This book was such a wickedly fun surprise! I went in expecting a clever horror-themed mystery, and got exactly that plus way more gore than I anticipated (in the best way).

The pacing is excellent. It kicks off quickly and never drags, keeping the tension high without ever feeling overwhelming. The riddles and reveals are smart and layered, giving you just enough to stay one step behind the story without feeling completely lost. It’s like an escape room collided with a slasher film, and somehow it works.

I wasn’t expecting the level of violence, but honestly? It made perfect sense for the plot and stakes. It felt earned rather than gratuitous, and it elevated the urgency of everything happening around the characters.

And that ending? Loved. It. So many thrillers fumble the final act, but this one delivered something satisfying, sharp, and exactly right for the world Mallory Arnold created.

If you love locked-room mysteries with horror elements, fast pacing, and a cast that’s not afraid to get a little bloody, definitely add this to your TBR. It’s inventive, unsettling, and so much fun.

How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold is such a good book, OMG!

An excellent locked room mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat.

7 authors enter , how many will survive?

Loved the different characters and all the twists and turns!

After surviving a horror movie-style massacre, Nora’s thrown into group therapy with other girls who’ve lived through the unthinkable. This book is smart, snarky, and surprisingly moving, the book blends deadpan humour with trauma recovery.

How to Survive a Horror Story was not quite what I had expected. It was entertaining and the ending was interesting. If you like a closed room not so much a who done it but thriller this is for you. I personally do not think it’s more on the horror side.

𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖:
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐝
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 / 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲

A unique take on a haunted house story. A famous horror author (Mortimer Queen) dies and has invited seven authors to his manor for his will reading.

This was a locked room mystery with awful characters who have secrets and hidden agendas, it did make for good drama.

For me I felt like it could have been shorter & I felt a bit flat by the ending.

Recommend if you like
-Locked room mystery with a deadly twist
-Some gory scenes
-Haunted House

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟑 ⭐️

Thanks to @netgalley for this eArc! Releases 8th July.

#bookstagram #booktok #bookish #booklover #bookworm #horror #howtosurviveahorrorstory #ilovehorror #bookstaghouls #booksbooksbooks #bookgoth

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for my early copy of "How to Survive a Horror Story." While reading his book, I was invested in how it was going to end, and by the time I finished it, it blew my mind. Thank you again

I think I've read this before. The Writer's Retreat? Another book about a group of writers all on an island....can't remember that title.

Either way, both of those did it better. This really leaned into the tropes and of a locked room mystery. The characters and deaths were overdone and laughable.

THAT SAID, I still enjoyed!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Seven authors have been invited to legendary deceased author, Mortimer Queen's home for the reading of his last will and testament. Each has some form of connection to the late author. Each are invited to play a game....

I enjoyed the creepy and eerie vibe of this book - a grand manor, a game where the players must solve riddles to move on. If you don't solve the riddle, the house will make its move! This was an unusual, unique and at times entertaining book. This book is like a fantasy horror locked room game where the stakes are high, and consequences are deadly. Other times, I felt as if there were too many characters and my attention waned. As the characters connection to the late author were told, I found some interesting and others meh.

I thought I would enjoy this book much more than I did. It has a great premise, but the execution didn't quite work for me. Normally I loved that 'trapped' feeling in books, but this one didn't quit3 work for me. Others are enjoying this book much more than I did, so please read their reviews as well.

Creepy, horrific, and eerie.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.75. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an e ARC for an honest review. First off sadly I did enjoy the writing and the story itself but I do feel like it’s very similar to another book I just read this year. A group of authors get invited to this house of a famous recently dead author to get some sort of inheritance but they find they can’t get out of this haunted house. It was a fun ride just didn’t feel overly original.

I loved this book. The premise was so clever and fresh — it felt like stepping into a real-life horror movie, but with a twist that kept me completely hooked. It was creepy in all the right ways, with just the right amount of suspense and unsettling moments to keep me flipping pages late into the night. Mallory Arnold did an amazing job balancing dark humor with horror elements, and I was fully invested in the characters and their fates. If you’re a fan of scary stories with originality and edge, this one absolutely delivers.

Melanie Brown arrives at Mortimer Manor. Mortimer Queen died and has invited seven authors, including Melanie herself to read the will at the manor. Melanie was not a successful author, although all the others were successful and well published authors. However, what seemed to be a relaxing vacation turned out to be a nightmare, when the seven people were given a task. Each one must solve the riddle before one of them dies and only one of them will inherit the manor.

This was little weird to read but it was interesting and intriguing to read as well. Each of the characters except for Melanie has wronged Mortimer Queen in some way. The deaths of the people were kind of gruesome to read and is very unusual as well (the house does all the killing). As I said, it was interesting and intriguing with an interesting concept but then the story is weird creepy and pretty much, not very logical and unrealistic. I know this is the debut book of the author but since I found the story interesting and kind of funny, I am willing to give this book a 3.5 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Seven authors are invited to the will reading of Mortimer Queen, renowned horror author. Not all of their connections are known immediately but they all hope to get a piece of his wealth. Instead they are thrown into a game of survival. One by one their pasts with Queen are revealed & they begin to pay for the misdeeds he held against them. The house itself seems at time other worldly & supernatural.

This is perfect for golden age mystery lovers who want a bit of edge & modern vibes added in. It blends horror very well into it, it’s dark without being needlessly graphic just for shock value. There’s definitely tropes & familiar character archetypes but I think that works to the book’s benefit. Those familiarities mixed into what the book itself adds to the genre, worked for me nicely. This is a very strong debut novel for an author & I plan to seek out Arnold’s future books.

🔪

Read if you like:
* The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
* Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
* The Traitors by C.A. Lynch

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
How to Survive a Horror Story releases July 8, 2025

Upon the death of horror author Mortimer Queen, seven authors are invited to spend the weekend at his manor for the reading of his will. But instead of bequeathing them with valuable items, Queen has orchestrated a deadly game, and the only way to escape his manor is by solving riddles that expose their wrongdoings.

This debut, comprised of an ensemble cast, forces you to suspend so much disbelief. Due to the formulaic structure of the story and the end of chapter summaries in the form of short stories, I found that there was a lack of intrigue and suspense.
The characters were flat, unlikeable, and showed no redeeming qualities. I really didn’t care who made it out alive or not.

I read the description and thought it was something I'd absolutely love. It's a fun, easy read, but it didn't hook me in as much as I wanted it too!
A fun read nonetheless though!

Mallory Arnold's "How to Survive a Horror Story" is a fast-paced thriller that will keep readers hooked from start to finish.

The story follows seven authors who gather at the manor of the late Mortimer Queen. Each one of them had a unique connection to Mortimer, and they are expecting to inherit part of his fortune. However, they are instead pulled into an escape room-style game where they need to solve riddles to progress to the next room or face deadly consequences.

The characters in this book are intriguing, and their varying personalities create a tense dynamic as the story unfolds and their secrets come to light, leaving readers unsure of who they can trust. The manor itself also holds a mystery, and the true purpose of the game creates additional suspense.

Arnold cleverly blends locked-room thrills with ghostly, haunted house horror in a way that feels fresh. This will be a fun ride for readers who enjoy suspense with a touch of supernatural terror.

It took me a second to get into this book but once I did was actually super fun. It’s like Knives Out mixed with Clue but make it a thriller. Also loved the little twist ending

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Its a fun read a little bit of slow burn at first but once it picked up I had a hard time putting it down. I dont want to give to much away I enjoyed the twist in the plot its not your typical story about strangers meeting in a house to hear the will of someone they barely know. As the story unravels you find out why each and every person is there and what type of person mortimer was. Great mystery, horror novel.

Thanks netgalley for the ARC copy

I liked the overall passing although the middle dragged a little. I wish I had more time to get to know the characters. All in all, it kept me interested and I found the plot pretty exciting!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I was very excited to read this book when I saw it. I enjoyed the premise and the fact that the house was creepy. I didn’t feel like you had time to connect enough with the characters to feel some type of way about them if they survived or not. You didn’t even get to know the author who invited them to even feel he was truly justified in his game. So with that being said I wish it had a little more for you to learn or get to know these characters better. It keeps you engaged because you want to see the outcome and you want to know why they were put in this situation. So overall this is a great book.

𝒲𝑒𝓁𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒬𝓊𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝑀𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓇 ✨The manor is a character of its own. Chilling and devilishly fun. Locked-room mystery. Deathly games. Revenge. Each chapter gave just enough to keep you guessing.