This is a first for me reading this author and I was disappointed. It has an eerie isolated setting in an Alaskan town called Dreads Hand.
A man confesses in a diner that he has killed 8 people and their up in the woods buried and he'll be waiting for the police to arrest him. No one knows why the man has killed all these people and he won't tell.
We follow Paul, a teacher that hasn't heard from his twin brother in over a year and is convinced that he is a victim in Dreads Hand and goes to investigate.
This was really interesting and creepy in parts. Malfi's writing is really easy and engrossing to read. Just wondering what next to pick up by him.

Ronald Malfi continues to show why he is a horror genius and all round amazing author. I'd pretty much read anything he puts out at this point, everything has been excellent and this one is no exception. A chilling, atmospheric horror mystery featuring rich, easy to relate to characters that you want to follow. I'm working my way through this authors backlog and am astounded by how each story manages to be unique and exceptionally well written. I'd put Ronald Malfi up there as one of the best horror authors of the modern times.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, spooky and atmospheric, it tells the story of a remote Alaskan town whose residents never venture into the woods because there is something in there!

When local resident Joe Mallory confesses to killing 8 people, in another State Paul Gallo, whose twin brother disappeared a year earlier in the area, rushes to the town to see if his brother is among the victims.

What ensues is a creepy and visceral read where you feel like you are right there alongside Paul searching for the answers. Tension keeps you turning every page until you find out what's going on. And I loved the totally unexpected ending!!

The only thing I didn't love about this book was the overly and sometimes massively convoluted descriptive paragraphs and I did skim read some of these I'll bring honest.

A murderer leads police to a mass grave in Alaska Paol Gallo see this on the TV he then goes there to find his twin brother who disappeared a year ago. A horror book that doesn't rely on shock and gore to scare you, a well crafted novel with good characters and well plotted. Another author to put on my watch out for list. Thanks to Canelo and Netgalley for this ARC.

I really enjoyed Bone White!
I've heard so many good thing about Ronald Maldi and I haven't actually read any of their books yet, so i was really excited to read this one.
I'm so happy to say that the author lived up to the hype and I'm really excited to check out their other work!

Bone White was really well written and the book was constantly making me feeling uneasy.
I really loved that it was set in Alaska and I thought it really made the perfect backdrop for a horror novel.
I didn't love the main character but I find that happens often for me in horror so it didn't really bother me.

The ending also was really unexpected and I really love when a book can surprise me!
I definitely recommend checking out this book especially if you are looking for a new horror read.

Thank you Netgalley, Ronald Malfi and Canelo for the eARC of Bone White.

This is the first book Ive read of Ronald Malfi and definitely won't be the last! I love a good horror that builds the environment, the suspense, creepiness and all mixed in with good old folklore. I also liked the twin thing that Ronald had with the brothers, Paul and Danny. There are countless studies and theories surrounding the connection that twins have which made this story very creepy indeed. It also wasn't overdone as the main storyline, the Alaskan folklore was,

The pacing of the book was slow, building up the suspense and the atmosphere and rollercoatered from mid way through the narrative. Thoroughly enjoyed reading!

3.75 stars

A news report of a mass killing in a remote Alaska mining town called Dread's Hand catches the attention of Paul Gallo, a college professor in Maryland. Dread's Hand was the last contact Danny had with his twin brother before he stopped communicating. For over a year, Danny has been missing, and Paul needs to ascertain if his brother is a victim and find closure.

Both the writing and storytelling in this story are exceptional. The use of language in setting the scenes is both excellent and clever. Dreads Hand is a little town in the middle of nowhere that you can imagine vividly. With its slow and steady pacing, it skilfully instils a sense of unease about the town. Only in the final acts does it consistently up its game. I found this perfect for the book. Despite calling it a horror story, it's more of a classic ghost tale than true horror. Although there are hardly any explicit gory scenes, it's the power of suggestion and feeling of unease that affect you.

In Bone White, readers are kept on their toes from start to finish. This story by Ronald Malfi is filled with creepy brilliance that had me on edge until the last page.

This is my first read by the author and most certainly not the last, and another auto-buy author on my list.

Many thanks to @canelo_co @Netgalley & @RonaldMalfi for the opportunity to read it.

Bone White was a proper chilly horror unlike anything I've read for quite a while. I can see Malfi getting a lot of inspiratoin from King but not in a bad way, it doesn't feel like a copy. The quality of the writing is really good and the setting of people going missing in Alaska was believable enough to make it really really creepy. Big fan! Will definitely read more from this author.

The writing is compelling. The narrative is gripping. The characters were mysterious and the vibe of the book was atmospheric and reminiscing. I liked the gothic description of Dread’s hand and creepy setting.

Danny, Paul’s twin brother went missing a year ago so Paul decides to go to Alaska and find his brother himself or at least get a closure. But as soon as he go there, he gets tangled in the superstitious stories of the remote Dread’s hand, and the grave mystery of the devil and the people of the town. They are suspicious of him, there are secrets, danger and mystery. The ending was so unexpected.

Thank you Author and Publisher. Many Thanks to Netgalley.

Wow, this was one of the best horror books I've ever read. There is just something about small town horrors that hit different. This book delivers on all things small town horror. Gruesome murder, unexplainable circumstances, sketchy residences, and of course creepy woods.
This book kept me engrossed all throughout and I was creeped out to the max- I'm not even mad about that.
The ominous feel to this story really elevates the creep factor yet I couldn't look away. I enjoyed the characters and the mention of The Alaskan Triangle, as that's something that I've read up on in the past. I love when a book adds a little fact to fiction, and that particular fact made this story feel so real.
This book does not rely on gore to make this a horror read. However, the author skillfully transports readers to this small town by creating an overwhelming feeling of dread. There wasn't a part of this book that didn't have a sense of foreboding, yet I enjoyed every minute of it.
I was spooked and terrified in all the right ways.
Thank you to Netgalley, Canelo Publishing and Ronald Malfi for my Ecopy of this book. All opinions are 100% my own and I leave my review voluntarily.

I recently read and enjoyed Come With Me, so was excited to pick up my next Ronald Malfi book. With my love of stories set in small towns and snowy wilderness, in this case Alaska, and a new UK release coming this month, what better choice than Bone White?

This story was a hit from me right from the start. Every time I thought I had a handle on where the plot was going, there'd be a twist or turn that left my blindsided, and reminded me that I couldn't feel safe at any point. It's very rare for a book to go as far as to scare me these days, but there are numerous very creepy moments throughout Bone White, and more than one that managed to get under my skin.

There's a reasonably large cast of characters, though while the main players are well fleshed out and I always looked forward to spending time with them, a number of the more supporting roles felt a little two-dimensional at times, as if they were obviously there to progress the plot. I also found a few moments towards the middle a little repetitive, and almost like they were pulling us back from the next reveal. Other than these criticisms, I'm finding it difficult to fault the book - I thought it was an engaging and entertaining read throughout, combing elements of dread-inducing mythology with police procedural descriptions that felt accurate and realistic, a mix that nearly always works for me.

The highest praise I can give the book is the sense of disappointment I felt when I noticed I was in the last 5%. The ending was satisfying, giving enough information without over-explaining, but I'd have still happily carried on reading and wasn't ready to leave the world Malfi had built. I get the feeling that my next read of his won't be far in the future.

9/10

I went into Bone White hoping for a small town and a snowy atmosphere and it certainly delivered. Main character Paul ends up in Dread’s Hand, Alaska, on the hunt for his missing twin brother, Danny. The mystery of what happened to him was very intriguing, though the story was overall a touch too slow burn for me. I think I would have liked the horror elements to be pushed just a little further/introduced a little earlier. But even so, Bone White captured my attention and was great to ready during the winter!

I loved this so much, really enjoying icy cold horrors at the moment, malfi mixes exploring the human emotion side of things with the potential supernatural very well, keeps the reader off kilter, incredibly creepy, loved this!

A marvel of a book. Creepy, atmospheric, realistic. Great setting, natural dialogue, perfect pacing. Had it been written by anyone else, we'd get the inevitable romance, as the main character (who's looking for his twin brother) would meet the local female cop and they'd gradually fell in love with each other; she'd be the smart, experienced one, secretly traumatized and guilt-ridden, he the city-bred, though secretly adventurous, strong male; the small town would have a weird festival and bizarre traditions; an epilogue would show the married couple with children, a little boy carrying the story forward, with a pair of red eyes in the dark promising a sequel. This is a Malfi book, though; no such cozy, corny sweetness -on the contrary, the main character is an academic whose palpable despair oftentimes drives forward the plot of the novel; the female cop is a down-to-earth, cautious and fully professional woman who never overplays her hand; and the small town is, in fact, the kind of closed-minded place you'd expect from a community having to make do under very hard conditions. The lore, moreover, is provided to the reader only when the need arises: actually, this may be the most original point of the book -Malfi knows exactly how to keep the reader wanting more, allowing the horrific elements to creep into the narrative in a style both elegant and meditative. The scare factor, though not quite terrifying, often reaches hair-raising levels, as the mystery unfolds in very small doses. In sum, though treading familiar ground, Malfi's book never feels bland, it's consistently enjoyable and worth reading by all horror fans. Highly recommended!

‘When a man loses everything inside him that makes him human, and gets taken over by the devil”

Ronald Malfi is an author that has been recommended to me many times, so I thought a freezing January in the UK would be an ideal time to read this one.

The remove Alaskan town was a great setting and the writing was really atmospheric. Paul Gallo arrives in town to try and find answers to his brother’s disappearance (a local man has recently confessed to multiple killings).

Oh my…… the author did a great job of building the tension and pulling me into the story, much like Paul himself despite (or maybe because of) the overwhelming feeling that something terrible is out there watching. The small community is isolated and superstitious, believing the mythology of the bone whites…..but is it myth or reality?

I wouldn’t say the story is very original but it is excellently written and I will definitely be reading more by Ronald Malfi.

Thanks to Netgalley and Canelo for an ARC in return for an honest review.

✝️𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐢
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒
𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟒 ⭐️

I’ve only read a short story collection book by Ronald Malfi before so this is my first novel. Wow.

Creepy, isolated and atmospheric!

Paul Gallo has travelled to a small town in Alaska, called Dreads Hand to search for his missing twin brother, Danny. Who went missing a year before after travelling.

This is the kind of town that is down right weird, crosses line the outskirts of the town, kids are wearing masks made out of animals and the locals don’t want to talk to you if you’re not ‘local’. It was bizarre and just creepy.

The writing sucks you in straight away and you’re immersed in this mystery of Paul & Danny.

It took me a while to read this but I enjoyed the feeling of being isolated with these characters and the feeling of dread every time I opened the book!

100% recommend if you like
- Atmospheric isolated places
- Slow burner
- Small towns
- Creepy children
- Twins
- Unreliable characters

Thanks to @netgalley and @canelo_co for this Arc! I will definitely be reading more Ronald Malfi!

#bookstagram #books #bookstagrammer #booktok #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammeruk #netgalley #netgalleyuk #netgalleyreads #newrelease #horrorbooks #ronaldmalfi #bonewhite #booklover #bookstaghouls #booksandskeletons #bookworm

I keep reading Malfi, and I'm afraid to say, I keep being disappointed. So far of the 4-5 books of his that I have read, they all sound like stories you have already read before. In the beginning when I read Black Mouth, I noticed that his writing sounded just like Stephen King. I put it off as just influence. Then I read The Ascent and it just sounded like a fictional account copied from many non fiction mountaineering stories. Now Bone white was supposed to be his best as I have seen in other reviews, but once again it doesn't feel new or original.

There is about 80% of the book written for "setting up", that you'd expect to be there to create the atmosphere, but instead it just feels like it drags, and nothing happens. It is pretty predicable where the story is going, so when you finally get there, and you've realized it the whole time, it doesn't really give a good pay off.

Neither the journey, nor the destination was worth it here. Alas, I will continue to try to read Malfi, because I am a sucker for horror stories.

Bone White is one of those books which keeps the reader on their toes throughout. The author, Ronald Malfi, is a genius when it comes to the creepiness in this story, and the hairs on my arms were standing up right until the last page.

This is a kind of folklore tale, though it doesn’t mention anything about folklore or folk horror at all. But to my delight, being a huge fan of folk horror, I found Bone White to be ‘just that’.

Paul Gallo, an English professor, hasn’t heard from his twin brother Danny since the last photo was sent to his phone, a year ago. Danny, who was constantly in and out of work, left Maryland, where they both lived, to “find himself”, and the last communication from him, was from a place called Dread’s Hand, in the foothills of the White Mountains, in Alaska.
After the bodies of 8 people are found buried, Paul heads to Alaska hoping he will get some answers as to whether Danny is one of the victims, and if not, what has happened to him.

This is my first book from Ronald Malfi, but will definitely not be my last, and I can see myself becoming a huge fan after this.

With thanks to NetGalley, and Canelo Digital Publishing, for providing me a free copy of this book, of which I am happy to leave a voluntary review.

5 ⭐️

Thank you to Canelo & Netgalley for granting me access to this arc.

“Those woods are haunted by the devil himself…A man walks in there, he stands a chance of being touched by the devil. And that man, he goes sour. His mind rots”

What a ride. My second read from Ronald Malfi . Having ‘Come with Me’ as one of my all-time favourites, I had high expectations. I was not let down.
I won’t rehash the plot as the synopsis explains it all. I will say though, I felt unsettled the entire time. Imagine being on a dark street with only the cracks of stars for lighting, the chill of a winters night, and the layers of silence that echo along with the song of your heart beating in your ears. You keep moving forward but all the while, you can’t escape the nagging dread that something sinister lurks where you can’t see, and it’s all a matter of time. It doesn’t matter how long you hold your breath or how many times you glance over your shoulder, the terror remains rooted. That is exactly how my reading experience of this one went. There wasn’t a second when I felt safe within these pages.
This story had many elements that I have seen used in other stories, but I have never seen them crafted with such perfection: an isolated and cold town set on the edge of earth, dark shadowy forests bordered with standing crosses, a withdrawn community that exists on secrets and deceit, a blurring of reality, a journey for redemption, with a dash of religion.
This may sound familiar, but trust me, when seasoned with Malfi’s writing, nothing comes close. It’s a bit of a slow burn, but the scene is set up perfectly. A simmering unease and just when you think you know where you are, you find yourself lost. Just like our protagonist, you quickly learn that you can’t trust anyone. Not even yourself.

The way this book was written was full of suspense. It had all the winter's themes, it was creepy and just very well written. My issues with this book is that I feel like many things weren’t cleared up and towards the end it did feel quite rushed. I didn’t get many of the answers I was hoping for, but overall, it was decent. Not the best but it was good