Ronald Malfi has recently become a go to author for me. He wowed me with 'Come with Me' and 'Black Mouth' is one of the best horror novels I've read this year. And now this one...SO GOOD. I absolutely loved 'Ghostwritten', every story was unique and haunting in it's own way. Malfi is a force of nature, consistently writing beautifully dark horror stories.

All 4 novellas hit my one of my favorite tropes, books about books (or writing, stories, etc). 'The Skin of her Teeth' is about a haunted book that doesn't want to be altered. Cool concept and well executed. 'The Dark Brothers' Last Ride' is about a road trip gone (way) off course while doing a delivery. The brothers were pretty interesting (not necessarily in a good way). 'This Book Belongs to Olo' was probably my favorite and it centers on a creepy kid and his crazy pop-up book. Honestly this one was pretty wild and it's just begging for a Netflix adaptation (think Locke and Key). And finally 'The Story' was a fast paced novella about a real-life choose your own adventure game. I loved those choose your own adventure books as a kid, so this hit me with some nostalgia.

That all adds up to one of the best collections I've ever read. Ronald Malfi is currently holding down two spots on my Best of 2022 list.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, Joe Hempel, was also phenomenal. He offered an array of voices to help distinguish characters, he was easy to understand and seemed to 'fit' the feel of each story.

Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for providing an audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for accepting my request to audibly read and review Ghostwritten.

Author: Ronald Malfi
Published: 10/11/22
Narrator: Joe Hempel
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) -- Horror -- Mystery & Thrillers

The cover set my mood. I was ready for four novellas. I expected to like one more than the others and the publishers order didn't mean I would agree. Unfortunately, the scale is even; I didn't care for any of of them. There is no favorite.

The narrator was okay, and he read all four. I don't think with different narrators my experience would have improved. .

The stories were slow and dry. I found myself easily distracted. Many times I stopped to relisten. I was hearing blah blah blah.

I'm not the intended audience and I am wondering how King was used for comparison. I feel like this is a man's book. I keep looking at the genre classification for Ghostwritten, and I'm reminded of my viewing Psycho and The Exorcist. I didn't laugh during them because my father had nightmares at the mention of either. And, he didn't laugh when he came at midnight to pick me up from a movie theatre I was too afraid to leave. Some things are hereditary. He had Janet Leigh and I had Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween).

There was no mystery, thriller or horror for me. Sadly, I was bored. Again, I do believe there is an audience.

5,O stars Spooky Season is among us folks and Ronald Malfi did not disappoint!
I loved these stories so much that I will not tell you what its about, I think you need to go in blind and be as creeped out as I was.
I now found a author who is a instant buy and can sit beautifully next to Stephen King and Grady Hendricks.
Listen to this book now!
If you dont get freaked out by these stories then you need to question your mental health

One day, I will get scared. Today is not that day.
Malfi creates spectacular worlds and I was able to picture all the scenes set.
Four solid stars for crafting the stage and not being boring.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for giving me the chance to listen!

I recently had the pleasure to read Black Mouth by Ronal Malfi and I immediately fell in love with his writing style and characters, so when I noticed that there was a new book coming out, I knew I had to read it as soon as possible. Ghostwritten is a collection of four standalone horror novellas set in a shared universe, interconnected by some characters and especially some weird books with uncontrollable supernatural powers.

The stories are:
- The Skin of Her Teeth: a cursed story doesn't want to be changed or adapted, causing death to all those who try. Dark and very charming, a great start! 5☆
- The Dark Brothers Last Ride: two brothers are hired to deliver a mysterious briefcase, with the specific instructions to never open it, or touch its content (a strange book), or talk about it with anyone... But one of them doesn't like following rules, and things take a weird turn very quickly. This story was not for me, I even struggled finishing it: a rule breaker can be a fun trope, but I simply can't stand it. It was not badly written, just not for me. 2☆
- This Book Belongs to Olo: a creepy child invite some friends over to celebrate his birthday, but the games he wants to play are not the classic ones... This was by far the scariest story in the book! Olo may be only a child, but he is quite weird and disturbing. Still a part of me wanted to reassure him that he was not the mean one... even though he totally was. 5☆
- The Story: a choose-your-own adventure game spirals into an uncanny reality, with terrible outcomes. The most interesting novella of this collection, and with the best characters. I wish it would have been longer. 4☆

Overall a great collection that I'd definitely recommend: Malfi has a special talent in creating dark and unsettling stories, not the kind that keeps you awake at night in this case, but that definitely makes you look twice at that shadow you see with the corner of the eye.

The narration by Joe Hempel was great and perfectly translated the spooky and mysterious vibes of the stories into the audiobook version.

* I'd like to thank Ronald Malfi, Tantor Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity of listening to an advanced audio copy of Ghostwritten in exchange for my honest review.

This was a great Malfi, yet again. I read a physical copy of the book and wanted to see how the audiobook was and the narrator was super, super good and giving across those mysterious, menacing vibes.

A book about the power of stories and words.

I am a huge Ronald Malfi fan. He does not disappoint in his new collection, Ghostwritten. This collection features 4 novellas:

The Skin of Her Teeth is about a novel that many writers have tried to turn into a screenplay so that it can be adapted to film. Every time someone has tried to do this, weird things start happening which drives the writer mad and eventually it ends in death. But it is just a book right? I loved this novella. There are remakes happening all the time and sometimes I wonder, "Why redo a classic?" or "Why turn it into a movie?" We have all been there when the movie does NOT follow the book at all. This begs the question, do books even need to be adapted for film or should we just leave well enough alone.

The Dark Brothers' Last Ride is about a set of brothers who deliver, typically non deliverable things, by any means necessary. When they are hired to drive across the country to deliver a book, they think that is the easiest job ever. They were given specific instructions though. What happens if they do not follow those instructions. No one will ever know. RIGHT?

This Book Belongs to Olo is about boy whose parents are authors. So he has grown up watching them create these elaborate stories. Therefore, he decided to try his hand at creating a story. It can't be that hard right? Well see Olo does not have a lot of friends. His family is rich but money can not buy everything. All Olo wants is parents that love him and people that will be his friends no matter what. That is not too much to ask....RIGHT?

The Story allows readers to choose their own adventure. The only difference is that the reader does not have a choice as to whether or not to read The Story....They are already in it.

Malfi does not disappoint in these 4 novellas. He leaves you wanting more just as one story ends and another begins. I wish that each of these novellas were longer because the engagement that Malfi creates with the first story is consistent through each one. If I had to choose a story that I liked the least it will be The Dark Brothers Last Ride. However, I would read this book over and over again. Now I listened to this story as an audio book. The narrators chosen for this collection were spot on. Their cadence and tone of voice lended to the creepiness of the stories. This a great novel if you are looking to dip your foot into horror!

I can't do short stories. I also thought these were going to be more spooky. I just couldn't connect with the characters or stories. The pacing was a tad slow for me.

Okay I had kinda high expectations for this one, but I honestly couldn’t finish it. I hate DNFing books, but this one just wasn’t for me.

I want to thank the publisher as well as Kelly for giving me a copy of this for review.


This is my first Ronald Malfi book the author has been on my radar for a while I just for some reason never got around to picking up a book of his but now I will definitely be picking up more because I really enjoyed this anthology. I honestly just requested it cuz I Saw horror and again I have seen this author's name around didn't know what it was about at all I don't usually have really good luck with anthologies and short story collections but this one was just awesome.


I really enjoyed each one of the stories within this collection I loved how all of them were about books and how books can be amazing but horrific at the same time and I feel like he really captured that. I really enjoyed the first and the third story the most but all of them were really great. I really loved his writing it was descriptive and atmospheric I definitely felt like I was there with these characters.

All in all a great book for October spooky season but could definitely work anytime of the year.

🎧ARC AUDIOBOOK REVIEW🎧 - Ghostwritten
Rating: 👻👻👻👻👻
Release Date: Oct. 11

*Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review*

This was an audiobook and let me say, the narrator was great. He was so easy to listen to and really captured the story!

This was a collection of 4 novellas all around the same universe, but separate all the same. I think my favorites were the first and fourth! Super creepy and spooky and I LOVED IT!

Is it possible for a story to be possessed? Can books have curses and power? Can novels consume you and bring about your death?

These themes are explored throughout Ghostwritten. This book is a collection of 4 novellas that all tie in with one another through the exploration of the dark side of stories.

Malfi has a way of creating dread with his writing and I found each one of his tales to be super creative and unique.

The first story, Skin of Her Teeth, has to do with a story that does not want to be changed…and things get spooky. I really enjoyed this one.

The second story, The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride, had underground crime vibes and involves two brothers transporting a mysterious book for a large sum of money…but of course things go wrong. This one had some super creepy moments and I loved it.

The third story, The Book Belongs to Olo, was so fun. It gave me American Horror Story feels. It involves a missing girl, absent writer parents, and a peculiar little boy who has a strange pop up book…

The fourth and last in the collection is titled, The Story, and has to do with a choose your own adventure game that goes off the rails.

So, book lovers, if you’re brave and want some story related thrills, make sure you get this collection to add to your spooky reads this season.

🎧 Also, the audio was great! I recommend giving it a listen if you’re pressed on time for reading. The narrator was fantastic and the stories flowed seamlessly.

4.5/5 stars rounded up for this review

This is an excellent collection of short stories, all set in the same universe and with little threads that tie them together. I’ve heard of Malfi as a remarkable horror author, but I’d never read any of his books. This is the perfect introduction to newbies and a treat for longtime fans. The common theme is the power of the written word. Books, in particular, haunt the characters. A literary agent, two criminal brothers, a lonely boy and a journalist. As mentioned, they all live in the same universe, and the world building is perfect. There is an element of surrealism, and the stories are very creepy (Olo, the boy inviting random kids to his birthday party while wearing a clown mask is nightmare material). The characters are not very nice, they are flawed but so likable that it’s easy to get invested in their plights. Joe Hempel is a great choice for audiobook narrator since he makes all the voices distinctive and recognizable. With story collections it’s always easy to choose a favorite, or maybe one that you didn’t enjoy as much but, in this case, they are all equally well written, engrossing, scary and suspenseful.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Tantor Audio!

I am a huge fan of Malfi but not of short stories. Malfi does work his magic on these stories, but ultimately, I was left wanting more

This is a book of four horror stories that all relate to either books or conveying a story. I can go through each one but that’s done in the summary what I will say is it seems with each story Ronald Melfi’s momentum groupw because with each story the horror got more intense. That’s not to say each story wasn’t creepy on its own and although Mr. Belfi doesn’t do jump scares the fact that you’re expecting it despite nothing happens it’s still a horror unto itself. For example in book one when Gloria the publicist is going to check on her screenwriter Davis first when he walked up with the tool in his hand I was expecting something terrible to happen and wanna didn’t you just knew something was gonna happen I did find book one was a slow burn but as I said the burn gets more intense as the stories go there all connected in someway. In my opinion this is a horror book so worth getting because despite there being short stories it’s still took me hours to listen to the audio Book. As soon as I seen it I requested it and was so happy I got it but please note that this review is voluntary and all my opinions are honest please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.ggg

I am so sorry to say I cannot connect to the protagonists or to the stories for that matter. Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange of an honest review.