Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
When I requested this book from NetGalley I had no idea what I was getting into. I was intrigued by the cover and decided why not? Was this book perfect? No. But it was enjoyable to an extent. At times I found myself putting this book down and having to take a break because it was..too much. At moments it felt like the book dragged on due to an unnecessary amount of over explaining the tiniest things (which really had no significance). There was also moments where I just couldn’t put the book down. There were some moments that were definitely questionable and confusing but overall everything tied in perfectly. The book did flow smoothly in terms of plot and everything was interlinked one way or another which I enjoyed. Now for the ending, it was sort of a let down. Maybe it was supposed to be intentional for the reader but from the very start I could already tell Melanie was going to inherit the Manor. It just wasn’t super thrilling or anything memorable. As much as I didn’t enjoy the ending, I did love the “short stories” included and how it was perfectly incorporated into the end when Melanie publishes her book about six short stories. Overall, it was a great read and reminded me heavily of the movie “Abigail”. 4/5

This was enjoyable and easy to read! A little predictable but nonetheless a great story! I quickly devoured this one and will read whatever else Mallory comes up with.

Let me preface by saying, I am not a regular horror reader but I would classify this as horror lite ™️. While it has paranormal and spooky elements, I did not find it to be something that would keep me up at night or to be too gruesome to make me put it down and not finish.

This book gave strong Knives Out/ The Menu/ Clue vibes. Set in a haunted house turned escape room, 7 shitty people converge to see what mysterious piece of a now deceased famous horror writer’s (also shitty) inheritance they will receive (and as the story unfolds it becomes very unclear why they would show up to begin with). The story is told from the perspective of the 7 characters in a third person present tense which at first was distracting (maybe I’m just not used to reading books written in the present tense) but about 20% in I stopped noticing. The characters all had distinct voices and I never found it difficult to remember whose perspective we were following. I enjoyed the multi perspective aspect because the story really benefited from being in the heads of the different characters. The pacing was perfect, and the story moved along with very few lulls. It was a quick read and I found myself thoroughly engaged in the world of the story.

At times I found the writing to be a little clunky with some typos and minor grammatical errors with passages that felt like they were lifted from Wikipedia rabbit holes (emu war, I’m looking at you). I found some of the characters and settings hard to visualize and wish there had been more descriptions about clothes/appearance/ and the room settings because sometimes the lack of detail made it hard to follow the plot. I found that some of the “reveals” fell a little flat based on either how predictable they were or the lack of suspense. The “game” of the house did feel somewhat juvenile and obvious in the beginning but I did enjoy the stakes being raised in some of the later challenges. Maybe a there was a deeper social commentary being implied but honestly, I found it to be more entertaining when being read as a novel about bad people doing bad things and the heaping doses of karmic justice being meted out.

Overall, it was effortlessly readable and fun, in a suspended reality sort of way. I did really love the ending and I think it did change the way I looked at the book as a whole. This was an incredibly fun debut novel, that isn’t too scary/macabre for casual horror readers.

Thank you so much to Poisoned Pen Press and Mallory Arnold for the ARC!

This book was so good! It is a fast paced gruesome horror, once the game begins, that I could not put down! I read it in 2 days and stayed up last night to finish it cause I was desperate to see what happened and how it ended!

I absolutely loved how within the chapters there were back stories about each character which gave a great insight into each one and left me confused on whether or not to love or hate them!

Look, this was just fun. I couldn't put it down.

I have really particular demands for my horror stories. And this book doesn't seem like one that would typically meet those demands. But I'm so glad I gave it a go. This is a monster house book (ala Shirley Jackson or Richard Matheson) so there's going to be some crazy house stuff (I am typically more of a traditional ghost story/haunted house aficionado). But what really worked for me was the premise--a small group of writers are invited to a recently deceased, incredibly successful horror writer's home for his will reading. And, more importantly, we get to discover the backgrounds of each guest along the way, which ultimately explains why they were invited in the first place.

I liked the concept of storytelling and truth: whose version of events is the real one? Can we ever be the villain of our own stories? How do we re-cast events to make ourselves feel validated? What lengths will each of us go to for our own success? As the secrets and lies are exposed in this story, you really cannot stop turning the pages.

One minor issue I hope the editors catch is that there are a number of continuity errors, especially in the early chapters. I thought at first they might even be intentional (as voices shift from chapter to chapter) but that doesn't seem to be the case. Otherwise, this was a fast, roller coaster of a read.

How to Survive a Horror Story tells a clever horror story of a locked house of riddles and people die if you get the answers wrong. Mortimer Queen, a famous horror writer, has died but not before he had invitations sent out to a group of horror writers to be present for his will reading. They find themselves the main characters in a game of truth and betrayal.

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy mystery and horror genres. It’s a chilling and suspenseful read with high stakes. The book reminds me of the Monster House movie with the house being a terrifying character capable of taking care of heinous people. As the characters navigate through the house of horrors, their stories reveal their true nature and motivations.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Seven authors have received notices that they have all been left something in the will of the recently deceased greatest horror author of the day. They have all been summoned to his crumbling mansion in the Vermont wilderness from all over the country. They soon discover that in order to escape the house (never mind find out what they supposedly inherited), they must solve a riddle in each room or face a punishment. Once in a room, there is no way to escape and so they work together to try to solve the riddles. This proves to be more difficult than it should be, as each riddle seems to reveal a secret that one of the players would like to keep hidden. If they don't reveal the secret is about them, none of the others know and bad things start to happen. As the ravenous house begins to collect victims, the remaining players must try to use their wits to survive. While most of the players are horror authors, like the deceased Mortimer Queen, one, Melanie, isn't a published author and has no idea why she is there. That is another mystery she must solve to get out of the house alive.

The story was very fast-paced and I enjoyed learning the backstories of all of the characters and what they had done to be included in the "games" set up by the dead author. While the events can be quite gory at times, there is enough mystery to keep the reader guessing as to what's really going on and what the end game might be.

“I’m not a writer of thrills, but of horror. So bring on the fear”

How to Survive a Horror Story is a captivating horror mystery by Mallory Arnold. When a renown horror author, Mortimer Queen dies, a group of writers are notified they are in his will and must attend a weekend at his manor for the reading. Upon arrival, the group of authors soon realise rather than claiming the will, they are here to play a game. The rules of the game are simple, to escape the manor, each hour a riddle must be solved to allow the group into the next room. Should they get the answer wrong - they will be punished. If they run out of time - the manor will claim a person.

The fact that I read this entire book within one day says everything! This book is so fast paced once the game begins that with the use of back stories as a way to develop the story and add depth to the characters, you cannot fault it. Mallory really knows how to create characters that you feel strongly about, whether it be Mortimers wife who you feel a sense of justice for, or Chester, the character we love to hate. The plot has sparks of originality, as although there are various tropes throughout, the plot development of all of the books aspects allow the tropes to fit in nicely. There wasn’t a single point where I considered putting this down or I knew exactly what was going to come next.

The only thing I can say is that this is such a fun read, some of the characters have hilarious moments and there are some gnarly and gruesome deaths.

Thank you very much to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in advance!

How to survive a horror story was such a suspenseful book and my first great horror book of 2025. I would recommend to anyone needing a page turner.

Melanie Brown and a group of authors are invited to Mortimer Queen’s manor under the guise of an inheritance. However, the famous horror author Mortimer Queen has other plans: a deadly game of riddles. Each room presents a new challenge, and failure means succumbing to the sinister powers of the manor itself. This was a thrillingly fun horror read.

Truthfully I’m not totally sure how I feel about How to Survive a Horror Story. It’s a plot ( think locked house, And Then There Were None) that’s been done over and over and much better in other novels. The characters are unlikable so I really didn’t care what happened to them. There was something that had me reading to the end, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why. But this book is really being hyped by publishers in an excellent marketing campaign, so maybe I’m missing something. 2.5

This premise of this sounded like good, goofy fun, but the execution was so juvenile. As a handful of other reviewers have noted, the characterization is incredibly flimsy and caricature-ish, when it's not downright cartoonish and nonsensical (a famous horror author who agents are hounding to become a film actor?) It read like a not-particularly-precocious-teen's take on the horror industry and adult behavior, not like someone who's done any degree of research about publishing.

How to Survive a Horror Story is a wild ride through revenge, betrayal, and morally messy characters. From Scott Clay to Melanie Brown, everyone has something to hide - and none of them are particularly likable. Mortimer, the self-proclaimed judge of justice, dishes out fates that seem excessive for some, yet fitting for others. The quirky names and dark humor add some levity to the twisted drama.
The pacing starts slow, but once it picks up you'll be hooked, even if the characters' backstories sometimes drag. It's not your typical horror - more creepy than terrifying - but it keeps you on the edge. If you're a fan of light horror with a side of moral ambiguity, this one's for you.

"How to Survive a Horror Story" is a horror fiction novel by Mallory Arnold. A group of people with secrets to hide (in this case authors) are invited to the will reading of prominent horror author Mortimer Queen at his creepy house. They are surprised to learn that they are not receiving anything from the will unless they solve Queen's riddles and survive all of the rooms in this supernaturally evil house. Lots of twists and secrets are revealed as the flawed characters try not to die. A dark and fun read, this is a suggested purchase for fiction collections where horror is popular.

If Clue and Knives Out created a monster, How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold would be it. A locked room (or locked haunted house) thriller with horror elements, this book is dark, macabre, and seething with mystery.

Mortimer Queen one of the most legendary horror authors has died inviting 7 guests to his last will and testament reading at his manor. Each guest has a connection to Queen making them each nervous and excited for what he has bequeathed them. The manor itself is straight out of a horror novel, with its eerie decor and foreboding feeling. The guests quickly learn that they have been invited to play a game...solve a riddle and they move on to the next room. But the game has deadly consequences, doling out punishments for every wrong answer whilst exposing the guests nefarious connections to Mortimer Queen.

This book was wildly entertaining. The mystery kept me on the edge of my seat and the supernatural aspects created a visceral feeling. The creepy atmosphere of the manor and diabolical nature of the game had my eyes glued to every page. Propulsive and repulsive, this story took classic horror tropes and made it into its own thrilling and frightening read. The originality and shock factors made this book hard to put down. The characters were well developed and were some of the scariest elements of this story. This would make a great tv show/movie as well.

If you are a fan of horror, escape rooms, or haunted house mysteries, How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold needs to be consumed.

Welcome to Queen Manor. Seven authors enter but how many will leave? Can they survive the story within? If they do, well then, that would be quite the story to tell.

A clever and deeply unsettling locked room thriller with elements of ghost horror, a sentient house creature and humans being the worst monsters after all. Definitely a novel made me contemplate how the best horror stories came to be and if anyone could have lived through all the horror they endured.

May only be new to fantasy horror but it's already become one of my favourites genres. Perhaps you can lock the door behind you on your way out cause I believe I'm going to stay awhile.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐝

Wanted to love it based on the premise, but sadly not my favorite. Grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc though!

How to Survive a Horror Story is a hilariously spooky debut that I could not put down. I loved the reveal of the truths through the different POV's of the characters as the night unfolds.

3.75 stars (rounded to 4).

I love a book that has authors as the main characters. The multiple POV’s really kept the story on its toes because you truly couldn’t trust anyone. There were times when I thought, “wait, why did that person go first?? You should have killed someone else!”

But the payoff at the end was worth it. The later I got in the book, I was a bit adrift, but the book did finish up nicely.

An intriguing and original premise, but sadly, by the 25% read point, this book felt more like a mystery than a horror story. I'd have enjoyed more nods to the horror genre, and more tension built so that by the time the horrific elements surfaced they felt plausible. I always love a "closed circle" cast, but I found these characters a little hard to distinguish from one another, and I found the writing of the Texan's dialect/regional accent very distracting - he probably didn't need that at all. A fun concept but a story I just couldn't get swept up in.