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(Book Review) Ronald Malfi- Little Girls
A ghost story. Ghost stories are a Ronald Malfi specialty. His fantastic, Floating Staircase, made people stand up and take notice. The Mourning House, one of my personal favorite novellas, followed in the same powerful footsteps. This month, we receive his latest haunting–Little Girls.
Little Girls follows a mother, Laurie Genarro, whose father has recently passed. She has inherited the large house she left behind as a child when her mother left her father. Her memories of her father  are of a big man, a cold man, a quiet man. The house too, holds memories. Memories of the little girl who lived next door, Sadie Russ. The little girl who met her demise in Laurie’s own backyard. When Laurie’s daughter meets a girl named, Abigail, darker memories surface. And these are only the beginning as the true hauntings of her father’s home reveal themselves in this slow burn of ghost story. In this way, Little Girls is reminiscent of Peter Straub’s fine novel, Ghost Story. Here though, we focus on a small group of people as opposed to Straub’s bazillion character tale. And this adds to Malfi’s tight little thread, pulling together a box of secrets and ghosts to reveal the darkness that we on this side of death are capable of.
For me, the joy of reading Ronald’s work is wrapped in his style. While it carries some of the qualities of the aforementioned Straub, Malfi’s power is the colorful strokes he paints with his words:
“…she expected her old home to look different–empty, perhaps, like the molted skin of a reptile left behind in the dirt, as if the house had nothing left to do but wither and die…”
And even in his simpler strokes:
“The tree limbs that overhung the fence waved sleepily in the breeze, throwing moving shadows against the mossy pickets.”
Add this descriptive magic in with the fact that the author can tell one helluva story, incorporate a complex puzzle within, and then manage to sneak up and scare the bejesus out of you, you get one hell of a bang for your buck.
Little Girls is a bit slow in spots, which may lose those readers who like a load of action to keep them glued to the pages, but I found the lulls only added to the tension and unnerving reveals as they came along.
All in all, I give Little Girls 4 stars. This is a must for Malfi fans and a great read for those of you who love classically told ghost stories.
Enter to win a copy!
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Little Girls, Information and Synopsis
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- File Size:1769 KB
- Print Length:384 pages
- Publisher:Kensington (June 30, 2015)
- Publication Date:June 30, 2015
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From Bram Stoker Award nominee Ronald Malfi comes a brilliantly chilling novel of childhood revisited, memories resurrected, and fears reborn…
When Laurie was a little girl, she was forbidden to enter the room at the top of the stairs. It was one of many rules imposed by her cold, distant father. Now, in a final act of desperation, her father has exorcised his demons. But when Laurie returns to claim the estate with her husband and ten-year-old daughter, it’s as if the past refuses to die. She feels it lurking in the broken moldings, sees it staring from an empty picture frame, and hears it laughing in the moldy greenhouse deep in the woods…
At first, Laurie thinks she’s imagining things. But when she meets her daughter’s new playmate, Abigail, she can’t help but notice her uncanny resemblance to another little girl who used to live next door. Who died next door. With each passing day, Laurie’s uneasiness grows stronger, her thoughts more disturbing. Like her father, is she slowly losing her mind? Or is something truly unspeakable happening to those sweet little girls?
Praise for Ronald Malfi and his novels
“One cannot help but think of writers like Peter Straub and Stephen King.”
—FearNet
“Malfi is a skillful storyteller.”—New York Journal of Books
“A complex and chilling tale….terrifying.”—Robert McCammon
“Malfi’s lyrical prose creates an atmosphere of eerie claustrophobia…haunting.”—Publishers Weekly
“A thrilling, edge-of-your-seat ride that should not be missed.”—Suspense Magazine
Links to Pre-Order or Purchase
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Girls-Ronald-Malfi/dp/1617736066
Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/little-girls-ronald-malfi/1120137979?ean=9781617736063
Or pick up or ask to order at your local independent bookstore or anywhere e-formats are sold!
Ronald Malfi, Biography
Ronald Malfi is an award-winning author of many novels and novellas in the horror, mystery, and thriller categories from various publishers, including Little Girls, this summer’s 2015 release from Kensington.
In 2009, his crime drama, Shamrock Alley, won a Silver IPPY Award. In 2011, his ghost story/mystery novel, Floating Staircase, was a finalist for the Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Award for best novel, a Gold IPPY Award for best horror novel, and the Vincent Preis International Horror Award. His novel Cradle Lake garnered him the Benjamin Franklin Independent Book Award (silver) in 2014. December Park, his epic childhood story, won the Beverly Hills International Book Award for suspense in 2015.
Most recognized for his haunting, literary style and memorable characters, Malfi’s dark fiction has gained acceptance among readers of all genres.Â
He was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1977, and eventually relocated to the Chesapeake Bay area, where he currently resides with his wife and two children.
Visit with Ronald Malfi on Facebook, Twitter (@RonaldMalfi), or at www.ronmalfi.com.
Giveaway
Sign up to win one of two paperback copies of Little Girls by Ronald Malfi by clicking the link to the Rafflecopter link below. Be sure to follow the specifics you can do each day to gain more entries.
https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MjMxYWEzMGI1ZDE2MGYyYTgzYjk4NzVhYzhmMTdmOjE4/?
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Movies
Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed
The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.
Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.
The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.
Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”
Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.
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News
Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween
Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.
The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.
“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.
Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.
The prize also includes:
An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings
A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear
A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room
A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course
The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II
Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two
“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”
Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.
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Movies
’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power
Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.
Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.
Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.
There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.
The original film followed Jim (Cillian Murphy) who wakes from a coma to find that London is currently dealing with a zombie outbreak.
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