Reviewing a book like Senseless is no easy feat. Especially when not mentioning any spoilers but I’ll try my best. Because I really loved the reading experience and, even if I don’t think this is a book for everyone, I recommend checking it out.

First, I’ll say that this book gave me all the feelings a horror book story should include. It was eerie, it was very odd at times, I found a few things slightly gross (it’s the eyes…don’t mess with the eyes) and I still couldn’t look away. I’m very used to this genre by now and few things shock me or disgust me. Perhaps this is not the book I would recommend to someone as their first horror book but I don’t consider it “advanced horror” if that makes any sense. The thriller elements probably make it more appealing to a wider audience. I love my thrillers too.

And it’s the mystery part that I found that made it work so well for me. We talk all day every day about how our attention spans keep getting worse. I notice that too. And yet, while reading this novel, I found myself so immersed in the story, I didn’t allow distractions to bother me like they usually do. So I find that to be a big positive for this book. It’s one of those stories that sucks you in and makes you keep reading…because you need to know what on Earth is going on!
As for the structure, it’s not the most orthodox but it works. Given who the author is, I was confident it’d be ok to have a confusing timeline. You have to do a bit more brainwork but it’s nothing insane. The pieces fall into place quite naturally while giving us time to theorise a lot. There’s a mystery and so we wonder who did it. But there are also supernatural elements and we can wonder if they are real or there’s another explanation for that. Maybe even by the end, we still theorise about what it all meant. I might have at least 5 theories for the ending and no real answers. I cannot wait to read other people’s thoughts on the ending. Also, I know the story will stay with me for a long time. And that’s what I want when I read a book. I want it to be memorable.

As for the characters, it’s tricky to talk about them given the nature of the story. But I mostly really enjoyed them. Maybe I would have wanted to know a bit more about Maureen. However, that could have ruined her character. And Toby was probably my least favourite…sometimes. He’s such a key element of the story and so many things about him were so interesting. But I’d lie if I said I didn’t sigh once when I saw a long chapter was all about him. In the end, it made sense why he got so much page time and I’ll definitely appreciate his character more in the future. While reading, his story felt a bit long at times. But it’s a very personal feeling and it makes me feel conflicted. Because so many interesting elements of the story happened because of Toby’s character.

For my final comment about the book, I want to say I loved how the title of the book sums up the story so well. It’s one of those words that can mean more than one thing and it’s because of that it works. Silly detail but I pay attention to those things.

“There are places in the desert where things can be hidden and never found.”

Ronald Malfi's novel is set in LA, Detective Renney is assigned to a case where a mutilated body was found in the desert. This doesn't sit well with him as media are speculating its the work of a serial killer. The Detective has his own challenges as he has to face things from his past including knowledge about the husband of a victim who was murdered in this similar way years prior. The story spans three bizarre events consisting of this brutal murder, an unsettling individual and a person infatuated with something dangerous. It's up to Detective to figure out wether this is all connected.

I've been looking forward to reading this new novel by Ronald Malfi.

It is a dark and gritty thriller with all the glitz and horror of Hollywood. I enjoyed the way in which the Detective works his way through the case with the interlinking stories.

Having that element of supernatural horror and deep dives into the circumstances of these three story lines, it felt like an addictive and gripping read. I didn't want to put it down until I could get close to the truth and of course I couldn't call it even if I tried.

Can honestly see this becoming a Film or TV Show that I'd happily binge.

I'd like to consider myself quite acquainted with Malfis work. Senseless definitely teeters into crime thriller for me rather than horror. Which I still enjoyed! I can typically "figure out" the ending with many, however this one kept me guessing! I contribute that to the various POVs. Unfortunately the ending had me yelling, "why Malfi, why?!?!"

(4.5/5) Ronald Malfi has long been one of my must-read authors, and with this new novel, he weaves three equally compelling storylines—each its own distinct genre—together into an engaging, suspensful thriller.

The hard-boiled detective noir: When a body is found mutilated in the desert in a similar manner to one found a year ago, the media is quick to assume a serial killer. Still grieving the loss of his wife, Detective Bill Renney forms a troubling friendship with the first victim's widower—the Dead Wives Club—and potential murder suspect.

The domestic thriller: Author Maureen Park has just become engaged to Hollywood producer Greg Dawson, prompting the return of his prodigal son Landon. The young man is temperamental and manipulative, and soon, Maureen finds herself ensnared in an unsettling and sinister family dynamic.

The surrealist horror: A man who believes he is a fly walks into a bar, becoming obsessed with a female vampire. He's willing to do her bidding, from the mundane to the gory, escalating in his attempts to impress her.

As the lines between reality and fantasy start to blur for each of our protagonists, their lives converge, resulting in horror and tragedy. In novels told through multiple perspectives, it can sometimes be hard to connect with all of them, but Malfi did a masterful job of making me feel thoroughly invested in all three storylines. The ending combines the satisfaction of a mystery solved with impending, off-page dread, leaving the reader wanting more. Another winner from Ronald Malfi that's bound to satisfy old fans and new readers.

3.5 stars. This book was deeply unsettling and chilling, with some graphic moments, particularly in the descriptions of the victims. The mystery combined with subtle supernatural elements gave me strong True Detective vibes, so if you enjoyed that show, you may really enjoy this book.

Told from the perspectives of Bill, Maureen, and Toby, each character’s storyline was compelling in their own way and I enjoyed how all three eventually came together at the end. Although I appreciated all three viewpoints, Toby’s chapters had a dreamlike quality that left me feeling a bit disoriented at times and I still had lingering questions at the end. While this wasn’t my favorite Ronald Malfi book, he’s a talented writer so I’ll continue to read any of his future books!

If you’re interested in a murder mystery featuring a detailed police investigation, a potential serial killer on the loose, and a Hollywood backdrop with a film noir atmosphere, you may enjoy this book!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an electronic ARC of this book!

I was not aware that ✨horror noir✨ is a genre but I might pick up every book marketed as one in the near future (yes this is a call for recommendations). I find Ronald Malfi's writing a tad on the dry side, but this lush and intricate story really kept my attention the entire time; I just had little to no idea where any of the plot lines will go up until the end.

This was such a good book. Immediately draws you in and keeps you interested. I loved the 3 different points of view and how it all ties together in the end was fantastic. Super creepy and right up my alley. 100% recommend and will be buying to add to my collection.

It starts with the mutilated body of a young woman found in the desert near Los Angeles. When detective Bill Renney sees the body it brings back the memory of another woman killed a year early and left in a similar condition. But he knows the killer in that case was already found. Across town, Maureen Park is newly engaged to movie producer Greg Dawson. But as she hopes for a happy future, Dawson's disconcerting son returns from Europe with dark secrets that threaten her bliss. Meanwhile, a ne'er-do-well named Toby Kampen meets an enigmatic young woman who just may be an actual vampire. He begins following and serving her hoping she'll grant his deepest wish and turn him. Their three stories will crash together in ways none of them could have predicted.
This may be Ronald Malfi's most complex novel yet, alternating between three grim, gritty plot lines simmering with darkness as they unspool alongside each other. The deeper down the rabbit hole they go, the more they evolve in fascinating and intricate ways. In the final act of the book, there is revelation after revelation, each more jaw dropping than the last, right up to the shocking conclusion. 4.5 of 5*.

This is one of those books where I think I just may have been in a mood or something.

While I normally devour Malfi's books, this one didn't really hit for me.

It's definitely dark and weird, maybe more crime than horror, and it was just a little disjointed at times.

It had a little bit of a 1980's feel to it. That's not a bad thing, just an unexpected one.

I think maybe I just wanted it to be something different than it was.

Will definitely read the author again, though, and may revisit this one in the future.

I requested this on a whim, and went in with no expectations as I had never read a Malfi book prior. Now, I have a new author’s entire catalogue to devour!

The horror element hits you from the beginning, which I like. This story is told with three POVs, and that was done extremely well! Each person was clearly delineated. There were times when I wasn’t sure if everything would tie together, as there was such a chasm between characters, or if there would just be three disparate timelines, but the various twists braided together seamlessly. The writing style in this is so descriptive, and the flow felt right.

I did think the book was longer than necessary to tell the story, and there were times with Toby’s POV that the alternate reality was verbose when it didn’t need to be. But, overall a chilling read.

3.5 Stars

Reeling from the death of his own wife, Detective Bill Renney empathizes with a recent widower whose wife was murdered, the M.O. eerily similar to that of a previous murder victim. After Renney finds himself entangled in a career-killing predicament, new information is uncovered, and he begins to question the widower’s innocence.

Malfi bends genres in this latest offering. From what I’ve learned about this author, he dabbles primarily in horror, which is evident in his solid execution of the supernatural vibe as well as his disturbing characterization of Toby (a young man who identifies as a housefly), his mother he perceives a spider, and a sleazy opportunist who may or may not be a vampire. If that doesn’t evoke your interest, I don’t know what will. Toss in a sociopathic narcissist and some moderately interesting characters (whose main purpose, it seems, is to throw readers off-course) and you have a disquieting murder mystery not soon forgotten.

I know I’m swimming against the stream here, but SENSELESS didn’t resonate with me; while several parts of the novel invited some serious skimming, the ending seemed rushed. But that won’t dissuade me from checking out other novels by Ronald Malfi. A loyal fanbase suggests an esteemed talent. Much appreciation to NetGalley, Titan Books, and the author.

Another awesome book from Ronald Malfi!

Senseless is police procedural/thriller. 3 POV’s. Maureen, the fiancée of a powerful and successful film producer. Toby, an extremely mentally ill man living with his abusive mother. Renney, a detective in charge of two heinous murders of young women in the Hollywood area. Although all the perspectives are extremely different, eventually they are all tied together.

There were some genuinely terrifying moments in this book. Landon, Maureen’s future stepson. Is particularly scary. He’s got an obvious personality disorder and hates his father. I won’t go in to spoilers but the scene with “the monkey” is still rolling around in my brain.

My favorite POV was detective Renney. He’s grieving the loss of his wife and because of that makes some bad decisions while investigating the cases.

Definitely recommend for thriller fans.

In some respects Ronald Malfi's Senseless is a standard thriller with familiar elements in place. The novel opens with a serial killer situation developing, the body of a young woman discovered in the desert outside Los Angeles a year after the similar horrific killing and mutilation (not necessarily in that order) of an actress in horror B movies. The cop investigating the murder has been going through a difficult time after his wife's death from cancer, and this is a setback because he believed that he had found the killer after the first murder

There is a little twist here - not really a spoiler, but certainly something that is essential to note since ir adds another element of uncertainty and ambiguity to the case - in that it's suggested that Detective Bill Rennie had 'resolved' the previous case but helping the husband of the dead woman bury the body of the man they believed was her killer. The question that troubles him - aside from getting found out - is whether this is a copycat killer or did they get something very wrong.

There are a few other elements - initially hard to connect to the new murder - that continue to make the case that Senseless is not like any ordinary thriller. In a parallel plot-line Maureen is introduced to the wayward son of Greg, a Hollywood producer who she is going to marry. Landon is a bit wild, but his friend/hanger-on tells Maureen about some of Landon's troubling behaviours with women, and that he has a book of crime scene photographs of the second woman who has been murdered. What is different about this part of the novel is that Maureen is a writer and there are excerpts included from Hollywood Vampires, the latest novel she is working on, a strange and disturbing horror novel.

So there are a few connecting elements there relating to the horror movie industry, to Hollywood lives, but there is a further strange third part to Senseless. Meet Toby Krampen, who we are told is a human fly. Having escaped from the Spider’s web he finds his calling when he is introduced to the idea of Renfield from Dracula by a beautiful goth lady with vampire teeth he has met in a club called The Coffin. Where this fits in is anyone's guess at the early stage of the novel, but although the first two parts have familiar thriller features, there is enough here to keep you intrigued as to the direction each of these threads are going.

It's not weirdness for the sake of it - or not just for the sake of it. Malfi uses each of these elements to find a less conventional path to a murder mystery investigation. And you can be certain - not least because of the flaws in the character of the lead detective - that it's not one that the police with limited resources and little experience of this kind of murder investigation are going to solve through persistence and cleverness. It's going to take all the other strange events, not least the nature of the killings themselves, to make their way up to the surface for it all to come together. And, whether you are familiar with Ronald Malfi or not, you can be sure when it does, it's going to be exceptional.

I absolutely love Ronald Malfi. He writes a good horror/suspense novel without it being too outrageous. He is quickly solidifying himself as an auto buy author for me

This was my first novel by this Author. I love reading and I enjoy books. I try to relate to the characters in the story. However, I didn’t in this one. It’s hard to put in words. I considered maybe it’s because I’m not familiar with the Author’s style of writing. My opinion may be unpopular about this one which brings me to my point about reading for yourself. My opinion is mine and may differ from others. I hope you enjoy it.

This was the first book I had read by this author and I found the plot really interesting but quite difficult to get stuck into.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

Well...I'm not sure what I think of this. And that makes me in the minority, because everyone else seems to love this.

To clarify - I don't hate it, but I don't love it.

Bill Renney is called to the desert outside Los Angeles when a body is found that mimics the killing of a case he dealt with the year before. All the woman's 'senses' are cut off - her nose, ears, eyes, fingers and tongue. It's an unusual method of death, and they never released how the previous woman died - so is it a copycat who happens to know, or the same killer back again?

Maureen Park is recently engaged to Greg, a Hollywood producer, when his wayward adult son, Landon, unexpectedly comes home. Landon is strange, and he makes Maureen feel uncomfortable, which only worsens the longer she knows him.

Toby Kamden is a Human Fly, who is trying to avoid his Spider mother. He meets a vampire at a club and becomes enthralled by her, desperate to become a vampire himself and leave his Fly life behind.

Three distinct POVs and three different storylines slowly intertwine, with the unusual murder at the heart of all three.

I'll be honest: I didn't care for Maureen's storyline - it felt weak, and her character was underwritten. I didn't particularly understand why she was there (which is the point), but she just didn't give me anything. It felt like her whole character was written to be...anxious and stressed. More time was devoted to her OCD than actually giving her a real personality. When her storyline ended, I was like, 'Ah...well, that explains something about her', but I felt like she, Greg and Landon could have been excluded from the book, and nothing much would have changed. Sure, one thing would need to be rewritten, but that's about it.

Bill, you're a terrible police officer. I'm sorry, not sorry. His whole storyline is sad, but you can tell his heart isn't in it anymore since his wife died, which is why he lets so many crucial plot points pass him by. He redeems himself a little at the end, but I certainly wouldn't want him in any case of mine.

Toby was...bizarre. You're reading about someone who thinks he's a Human Fly, so there's only so much you can relate to through that. It was also hard to read as you never knew what was real and what was made up, which was perfectly fine as it fit in with Toby's own thoughts. He also doesn't know what's real and what isn't.

The writing in this was fine, and I didn't struggle to read it. I just wish there'd been a little more personality given to some of the characters and more threads were tied up. At the end of the story, I found myself going, 'But what about x? and x? and x?' because it just wasn't explained. I also disliked that he used the word swampy to describe sweat, even though it turns out that it was only in the book 3 times!

As you'll note from other readers, this book is hitting its right audience but it unfortunately didn't quite hit the mark for me, personally!

Senseless was a different experience for me. I typically love Malfi's work, but one of the three storylines in this book left me less than engaged. Toby and his thoughts of being a 'fly', and his mother being a 'spider' nearly had me skipping the chapters, and wanting to get back to either of the two remaining threads. I also couldn't follow his fascination with the woman he considered a 'vampire'. I couldn't figure out if the fly and spider talk was to further his poor mental state or what the author had in mind.

The thread involving Greg, his son Landon, and his fiancée Maureen was filled with a healthy dose of tension. Landon was a dark and unsettling character. Between him and Greg, I didn't trust either of them, leaving it very easy to feel sympathy for Maureen. I was rooting for her to survive and have a happy ending.

Detective Bill Renney and his back and forth with Alan had me guessing who killed his wife, MJ. I was really wrapped up in this thread and getting down to who was the killer in her murder and who killed the woman found in the desert. As the three threads converged in the climax a lot of details were revealed. I did love the way Malfi tied it all together. Then there was the ending which I found odd. I didn't get the typical satisfaction of having a wrapped up story. I felt Detective Renney kind of faded out and there was more that should have been said. All in all, it was a good read, but Senseless was not my favorite book from one of my favorite authors.

5⭐️s

Have you met the monkey? If you ever hear those words uttered, just know that nothing good will follow. (This part made my skin crawl)

Malfi is a brilliant author. The deftness with which these seemingly disparate stories are woven together, each carefully revealing interconnected details at a perfectly timed pace, is truly a masterclass.

The horror is subtle while somehow also being formidable, and the line between the supernatural and the corporeal is expertly maneuvered.

This is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Themes…
The weight of the secrets we carry is often more debilitating than the event that precipitated the need to keep the secret in the first place. Mental illness is also explored in a way that avoids the pitfalls of exploitation.

Character Work…
These characters are memorable. You can almost pinpoint where each might fall on a spectrum of flawed despicability. There is depth to every character, and we get to know them inside out, and we grow to have equal amounts of empathy and resentment towards each.

Prose…
Malfi’s writing is beautiful. I often find myself highlighting a sentence or two while reading because their beauty hits me in a remarkable way. On several occasions while reading this book, I would look up to find entire paragraphs highlighted.

Pace…
Well-paced. It’s not a whirlwind by any means, but there wasn’t a single moment I felt labored while reading. Every moment mattered, and each hit with an expertly measured tempo.

I've always been curious about Ronald Malfi's books so when I saw this pop up, I knew I had to read it. Plus look at that cover! The story starts off when Detective Renney starts investigating the death of a woman whose death is eerily similar to the death of another woman a year prior. We follow multiple povs as we try to uncover the truth about what happened.

While I enjoyed Ronalds Malfi's writing, I was more just along for the ride for most of it. Not much was happening and it did get a bit repetitive. Some of the characters decisions were a bit odd so it was hard to fully invest in their pov. However, once I got around the 60% mark, the pacing picks up and I did not want to put it down. Overall an entertaining read 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for this arc.