If Knives Out, The Haunting of Hill House, and Clue had a blood-soaked literary baby, it would be this wickedly fun novel. How to Survive a Horror Story is part haunted house thriller, part satirical roast of the publishing world, and part love letter to the horror genre. It’s meta, manic, and marvelously morbid—in the best possible way.

The setup?
Legendary horror author Mortimer Queen is dead. His will? Cryptic. His house? Hungry. His guests? A dysfunctional buffet of authors, critics, wannabes, and secrets. Each one believes they're owed something—fame, fortune, revenge, or maybe just validation. But Mortimer has one final story to tell... and it’s written in blood, betrayal, and riddles you really don’t want to get wrong.

As the guests are led room by room through Queen Manor, the game begins. Solve the puzzle, move forward. Fail, and well—the house chooses. And the house always gets fed.

📚 What’s inside?

Authors behaving badly: egos, envy, exes—oh my
Carnivorous books (yes, literally)
A haunted mansion with a taste for storytellers
Clever puzzles, twisted riddles, and sharp literary in-jokes
A steadily climbing body count
Themes of legacy, authorship, and who really owns a story
The tone rides the line between gothic and tongue-in-cheek, giving fans of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and The Fall of the House of Usher plenty to savor—right before it yanks the rug out from under you. And just when you think you’ve figured out the endgame, the house flips the script.

✒️ Why it works:
Because it doesn’t just ask "what makes a good horror story?"—it dares you to live one. It’s a brilliant send-up of the publishing industry, a genuinely chilling haunted house tale, and a satisfyingly layered mystery wrapped in satire and dread.

🕯️ Perfect for fans of:

Locked-room mysteries with a supernatural twist
Horror that bites (both literally and figuratively)
Self-aware thrillers with sharp social commentary
Stories about stories—with teeth

Just finished How to Survive a Horror Story and I absolutely devoured this book. I couldn’t stop reading if I tried. It had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and now I feel a reading slump creeping in because nothing else is going to compare for a while.

As someone still pretty new to horror, this was the perfect mix of creepy, clever, and downright addictive. The writing was great and the pacing was *chef’s kiss*. Every chapter pulled me in deeper, and the characters? Obsessed.

If you like horror (or even if you think you might), definitely give this one a shot. 10/10 would read again. If I wasn’t too busy spiraling from how good it was.

The book had an interesting premise but due to the poor writing and one dimensional characters this book fell flat for me. This book did not have me caring about any of the characters, including the one that you knew you were supposed to be rooting for. The characters were more like caricatures that barely had any depth, and sometimes just had me baffled as to how silly they were! I couldn't take any of them seriously. Every puzzle you already knew what the answer was going to be, so nothing came up as a surprise. Towards the end I just wanted this book to be done.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an ARC!

4 stars.

I would like to thank Mallory Arnold and NetGalley for this arc of 'How to survive a Horror Story'.

To be honest, the first 2 chapters made me feel like I was reading a YA horror story. Not too much depth in the story and a very fast and easy reading pace. HOWEVER... When the story really started and I got the hang of it (loved the multiple POV's!!), it definitely wasn't a YA Horror story anymore haha. The house really worked its 'terrormagic' and on each page I was curious what would happen next, who would be the next victim and what the method would be. The ending was one I really did not see coming but I liked it!

What happened to the 5th star?
I didn't think Felix or his storyline was really necessary and it felt like the storylines of the characters could be more extensive (but that's my opinion).

Definitely recommending this book if you like horror stories.

What a fun read! This book had all the creepy elements that I love: creepy house with an even creepier staff, dead rich guy, characters that you love to hate and a locked room mystery. If you love a whodunit you should check out How to Survive a Horror Story.

This was a good suspenseful thriller - I would def. recommend to my friends! This was a creepy read, and I loved the writers stuck in a mansion angle, I have read something slightly similar last year but I still enjoyed this, I will add to my list of creepy thrillers for friends!

How to Survive a Horror Story was filled with unexpected twists and turns. Told from multiple POVs, I really enjoyed this book and finished it within a couple of days. After the death of Horror Genre Author Mortimer Queen, several of his peers/acquaintances are invited to the reading of his will. All guests (but one) arrive at the Queen Manor expecting to receive something of value and are quickly shocked when they find out they are there to play a game… and that the Manor is not what it seems. Each guest also have dark secrets of their own. I liked the pacing of the book and the way the story unfolded. Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC.

This immediately gripped me and I read the whole book in two days. This isn't just a typical haunted house story, but one with extra layers I won't spoil

I love a locked room horror, this was just like the movies. It kept me entertained the whole way through, I couldn't put it down!

Mortimer Queen, a horror writer whose death means the horror can continue. After the successful author dies, seven authors are invited to his mansion to seek their claim of his estate. It’s not as simple as it sounds and on arrival they are met with further challenges to help solve a riddle. It’s through these challenges that we hear why Mortimer invited these specific authors and what horror may await them.

I really enjoyed this book. There were seven different points of views which I personally enjoy. It made you feel a part of their story more. Some parts were quite descriptive and inventive. I did feel it was a “quick” read and it could have been padded out more. It was a bit rushed in parts.

Before reading this early release I had not heard of the author but I will definitely be looking out for more of their work.

Thanks to NetGalley, Poison Pen Press and the author for the pleasure of reading the book.

This story hit all the right points for a fun horror with a good touch of gore, creepiness, and an awesome sentient manor just waiting for its next meal! I will say, if I am not on good terms with someone famous and then they die and leave something for me in the will, I for sure would not go to their house and hand over my phone! But it made for entertaining reading and hard to put down as I waited to see who might be next to die and what their crimes were against Mortimer Queen! Some of the deaths were quite satisfying and well deserving and though the riddles were not really riddles, it continued the story and you get the confessions (or are have they been twisted/rewritten?) of the authors as they travel from room to room to escape or die. So, a mix of escape room (with deadly additions if they can get the answer before the clock runs out) and mini stories that are Mortimer Queen's version of what happened and why theses authors were chosen to enter the house. And I did enjoy the ending for justice is served for the guilty parties and the manor is always ready for another meal!

I think Mallory Arnold did a good job with this first story and I am looking forward to seeing what she will write next.

This book had such a cool premise—a group of horror writers trapped in a creepy manor after the death of a legendary author, each hoping for a piece of his fortune but instead finding themselves part of a deadly game. I loved the setting and the atmosphere most of all. The house itself felt like a character, full of strange puzzles and ominous traps. The story had some fun twists, and a few of them genuinely surprised me.

That said, the characters didn’t always land for me. Some felt more like stereotypes than real people, and the main character, Melanie, left me wanting more. layered. Still, I had a good time reading it. It wasn’t perfect, but it was entertaining, and I’d be interested to see what the author does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press as well as the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #PoisonedPenPress #MalloryArnold #Horror #Fiction #Book #Review #HowtoSurviveaHorrorStory

Title: How to Survive a Horror Story
Author: Mallory Arnold
Format: eBook
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: July 8, 2025
Themes: Revenge, human monsters, celebrity authors,
Trigger Warnings: gore, violence, revenge plot, death of teenager, gossip, alcoholism, monsters,

This was pure fun. This mash-up of Scream, Clue, and Saw starts off with our female main character, unpublished and aspiring horror writer, Melanie Brown. Legendary horror author Mortimer Queen has died and she has been summoned to his home for the reading of his will. Strange since she’s only met him briefly one time. When she arrives she finds six other people, all horror authors, who have also been summoned for the same reason. Winnie is the gossip-loving, former neighbor and direct competition of Mr, Queen. Her plus one, a flamboyant man named Felix, has shown up uninvited. Crystal, writer of erotic horror, is the young mistress of the reclusive writer. Scott is the apparently amiable, very popular author of a beloved series of horror books. Petey is the squirrelly, and nervous one book wonder. Chester is the unsavory writer of extreme horror and lover of dangerous pranks, as long as they’re perpetrated by others. Lastly, Buck is the sweet and gentle author of splatterpunk novels. Each is anticipating a piece of Queen’s fortune. Each is surprised by his inheritance. Mortimer Queen intends to give each writer what is coming to him or her.

This was an enjoyable and fun read. Exactly what I wanted from it was what I got. It was full of delightfully creative traps and subsequent kills. I found each character to be fun to get to know, despite their personalities and motivations. Some of them got what they deserved and some didn’t. I loved how the reader was given the opportunity to decide whether or not each character had actually earned his or her spot in the will. I can honestly say, that while I was able to predict the whole “dangerous game” plot, I was pleasantly surprised by the way the game was executed and the involvement of the manor itself. I was surprised by the ending as well. It was very original.

I had a lot of questions by the end and many weren’t answered. There were a few detours in the plot that could have been left out in favor of a tighter plot. I would have liked the riddles to be a little more difficult. The answer to each should stay the same, but the presentation could have been a bit more challenging.

The novel was twisty and turny. Some of the twists I saw coming and some I didn’t. Was this a perfect novel? No, Could it have used some fine-tuning? Definitely. I would have liked to see less plot holes. Did I still really enjoy it? Major yes! Any fan of horror and the whole dangerous game trope will find a lot to love here. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Arnold.

Thanks to #NetGalley for sending me an ARC! This review is my own.

A solid horror story that is cliche at times and predictable but also still a good read!

The idea of forcing people into a secluded location and forcing them to confront their secrets has been done over and over again, but I never tire of it and I love how this relates to writing and the things some writers are capable of doing for their art, money and fame.

The most monstrous beings are humans, because only humans are capable of hurting others in such horrible and terrible ways.

Maybe 2025 will be the year I finally read more horror! I saw this described as a mixture of an escape room and Squid Games and thoght that was a fitting mix. This was such a fun and entertaining read. Using multiple POVs really paid off - Mallory was able to make unlikable characters pop off the pages. The tension is strong throughout as is the pacing.

A fun but flawed Mystery/Horror hybrid.

This sets up like a classic mystery, with a set of strangers invited to a remote location, trapped there, and threatened. But there’s a supernatural element to the story as well. I’m not sure the fusion really worked cohesively, but I admire the attempt at something a bit more unusual than yet another book following the And Then There Were None model to the hilt.

I’ll warn mystery readers that this functions more like horror/thriller in that the characters are mostly unlikable and in most cases not redeemable, and that includes the ones you’re theoretically supposed to root for. That said, this does have actual significance to the story, particularly for the twist at the end. I thought it was predictable and could have been better rendered, but at least the groundwork was laid properly.

I’m not sure this is really a good example of the sentient, creepy house trope. There’s a disconnect between the puzzle elements of the story that feel more like a mystery from the more fantastical elements common to horror, and the two feel disjointed at times and often create an atmosphere that seems unable to make up its mind about what it wants to be.

In all, a clever idea and an entertaining read that probably needed some further tweaks to improve the structure and execution.

3.75/5 stars (rounded up to 4)
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“There are so many monsters in this world. Not the ghouls and ghosts we authors often create, but true forms of evil masked beneath soft flesh, friendly eyes, and steady hands. I am giving you mine.”
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I really enjoyed the premise of this book! The house being alive and consuming the gathered authors one by one was great. The detail and gore was just what I was hoping for when I first read the synopsis. I think my favorite part was unraveling exactly what it was that each of the characters did to incur the wrath of Mortimer Queen. To be quite honest, there were definitely a couple deaths that were quite satisfying as well (looking at you Chester!).
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My only complaint was that the riddles often seemed too obvious, especially towards the end. It didn't take much thought to figure out who the riddles were about, but it was still such a fun read! I look forward to reading more books by Mallory Arnold in the future.

Seven authors are invited to the house of Mortimer Queen a deceased horror author. Each of the invitees have past secrets involving Mortimer. They gather together for the reading of his will expecting to claim a portion of his wealth. Instead of inheriting his fortune they are met with a series of riddles and deadly games brought on by his monster house.

This novel was a relatively quick read with a "who's next" type plot. I found the characters were well developed although the premise of the riddles followed by a death got repetitive. Ultimately the ending was predictable but it was an easy read. Generally I don't enjoy an supernatural story line of a house performing heinous acts, but I didn't have a problem finishing this book.

I give this book 3/5 stars

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This one reminded me of Clue if it was extremely dark and the house was alive. I loved the question of what each character did to deserve the murderous torture they were placed in. I would happily read more from this author.

This is a book that questions… what skeletons are in your closet? It kept me guessing from the get go!