Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman is a book of five short stories. If you saw my review of Daphne, you know that Malerman and I have a complicated relationship. This is the 6th book by him that I have read and I have either loved or hated them. My favorite short story in this collection is Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer. It is about a wealthy couple who have purchased new technology called a House Washer. It is meant to clean every item in the house and there is a tube that they have go inside while the house is cleaned. It is a claustrophobic and unsettling story. The other tales are Half the House is Haunted, which follows a brother and sister growing up in a possibly haunted house; Argyle, which is about a dying man who confesses he wanted to murder people his whole life; The Jupiter Drop where a man pays to be dropped inside a box through Jupiter; and Egorov, a story about a murdered triplet and how his family seeks justice for his death. For me, this book was hard to focus on. Short story collections always seem to barely scratch the surface to me. They don't go deep enough in character development or world building. This collection is atmospheric and at times unsettling. Argyle was my 2nd favorite of the stories. It's an interesting perspective on how someone who is drawn to committing violent acts pushes back at those urges. For me, this is a 3/5 star read. I had access to an advance reader copy of this. It will be published on August 15th 2023. This review will be posted on Instagram and Goodreads indefinitely. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for allowing me early access to this book.

4⭐️

This is a collection of short stories/novellas by Josh Malerman. I have read from him before, Bird Box was amazing but Inspection not so much. So I was excited to read short stories from him to see if I could find more I loved. I have reviewed each below individually.

Half the house - 3 Stars⭐️
This story is told in 3 parts. First part is two siblings, brother and sister, during childhood. Stephanie is a bit of a bully to Robin constantly scaring him and telling him the house is half haunted. 2nd part is when they're middle aged, reconnecting after years apart. Lastly it's when they're at their end of life and Stephanie has moved on. Overall this story is about conquering your fears and moving on with your life. However the writing style was very difficult for me to follow. The majority of the time we are in their inner thoughts and it's hard to know what perspective we are following.

Argyle - 5⭐️💯❤️
This was incredible!!! I'm going to be thinking about this novella for a long time. It's so unsettling and creative. I am just blown away, I don't want to give anything away but it's a man reaching his last day of life feeling relief that he has made it to the finish line. Not giving into his desires. Sharing this with all the ones who knew him and came to say goodbye. Gaaahhh it's good!! This 💯 gave me black mirror vibes.

Doug and Judy Buy The Washer - 3.5⭐️
A couple who walk all over everyone including the ones they love for the "rise" to the top. They hire cleaning company and all the sins of their past is revealed and cleaned. Again black mirror vibes and would make an excellent episode. It was enjoyable and eery however repetitive at times.

The Jupiter Drop - 3⭐️ it was ok, unfortunately I didn't get much from this story and was forgettable.

Egorov -

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for this advanced reader copy. This review is voluntarily my own.

I will be posting my review to my Instagram page the.floofs.booknook and retail sites close or on publication.

So thankful to NetGalley for the ARC. I haven’t read much Malerman before this other than Goblin, which I adored. His handling of novellas and short stories is masterful. Each one is its own beautiful encapsulation of fascinating characters and moments, and he threads themes and imagery and symbols and moments throughout all of them which gives them a nice cohesive feel as one book. I’ll be picking up a lot more from the author after this one.

"Oh, I love you, dear Death. Take me. Take me in. By this rope, this black rope, growing warmer now , softer to me now, soft around my neck; not so much rope anymore, but yarn; yes, hung by ebony yarn; warm to the neck, warm to the skin; hung by a spinning black yarn.”

This is a series of short stories that are all very unique and set in the fictional Samhattan. I've said this in other reviews but these collections can be hit or miss.

It starts off with "Half the House is Haunted' about a brother and sister growing up in a haunted house, well..half of one. Very unsettling and creepy. 4 stars

"Argyle" is about a man who on his deathbed gathers his family to finally tell them the truth about who he really is and what he's capable of, to their utter horror. 4.5 stars

"Jupiter Drop" is a sci Fi horror story. People are given the option to vacation on Jupiter in a glass box that literally drops onto the planet. There are many signs saying there is no life on Jupiter.. so what's tapping on the glass? 3.5 stars

"Doug and Judy Buy the Washer" is probably the weakest one. A very hateful couple purchase what they think is an expensive home cleaning system, instead the system is cleaning THEM, forcing them to fully evaluate themselves for the first time in their lives. 3 stars

"Egorov" is the longest one. Set in little Russia, in the fake Samhattan, it's about murder and deception. 4 stars

So overall this was a solid 3.5 stars for me. Thank you Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this! Malerman is such a talented writer, who really surprises me with his diverse and unique ideas. Standout stories for me were “Argyle”, which was about a father on his death bed confessing his true sinister nature to his family, and “Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer”, where a truly awful couple learn about each other’s horrible pasts while trapped inside a high-tech home cleaning device. This book is for you if you are a fan of psychological horror, these stories give you a sense of unease mixed with moments of full blown terror.

**Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for sharing this digital review copy in exchange for honest feedback**

This author seriously never disappoints and these stories were no exception. These were edgy and fantastical, but at the same time kept you at the cusp of horror and oddity that always appeals to me with this author's writing. It took me a while to get into the novella and I had to start and stop a few times before I really got into it, however was glad that I made it through. It had such a flair of classic literature and was atmospheric at the same time. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

<i>I would start this off by saying I'm <b>not</b> usually a fan of short stories (novellas) but I'm beginning to think that I am.</i>

This was a collection of 5 novellas. They were a mix of disturbing, creepy, thought provoking, suspenseful and at the very least interesting. I don't want to give away too much but I will give you a little synopsis of each below.

Half the House Is Haunted is about a sister 2 years older than her brother seemingly playfully scaring him into thinking just that (half of the house being haunted). But the more we go along, is it really?

Argyle is about a man on his death bed confessing to be a serial killer to his wife and children. However, he is a serial killer who has never actually killed anyone.

Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer(TM) is about a wealthy couple who has bought a new state of the art house cleaning machine. It literally cleans your house while being in a clear tube. Think of it in terms of literally a washing machine cycle but in your house. As they are in the clear tube, they start seeing some of the items it's cleaning and it's forcing them to realize the people they have become.

The Jupiter Drop is about a man that commits to a 2 year long journey on Jupiter dropping from a see through apartment on a crane slowly over the course of a couple months. This one explores cabin fever and digging into our MC's guilt from his past.

Egorov is about a wealthy old man who murders another man. The murdered man turns out to be a triplet. The remaining 2 triplets set out to drive the man crazy by convincing him a ghost is back to haunt him.

I will say I ended up having to skip through Egorov about 75% of the way through as it was hard for me to read. I'm not sure if it's the way it was written or if I just wasn't into the story. The rest of the novellas I read all the way through. I did enjoy them for the most part. Definitely worth a read and it has me interested in checking out more by this author.

Thank you NetGalley, Josh Malerman, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC of this book. :)

I find books from Josh Malerman a hit or a miss, not many are middle ground. The novellas here have been appropriately named, and many yarns were spun. A did quite enjoy the following; Argyle, in all its darkness, Doug and Judy buy the House Washer, a dark tale, and The Jupiter Drop, for the thrill ride it was.

Half of the House takes a little time to gain any momentum because the characters are six and eight years old. The gibberish thoughts are a bit annoying and take time to decipher. As the story moves forward in time the siblings are in their 40s. This is where the story becomes a yawn of a yarn. Could half of the house be haunted? I’m not sure the answer was clearly meant to be known.

Argyle is about our protagonist Shawn Hasbro who is on his deathbed. He has never been so happy in his life for something he never did. Argyle is by far the darkest novel in this collection. Shawn’s confession is at times hard to stomach as Josh Malerman spins a dark and sinister yarn. The suspense is masterful and the ending well played.

Doug and Judy Buy a House Washer was among my favorites. Doug and Judy are so easy to hate, and hate them I did in quick order. They are an ostentatious asshole couple who want to be so far ahead of their neighbors they will do anything. They want to be ‘The Joneses’, and to that goal they buy a house washer to one up their neighbors. This House Washer does more than clean their home, to the shock of Doug and Judy. This was nothing short of a smartly written redemption story for a disgraceful couple.

Jupiter Drop is a thrill ride journey to Jupiter. It’s surreal and unusual to be sure and a bit of a tear jerker. It’s a bit difficult to say more for fear of giving away the story. For me this was an interesting sci-fi tale.

Egorov is a revenge story of twin brothers, who try to find the killer of their triplet. There are plenty of tense moments and Josh Malerman builds a suspense filled atmosphere in the fictional Little Russia neighborhood. You feel like you’re transported to that place, and the suspense gets you more thrilled and agitated at each chapter. This is the longest novella of the book, and the yarn takes many twists and turns. Overall Spin a Black Yarn was time well spent as I took another trip to the ever growing universe from the mind of Josh Malerman.

These were solidly creepy stories, not nothing shocking or earth-shattering. I did enjoy the first story, and the focus on sparking fear as an exposure for facing it and thus doing a better job of approaching life without anxiety. I didn't realize that these stories were set in the broader context of the Malerman universe, and feel that context would have improved my experience. None of this horror was anything to keep me up at night, but the stories were compelling enough to keep me reading and interested.

This collection of stories was not really my thing. I like Malerman's writing, but sometimes it feels he goes a little too overboard with descriptions or inner dialogue with characters. There were some points where I just wanted the story to move on a little bit. I eventually did have to skim some places where I felt the book could have used a little more direction. I liked the second story the best. A would be serial killer confesses on his deathbed to all the murders he really wanted to commit. It was a really cool idea. This collection didn't really jive for me, but I know the Malerman fans will likely love it.

Five unique novella's together in one place. Twisted at times, and emotionally draining.
If you are a fan of the genre, there is most likely a story in this collection for you.
Each brings a topic and a rare point of view expanding the norm.
Well worth the time to examine each entry.

Our generation’s Edgar Allen Poe. Josh Malerman’s work is interesting, creative, meaningful, and sometimes scary. Spin a Black Yarn isn’t as disturbing as Bird Box, Malorie, or Pearl. The first short story in this series (Half the House is Haunted) was the scariest story in this compilation. So I felt a little hoodwinked as the level of scary significantly decreased. I know Malerman is trying to show or teach me something in each story. I think discussing and interpreting will be more fun than reading the stories. I wish they were similar in length but wouldn’t recommend reordering them because the motifs (siblings, fear, floorplans of a home, Samhatten, being encased in glass) that tie them together in a really good flow.

All novellas considered, I’m rating this four stars. It’s clearly well thought out, written, organized, and developed. I just didn’t enjoy it like I did Bird Box. Bird Box actually gave me nightmares.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House. As a Josh Malerman fan, I appreciate the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Spin a Black Yarn" by Josh Malerman is a collection of five harrowing novellas that showcases the author's skill as a master weaver of stories. Each tale delves into the shadows of the human soul, exploring themes of horror, suspense, and speculative fiction. As a fan of Malerman's previous works, I was excited to dive into this collection and was not disappointed.

One of the standout stories is "Half the House Is Haunted," where a sister playfully insists to her younger brother that their house is haunted. The narrative oscillates between silliness and disturbing undertones, and the unreliable narration adds to the overall unease. It's a story that leaves you questioning what is real and what lies within the imagination.

"Argyle" takes us on a journey through the confessions of a dying man who reveals he is a serial killer. This story is deeply disturbing and explores the consequences and aftermath of such a revelation. It raises thought-provoking questions about how a family would cope with the revelation of a loved one's hidden dark secrets.

In "The Jupiter Drop," the author takes us on an otherworldly trip to outer space. A tourist embarks on a unique adventure through Jupiter, but the true journey is an introspective one, delving into the protagonist's own dark past. This story is highly cinematic and visually striking, making it a standout in the collection.

"Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer(TM)" introduces us to a trendy married couple who purchase the latest home gadget to impress their friends. However, they find themselves trapped not only by their possessions but also by their own shallow existence. While I found this story a bit dialogue-heavy, it effectively portrays the characters' materialistic and self-centered nature.

Although I didn't finish the last story, "Egorov," I acknowledge that it may have been a matter of personal mood and timing. I plan to revisit it later and give it another chance.

Overall, "Spin a Black Yarn" showcases Malerman's ability to create without restraint, delivering unique, imaginative, and out-of-the-box stories. While not every story may resonate with every reader, the collection offers a diverse range of narratives that will find their audience. The writing style, reminiscent of Stephen King, is immersive and character-driven, and the stories feel like cinematic experiences.

For fans of Malerman's previous works, such as "Goblin," and readers who enjoy Stephen King's "Full Dark, No Stars," this collection will be a welcome addition to their library. It's a thought-provoking exploration of themes such as haunted houses, coming-of-age, secrets, murder, science-fiction, sibling dynamics, marriage, human monsters, ghosts, madness, death and dying, and materialism. I recommend savoring each novella individually, as the stories are distinct and may benefit from some time to marinate in the reader's mind.

This is a book of 5 #horrornovellas based in the past and present, in and around Samhattan, a city in Michigan.

The book opens with Half the House is Haunted, a gothic haunted house story that takes place in the recent past. A brother, 6 and his sister, 12, are left home alone often by their loving yet selfish and vaguely negligent parents. The sister loves to frighten her baby brother. But is she teasing or is she warning him? A story about siblings, secrets and sacrifice and what defines a well-lived life.

Argyle is a death-bed confession of a “normal” father with a life-long secret of killing lust. Does evil need to be acted upon to be truly evil?

Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer felt like the absolute best Rod Serling Twilight Zone episode. An as*hole couple buy the newest in home cleaner, and the filth of their souls is exposed.

Jupiter Drop is a claustrophobic examination of guilt and despair and no matter how far we go we cannot escape ourselves.

Egorov, the last and longest novella, is set in Little Russia, a poor close-knit neighborhood in the early 19th century (I think?). A set of triplets where one is murdered, and how the family processes the loss as they hunt the murderer.

I think Jupiter Drop and Doug and Judy were my favorites. And Half a House was VERY CREEPY. Malerman is a very good at manipulating the reader’s suspicions and mistrust, making us turn the pages quickly because “…wait…what is happening here…”.

It is a fascinating and uncomfortable feeling and I am here for it. That feeling of creepy disquiet is why we read horror.

This could have been 5 star but I was not a fan of Egorov. So a solid 4.

I do love a selection of short stories, and I am not used to spooky short stories, but this is such a good collection.I am really getting into speculative fiction and Malerman is so good at it. Really great selection to dip your toe into the genre.

Spin a Black Yarn was a 50/50 read for me. I feel like Malerman is a fantastic writer but I always feel like his short stories fall a little short for me. The premise for the stories are great but they either end oddly or go on too long. I truly enjoyed Argyle and Jupiter Drop. Egorov is brilliant but goes on for about 20 more pages than it needs to and that really took me out of the story telling aspect that I know Malerman is capable of. The book is overall worth a read if for nothing else reading the Author’s Afterword. At the end of the day I still very much love Malerman, Goblin, and Samhatten.

I have been testing out the possibility that I’m a Malermaniac lately and so far it’s affirmative. This collection of novellas is so far reaching in its topics, yet they all felt deliciously dark. My individual ratings and a one sentence synopsis for each story is below:

- A sister and brother who may or may not have grown up in a haunted house. 4 ⭐️
- A father revealing who he really is on his death bed. 4 ⭐️ - A new technology that really cleans every inch of your home. 5 ⭐️
- A trip through Jupiter. 5 ⭐️ (my favorite)
- Vengeance for one fallen brother. 3 ⭐️

I love that these stories all take place in Malerman’s fictional Samhattan calling back to Daphne (a recent favorite) and some short stories I’ve enjoyed as well. I love short horror and Malerman does it so well. I can’t wait to continue adventuring into the Malerverse.

SPIN A BLACK YARN was featured in my monthly newsletter, DISPATCHES. The link is below! Thank you for providing an ARC!

"Spin a Black Yarn is five harrowing novellas of horror and speculative fiction from the singular mind of the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box.

This is a terrific set of novellas from Josh Malerman. Fans of his work will immediately recognize his singular voice and they all feel like an immediate part of the Maler-verse. Even if you haven’t read any of his previous works, this is a great entry point into his style and voice.

https://a.co/d/bHfMPs5

#SpinaBlackYarn #NetGalley"

A collection of novellas from Josh Malerman is the best gift for summer. Nothing like some chilly tales to spend your day with.

Malerman ticks all the boxes here. All the tales take place in Samhattan, a town of Malerman's creation, used in a few of his novels. A town I can add to my list of places to never visit like Derry, Maine, or Pine Deep, Pa.
He offers s a 2 part novella in which a sister torments her little brother with talk of hauntings and demons. But is she making it up or trying to warn him? In the second part, we visit these siblings again after they have grown up to see if anything has happened to them. A well-crafted story you want to know if the little brother makes it or is scared by his sister.
Then he tells us about a man who is happy as he lies on his deathbed because he has made it to the end without giving into his secret. I really liked this one a lot.

A cold couple purchases a house cleaning machines that guarantees it will clean everything. A definitely a 'be careful for what you wish for' type of story.
The final story is one of revenge and haunting. I had the hardest time with this one, even though it is a brilliant story, I was starting to get restless wanting something o happen faster. It wasn't until I finished it that I realized the pace was exactly as it needed to be and the story was genius.

Spin a Black Yarn will be released on August 15, 2023

Thanks to @netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey and NetGalley for the chance to read and review 'Spin a Black Yarn' by one of my favorite authors, Josh Malerman.

Five long short stories/novellas. I would say that three are outstanding - 'Half the House Is Haunted,' 'Argyle,' and 'Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer™' - one is very good - 'The Jupiter Drop' - and one somewhat impenetrable - 'Egorov.'

I'll admit to having given up on 'Egorov' but I may well go back to it when I'm in a more determined frame of mind.

For me, the absolute pick of the bunch is 'Argyle' and I'd put that up there with 'Night Shift'- and 'Skeleton Crew'-era Stephen King, and 'Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer™' isn't far behind and reminded me of something like Stephen King's Quitters, Inc.

What I also love about Malerman's latest collection is that it continues to build something like King's Castle Rock and Derry Maine locales - Samhattan. Goblin, and East Kent are the settings or backdrops for these stories and characters. There are references to other unsettling tales and characters in the same way King interweaves his stories, locations, and characters. Nothing is quite right about Goblin, Samhattan, or East Kent and nothing good comes out of them.