They Lurk

By: Ronald Malfi

Narrated by: Joe Hempel, Amy McFadden

Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

COME CLOSER . . .

Five terrifying collected horror novellas newly reissued from the "modern-day Algernon Blackwood."

Skullbelly: After three teenagers disappear in a forest, a private detective is hired and uncovers a terrible local secret.

The Separation: Marcus arrives in Germany to find his friend up-and-coming prizefighter Charlie in a deep depression. But soon Charlie's behavior grows increasingly bizarre. Is he suffering from a nervous breakdown, or are otherworldly forces at work?

The Stranger: Set a rural Florida parking lot, David returns to his car to find a stranger sat behind the wheel. The doors are locked and there's a gun on the dashboard. And that was when then the insanity started . . .

After the Fade: A girl walked into a small Annapolis tavern, collapsed and died. Something had latched itself to the base of her skull. And it didn't arrive alone. Now, the patrons of The Fulcrum are trapped, held prisoner within the tavern's walls by monstrous things, trying to find their way in.

And one more novella to be revealed!

©2023 Ronald Malfi (P)2023 Tantor

Horror Fuled Fun!

Another solid collection of absolute creepy crawlie unholiness from Malfi!! He never fails to deliver and this one has a few new favorites for me.

Delicious

I liked the length of each of these as it left enough space to get invested as things turned sour.

Some stories were weaker than others for sure (the separation and the stranger, I’m looking at you!)

The narration was superb throughout

Not his best but OK

If I had paid full-price I would return it but since it was on sale cheap, well, I will keep it.
The stories were good BUT I had a hard time trying to understand the ending on the first few. The last one was much longer and had a decent, understandable finish, Overall, I'd say it was OK.but FAR from RM's best.

While their short stories, they’re also non-ending stories

The narrating was good, the storylines were good, but they never ended any story. The writing was really really good. It gripped me. It pulled me in on the story right away but then all of a sudden it started a new story and I’m waiting for the end of the last one. I will keep an eye on this author, because maybe the short stories were meant to leave you hanging because there was a lot of good stuff in this, so we shall see.

Good

Great bunch of stories. I particularly liked that they are fairly long annd have actual endings. Many short stories sort of just leave you hanging wondering what just happened. These dont. The last story even had an epilogue. They’re suitably creepy and varied also. Recommend.

Some real gems in this collection!

Some grotesque, some shrouded in mystery, and others just all around creepy and horrifying, each of the 5 novellas in this collection are great. The Stranger includes one of the gnarliest gore filled and shocking scenes I’ve heard in some time! The fifth novella, Fierce, was a terrific nail biter full of frightening suspense. After The Fade has a group trapped inside a bar hiding from flying creatures outside, and gives off vibes similar to The Silence but with a twist. Great stories, and just what you’d expect from the author of Bone White and Come With Me.

Interesting

I like Ronald Malfi, these short stories were well written. My only disappointment was the endings were all very predictable except for the last story.

first story. greatest monster in a very long time.

first story has to be a movie very soon. Hempel voice is perfect for creeping horror.

Good but uneven

I enjoyed this overall, but it fell into the common story collection trap of being too uneven. There were a couple stories I really liked, and there was some material I enjoyed in each of them, but there were times that some of them dragged a bit or pulled back from what seemed like interesting plot threads. I'd give it a moderate recommend overall.

Not What I was Hoping For

The first story was pretty good, But I didn't like the ending. It just stopped I wanted more.. The second story was boring. Didn't make any sense to me. I just stopped at that point. No idea how the rest of the stories turned out.