been meaning to read most of his books ever since I borrowed a lot of them from the library several years ago.
In the last year or so, Mr. Malfi has opted to release two different collections, both of which are made up of novellas, some of which were previously published. While I’ve yet to read the first, Ghostwritten, I did buy it in paperback and eBook formats. I have, however, read the latest one thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books, and am here to share my thoughts. It’s called They Lurk.
What you’ll find within the physical (or digital) pages of They Lurk by Ronald Malfi is a set of five different stories, the first four having been previously published. They get progressively longer, and also tend to get better as they go along. All of these tales are at least pretty good, too, with some being notably better than that.
In Skullbelly, a private detective crossed state lines to search for answers after three teenagers disappear while camping in strange woods. Upon doing so, he’s informed of a local legend involving a strange creature called Skullbelly, which has a translucent stomach, allowing people to see his (human) victims get digested and reduced to bone. This is a pretty good novella, which isn’t all that long, and it does a solid job of setting the tone for the rest of this collection.
The Separation is next, and it’s undoubtedly the weakest of the bunch, despite being decent itself. Within its words, a psychiatrist travels to Germany to help an old friend (and professional boxer) return to himself. As the fighter’s manager has stated, his charge has been acting very strangely, has been losing weight and has been deteriorating in other ways since his separation. The behaviour is alarming, not to mention incredibly strange. Thus, doctor and patient take up residence together within an old farmhouse, along with a couple of other men, those being the manager and an assistant.
Next up is The Stranger, wherein a man and his younger female partner stop at a roadside motel not far from Tallahassee, Florida. There, they meet a stranger with odd proportions, who says something eerie before parting ways. Not long after, they find that the odd man has locked himself inside their car and won’t get out. That’s not the worst of it, either.
The Stranger is a good and thought provoking novella, which will stick in your mind after reading. It’s also the creepiest of the bunch.
The fourth story, then, is After the Fade, which is undoubtedly the best of the bunch. It centres upon a jazz musician named Tommy, who chooses to break up with his girlfriend of one year in a familiar bar in Annapolis. Things don’t go as planned, though, because odd things begin to happen once she enters the establishment. It begins with a woman Tommy knows entering the bar in an odd state, with some sort of bug-like creature stuck to the back of her head. I liked this one best because, not only was it a really good story, but it worked as an interesting character study.
Last up is Fierce, which is the only newly written novella in this book. It’s also the longest, taking up about thirty percent of its pages.
Fierce pretty much begins with a young woman trying to get her divorced parents’ approval to take a gap year between high school and college, in order to travel across Europe with friends. She speaks about her strict mother, but things really pick up during a pre-Christmas dinner with her musician dad and his younger girlfriend. Then, it moves on to she and her mom driving home through a one lane mountain road that is bordered by steep snowdrifts on each side.
As the two argue, they see headlights appear over the next hill, then have little time to react before a big truck barrels into them. With a deadly accident narrowly avoided, but their car inoperable nonetheless, the two get out and find that the driver of the truck isn’t someone they want to get to know. That’s all I’ll say to avoid spoilers.
All of these novellas are at least pretty good, if not quite good, and combine to make They Lurk worth your time. Like everything I’ve read from Ronald Malfi, they’re also very well written. He’s really talented at what he does. Still, it doesn’t reach the same heights as his last two novels did, and left me wishing for a bit more. Then again, I’ve developed high expectations when it comes to this author.
This review is based on a copy of the book that we were provided with. Receiving one from Titan Books and NetGalley did not sway our opinion or jeopardize our review.