'Five collected novellas from the master of terror and bestselling author of Come with Me. SKULLBELLY - Private detective John Jeffers is hired after three teenagers disappear in a forest and in the process learns of a terrible local secret. THE SEPARATION - Is Marcus's old friend Charlie suffering from a nervous breakdown, or are otherworldly forces at work? THE STRANGER - David finds a stranger sitting behind the wheel of his car. The doors are locked and there's a gun on the dashboard. And then the insanity started... AFTER THE FADE - A girl waked into a small Annapolis tavern, collapsed and died. Something had latched itself to the base of her skull. And it didn't arrive alone. FIERCE - After a car accident in a nightmarish snowstorm, a teenage girl and her mother encounter gruesome madness.'
My previous experience reading Ronald Malfi ended with him becoming an author that I wanted to keep an eye on. In my review for Black Mouth I likened his work to Stephen King's IT, though much preferred it to that work. In an admission that might get my book lover card revoked, I don't really think too highly about King's work, and don't think it's all that special. And in that book Malfi showed me that not only could he take a similar idea and structure, but he could make it so much better. It was like he'd learned from those who'd came before and made it much more elegant and entertaining. As such, when I was offered the chance to read his latest collection of novellas I was absolutely certain that I needed to see what They Lurk had on offer.
The first story in the collection is actually my favourite, and it did that wonderful and awful thing that shorter stories do in that when it ended I was at a point in the narrative where I was desperate for more but there was none. That wonderful mix of 'oh my god that was great' and 'how dare the story end now!?', a feeling that gives a sadistic bit of fun when it happens. 'Skullbelly' tells the story of John Jeffers, a former cop turned private detective who's been hired by the families of four teens. Months before the group of friends headed out on a trip together, travelling to a small town named Coastal Green. Having gone out into the woods on a camping trip, one of the teens returned days later, covered in blood and in a dazed condition.
With the local police seemingly unable to find the three missing teens, and no answers coming from the survivor, Jeffers heads to Coastal Green himself to try to find out what happened three months ago. However, he finds a small, sleepy town where the cops are barely there, the locals don't really seem to know much, and life runs a lot slower than in the big city. The main bulk of 'Skullbelly' is a mystery story, as we follow Jeffers on his job to find answers, questioning the locals, trying to check into the story in the reports. And it makes for an interesting narrative. The setting of Coastal Green feels like one that's familiar to those who've watched things like The X-Files, especially episodes where something strange happens in a small town. It also gave me slight Alan Wake vibes for some reason.
The story gives small hints at what might have happened to the teens, and slowly builds a creepy atmosphere that doesn't try too hard to be scary. Malfi doesn't push fantastical elements or frightening scenarios in order to get under your skin, and instead keeps the promise of answers just out of reach in order to do so. That being said, the story does seem to end in a way that makes it very clear in regards to an explanation for the reader; and does so in a way that felt incredibly satisfying. That being said, I wanted much more of this story, I wanted a longer narrative, I wanted to see Jeffers pursing the case more, and I wanted to see the perpetrator. It was a fantastic ending because it's one of those stories that is going to stick in my head, that I'll think of years from now and go 'damn it was good, I want more!' in the same way the best mysteries or cancelled TV shows leave you feeling.
The second story, 'The Separation', goes for a completely different tone, and I think that it's my least favourite of the book. It tells the story of Marcus, a professional psychologist who travels to Germany to help his friend, Charlie. Charlie is a professional boxer whose wife has recently left him. The separation has left him shaken and depressed, and he's slipping into a worse and worse condition as time goes by; which is why his promoter and friends have reached out to Marcus for help. Marcus arrives to find Charlie sleep deprived, depressed, and a shell of the man he was. As he tries to help him out Charlie starts to complain about everything feeling off, like things have shifted ever so slightly. Marcus is unsure how to help his friend, but is determined to get him back on the right path.
In all honesty, I found 'The Separation' very slow, and it was the story in which I had the most trouble getting through because I just kept putting the book down to do other things instead. Not a huge amount happens across most of the story, and it's just more and more incidents of Charlie being tired, of not remembering going out around the estate at night, and Marcus either being determined to help him or pissed off at him. Yes, the ending was something of a surprise and made me go 'oh what?!' out loud, but the journey to get to that point wasn't fun enough for me to get much out of it. Also, the story features a scene of violence against an animal. The book doesn't contain any kind of trigger warning for this, which is a huge shame, and this story might be best skipped for those who would find the slow killing of an animal upsetting.
In comparison to this, 'The Stranger' was a story that I absolutely couldn't put down, and had to read in one sitting. David and his girlfriend are driving across America, on a journey that is starting to make David realise that perhaps he doesn't actually want to be with his girlfriend, with the excessive time together making him see all of her 'imperfections'. Trying to get away from her for a bit as they check into a small motel in Florida, he heads to the bar for a break and a drink. However, on the way back to the room he notices a weird man he met earlier in the night sitting inside his car. David attempts to get the man out, but he keeps stopping them. Eventually the police arrive and try to get him out, but the stranger just stares out the window, not responding. When the stranger produces a weapon the crowd of onlookers watch as something straight out of their nightmares begins.
I can't say much about 'The Stranger', as the things that happen in the story are shocking and twisted, and any real description of them would take away from the 'what the hell!?' moments; of which there are a few. This is the story that feels most like a nightmare, like something awful conjured up from the depths of your mind, the kind of thing that you'd experience during a night terror, and it made my skin crawl more than once reading it.
'After The Fade' is an interesting story. Starting off as the tale of a man looking to break up with his girlfriend, he arranges to meet her at one of the local bars in town, an old haunt of his where he used to play the piano. Shortly after the two of them arrive at the bar a woman comes stumbling inside, her expression slack, her movements groggy, and blood coming out of her nose. She collapses to the ground, dead. Its then that everyone in the bar notices the thing in the back of her head, the large insect that bore a hole into her skull; sharp and dangerous looking. The group manages to kill the insect before it can hurt anyone else, but it's then that they notice that it didn't come alone.
The building is swarmed by more of the bugs, and the people are forced to lock themselves inside. With the television down, no one answering their phones, and no sign of anyone else, the group have to begin to grapple with the idea that the insects are everywhere, and that they might not survive the night. 'After The Fade' is a classic base under siege story with a cool horror twist. The insect creatures make for a fun monster for the people in the bar to have to contend with, and Malfi uses them inventively, with some super creepy moments scattered in there.
But the story isn't just about the monster bugs and the nightmare situations they bring with them, it's a very human story, with a big focus on the people. Everyone in the building is given a moment or two to do something, something that sets them apart and different, and there are a few times where personalities clash and the biggest danger starts to become each other. And, like some of the other stories here, it has a little something at the end that will absolutely surprise.
The final story, 'Fierce', centres on teenagre Connie and her mother Elaine. Driving home in a snowstorm, the back of their car loaded up with presents for christmas, their conversation is tense as Connie is mad at her mother for not letting her take a gap year from study to travel the world. When a truck seems to come out of nowhere and the two vehicles crash their day goes from bad to worse. Elaine heads over to the truck driver to echange insurance details, and Connie watched as her mother is savagely beaten with a crowbar. As the attacker comes after her Connie is forced to flee into the snow covered forest in order to survive. But it's only the beginning of her nightmare.
'Fierce' feels a lot like your classic 'hillbilly horror', as Connie has to deal with a frightening murderous figure that lives out in the middle of nowhere with a house of horrors who wants to do awful things to her and her mother. Think The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Wrong Turn and The Hills Have Eyes and you're not far off the tone of this story. Whilst this might be a genre that people will be familiar with, and one that seems to be one of the least innovative in terms of creativity, 'Fierce' still manages to be a really entertaining and engaging story with some very tense and creepy moments in it.
They Lurk is an interesting mix of stories, most of which I really enjoyed. There are a couple in here that work perfectly for short stories, and a few that feel like the opening chapters to much bigger tales. Each story seems to try something a bit different, and focuses on different types of horror. But even with the variety they have, each story remains well written, with interesting and engaging characters; something that seems to be a hallmark for Malfi's work.
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