Full disclaimer, I am a Malerman junkie. I have been obsessed with his writing since I read that babysitting ghost story (Danny) published in Scary Out There anthology. Man oh man; that one gave me full goosebumps experience!
I’ve read a lot of his books since then and I have loved all of them!!

Daphne is no exception - it’s a bit of a slow burn at the beginning but the crescendo ending is worth your while. I found the idea of Daphne absolutely terrifying. She’s like Bloody Mary, only you don’t even need a mirror and words spoken aloud to summon her, she’ll come for you if you as much as think about her! And she’ll crush you to pieces.

I love vengeful ghosts and curses, so this was absolutely 100% up my alley and I had a blast reading. I recommend it to you if you don’t mind some gore scenes and you enjoy books with an almost palpable sense of dread and inescapable doom.

I love Josh Malerman and I will always give him a chance but when it comes down to it this is a book about basketball playing anxiety-ridden teenagers and I simply cannot make myself be interested in this. I surrender, DNF.

A slasher movie in book form. I feel a little guilty about how much I enjoyed it! Horror is making a big comeback and this is a good entry into the category.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I was excited for the book. It's definitely creepy and spooky read. It wasn't out of the park but it was still good. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Daphne is an intriguing addition to the slasher genre, introducing a terrifying character that haunts the girls' basketball team and appears when people think of her. Making Daphne into a representation of anxiety was a brilliant idea by Malerman and it made this book a definite recommend.

I'm not sure how I'm going to justify this to myself, but I like this story. Some parts didn't make sense, and I'm not certain where that ending even came from, but nonetheless, I enjoyed it.

DAPHNE by Josh Malerman
Published: 9/20/2022 by Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine - Del Rey

It’s the last summer before Kit goes away to college - hopefully. One of her basketball
player buddies tells a haunting ghost story about a previous student from their school . Her name is Daphne, and she’s a daunting figure of seven feet tall. She is virtually friendless and without family . Her attire usually consists of something denim with tacked on patches of her favorite bands. She’s somewhat goth with “Kiss” makeup. The story goes that she died of very mysterious circumstances …. Was she killed or did she off herself? No one knows for sure … but, she’s still out there ready to materialize when she’s merely thought or spoke of. Found inside her car in the garage .. car running with radio blaring and the garage door tightly shut. If you think about her, she will return from the dead, wearing her denim and Kiss makeup, and ready to kill you with her bare hands. No one dares talk of this legend! Don’t even say her name!
The main protagonist of this classic version of a slasher drama is Kit Lamb …. anxious and as meek as a lamb. She fights hard to deal with her anxiety and mental instability…. Her friends Natasha and Dana are a bedrock of support for her.
Malerman once again proves to a master horror storyteller as he weaves the many story threads with escalating intrigue and tension… which culminates in an explosive and terrifying denouement. Along the way he explores the themes of friendship, mental health- both anxiety and depression, along with acceptance and self actualization. This psychological thriller reads like a steamroller with the reader frenetically turning the pages.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine / Del Rey for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

Do NOT talk about Daphne...don't mention her name. She died years ago, and she's NOT happy about it. A girls high school basketball team is the focus of her rage, and she gives them hell. This is a story where anyone can meet their end, and quite a few of our characters do (and brutally!) I remember hearing a lot of complaints about the "excessive" basketball in one of Stephen Graham Jones' recent works, and if you were one of those people then Daphne may not be for you. Malerman gives a lot of insight into the game, and we live through a lot of anxiety-inducing game moments through our protagonist Kit. There's quite a bit of b-ball talk, but it's balanced out with a very fast-moving story about a ruthless monster who will come for anyone who's got something to say about her.

Brilliant & unique take on the mythical serial killer tale. The description of the protagonist, , the process of selection of the kills & our heroine are all very different from your average horror novel, but, then again no book of Malermans. Is just average. He’s always able to pull you right into the tale from the first chapter.!!!

3.5 rounded up.

There was no one thing that didn't make this book work for me, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. Perhaps my hopes were too high since I love several of this author's other books. Stylistically, this one just felt different.

Josh Malerman slam dunks this book in and breaks the backboard with Daphne. The ball is left to bounce until it stops with nobody watching it come to rest as the celebrations take place.

Josh takes on the classic horror slasher genre with his trademark twists. It’s like watching an ‘80s horror film in your head, slowly people are picked off one by one. The backstory of how Daphne came to be, who knew the truths, who embellished and exaggerated the lore, and then watching comforts turn to fear as she visits them all.

To picture Daphne in your head, allows your imagination to run wild as we’ve all seen that person at some point in our lives or daily. To be torn apart by Daphne… well… just don’t think about her.

This was such a good slasher! I really liked how detailed and gory it was, it reminds me of the 80s!

So sad to say that this book was just NOT for me. I have loved Malerman’s previous work, but this fell completely flat for me. I think part of it is that I personally struggle with taking teenage characters seriously, so this may have been a me issue vs an issue with the story itself.

Josh Malerman has done it again! Every single one of his books has a certain vibe to it that I can’t really explain but if you know you know. His writing has a way of making me feel like I am actually in the story and not just reading it. Daphne was a very scary book and I’m pretty sure fans of his other works will eat this one up. What a horrifying tale! The character of Kit was amazing. Do yourself a favor and read this book, and then make sure to read his previous works. He is definitely my favorite horror author! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The most delightful tale of a high school basketball team that gets dismantled via murder. Malerman is a joy to read.

I am not a sportsperson but I was intrigued by the idea of a horror novel that focuses on basketball and Daphne did not disappoint. I grew to care about the girls and to really wonder about the mystery of Daphne-- was she real? How could she be real? As the girls started dying, what was actually happening? I know that I won't forget this book for a very long time.

Josh Malerman writes creative horror. This one pay homage to all things horror, some Bloody Mary, Freddy Kruger and urban legend type vibes…I’m always here for that.

I’ve got to be honest…about 75 pages in I almost gave up because I couldn’t connect with the characters or the story…so much basketball. However by page 100-125ish the story picks up…so give it time. Ultimately, I ended up finishing it in less than a day.

So many parts of this book…especially the way Daphne kills her victims skeeved me out big time. I LOVED it, it was really unique.

Other parts seemed a bit, disjointed / clunky at times…I’d be reading and then have to reread a page. It was very basketball focused, which after reading his acknowledgement section makes sense because he loves basketball and it was big part of his life…I’m just not a big basketball person so that might be why I had a hard time connecting to this book generally speaking.

I didn’t like that there were NO chapters. I’m a big fan of short chapters.

I did like that Samhattan was located in the Goblin (another JM book) universe. I love when authors create their own worlds that stretch over many novels.

TW: Anxiety, depression, bullying, murder, gory scenes, language

*****SPOILERS*****

About the book:It’s the last summer for Kit Lamb: The last summer before college. The last summer with her high school basketball team, and with Dana, her best friend. The last summer before her life begins.But the night before the big game, one of the players tells a ghost story about Daphne, a girl who went to their school many years ago and died under mysterious circumstances. Some say she was murdered, others that she died by her own hand. And some say that Daphne is a murderer herself. They also say that Daphne is still out there, obsessed with revenge, and will appear to kill again anytime someone thinks about her.After Kit hears the story, her teammates vanish, one by one, and Kit begins to suspect that the stories about Daphne are real . . . and to fear that her own mind is conjuring the killer. Now it’s a race against time as Kit searches for the truth behind the legend and learns to face her own fears—before the summer of her life becomes the last summer of her life.
Release Date: September 20th, 2022
Genre: Horror
Pages: 260
Rating: ⭐️

What I Liked:
1. Um that cover 😍
2. The plot sounded so creepy

What I Didn't Like:
1. Reads like a YA book
2. Waited too long for anything to happen
3. The characters are ALL annoying

Overall Thoughts:
This book is about 3 things;
-Basketball
-Daphne
-Anxiety
And I found it so repetitive and boring

This book is too short for it to feel so long. I felt like nothing was ever going to happen other than basketball and anxiety journal entries. The main character got on my nerves. I don't care about basketball. Also, come on saying the girl's team is better at basketball than the men's team...okay.

I didn't care for the way Josh Malerman writes 14-year-old girls. I'm shocked that there wasn't a pillow fight thrown in here too because that's what girls do 🤷🏻‍♀️

There's a part when detective Carla approaches the girls to ask them questions;
“But what I'm looking for here is any concrete instance, a time you actually saw her talking to somebody who fits that bill. Even if it was just a man asking for directions on the street. ”Why a man?” Natasha asks. Kit shifts on the green chair. Thinks of a tall woman. Taller than McGowan. McGowan says, “Like I said, the strength—”“Yeah, but women are just as strong as men these days,” Natasha says. “We beat the crap out of the boys’ team every time we play them.”Yeah there are women that are strong but as strong as a man. There are so many factors that make this statement false. Men are more likely to commit a gory crime over women. I think the detective just thinking it's a great idea has forgotten the psychological part of it.

The story that Daphne was murdered because she wouldn't play basketball and that's why she was murdered is ridiculous. Just because you're tall doesn't mean that you'll be this awesome player.

Final Thoughts:
I seriously wanted to love this book but the characters in the end just got on my nerves so much and everything – EVERYTHING was centered on basketball. I don't care. I didn't even care. I just wanted the girls to all to be eaten by the monster lady.

I'm sorry but I DNFed this book because it just felt like it would never end.

Recommend For:
• If you love sports
• If you love stories that center around how annoying teen girls are
• Books that feel like YA but are labeled as adult
• A man writing about teenage girls and their chests

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of the book. All reviews are my thoughts.

Well, that was….CREEPY! 😱
My husband is currently out on a work trip and my parents offered to watch my kids a couple of nights so I could have rest and ‘me time’ before the baby arrives and what did I decide to do? Read this on my light-adjusting kindle in my pitch-black bedroom alone at midnight. I had to keep shining the light from my kindle around the room because I kept getting scared. And I NEVER get scared! I must have a death wish. 🤣
This was very Nightmare on Elm Street meets Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones. Very graphic. Very gory. I love horror so of course I enjoyed it and even found myself enjoying being a bit scared.
I don’t read horror too much (although I LOVE watching horror) because the stories are usually ridiculous and eye-rolling. I didn’t get that vibe at all with this book. It was very original and could easily be adapted into a motion picture.
I’m a fan of Josh Malerman’s work (and it doesn’t hurt that he’s a Michigander like me!) and will read anything he writes. If you’re looking for a story similar to Bird Box and Malorie, you won’t find it here. Still very great writing and story-telling, yet very different from those two books.
The only drawbacks in my opinion were Kit’s journal entries which seemed a tad redundant and some basketball lingo and players went a bit over my head.
Be sure to read his acknowledgments as he talks about his struggles with anxiety (which was a large theme in the book) and his passion for basketball. Malerman proves that great stories come from passion and life experiences.
A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book!

It’s heavy on the basketball, light on the horror (more of a thriller) which i wasn't expecting... There was no chapters which i really did not enjoy. I wanted to love it but the story just didn't pull me in.