I am ridiculously late on my read of this one. I've changed kindles a few times and this got lost in the cloud.

However, I'm glad I recovered it.

This is a good, unpretentious horror story. We have some great characters and a terrific 'evil' (sorry no spoilers) that is just unrelenting and scary.

I will say that the backstory of what happened at the mine was a little clumsily handled. I thought it was going to be a flashback. Instead, it was a huge break in the middle of the book that lasted chapters and chapters. I almost forgot the original story and characters! Don't get me wrong - it was fascinating and I generally like it. I just am not sure that was the way to insert it.

Once we got back to the original story, I was all in and enjoyed how it all ended.

I would definitely read the author again!

I was provided a free digital ARC by the publisher and NetGalley, for which I am grateful. This in no way impacted the rating or review.

Reading the premise of the book, I suspected it could go either way - intriguing or trash. It was neither, just a really good idea for a novel that was given less than a professional treatment. Other reviewers before me have written variations on the them of "In more capable / skilled hands, this could have been great." I'm sorry to say I'm in that camp.

This was Malafarina's first novel; I hope he keeps writing, because a first effort likes this needs to be fostered and allowed to evolve and mature.

Three stars.

I love this book!

Disused mine, kids being kids go over to have a sneaky look, one gets horribly murdered but by what? We don't know!!

Cue lying, treachery, shock, horror, surprise and more! The characters are fun and we hate who we're supposed to and for damn good reason, we root for the heroes and we hang around to find out just what is in the mine, why the hell it's in there and who knows about it.

Loved the ending, the backstory of the mine and how it all came together. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

*Huge thanks to Thomas Malafarina, Sunbury Press, INC and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own*

a pretty interesting premise and setting help this horror thriller to be slightly above average

the writing is strong and characterization is decent

the author builds suspense yet I wonder if this may have been better as a novella.

This book was a great read as a visceral, terrifying journey through an old mining town, as a reporter investigates clues to accidents in a closed-down mine, including a teenager ripped apart while visiting the mine with the neighborhood bully and some friends. He soon finds that the town has secrets, but that the town is bought and paid for by Mr. Coogan, the richest and most despicable man around.

Apparently the mine is inhabited by a horrible creature, transformed through a deal with the devil, who can only escape the mine by capturing 99 souls for his master. The scares soon ensue as the reporter and the townfolk race against time to defeat the beast and Mr. Coogan. The sense of dread and despair is palpable at times, and the town with a dark past is well-written and comes to life in gruesome detail as it attempts to rid itself of the curse of Coogan and the mine.

The ending didn't really tie things up for me, but there were enough fun scares and adventure to give it 4 stars. Still several typos and wording errors but fairly typical of e-books so can't complain too much there. Overall I recommend it as a fun horror read.

Loved it!! Enjoyed this from beginning to end. This is the first book that I've read by this author but now I want to get my hands on every book he's written. Recommended

I thought this was a great idea for a story, and in better hands it would have been. The execution was sadly lacking. When I finished this story, in the about author section it was stated that this writer was known for painting with words.....This must be a lie that he tells himself. I kept thinking to myself, "great story, I wish I could have been there!" I never once got lost in this tale. I always felt like I was being force fed the whole thing. A reader wants to lose themselves in the story, and not feel impatient the whole time. Seriously, I could not wait for the end of this mess! One last thing. Although the author states that this book has been updated and 're-edited, it is still quite painful to read. I wouldn't recommend this story at all. Matter of fact, there's not a chance of me reading anything from this writer again.

What Waits Beneath by Thomas M. Malafarina was received direct from the publisher. This book is a re-release and re-edit of a book by the same author (of course) that was originally called 99 Souls. . I had never heard of this author before, and after reading this I will seek out more of his works. I am uncertain if I have ever read a "coal country" book, I visit those areas frequently enough so I am very familiar with the people and landscape. This book is a quick read that rarely bogs down and even had the "crazy old coot" made famous by the early Friday the 13th movies, "its got a death curse." (you know the guy). There is a creature eating souls that may or may not get up from below and I have to think this book would make a mighty fine horror movie, that people would actually watch.

4 stars

I wanted to like this book because the premise sounds interesting and I'm a thriller/horror fan. But the dialogue was cheesy, the POV jumped from one character to the next like an airborne virus, the characters all seemed like dramatic caricatures who can only end sentences in exclamation marks, and the demon would have made a lot more kills if he stopped talking so much. I think I kept on reading to see if it was consistently bad throughout the book. This should have just stayed in the era it was originally published.

Interesting premise but seemed gory for the shock value. Dialogue was stilted and cheesy. Overall disappointing.

Thomas Malafarina's first novel is set in 1965 in his native Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. A young boy is savagely disemboweled in the presence of his friends at an abandoned coal mine by an unidentified creature.

During the investigation, which follows, a Philadelphia television reporter learns from an eccentric old codger a terrible legend about the disastrous history of the mine - a tale about a mine disaster many years ago in which three coal miners were trapped a mile below the surface. Out of desparation, one of the miners sold his soul to Satan in order to get revenge for the disaster. In return, Satan transformed this man into an immortal soul-feeding demon that must remain trapped in the mine until he gathers ninety-nine souls.

How do you kill what can't be killed? How do you stop the unstoppable? Welcome to a place where terror reigns, where unspeakable horror and demonic savagery is the norm; where lost souls writhe and struggle for a freedom that may never come. Welcome to Coogan's mine; the home of Devil Dan.

What did I think:
4.5 stars
first off I want to say sorry for how long it took me to post this and finish this book, its non thing against the book ,its just the last few days I've been sick, with that said I did in fact like the story , it was a hole lot better then I thought it was going to be, its the type of book you want to read on a dark and stormy night . So if you love stories like this then you need to pick this one up and read it , once you start you wan't want to stop . With that said I would love to say thinks to NetGalley for helping me find a new book as well as a new author to check out, all so I would like to say I was giving a chance at reading it in a change for my honest opinion and this is 100 % my honest opinion.

Well.

The book wasn't nearly as scary as I thought that it would be. There were definitely a few creep factors in there, but nothing that would have made me put down the book with sheer anxiety. But for the most part, it was a decent read and I did enjoy reading it quite a bit.

The book centers around an abandoned coal mine in a small town, where legend has it that there was a soul-sucking creature at the bottom of the mine, just waiting to munch on its next victim. Something pretty close to that. For the most part, the legend was treated just so. Like a legend. One of those stories that parents use to keep their kids in line and away from the place; as plenty of curious, bored kids will do in a small mining town like that. Well, they did - at least until an incident that happens to a group of kids messing around by the mine doors. Where one was left for dead. And of course, the manner that the boy had died in sends all sorts of news reporters and such flying in, determined to get whats, whys, and hows.

Anyway, after this incident, the book explains the origin of the legend and how very not far away from the truth it actually was. The details were explicit and the images the words invoked sometimes actually made me shudder in distaste. It was definitely an interesting read and one I enjoyed today (my last day off until work, ugh). The only reason why I gave it three stars was because the ending was completely anti-climatic. It was building and building and building, and I was practically on the edge of my seat, and then all of a sudden -- boom. It was over.

Fade out. End scene. That sort of thing.

I was actually really disappointed. There was a part of me that wanted to see the creature get his bargain fulfilled, wanted to see what sort of chaos he'd ensue outside the mine, wanted to see if there was any sort of way they'd stop him though it's said he's invincible. I mean really, just anything other than that close-curtain type of ending. Other than that though, I did really like it.

I love horror and suspense, but this one didn't do it for me. It was a little too predictable for me. You have an old abandoned mine, of course kids are going to go there for dares and something bad is gonna happen!! I will leave it up to you to decide if you wanna know the details, not much I can reveal without giving it away.

thanks you.
enjoyed it.
will get copies for family and friends.

First of all I want to thank NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book in return of a review. My opinion isn't influenced in any way.
When I first saw this book being offered on NetGalley I was kind of skeptic but the description lured me in so I decided to give it a try. The cover didn't really made an impression but sometimes real gems are hidden behind not so good covers. This happened with this book too.
I was surprised to learn that the story right of the bat explains to us who's the "Big Bad". It didn't disappoint me and it only intrigued me more. I read half of the book in one sitting and I don't regret it. But what really started bothering me was Willie's story. It was detailed and it's okay but maybe a bit too long. About in the middle of it I was wishing for Willie to wrap it up quickly but soon it picked my interest up again. I will describe this book as "one town's bubble". It reminded of Stephen King but will less unnecessary details that soon get tiring. There weren't too many characters so it was easy to follow the plot and author's style really pulled me in.
One thing that really disappointed me was the ending. It was all sorts of anticlimactic. I wanted to see the Beast getting what it was promised and the hell that would follow it. But well, otherwise the book was great.

I only read the first few chapters and found that this book was not going to be for me. Thank you for the opportunity, but I am not interested in this book. Since I did not find this book something that I would enjoy, I am refraining from giving any rating.

Review: WHAT WAITS BENEATH by Thomas M. Malafarina

Seamlessly weaving between a contemporary insular hill community (for all intents and purposes a company town) and the same community in the 1880's, the story line focuses on a family coal mine in Pennsylvania. The Coogan mine is nearly the only source of employment in the late 19th century, and the owner is a tightfisted narcissist with delusions of grandeur. The novel opens in present day, with a group of boys led by the latest Coogan descendant, visiting the abandoned mine to taunt and bully some of the boys. That visit reawakens the legend, more than a century old, of a supernatural creature residing in the mine. The author subsequently weaves in the backstory, and quite terrifying it is.

Really well written and the author sets the mood very well in preparation for a thrilling read. I was glued from the first word. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.