Mortimer Queen, known for his scary stories, has died, and has left an invitation to fellow writers to come to his secluded estate for a reading of his will. The house holds chilling surprises for the group as they find out they cannot leave without first playing Mortimer’s game. Multiple points of view give background to the characters’ stories and their connection to Mortimer. With a famous dead author set on revenge from the afterlife, a group of writers with secrets of their own, and a hungry murderous house—this sinister horror read is unputdownable!

I love the story, it was well developed and kept me guessing who was going to be next in the game. It’s a mix of Mystery and horror. I found the story very entertaining and very easy to follow. I will be recommending it to my customers .

How to Survive a Horror Story - Review

*I received an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.*

This story was one that I was incredibly excited by. The premise was fresh, the idea of a group of authors, not all of whom who are known to one another at the beginning of this story, being trapped in a situation devised by an author that was more well known, and personally involved with all of them, is truly wonderful. My issues with this book were the pacing and the characters.

Each character fell into classic author, and horror genre tropes and the story did not develop the characters beyond these basic tropes. It was clear to me from the beginning of the story who the survivor would be. When the main antagonist is portrayed as abusive, manipulative, and a horror writing genius, I expect for the trap they devise for the people they view as having wronged them to be utterly spectacular. This story did not live up to my expectations. This book felt too crowded. There were too many characters and not enough pages.

I could have looked past the number of characters if the book had been longer. While I enjoyed the changes in character perspectives, and the flashback scenes, I have issues with the length of time spent on each character. In an attempt to expand all the character’s backgrounds and their personal motives, every character was left feeling underdeveloped. The authors remained as caricatures of their attached stereotypes. Even the house, a character in it’s own right, left me feeling underwhelmed.

Ultimately, I feel that while this book had an interesting premise, the story contained too many plot points. By removing one character and using those pages to further develop the main character, or the horror aspects, I think that I would have better enjoyed this story.

This is not to say that I disliked the way the book was written. I believe that Mallory Arnold has potential to craft a truly stunning horror story, and I look forward to seeing her future work.

2/5 stars

I couldn’t put this book down. I loved getting the perspectives from all the characters followed by what actually happened. The pacing of the story was spot on. I’m looking forward to her next book..

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of this book!

Really enjoyed this locked room mystery with a horror vibe. Give me all the secrets!

Goodness me, this was such a good book. Highly entertaining. Would definitely recommend to others, that's for sure! Super fun read!

“How to Survive a Horror Story” is by Mallory Arnold. I thought the idea for this book sounded great - a combo of Christie’s “And Then There Were None” and a locked room setting. It didn’t always work for me - it had a slow start as the characters (and backgrounds) were set up (which was totally understandable!) but the pacing was uneven, which could have been taken care of by some editing and tightening. None of the characters were really likable - though it seemed like that was more due to the fact that everyone had something to hide and Mortimer Queen decided to dish out his justice - so that didn’t help much either. I think this book would appeal to those who like light horror with a dash of the more creepy (some of the deaths bordered on creepy cartoony, if that’s a thing). I may decide to read this a bit closer to the spooky time of the year and see if I enjoy it more on a second reading - it’s happened before.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Horror/Thriller
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: July 8, 2025
363 pages

Multiple POV
Monster House
Authors Behaving Badly
Affairs + Blackmail

Synopsis: "How to Survive a Horror Story" is an utterly insane game of "matching the crime to the perpetrator." In it, we follow a group of writers summoned to the home of the famous author, Mortimer Queen, to claim their gifts bequeathed to them in Queen's will. However, things quickly take a deadly turn when it's revealed that the gift is a "game" and they realize the mansion isn't just a bit creepy, it's absolutely ravenous.

Review: I loved the way the author revealed the crimes of each of the characters, as well as the way each of them meet their ends. The hungry mansion, twisted games, and gruesome deaths were all so very entertaining. I always prefer my horror with a little bit of gore (but not too much) and this one did not disappoint! Excellent read for thriller and horror lovers alike!

Thank you so much Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy! 🫶

This was a fun read. I feel like the author really leaned into the trope with this one, but it works. It was twisty and interesting and enjoyable. The characters were maybe a little over the top, but they made for a fun read. The author did a good job of layering secrets, and the slow reveals were fun. I also enjoyed the short stories scattered throughout, the ones that told the truth, which was interesting because you really got to see how much the characters were lying. There were also some gruesome and inventive deaths, and a good dose of magical realism, which was light on the realism. Overall this seemed like an exaggerated take on the locked room trope, but it really was an entertaining read. It could have definitely benefited from some logic and editing. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This book was a fun take on a mystery and for anyone who loves competitions and horror this is perfect.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to honestly review.

Some horror writers are invited to the reading of the will of a late colleague, until to find out… it is all a trap!

There have always been stories like this, where someone who is supposed to have knowledge about some area of expertise suddenly realizes they are all over their heads (horror amusement fans who are suddenly trapped in one is the first example that comes to mind, for some reason).
In the horror genre, both in books or movies, the reading of wills is never a good starting point for a group of people -even worse if they do not know each other in advance-, but they are also what really make it or break it, what makes all the twists and turns and over the top deaths worth the reading.
The characters in How to Survive a Horror Story are a peculiar bunch. There is a little bit of everything you would expect in people who make a living writing horror stories, and some of them hide more surprises than others.
So, are they an entertaining group? Definitely. Do some of them feel a little one-dimensioned? Yes. Do some of their actions not always make sense? …Yes, that does happen. And does the plot sometimes advance in an erratic way? …Also, yes.
The idea is not the most original, but it has potential. The group, exactly the same. But the “problems”, if you could describe the different odd parts like this, makes it difficult to really enjoy what the novel is trying to show and tell. Great potential, but did not quite deliver.
I had a fun time, though, and it is a really fast read, so if you feel intrigued, I would definitely give it a go.

Seven strangers, including six horror authors and one random aspiring writer, get invited to a dead horror author's mansion for a will reading, only to be trapped in a "deadly" game where they must face their past misdeeds or die trying. The dialogue was as painfully, the inner monologue was cringey, (OMG that one quote about Jennifer Aniston...seriously?) and what was supposed to be scary or mysterious came across more like a mediocre Halloween haunted house where the employees are required to stay six feet away from the guests. I kept waiting for the characters to develop personalities beyond "selfish jerk" or "slutty blonde," but no such luck. This seemed like it wanted to be a clever horror-comedy mashup of Clue and House on Haunted Hill, but somehow managed to suck the fun out of both concepts while adding nothing of its own.

Several strangers receive a weird invitation from Mortimer Queen, famed horror writer and now deceased author. They are to be present at a reading of his will. All of them are accomplished horror authors in their own right, well all except one. While seated for dinner, Queen's executor tells them why they are all there. Let the feast begin!

I had a lot of fun with this book. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the characters wherein you gain special insight into how they perceive the actions of the others. Everyone lies, abundantly, so it's hard to pick out the truth from the fiction. The plot combines an escape room with a haunted house and it's just so much fun. None of the scenes are too gruesome. And...I wasn't expecting the ending, at least not as it played out.

The writing was playful and evenly paced. I really liked how the author ended each chapter with a teaser that made me say, "Oh just one more chapter before bed!" It was really well done. I will probably buy a hardback copy when this publishes.

Horror author Mortimer Queen's death lures a group of writers to his mansion for his will reading, each hoping to inherit his fortune. Instead, they're trapped in a deadly game: solve riddles to advance, or the house, built on his family's remains and hungry for more, will claim them. A blend of locked-room mystery and ghostly terror, this story explores the origins of great horror.

I really liked this book. The characters were great and it was very easy to read. The only reason why it wasn't a 5 star was because i don't think i'll think about the characters anymore after finishing this.

I would highly recommend reading this once it's out.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Honestly, pretty good book. Like I don't read a lot of horror, but this one was something that legit felt like a movie and had some fantastic twists especially with all the narrators being unreliable.

I'm not sure how I feel about the ending; is he a ghost or is he back?

DNF @ 25% . Sadly this was just not for me. It felt like I was reading campy YA a bit and I was hoping for something more gritty and scary. I was also looking for more relatable characters and they were all pretty annoying.

I really enjoyed reading this book, kept me interested and guessing until the very end.i would read more books by this author.

This book was such a fun and engaging read! It had its scary moments, but what stood out to me most was how well the characters were written—their depth, their flaws, and how much more there was to them than what first meets the eye. I loved the plot twist, the mysterious atmosphere, and the way the narrative kept me guessing.

I was genuinely surprised to learn this is a debut novel—the writing felt confident and polished, and the overall execution was impressive.

The only reason I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that around the halfway point, the story started to feel a bit repetitive. Thankfully, it picked up again and pulled me right back in.

All in all, a great read with strong characters, clever twists, and a solid sense of suspense!

Mortimer Queen famous horror writter has passed away. Seven different characters are invited to the Queen estate for the reading of Mortimer Queen last will and testament., but why?; to play a game where no all of them will survive.

Definitely a compelling horror story worth of reading just remember there is always two sides from the same story.

Thanks to NetGally for the ARC!

I love both the cover and the premise of Mallory Arnold's How to Survive a Horror Story. Locked room mystery set in a manor on a private island populated by horror writers? Sign me up! Unfortunately, the set-up stank, the characters were one dimensional and hard to keep straight, and the rotating point of view just didn't work.

Extra star for giving the genre a new twist--the originality is much appreciated, even if the execution lacked oomph.