Daphne

A Novel

By: Josh Malerman

Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso

Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Horror has a new name: Daphne. A brutal, enigmatic woman stalks a high school basketball team in a reimagining of the slasher genre by the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box.

“A superb serial killer novel and a great coming-of-age story.”—Gabino Iglesias, author of The Devil Takes You Home

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Paste

It’s the last summer for Kit Lamb: The last summer before college. The last summer with her high school basketball team, and with Dana, her best friend. The last summer before her life begins.

But the night before the big game, one of the players tells a ghost story about Daphne, a girl who went to their school many years ago and died under mysterious circumstances. Some say she was murdered, others that she died by her own hand. And some say that Daphne is a murderer herself. They also say that Daphne is still out there, obsessed with revenge, and will appear to kill again anytime someone thinks about her.

After Kit hears the story, her teammates vanish, one by one, and Kit begins to suspect that the stories about Daphne are real . . . and to fear that her own mind is conjuring the killer. Now it’s a race against time as Kit searches for the truth behind the legend and learns to face her own fears—before the summer of her lifetime becomes the last summer of her life.

Mixing a nostalgic coming-of-age story and an instantly iconic female villain with an innovative new vision of classic horror, Daphne is an unforgettable thriller as only Josh Malerman could imagine it.

©2022 Josh Malerman (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Daphne is a superb serial killer novel and a great coming-of-age story. Josh Malerman delivers one of his best novels yet, and one of the most memorable villains in recent history. This is the literary equivalent of a defibrillator, and the shock will leave you feeling alive and wanting more.”—Gabino Iglesias, author of The Devil Takes You Home

“Daphne is somehow both a terrifying serial killer story and a beautiful meditation on the psychic gulf between adolescence and adulthood. It left me sniffing for smoke and jumping at shadows.”—Delilah S. Dawson, New York Times bestselling author of The Violence

“This terrifying little book will get you just like Daphne does—first with curiosity, then fascination, and before you know it, you’re sucked in deep, and it’s too late. You’ll be triple-checking the locks and sleeping with all the lights in the house on bright, too afraid to close your eyes.”—Peng Shepherd, USA Today bestselling author of The Cartographers

Daphne Lives!

Another great one by Josh Malerman! Love how Daphne, all grim 7-feet of her, doubles as Kit's anxieties, as the secrets of a community. She's a right proper monster in her own right, too, though, belonging beside such nightmares as The Shape, Jason Voorhees, even Freddy Krueger. Truly terrifying. A modern classic.

Fun!!!

I love the story. Brought me back to my basketball days. Very smart. I still have some questions that weren’t answered but overall it came full circle and had an important message about the power of our minds

You’ll be obsessed!

I couldn’t stop listening! Everywhere I went for the past 3 days, this story went with me. Fantastic and gave me the creeps!!!

A Great Slasher-Style Story

Overall I really enjoyed this story but the narrator wasn't the right fit for me. I had to go back several times to listen to a certain part again because everything was read with the same inflection. Some moments that should have had more impact just didn't hit because of the narrator. The story itself was enjoyable, though, very much a slasher style mystery with some tense moments.

Fun Ride!

"Will Daphne kill me?"

This question kicks off an anxiety ridden, paranoia fueled ride! Don't think about her or she'll get you.. 😜

Daphne

This story and it’s a mix of basketball and whore was anxiety thrown in, was done very well. The narration was great and made for an easy listen.

Too much introspection

I almost gave up on this when I listened to the first 45 minutes describe teenage anxiety. I could almost say that the Kit character could be removed completely from the book and it would not suffer.

Narrator bad first hour or two gets better

It look me three tries to get through this book, because the narration was so terrible the first hour or two. Thankfully, I think she got into the book enough that she forgot to do the horrible whisper-speak thing eventually. Book was terrifying, definitely reccomend it!

Should have been a short story.

Josh Malerman is a writer who i buy his books sight unseen. Knowing nothing about this book i bought it immediately. It took me three days to finish this relatively short story due to it being overly long and mostly boring. I say mostly boring because there were definitely high spots. Its not scary if you're looking for a horror book and its not even that unique. There is one movie in particular this book reminds me of but i wont say because it will be a spoiler. The killer is cool and so is the idea behind it but the reasons given and the entire ending is just....nothing. Anticlimactic. the journal entries (to me personally) are a boring and over done addition. The kills are brutal but stomachable. There are some tense parts but are few and far between. In closing give it a shot if you're a die hard Malerman fan otherwise id skip it. *spoilers*......just watch It Follows instead.

Nightmare on elm street ripoff

Seemed the author may have borrowed some from a nightmare on elm street. I think it would have been better as a short story. It was a little long winded.