TW: Murder, gory scenes, animal deaths, homophobia, bullying, family drama, depression, child abuse, sexual abuse, alcoholism, toxic parent relationship, gaslighting, death of parent

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:For nearly two decades, Jamie Warren has been running from darkness. He's haunted by a traumatic childhood and the guilt at having disappeared from his disabled brother's life. But then a series of unusual events reunites him with his estranged brother and their childhood friends, and none of them can deny the sense of fate that has seemingly drawn them back together.Nor can they deny the memories of that summer, so long ago – the strange magic taught to them by an even stranger man, and the terrible act that has followed them all into adulthood. In the light of new danger, they must confront their past by facing their futures, and hunting down a man who may very well be a monster.
Release Date: July 19th, 2022
Genre: Horror
Pages: 400
Rating:⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. The writing style
2. Carnivale setting
3. Creepy scenes

What I Didn't Like:
1. Sometimes felt slow/sluggish
2. Characters were easy at times to mix up
3. Reminded me TOO much of IT

Overall Thoughts: I am seriously blown away with how much I liked this book. The writing was so good. I was sucked into the book from the first few pages.

The characters were interesting. Some of them as teens came off annoying but they are teens so that is expected.

I was creeped out reading about this dude that had powers and was getting kids to hang out with him in the woods. There were some turns in this book that seriously gave me the chills.

I loved that the ending was a supernatural ending. The bond the friends had was nice. The fair setting.

Final Thoughts: I loved this book. It was creepy and I love a book with a fair setting.

Recommend For:
• Fans of It
• Strong circle of friends
• Coming of age story
• Supernatural elements
• Fair settings

Ronald Malfi tends to be hit or miss for me, but this was a HIT! I knew that "Black Mouth" was going to be something special when I saw the comparison to Stephen King's "IT", and with a plot about a group of adults returning to their hometown to face an evil from their childhoods, it's easy to see why. With Malfi's "Bone White," I felt he created such amazing tension only to absolutely blow it in the final 20% of the novel. That is not the case here, as he successfully builds to a satisfying climax. This was so good, reminiscent of "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and, yes, "IT." Highly recommended!

A creepy coming of age story with an evil magician and a mystery of what is real and what is not. Although I feel the book was a little too long and that the pacing could have been quicker I still thoroughly enjoyed this story. Great for fans of Stephen King!

The creepy aura of Black Mouth stuck with me long after I finished. Ronald Malfi has crafted a dark, otherworldly coming-of-age tale, for the ages. There are certainly shades of Bradbury's 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' and Stephen King's 'IT' coloring this story. Four misfit children from a nowhere town called Black Mouth, so named for the cursed sinkhole at its center, come back as adults to confront the Magician, a man who taught them magic as kids. I really did love this book. Ronald Malfi has such a way with character development, which is crazy when you consider just how prolific he is. His characters are often alcoholics or addicts or people similarly struggling. He writes with depth and compassion for people, but also bite and bitterness. He doesn't shy away from the ugly. There's plenty of thrills and something for everyone, but I would recommend this for ages 14+ only and everyone who loves a horror classic. Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for the chance to review this advance copy. Black Mouth is available for purchase everywhere you buy books now!

With thanks to the author, publishers Titan Books, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this work in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

This is a compelling story that tells of 4 young misfits from a town called Black Mouth, their encounter with a mysterious “Magic Man”, and the far-reaching impact it has on the rest of their lives. In order to exorcise their demons, the 4 of them, now adults, are forced to reunite in order to face down their fears and put a stop to the “Magic Man” once and for all.

This dark and unsettling story definitely gives a nod to Stephen King’s “IT”, but here the monster the children (now grown to adults) face is a magician rather than a clown.

Having previously read and enjoyed Come with Me, here the author again employs the approach of jumping back and forth between timelines in order to let the story unfold, and it was equally effective in this novel as it was in the other. While not outright scary, and more of a dark brooding story with a sense of impending doom, this is another winner from Ronald Malfi in my opinion, and a highly recommended reading option for the spooky season.

This book started off strong, like raise your hairs strong. A ragtag team of kids who grew up in less than ideal situation in a small cozy town, Each one had trauma or some sort of an issue going on, and years later as adults they are back to fight an evil force that is back in their town.

I loved the first 40% percent of this story, it was such a great rollout of a tale, then an odd act of animal cruelty that basically made me sick and didn't really make a certain character stand out the way the author wanted to happen happened. And from that point the pacing just got terrible. Some bizzare choices were made as well. This book is 1/3 brilliant and the rest I could do without. This has moments of greatness and also a lot of raw bits that need more than polishing, like a rehaul or a rewrite.

kas

“In the summer of my eleventh year, a monster came to Black Mouth. It came in the night, slinking below the sightline of normal folks, destined to arrive at the threshold of my youth. Perhaps it sought me out the way a bloodhound tracks a scent. Or perhaps it was sheer happenstance, a flip of a coin, a flutter of distant butterfly wings.”

Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi is the third book I’ve read by this author, who has fast become one of my favourite modern horror writers, along with Stephen King and Joe Hill. In fact when I first began reading this book I experienced strong IT by Stephen King vibes, yet it isn’t long until Malfi turns the story into something quite different. This is a dark and gritty tale of magic and monsters, of childhood trauma and laying old evils to rest.

Our story begins with a suicide. Jamie Warren, who after leaving rehab receives a phone call from the police informing him that his mother has killed herself and that his disabled brother, Dennis, is in their care. Reluctantly Jamie gets in his car and begins to journey back to Sutton’s Quay, West Virginia—his childhood home. On the outskirts of Sutton’s Quay lies a place with a dark history known as Black Mouth, where nearby a traumatic event occurred which has haunted Jamie his entire life. And he is not the only one. Mia Tomasina has led a troubled life after being orphaned and left in the care of her uncle, now a filmmaker she has finally begun to leave her past behind, that is until the day she visits the carnival. Whilst strolling through the carnival she glimpses a man, a nightmarish demon, who to her dread she recognises from her childhood in Black Mouth. When Clay Willis receives photos of this man from his old friend Mia, he discovers that history is repeating itself and he too must return to where it all began. As fate reunites these three estranged friends, it is up to them to hunt down the man, or monster, who ruined their lives and uncover who he is once and for all.

As you may tell, from the very beginning Malfi wastes no time dropping his readers into a narrative filled with mystery and suspense. We are immediately captivated, questioning who the man is and what exactly happened in Black Mouth. Throughout Malfi alternates his chapters between the characters’ childhood and the present timeline, where they are well into their adulthood. I have to say, my most favourite scenes were the ones set in the past. Little by little we learn of the summer in which Jamie, at eleven years old, meets a homeless man in his barn and offers him kindness. He then meets this same man, along with Mia and Clay, in the woods behind the carnival in their hometown. In the following weeks the man proceeds to befriend them, to show and teach them magic tricks, and what kid would not be enticed by magic, even if taught by a stranger? It isn’t long until they start to call him the Magician and become his apprentices, hanging onto his every word, even when he tells them to do something malicious. I loved the way the novel slowly built upon the creepy atmosphere, the way the events dramatically escalated and how we put pieces together but were still shrouded in mystery. Was the magic real or just an illusion? I feel Malfi is a master of ambiguity, of always keeping us guessing.

In the present timeline we see the magnitude of the effects trauma has left upon Jamie, Dennis, Mia and Clay. The majority of the novel is told through Jamie’s first person perspective as he recounts the significant events of not only his life, but that of his brother and friends. Jamie and Dennis both grew up with an alcoholic abusive father, a mother who fell into the same addiction, and now as an adult so does Jamie. I found his character quite unlikeable in the present timeline, although he had good reasons for his behaviour, his selfishness, his lack of trying to be better and his continuous self-pity made me feel very little sympathy for him. Most of all his disassociation and lack of empathy towards Dennis, who clearly had a learning disability, really angered me. Dennis had suffered just as much, yet Jamie only saw his own suffering. He was never cruel nor harmful towards Dennis, but he certainly had very little patience with him. However, I realise that Malfi is depicting the realities of being an alcoholic and for that portrayal I feel he got the psychology and personality traits spot on.

My favourite characters were Mia and later on as we delve into his life more, Clay. Growing up in Black Mouth was not easy for either of them, Mia lost both her parents in a tragic accident and Clay was relentlessly bullied not only for being of colour but also because of his skin condition, vitiligo. However they both seemed to fare better in their adulthood and didn’t succumb to the darkness of their ordeals. I very much liked Mia’s kindness towards Dennis, her determination to face the monster from their past, her protective nature. Clay, after leaving Sutton’s Quay, spent most of his life helping disadvantaged children, he was well suited to the role of a social worker and I loved seeing how he connected to the children, how he won over their trust. The friendship between these four characters brought some warmth and tenderness to an otherwise bleak novel.

This is the darkest novel I have read from this author, and I would suggest looking up the content warnings should you need to. Black Mouth itself has a dark history and whether the place harboured ghosts and oozed evil was something I enjoyed exploring. I particularly found that the narrative took a disturbing turn when Wayne Stull appeared, and this is a character I will say very little about as it’s better to experience the wild ride towards the ending knowing very little, questioning what is real. I will say though that I very much enjoyed Malfi creating a sense of otherworldliness which juxtaposed with the real life horrors.

“Maybe no houses are born bad, either. Maybe they're just convenient receptacles for everything we put in them - a box that houses our dreams, hopes, fears, torments, happiness, laughter, grief. They're what we make of them and what we need them to be. Maybe to grant them the power to become anything more is a mistake.”

Haunting, atmospheric and twisty, Black Mouth is the perfect read for the spooky season.

ARC provided by Sarah at Titan Books. Thank you for the copy!

Black Mouth is out now.

I read Richard Malfi’s BLACK MOUTH which came out in July a few weeks ago and it was fantastic. If you’re looking for a book to read during spooky season then definitely consider this one.

James and his special needs brother, Dennis, are reunited after the death of their mother. And during his return to his hometown, James is also reunited with his childhood friends Clay and Mia. The events of their childhood have traumatized them to the degree that they can’t resist the pull of their town Black Mouth when The Magician is spotted once again.

Together, the group try to find out who or what exactly The Magician is, and if they can stop them before another child falls victim to his lies and corruption. If you like stories of childhood friends being reunited after bonding over a scary event (think Stephen King’s IT) then you’ll enjoy this book. It’s very atmospheric at times and there were a few scenes that really created me out. I loved the characters and the twist gave the story that line between realistic and supernatural.

It was very emotional at times - both angering and sad and I do love that in horror books. I found James to be a very sympathetic character despite his flaws. There were a few similarities between this book and IT but it’s definitely it’s own story.

Black Mouth is the first of Malfi’s books I’ve read and, while it won’t be the last because I enjoy his ideas, I didn’t immediately connect with the writing itself. That’s not to say that the writing is bad; on the contrary, I found the prose and pacing solid, the characters and plot intriguing. However, I liked the building blocks and concepts of this book more than I liked the execution. I felt like Malfi, to go all English Literature class, did a lot more telling in his writing than he did showing. I’m not a fan of being spoon-fed, and I felt a bit of that throughout the novel. The characters’ motivations and thoughts and struggles and fears were all laid bare in the exposition instead of being revealed through their actions. Even though I liked most of the characters and found their back stories interesting, this writing decision kept them from feeling fully three-dimensional to me.

This book gave me strong vibes of other stories. I was very much reminded of Stephen King’s IT, especially as regards a group of childhood friends who went through something horrible and supernaturally traumatic coming back together as adults when the dark source of that trauma resurfaces. I was reminded of Joe Hill’s Nos4a2, especially concerning the harvesting of children and the existence of a dark and impossible place hidden from the world but still, inexplicably, real. I was reminded of Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes with the creepy carnival setting and dastardly, otherworldly magician. And I was reminded of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men by Dennis, who I liked but who felt like little more than a mystic version of Lennie. These are all stories that I like or at least appreciate, and I didn’t feel that their use as inspiration here was too overt or mishandled in any way, but it made this particular story feel less original to me, unfortunately.

I felt that the strongest portions of Black Mouthwere those that were flashbacks to that life-altering summer the four friends shared as children. There was a nostalgia to the writing there that reminded me of what I loved most about IT and Something Wicked This Way Comes and other books like them. That nostalgia paints the past in rosy hues, even in the midst of horrific events, and I love that mingling of ideas that should be such polar opposites but which somehow instead complement each other in inexpressible ways. It also dug deeply into generational trauma and the breaking of those cycles, which added a power to the story being told that I appreciated.

Black Mouth worked better for me in idea than in actuality, but I’m still glad that I read it. I’ve now been exposed to a new-to-me author with a backlist to explore, and I fully intend to do so. Because, while I might have not quite connected to his writing, I’m very interested to see if that disconnect was a one-off. I’m hoping very much that this experience mirrors my early encounters with Stephen King, whose work I once disliked but who is now one of my favorite authors of all time. And, even though I didn’t love Black Mouth, I definitely didn’t dislike it to that extent, so I think this is a promising beginning!

Thanks to Netgalley’s commitment to literature promotion, I recently had the opportunity to read Malfi’s new novel, Black Mouth. Is it even his newest anymore? The man WRITES! Absolutely prolific.

Black Mouth does not tell the story of a giant black mouth, as I was hoping, rather it details the experiences of four misfits who grew up in the ostensibly cursed town of Black Mouth; named so for the giant accursed sinkhole in the middle of town. By chance, these youngsters stumble upon a magic man who begins to teach them magic tricks—some increasingly impossible and dangerous. In present day, the four children—former apprentices of the magic man—begin to recognize the magician’s work elsewhere, wrapping ever more children into his insidious design.

One of my first questions after I finished Black Mouth: how does anyone survive childhood? Like really? I made some seriously bad choices and I am miraculously still kicking. The same can be said for the kids in this book. 10/10 bad judgment. There is also something emotionally true about the precocity of childhood, and the near misses that put a pit in our stomachs as adults.

My first Ronald Malfi was Come With Me, which I adored. His writing style is so smooth, the characters he crafts are in-depth. Black Mouth follows three adults looking back on the traumatic events that happened to them during their childhood. My favorite character was Clay, which was one of Jamie's best friends. Highly reminiscent of "It", but instead of a clown they face a Magician and a carnival that comes to town. It was a really fun read.

3.5 stars
What if What's Eating Gilbert Grape was a horror novel/movie and it merged with IT and Texas Chainsaw Massacre? You'd get this novel! Very dark and fun but not so much scary which is why I docked some stars.

I love Ronald Malfi and he is auto buy author for me, his characters always feel so real and his stories always hook me from the beginning! Very grateful for being allowed to read this early

After his mother's death, Jamie Warren is forced to go to the one place he never wanted to see again - his childhood home. Jamie's brother, Dennis, is disabled and needs care. So Jamie goes home to West Virginia, to Black Mouth and all its memories. In the meantime, Jamie's childhood friend Mia sees something odd at a carnival - the magician that captivated her, Jamie, Dennis and their friend, Clay. Except in nearly twenty years, he hasn't aged...

Jamie, Dennis, Mia and Clay end up converging on Sutton's Quay in an attempt to find the magician who ruined their young lives. Flipping back and forth between the present and past, we are presented with a story about 3 friends + a mentally-handicapped brother that find more than they bargain for in the woods.

Coming of Age stories always seem to appeal to me. I don't search them out, but when I find them and read them, I always enjoy them. And this was no exception. Well-written and nostalgic, Malfi channels Bradbury (Something Wicked This Way Comes), Stephen King (IT), and Dan Simmons (Summer of Night). Definitely recommended!

After years of putting out quality writing I feel Malfi is on a warpath with his previous novel and Black Mouth which I hope garners him the audience he deserves.
This book brings me back to when paperback horrors dominated and Malfi is bringing his own spin on the truly horrific.

Black Mouth is about a group of friends who have all been running from their past that they left behind in their hometown of Suttons Quay and now after 20 years they’re all pulled back there by some mysterious force. They all ran from Suttons Quay because of a horrible event that happened in the woods during the summer and fate seems to have brought them all back together. Jamie is the main character who we are following and we see he is still suffering from what happened the summer that ruined his life. We slowly learn that this group of friends met and learned from a mysterious magician and that man has used them just like so many other children and now they need to stop him as they see the same events happening again.

Black Mouth gave me major Stephen King’s IT vibes with the small group of friends who were outcasts in town. I like how the timeline would switch between their time as children when everything started to get crazy and when they were adults and everything was still messed up. I think the author did a great job with creating such unique and flawed characters within the gang that was made up of Jamie, Dennis, Mia, and Clay. This was an extremely creepy, dark and often times difficult book to read as it touches on triggering topics. I really enjoyed the friends group and how they came back together to deal with the horrible problem that happened 20 years ago when they were only children. This book was amazingly well written and the atmosphere was so eerie an unnerving that it had me tensing up at some parts and the audiobook made it ten times creepier which is a definite plus. I would recommend this to horror lover who enjoy a story with spine-chilling atmosphere, well thought out characters and terrifying storyline that has your attention from start to finish. I loved the plot and thought the storyline flowed perfectly as I flew through the book in just a day. I think it would be easy to adapt this into a movie or show. Thank you to Netgalley for the digital copy.

A brooding and haunting story from the mind that brought us ‘Come With Me’.

Ronald Malfi returns with another scary story ripped from the depths of hell! Proving once again that he is one of top authors in the genre! Black Mouth is a tale of personal torture, a terrible family past which impacts our characters entire lives.

The story mainly follows the character Jamie who has to deal with a troubled past and a present fight for sobriety whilst dealing with multiple bizarre scenarios that reunite him, his special needs brother and his friends. Ronald’s characterisation is exceptional and each of the friends has distinct personalities and their own back stories which promote their own growth.

The story is haunting and rich. There is so much to take in and so many disturbing events that set the mind racing. Each personal struggle of each character culminates in shared experiences and the whole novel is a journey through multiple eyes.

Black Mouth is another classic from Ronald Malfi and will keep the fear levels rising and the suspense simmering whilst you make your way through this haunting story.

Gosh I really loved this!! It gave me the same vibes as IT. Definitely for people who love the genre

Ronald Malfi is one of my go-to authors, ever since The Night Parade, I’ve been hooked on his writing.

Malfi has a certain style, a skill that is hard to find; he is a master of setting the scene. The vocabulary he uses enhances the story, some authors use words, and it gives you the impression that they scoured the thesaurus to find the right word that fits; Malfi just knows the right words, it flows effortlessly – his words are the perfect fit for the story he is telling.

Black Mouth pulled me in, each character filled a hole: nothing more, nothing less. Our protagonist’s brother, Dennis, is a fantastic character; he completes the story. Malfi has used Dennis to do things that otherwise wouldn’t work or fit into Black Mouth, he allows for comic relief, he takes actions that no reasonable person would take. This is a case of perfect character for the perfect time and place.

I took my time with Black Mouth; the story deserved the time. It was intense, it went a lot of places and did a lot of things. It was a fantastic ride.

The publisher starts off the synopsis with a comparison to IT. I hate comparisons to other books, often they set up unrealistic expectations. I get the blatant comparison: events from their childhood bring adults back to the hometown where they experienced childhood trauma, blah, blah, blah; I also get the comparison between King and Malfi: both authors are content to take their time, draw the tension out with their superb vocabularies. But Malfi doesn’t need these comparisons; his work stands on its own as strong as any other author in the genre.

*5 Stars

I loved this creepy horror novel by Ronald Malfi.

It grabbed my attention very early on and I was gripped and curious the whole way through.

Four friends who had a strange, traumatic event in their childhood find themselves drawn together again to face up to their past. The end up back in Black Mouth, a small town with a large hole in the ground from a collapsed mine that they had all hoped to leave far behind.

Whilst the story is creepy, mysterious and compelling, it was the characters that really made it for me. The friendship between Jamie, Dennis, Mia and Clay felt so strong and the characters were well developed individuals who I genuinely cared about and found interesting to follow.

Whilst I didn't find it super scary, I did find I had this impending sense of doom the whole time and very much enjoyed wondering where it was going and who/what the Magician was!

I can't wait to read more of Ronald Malfi's books after this one, and more horror in general as this is a genre I really enjoy but don't read as much of as I'd like!