Rating: 3 stars

How to Survive a Horror Story is a darkly clever blend of locked-door mystery and classic horror tropes, with a premise that immediately draws you in: a group of horror writers summoned to a reclusive legend’s creepy estate under the pretense of claiming an inheritance—only to find themselves trapped in a deadly, riddle-filled game with life-or-death consequences.

The story reads like a mash-up of Agatha Christie and a late-night horror movie, and the house itself is one of the book’s greatest assets—eerie, atmospheric, and nearly a character in its own right. The puzzle-like structure of the plot, with each room presenting a new challenge, keeps the tension steady, and the riddles are a highlight, injecting urgency and suspense into each scene.

While the concept is strong and the writing often sharp and cinematic, the pacing stumbles in places. The beginning is a bit slow to take off, and some of the most suspenseful moments feel oddly rushed, almost as if the book is sprinting toward the next twist without giving readers time to savor the stakes. The multiple points of view add depth to the story, but not every character lands. With seven voices, some fade into the background, and it’s hard to fully invest in who makes it out alive.

Still, the backstories and secrets each guest hides help justify why they were chosen to face Mortimer Queen’s twisted legacy—and the revelation that their careers were built on betrayals adds a satisfyingly sinister layer. The ending wraps up perhaps a little too neatly, but it’s hard to argue with the final outcome.

Overall, this is an engaging and imaginative read that horror and mystery fans will likely enjoy. It’s not perfect, but it’s creative, creepy, and full of potential. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for what Mallory Arnold writes next.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was okay. Not what I expected for sure. The rules of the house were inconsistent and the solutions to each room were obvious, but the characters were sooooo frustrating and incompetent. The rooms were fun, and I liked that the house was kind of alive. An okay read.

After the death of renowned horror author Mortimer Queen, seven strangers receive an invitation to his manor for the reading of his will. Each of them has a background in writing, specifically in horror literature, and expects to obtain a piece of the Mortimer Queen fortune. However, when the guests arrive at the manor, they're trapped inside and thrust into a deadly game, where the only way to escape alive is to solve seven riddles.

This wasn't the book for me. I felt like the plot had great potential, but ultimately the execution fell flat. The book is very character-centric, yet the characters were quite one-dimensional which made it difficult to like or root for them. Each chapter switched between points of view from character to character, but you couldn't tell most of the time due to the tone generally being the same. Despite the characters being self-aware of the typical horror tropes, they made a lot of stupid decisions and acted irrationally which was frustrating to read through. For example, it took so long for the characters to figure out what the riddles were about, even though it was blatantly obvious from the get-go that it was about them. The riddles weren't anything clever or exciting, and the character secrets weren't the best. I didn't find the book to be that thrilling or suspenseful either. Lastly, the plot twist at the end was very obvious from the beginning which made for an underwhelming ending.

A group of writers is invited to the home of a legendary horror author. The atmosphere at the home is quite mysterious like there is something waiting to happen at every corner. Right from the beginning we get a sense that all the writers invited have something to hide though for some its difficult to figure out where there is something much deeper going on. Once the game started things got intense really quickly and we are given more details about each writer and why they were possibly invited.

🥳🥳🥳Happy Pub Day 🥳🥳🥳
Also Happy 1st book. It was a banger 🖤💎

I finished this book the night of the 6th but I had to sit with my thoughts for a minute lol

This book is unputdownable!!!! Every character is awful but I loved them all 🤣 & NEEDED to know their stories!
It's like a train wreck .. could NOT look away or in this case put the book down.
It's not super creative .. I've read several books with this same theme but idk .. the way this author writes it is just different .. has a way of just sucking u in.
The short chapters were brilliant.. kept u very involved.
Very creative death scenes . 😐

10/10 I would recommend this book & can't wait to read this authors next book 🖤

Thank u to #Netgalley for another amazing Arc & introducing me to a brilliant new author 🖤🖤

7 Authors are invited to the reading of the will of the well known horror Author Mortimer Queen.
The weekend event is being held at his estate. This story is something I would watch around Halloween when I get my favorite fill of horror flicks. It's spooky, scary, suspenseful and downright gore! You'll find yourself wondering who's really who and as you read you'll find out about their past.
The house is a maze of rooms, tunnels and things that go bump in the night. The question is who will make it out alive? A perfect ending to a perfect horror flick.

If you read fatally invited earlier this year, this has similar vibes. Complete strangers gather at a manor of a recently passed for a will reading, as each stranger has a possible inheritance. Similar to Fatally Invited, these strangers are all part of the publishing, mostly horror writers, and it’s also a mystery why they were invited in the first place. Especially as they look at main character Melanie with no writing accolades at all.

I liked the plot idea- strangers gather to solve mysterious puzzles for their inheritance, much like a PG13 escape room meets house on Haunted Hill. Presently, the characters were a little static, all feeling a little written too similar, too in the shifty vibe. But once the story delved into a backstory, it was clever and interesting. It does take about 30% of the way in to hook you in. Not all the back stories felt evenly justifiable and our original host of the evening could be considered quite the monster as well.

This had moments where it felt like it may go darker but didn’t fully commit. Even though it was pretty easy to predict, the transitions and flow made it an easy read. And the plot idea made it a clever story as well.

Mallory Arnold’s debut novel, How to Survive a Horror Story is a mix of mystery and horror. It’s a fast pace, page turner. Told by multiple POVs, we meet seven horror authors who have been invited to the manor of the late horror author, Mortimer Queen, for the reading of his will. They all have a connection to him. They all think they are getting a piece of Mortimer’s fortune. Instead, they have to play a game with very real consequences. I loved this book. I loved the premise. Sometimes multiple POVs can get confusing but not in this book. It had action and suspense. It had some great horror scenes. I loved all the details. I’m not sure if I’m reading into this but there is a scene with one of the authors, Melanie, and a bird. Is that an ode to Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds? I look forward to more books from Mallory. Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC.

How to Survive a Horror Story is a fun and mysterious horror story, which felt like a combination of Cluedo, Knives Out, and the work of Agatha Christie rolled into one. Although perhaps leaning a little more towards the mystery than horror genre, Arnold nonetheless created an engaging narrative, complex characters, and a fun atmosphere that old school horror fans are sure to love.

For the most part, I enjoyed the way that we were slowly introduced to all sides of the characters - no one was a “good” person, but getting to know them meant we couldn’t simply deem them as “bad” either. Though they all seemed to be caricatures or tropes (or perhaps representations of the Seven Deadly Sins, from my interpretation), they still felt human enough for me to have feelings about each of them.

Where characterization suffered, however, was with Melanie, who was intended from the start to be the main character, but never really felt as such to me. There was something lacking about her, like we weren’t given enough time to really learn about her amidst this bunch of characters - considering that each chapter shifted focus from one person to the next, she felt like she was getting lost in the shuffle. Though there was nothing inherently bad in the way Melanie was written, I nonetheless wished we had gotten more of her.

The best way I can describe my experience reading this book is fun, as underwhelming as that word might be. But it truly was a charming and delightful read. The excitement wasn’t immediately present, but once the premise of the manor was introduced, I became incredibly invested in what secrets would be uncovered and who may or may not survive. Going back to characters, the way that we slowly learned more about them really kept me interested, even when things were slow and a bit bland.

The atmosphere was the strongest element of this book, in my opinion. As I’ve mentioned, this felt referential, like it was nodding to classic horror/mysteries, and the setting was one of those points of reference. I loved the decrepit, mysterious Queen Manor, and how common tropes made the atmosphere really come to life via Mallory’s descriptions. There was a familiarity to the overall vibes, but never did they feel overplayed.

The setup and story development were mostly good, though at points the pacing was a tad slow for me. Certain points of the narrative felt half-baked, and I wish plot points and characters were a little more fleshed out. In particular, I think the premise would have landed even better if we had gotten time to know the infamous Mortimer Queen - I think that was the one element that this book could have used to make it that little bit better, because I struggled to care about him or his motives when everything was revealed at the end of the book.

This book has a super creative setup: a group of writers invited to a creepy manor to claim a dead horror author’s fortune, only to find themselves in a deadly game with escape-room-style puzzles, secrets, and a house that… might actually eat you.

That said, it took me a bit to get into it. The pacing felt uneven, especially early on, and with so many POVs, I had trouble connecting with the characters. Some of the deaths felt a bit over-the-top or underexplained.

Still, it’s a fun ride if you go in expecting a campy horror-mystery mashup rather than something deeply scary or emotionally grounded.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A group of writers are summoned to a legendary horror author’s creepy estate to claim their slice of his fortune — only to find themselves trapped in a deadly, riddle-filled game orchestrated by a house with a very real hunger. Honestly, it sounds like something right out of a late night thriller or one of those twisty horror movies. I would have given this 5 stars but I'm still thinking about where the heck the caretaker went; it's never explained.
The ending is satisfying and you have a feeling that everyone gets what they deserve in the end. Really enjoyed this book!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this digital e-arc.*

When legendary horror author Mortimer Queen passes, 6 authors are invited to his estate for an escape- room type game, but each time a puzzle is not solved, the house takes one person for itself.

This book was very similar to quite a few I have read recently, but it was still a fun story.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A delightfully twisted horror novel. From the start you will be unsure who to believe and who the "monsters" really are. I really enjoyed the multiple story lines and the story being told from multiple POVs.

Absolutely everyone who is a fan of supernatural horror and psychological thrillers should definitely pick up a copy of Mallory Arnold's debut novel.

This book is everything a horror/thriller novel should be. Every chapter had me at the edge of my seat and every twist or reveal left me gasping. All of the characters were so unlikeable they were likeable again, even as the novel dug deeper into their backstories.

The switching of POVs was phenomenal and I liked that it kept you guessing about what was going on. I also enjoyed the choices that were made about what we would learn through each characters eyes.

Now. The house. The House! I would argue and say that the house was a character in its own right, and a scary one at that! The imagery and descriptions for all of the (Spoiler) haunting and death scenes was incredible. I found that I couldn't read it at night for fear I might to see stuff in the shadows and walls of my own home.

I can't wait to see what else Arnold writes. She's definitely made it onto my automatic buy author list!

Seven authors are invited to the manor of the late Mortimer Queen, a horror author. They are invited to play a game and each room of the manor holds a puzzle to solve. If they solve the puzzle, they move on to the next room. If not? Well, you’ll just have to see.
This was just “meh” for me. It wasn’t my usual thriller, it was more of a horror and I’m not sure that’s my jam. I can’t say anything bad about the writing or the plot itself, it’s just not something I enjoy reading.
Thanks to Poison Pen Press for this ARC via NetGalley.

This book will be a delight for horror fans of classics like The House on Haunted Hill, The Haunting, 13 Ghosts and other haunted house flicks. The descriptive and creative deaths are a treat for the imaginative reader. The mysteries are revealed through meticulous time jumping vignettes that are good fun. At times the characters fail to convince me, but the story was such fun that I hardly cared. The author clearly has an appreciation for William Castle/Hammer Horror esque jump-scares and gimmicks, and this led me to feeling as thought the book was indeed a love letter to the genre.

A good bit of campy horror fun, with a decent amount of gore and an interesting premise. I usually really enjoy a story in a creepy house, but this one didn't exactly hit the mark for me. The characters were shallow and unlikable - even the ones I think we are supposed to like. I felt very little connection to them and their deaths were less impactful because I just didn't care. I wish we'd gotten a lot more information about Mortimer and his monster house, because I think that could have lent quite a bit to the story. Overall not a bad read at all, I just had a few quibbles.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I loved the premise of this story but I feel like it fell short. Characters were extra and story continued to be underwhelming. I feel like I had such high hopes for this and it didn’t deliver

I wanted to love this one, but I didn't. This is the largest cast of unlikable characters I've ever read. I enjoyed the horror aspects of the story. But I figured a lot of it out ahead of the reveals. I do think it will appeal to horror fans it just wasn't for me.

The second a book kicks off with a will reading, I’m instantly in—and How to Survive a Horror Story did not disappoint! I absolutely loved this one. The pacing was spot-on, the characters were fun, and you know I’m a sucker for multiple POVs. I especially loved that the bulk of the story takes place over just a few intense hours—it kept everything fast, sharp, and full of energy.

This gave major Knives Out vibes, but with a bit more blood and chaos. I really enjoyed seeing how each character told their version of the truth—it’s such a smart way to explore how people justify bad decisions. It added a layer of dark humor and insight that I wasn’t expecting.

If you love quick, clever thrillers with a dash of gore and plenty of secrets, this one’s for you!