Bone White

Man, Ronald Malfi has hit it out of the park again! Things start off with a creepy opening: In the curiously-named tiny Alaskan village called Dread Hand, an old geezer named Joe Mallory shows up, claiming to have murdered 8 people and buried them in the supposedly-cursed woods. One of those people might be the twin brother of our protagonist, Paul Gallo, so he sets off for the Alaskan wilderness seeking answers for what might have happened. But he soon finds himself with far more on his hands than a missing twin, as he plumbs the depths of Dread's Hand's dark past, and learns more of the entity which has haunted the this barren land for centuries, bounded behind row after row of wooden crosses, and another strange symbol as well--a painting of an eye with a vertical slit for a pupil. The true nature of these symbols--and what really happened to Danny Gallo out there in the woods--will throw Paul into a heart-pounding struggle, and one few readers will soon forget! As always for Malfi, the writing is top-notch, subtle and understated but very compelling. The characters aren't that strong--aside from the bond between Paul and Danny, none seemed especially memorable or likable--but none are grating, which is good enough. The greatest strength is the story itself. I don't wanna spoil anyone, but if anyone here has read Mr. Malfi's other novels and novellas, like Little Girls or Skullbelly, you'll know he's a master of "slow burn" types of horror. We start with the creepy murderer guy, then jump to a bit of normalcy with an introduction to Paul Gallo, but after that, he receives some strange visions and dreams, then visits the town, and then encounters some strange sights and creepy encounters, each spookier than the last, and it's just wonderfully paced and a great buildup to a damn fine finale. Just about every book I read from Ron Malfi makes me say, "man, this guy might be my favorite horror author!" Bone White is no exception, I HIGHLY recommend picking it up :D

This book starts off with a bang and then slowly creeps to its climax. I like these books which give a sense of a slow burn because it builds up apprehension which is a great payoff once you reach the end. This book I think has two very good strengths. First, the setting and environment is captivating. The author is masterful in using the landscape to help tell the story. I truly feel I am walking around Alaska as I read this book. The other thing that I like that the author does is that he doesn’t waste hundreds of pages in backstory and instead develops characters as the story progresses. There aren’t random side subplot backstories that significantly detract from the main plot. I hate when I’m reading a book and then get stuck in 20 pages of fluff that hide the action and prevent me from moving the book along. This book doesn’t have that. I only have two relatively small negatives. First, I wish the ending was about 20 more pages. I felt the book was building to a great crescendo that didn’t quite get a full play in the orchestra if you know what I mean. Certainly the author landed the plane, but I wish there was a little bit more runway (to completely mixed my metaphors). Second, without going into significant details that would spoil the book, I wish the ending had more clarifications and more full explanations. In my view there were two or three small little loose ends which I didn’t think were tied together as well as they could have been. Certainly though these do not significantly detract from an otherwise very good book. I strongly recommend if you like those types of slow burn books with a rich atmospheric setting that kind of acts as its own character.

BONE WHITE, by Ronald Malfi is a book that I'm already certain will make it into my "top reads of the year" list. There isn't much "NOT" to praise about this novel! Malfi begins with a chilling--both figuratively and literally--scene in the tiny, remote town of Dread's Hand, Alaska. A man suffering from severe frostbite and dehydration wanders into the only eating establishment, announcing that someone should call the safety officer, Val Drammell, so that he can show him the location of eight bodies he buried in the woods. ". . . patches of his clothes had grafted to open sores along his torso and thighs." The scene then shifts to Paul Gallo, an unmarried school teacher who's twin brother, Danny, disappeared a year ago. His last known location--Dread's Hand. After this set up, Malfi really nails the characterization of all of his main cast through various means. We have flashbacks of Paul and Danny's childhood, and the different directions each one took into adulthood. He gives us some insight into the alleged murderer, Joseph Mallory, along with the lives and superstitions of the few people who call "The Hand" their year round home. We learn about Val Drummel, and his role in the isolated, mostly wooded area. "No locals would come out here . . . " Paul's next step is to see the Detective of Major Crimes, Jill Ryerson, who was responsible for initiating the search for Danny a year ago--a search that ended with his abandoned rental car on the only road into Dread's Hand. ". . . Time . . . acts funny out here." With that, Paul sets out to Dread's Hand, himself--at this point, I couldn't have put down the story if I tried. To say that this novel was seeped in the icy, isolated atmosphere of an extremely remote and mostly shunned town, would be the understatement of the year. ". . . You look into that woods and something looks back at you. . . " Through Malfi's writing, the reader actually walks that frigid land with the characters, hears the first-hand accounts of residents, the century-old superstitions that they believe as indisputable truths, and can practically feel the open hostility and distrust of any outsiders. ". . . she said there were bad places on earth--dark spots, like bruises--and that Dread's Hand was one of them . . . there were devils up there . . . " BONE WHITE is the kind of book that has the power to mentally take you out of your comfort zone, and transport you into its action. No matter what you read, in the context of this story it will seem believable. This is the tale that nightmares are made of, that make you believe in demons and monsters of all kinds. ". . . A man walks in there, he stand a chance of being touched by the devil. And that man, he goes sour . . . " I've found that with most stories, I can easily walk right back into my everyday life after reading them. After all: ". . . anyone can take one story and rationalize it until it fits with their perception of the world . . . " This is that rare exception that permeates your mind, and refuses to leave, forcing you to keep thinking over the events you've just read, and formulating connections that you may not have consciously noted before. There are many pieces to this puzzle--some obvious, and some much more subtle--but they will all be with you in the end. A fantastic novel with the power to haunt you for a long time to come--what will you choose to believe? ". . . 'We have seen the devil and he is us!'" Highest recommendation!

I really wanted to love this book. Seriously. The premise sounded intriguing, and Ronald Malfi is an author whom I've come to admire. A new Malfi novel is always a treat. Yet, this book ultimately fails to deliver. Without a doubt, the novel starts off with a bang, introducing a mystery that is heavily layered within folklore and myth. But soon thereafter, when the story plods into the middle portion of the book, the strength of the premise begins to weaken. I get what the author is trying to do here, and I've read many slow-burn type suspense novels before in my day, but I'm not sure the author actually succeeds here. At some point, the story becomes boring. For me, if that occurs, all suspense is lost. Maybe I became bored when the protagonist finally arrives at the town of Dread's Hand and seemingly does nothing but bumble around in the snow pestering townsfolk about his missing brother. Maybe it is the reaction of the townsfolk themselves: their unified reaction towards him becoming repetitive. Or perhaps it is when the author teases the readers with the many explanations of what may actually be occurring with the murders, mudding the plot a bit too heavily. Regardless, when the third act picks up steam again, it is too late for me to be scared or be shocked about what evil is hiding in the woods. Ultimately, the reveal feels too rushed and too anti-climatic. Then again, maybe it is just me, folks. The reviews for this book are tremendous, and overall this is NOT A BAD BOOK. It is far better than much of the crap being sold online nowadays, but it just doesn't live up to the high standards I expect in a Ronald Malfi work. ***Still recommended, but only 3.5 stars out of 5***

Just so you know a three star novel for me is a novel that held my interest, I finished, but had parts that I wasn’t a fan of. Afour star novel for me is one I couldn’t put down and was riveted. My Thoughts: Every character in this novel was more interesting than me than the main character. I understand at the end why the author deliberately crafted him as a stubborn paternalistic rational to the bones guy. Know this: Paul is on a mission to find his brother Danny and he won’t stop until he succeeds. Because hey it’s his life mission. He owes his dad. And boy is he like his dad. Incidentally it is BECAUSE of his obsessive mission (I define it as obsession when you endanger yourself and others) that we learn more about the lore behind the town because of his skepticism (in my opinion he is downright obnoxious). It is the lore that kept me going. The odd close lipped towns people of Dead Hand and the detective work of the officers seeking to find their answers. What is going on? That is why I kept reading. I wanted to know and unfortunately I did it through the main character. But to be fair I would take a skeptic even an obnoxious one over a character who is a mystic know all unphased by the dark things happening. Author does a good job of keeping the answers hidden until the end and in a cohesive way. Give it a try if you like. It’s just towards the end I skipped through a bit because I had lost all patience for the main character. Too paternalistic for my patience but of course there is a reason for it yet it does not make him sympathetic or more tolerable. It wasn’t his logic that was so unreasonable because he is a skeptic it was his delivery. Or his observations. Sometimes it’s not what you say but how you say it. I’m sure the author intended this.

Was cynical about yet another Ronald Malfi novel being excellent, but it was. Write-up’s refer to him writing horror novels, but that really does his work an injustice. These are works about everyday people in unexpected situations and whether or not they are truly horror, as in some made up monster, is highly debatable. After all, isn’t humankind really the monster? Capable of controlling its own instincts, reasoning, learning, and yet committing the most heinous crimes nonetheless? But few authors in my experience have done such a good job of harnessing that potential as Ronald Malfi. Just a damn good read.

Bone White is a chilling supernatural thriller combining elements of horror and police procedural in a frigid atmospheric story that will leave readers shivering. I throughly enjoyed this book, although I wasn’t totally happy with the ending. Conclusions are challenging, and sometimes a book really nails it. I’m not sure this one did. As I approached the 80-90% mark I began to wonder how it was going to finish up, and I have to confess I’m not sure that the build and suspense really paid off. It felt a bit too easy. This isn’t to say this book was poorly written or isn’t worth reading, I think it’s a good book, but I wonder if somewhere in the darkest shadows of the author’s mind, there might be another version of this tale a bit more mysterious and terrifying? If you’re good with enjoying the journey more than the destination, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this one. 4/5 stars.

Malfi is everything that makes a great writer; great characters, great story, great prose. This story unfolds with such mystery and creepiness and absolutely sticks the landing. I’ve read Black Mouth and Bone White and will keep knocking off everything he’s written. His stories are character driven, and thankfully his characters are believable and interesting. If you enjoy deep character driven mystery horror that chills to the bones, well then read this. I don’t know yet if Bone White is his best but it’s hard to imagine better.

I have read Bone White right after discovering Ronald Malfi with Come With Me as I was so impressed with his writing. It was a very good decision, as Mr. Malfi's writing style is no one-book-wonder but a very beautiful and artful craft. If I want to be completely honest, I think that "Come with Me" was just a little bit better, and I felt like this was a excellent exercise to get to the masterpiece that the latter truly is. The framework is the same (man searches for lost brother vs man searches for a unknown part of his departed wife) and both have the same structure and feel. And "Come with Me" became a perfect book because of this I believe. Comparing the two, I would have given Bone White 4.5 stars. But if I would have read it first I would have had no hesitation giving it 5. That is why I still gave it the 5 it really deserves. I'm off to some other author now, but the rest of his books are most certainly on my list ! What a great author.

Paul Gallo travels to Dread's Hand, Alaska in search of his twin brother There's a serial killer who gives himself up to the police, but after a number of bodies are exhumed, his brother isn't amogst them. Superstitious locals talk of the devil stealing souls, and a line of wooden crosses to keep what's in the woods from coming out. He finds no closure because no one can explain exactly what happened to Danny. I enjoyed this one, but then I like Ronald Malfi - mixed reviews by some.

Another fantastic novel from Ronald Malfi. He's quickly becoming one of my favourite authors.

What a terrifyingly fantastic novel. I loved every aspect of it. Mr. Malfi is a masterful storyteller. The book hooked me from the start: in a small Alaskan town diner, a old disheveled codger walks in and calmly informs the regulars that "They’re all dead, and I killed ‘em. But I’m done now and that’s that.” After this opening, we are pulled into the world of Paul Gallo. An English professor from the east coast, who heads to Alaska in search of his twin brother, who has been missing for over a year. Paul fears that he was killed by the old man who recently confessed to murdering eight people. Will he find what he is looking for? The setting of an isolated, small community in the backwoods of Alaska, would instill terror in most people. Although many of us will say we love the mountains, and the peace and quiet that comes with it, we would still fear being lost in the woods, or running into issues in the wilderness with no help or no communication to the outside world. I appreciated the characters Mr. Malfi developed and although we sympathized with Paul, we kept wanting him to tuck his tail between his legs and get the hell out of Dread's Hand. Unfortunately, that is not who Paul was and he refused to leave without finding out what happened to his brother. This is the second novel I read from Mr. Malfi. I started with his recent "Come With Me" and knew I had to discover more. I picked up "Bone White" and "Floating Staircase" within the last few weeks and chose this one first. I have become a true Ronald Malfi fan. Five 'devilish' Stars.

I really enjoyed this but not much really happened until very late on (from 75% onwards). I don't mark this as a bad thing, just as some info for people looking at reading it. Up until that point, there is plenty of dread and foreboding amongst the chapters. It does really build up, until the full picture starts to get painted in. I liked the creepy, isolated village of Dread's Hand and its residents. The overall "answer" to the mystery of the whole story, I felt a bit underwhelmed by. The writing is excellent, with some chapters short and others quite long.