New favorite horror author? Ronald Malfi

Fuckin Incredible!

Come With Me by Ronald Malfi is a new favorite of mine.

This was my first Ronald Malfi book, definitely not my last.

I randomly picked it up while browsing the horror section at the book store. Question, why is the horror section so small when it’s clearly the best genre? Haha

Malfi has been publishing books since the early 2000s, so there were quite a few to choose from. Lucky me, because I love options.

I placed seven of his books on the floor. I needed space and time because picking the right book takes precision, skill and expert intuition. Choosing the right books becomes an Art in itself. OR shall I say being in tuned with the book that wants you…is an Art in itself. Yea, I’ma go with that one. 😊

After about 10-15 of vetting, I walked away with three Malfi books, Come With Me, The Narrows & Ghostwritten (which includes four novellas).

Come With Me did not disappoint. I loved every single page to include the Author’s Note in the back.

SYNOPSIS: Let me show you an example of his writing style through the following passage. This is when I knew I was trapped. I needed to discover her secrets just as desperately as he needed to.

The book is told through Aaron’s POV. He’s telling the story - to his dead wife, Allison and says: “Every marriage has its secrets. I understand this, Allison. I get it…. I began the process of learning your secret something like three months after your death. I call it a “process” because, much like a haunting, it did not reveal itself to me all at once, but rather as a gradual widening and clarity of circumstance. There had never been anything surface level about you, and the secret that, like reverse origami, I unfolded after your death was no different.”

See, TRAPPED hahaha

This book is about a man grieving the loss of his wife, while also discovering the dark mystery of her secrets. It’s a crime thriller with a haunting element. Creepy, dark and sweet.

Everything I look for in a book …. Malfi delivered.

Starting with his writing style. Easy to understand, immersive and atmospheric. A curious captivating plot told in a unique way where everything is perfectly paced, nice and steady. Oh, and let’s not forget the most important element of a story (in my opinion), the characters. Aaron and Allison are well developed and made sense. Interesting side characters too.

REFLECTIONS: This section doesn’t necessarily spoil the book, however, I do give an example of a scene and some quotes. If you’re anything like me and prefer NOT to know any details before picking up a book, I suggest you stop right here.

Malfi is a Genius in how he brought things full circle and connected dots throughout the whole book making this story a literary masterpiece. I’ll give some examples but please understand, the whole book is full of goodies and treats.

His use of juxtaposition and how he used the layout of the book to drive the point even further, lit me all the way up. Remember the movie, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation?

On page 6, Aaron reflects on his last moments with Allison, warm, cozy and alive. She’s wearing, her scarlet beret and a houndstooth topcoat and right before she leaves the house, she says to him, “Come with me.” It was too early in the morning for him to get up so he tells her no. But the whole interaction is sweet and endearing, we feel it through the page.

On page 7, the next page AND the paragraph directly across from the endearing memory on page 6, he’s identifying her body at the county morgue where she’s laid out on a steel table with a plain white sheet tucked up to her collarbone, an index card placed discreetly over the wound that killed her. And as he looks at her body on the table, he’s haunted by: “Come with me.”

One moment we’re in a memory, experiencing the warmth and aliveness through his eyes and the next moment we’re jolted back to the cold reality of her death. It’s emotionally jarring, such as the nature of loss.

It’s not the juxtaposition itself that did me in, it’s how he used the layout of the scene and the facing pages to line up perfectly. I read it, felt it, saw it. In that order.

And it set the tone for the whole book. Sweet funny memories and dark discoveries. It’s one of the things I enjoyed most, the back and forth between light and dark. In the end, it’s all ONE. All of it makes up Allison.

His perception of who she was, who she is, doesn’t necessarily change, it deepens.

 This story ends as a perfectly wrapped package; you will not be disappointed:

She once told him “We will always be together because we have always been together. We are acting out all our moments simultaneously right now. Ghosts are time travelers not bound by the here and now.”

Allison’s request, “Come with me,” haunted him but it wraps up perfectly in the end.

And it will all make sense when you read the book.

Nicely done Malfi.

I just finished The Narrows (horror sci-fi), another great Malfi book and have already started a third, Ghostwritten.

The Narrows was such a yucky delight. Small town creepy horror, night creatures. I read this book in three days. It was magnificent.

It’s been one hell of a Malfi week!

Dude writes great stories. What more can I say.

Have you read any of his books? If so, what’s your favorite.