5/5 stars! So granted I love everything I've read by Ronald Malfi, so I assumed I would love this...but I wasn't disappointed. This author has a way of twisting and contorting ideas in the most amazing ways. I couldn't get my feet under me this entire book and it was magnificent to behold. Do yourself a favor and read this horror thriller.


I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

Over the last decade I have become a massive fan of Ronald Malfi, devoured all his latest work when published and having a magnificent time dipping into his impressive back catalogue, some of which has been republished. Bone White (2017) was the rebirth of Malfi, one of the finest horror novels of the last decade, which was quickly followed by the impressive Come With Me (2021) and Black Mouth (2022). Also a master of shorter fiction, his collection We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone (2017) and novella collections Ghostwritten (2022) and They Lurk (2023) also impressed tremendously. His standalone novella Mr Cables (2020) was also memorable, combined all these books, account for a remarkable body of work which is unmatched in modern horror fiction. His last novel Small Town Horror (2024) was also a good read, if not quite up to his own remarkably high standards.

His latest Senseless sees Malfi seamlessly blending thriller with horror in a similar manner to which he did in Come With Me and for the large part the supernatural is kept on the backburner with ambiguity being used to maximum effect. The story is built around three narratives, a couple told a year apart, and I was totally on the hook in how they came together. Much of it was written as a gruesome police procedural, set around the Los Angeles area, with the reader desperate to find out who the killer, or killers, were. If Malfi ever decided to give up on horror he certainly has the literary tools to move into straight thrillers and detective novels.

The first POV features Detective Bill Renney and this is the most complicated as it features two murders a year apart, jumping backwards and forwards as Bill is the lead detective on both, who also feels guilt as he never solved the original killing. A horribly mutilated corpse in found in the desert, a woman with her ears, nose and tongue cut off. The body is staged in the exact same way as a previous murder, indicating it is likely the same killer which if true causes big problems for this detective, as the true details of the murder where never released to the media. As the narrative moves between the two timelines and the investigation of the husband, later exonerated, in the original murder things get very complicated. This was a terrific part of the story as it was genuinely impossible to figure out whether they were connected or not, with clues being dropped here and there. Bill was a great character, struggling with grief from the death of his wife (in the earlier narrative).

The second narrative features Maureen Park and takes its time connecting to the murders with numerous red herrings, made worse by the fact that Maureen clearly has problems of her own. Newly engaged to Hollywood producer Greg Dawson, finds her engagement party crashed by the arrival of Landon, Greg’s son who makes it clear he does not like Maureen and goes out of his way to make her uncomfortable. Greg does not help, and living in a house which does not feel like her own her imagination begins to run riot and one wonders why she did not dump her deeply unpleasant fiancé much earlier. Although I enjoyed Maureen’s section the manner in which this connects to the rest of Senseless was one of the weaknesses of the novel.

In the third story Toby Kampen sees himself as a ‘Human Fly’, begins an obsession over a woman who he believes is a vampire. After buying her a drink he drives her around Los Angeles, visiting sex clubs, selling drugs and meeting for casual hookups. Toby is another character who has problems of his own and seems to live life through a delusion where he hopes to be turned into a vampire. Although the manner in which this story connects to the murders was clever this was the least interesting of the three narratives.

Senseless was a highly enjoyable page turner seamlessly blending into a detective story with Bill Renney being sucked into a web of lies, partly brought on his own grief. Although there are supernatural overtones I wondered whether the story needed them at all, as the strongest parts of the story were the crime elements with the reader being fully on the hook discovering who the murderer was, whereas the question of whether the woman was a vampire of not was not quite so interesting. Senseless is not my favourite Ronald Malfi, he sets such incredibly high standards, but it remains a fascinating read.

4/5

Tony Jones

A huge thank you to Titan for the ARC. I couldn’t put this book down once I started it. The pacing is perfect. It is a wild and twisty ride, and I honestly couldn’t guess where the story was going and all of my predications throughout were wrong (a good thing). Some real WTF and OMG moments in this book that make it exciting and keeps you going. At the top of my Malfi list now, SENSELESS is a must read.

📖 ARC Review

PUB Date : April 14th 2025

My Rating: 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 I loved it !!

Senseless is a dark , taunting, horror masterpiece that will haunt me to my grave 😳

This was one of the most unsettling books I’ve read in a long time and I am still shaking from this methodical mysterious page turner !

Hollywood adapt this into a movie ASAP 🙏

Wow just wow this was such an atmospheric read that made me feel as if I was watching a movie but also there at the same time …as if I was a fly on the wall.

Thank you @nikkileethrillseeker for putting this author on my radar , @ronaldmalfi just gained a new fan , you’re such a brilliant writer and am thankful for this ARC !

All I have to say is if you like dark, police procedurals, smart dialogue, revelation after revelation and jaw dropping twists then look no further add this to your TBR NOW!!

Thank you NetGalley , @titanbooks and @ronaldmalfi for this well crafted masterpiece 🙏

Wow, this one is really hard to review because it goes to so many wild places but it is a serious ride of a thriller. It starts pretty much like any dark serial killer procedural but at about the halfway point starts going in a completely different direction and by the end my jaw was on the floor! Has to be experienced to fully understand. Malfi is really going for broke here and it definitely leaves a mark.

I’ve just finished one of the best novels of the past year. It’s a horror novel but it’s much more than that. I’ve always felt that Mr Malfi’s work was good but never great. My mind has changed. This dark noir tale weaves several story lines into a phantasm of murder and madness. When the author finally ties up all the threads it’s a gut punch. Read this book. It will stay with you long after the last sentence.

This was soooo good 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

The story is told from three alternating POV.

The first POV is a detective who’s dealing with a mutilated corpse in the desert. The only problem is the body is staged in the exact same way as a previous murder, this indicates it is likely the same killer which if true causes big problems for this detective.

The second POV is of an author who is recently engaged. When her fiancés son returns home and causes absolute chaos in their lives, she begins to suspect her fiancé isn’t the man she thought.

The third POV is a young man who is living in a completely dillusional world. These chapters are bizarre to say the least.

In true writing fashion their three lives meet in relevance to the overall plot and everything is revealed to us. (Well not everything exactly.. there are some things at the end which are left up to the reader to decide).

The story is fast paced, interesting, creepy at times. I enjoyed the difference between the characters. The female POV was my favourite scenes (the monkey 😂 iykyk), however I loved the complexity to the detectives character, he had many layers and although he made some ethically and legally questionable choices he seems like his heart is in the right place.

Thank you to Titan Books and Ronald Malfi for the EARC!

Publish date: April 15th 2025

Full review to come (closer to release date by request of the publisher) but just know that I absolutely loved this one! You can never go wrong with a Ronald Malfi book, he’s such a brilliant writer and I’m such a huge fan. This needs to be on your lists for 2025!!!!! 4.5 stars

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Senseless. What a book. This is a true horror novel. A senseless murder in Los Angeles brings a seasoned detective to investigate the crime.
What comes next is a story that weaves a series of characters together that are connected to the crime.
The author has a way of telling the story that makes you wonder what is going on.
This is one of my favorite books of the year. Truly fascinating and scary as well. 5 stars

I love Malfi. He is one of those consistently good horror writers out there. One of the few.

My star rating may seem like I didn't like this book as much as I did. The concept of the book is for sure a home run swing by Ron, I just feel that maybe he didn't completely pull it off, and I'm of the opinion that it's sometimes better to aim a tad bit lower and do it perfect.

Good book though. Just not one of my favorites from him. Come With Me is still his best novel.

(3.5 rounded down) This was my first Ronald Malfi book and I had mostly positive feelings about the experience. This is a supernatural horror with three separate storylines that eventually converge - a detective solving the brutal murder of a young woman with similarities to the murder of another woman a year prior; a woman who is suspicious of her son-in-law and fears he may be the murderer our detective is seeking; and a young drifter who views himself as a “human fly” and rides around at night with a woman he’s obsessed with. I liked the characterization in this, I liked the way the three stories converge, I liked that L.A. feels like a character of it’s own. But, I’m still searching for supernatural horror that floats my boat. The dialogue in this felt forced at times & I felt like the ending was oddly-paced & rushed, which threw me because otherwise, this was a well-paced book.

Another awesome book by a super author. Don't you love the "who done it" books? This is definitely a sit on the edge read. The entire story you ask yourself, did he do it? No way can you figure out until the end so go read about this Detective working a case after losing his wife to cancer and help figure out who killed who. Great exciting story and some of a gruesome tale.

Ronald Malfi has always tried to reach into your chest and squish your heart like a grape through his writing. With Senseless, he succeeds.

This novel isn't your typical horror book yet it's disturbing in a visceral way. It IS horrific and builds a wall of tension so thick you need a chainsaw to cut through it.

The narrative is the story of a brutally murdered woman left in the desert told through three different arcs.

Seemingly unrelated at first, as pieces of this psychologically unnerving puzzle starts coming together, they are all intertwined and creates a stunning and deeply unsettling story.

Ronald Malfi knows when to push and when to pull back, leaving the reader off kilter as what you think are conclusions are blown apart later. Yeah, you'll think you'll know things but you'll be wrong.

All of the characters in this novel have dark secrets of their own. These secrets will make you think twice once they're revealed and, by the end, I quit trying to figure it out and just let the author take me along this brutal ride.

This is already on my favorite boots of 2025 list. Don't think about it, just pre-order it and prepare yourself for a sleepless night once it arrives. I highly recommend it.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and is my own personal opinion.

A trio of background stories that meander and weave into one spellbinding outcome.

A mutilated body is found in the desert on the outreaches of LA. An officer at the scene recognises some similarities to another body found in the same location some twelve months earlier. Convinced the murders are linked, Officer Politano asks that the original investigating officer be informed. Enter Detective Bill Renney, a man with more than his share of secrets and heartache.

Then there is Maureen Park, author, newly engaged to Greg Dawson, a mover and shaker in the movie business. All is going ‘fine’ with their relationship until Greg’s son Landon appears.

Last but certainly not least is Toby Kampen, 22 years old and more than a worry for his mother.

A slow, but enticing, burn of a book that gets the reader drawn in with the unravelling of the main characters. Throughout there is a sense of unease, suspense and more than a whiff of the supernatural. This was definitely a book I wanted more of even though it’s a decent length.

If I have one criticism is that the ending was a bit of a rush, and I was a little confused about Maureen’s secret and the mystery woman? Plus I wanted to know more about Monkey!! 😱

All in all a very good read. Not my favourite Malfi offering but still a good 4.5*.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books.

This has to be my most favorite Malfi book to date!

Bill is investigating a murder in the desert that left a woman extremely mutilated. The author does not hold back on the description of the injuries, which made me slightly queasy! The murder is reminiscent of another unsolved murder that happened a year prior that Bill also investigated .Could they be connected?

Maureen is a one time author marrying a rich Hollywood writer. It is from Maureen’s point of view that we meet her fiancé‘s son Landon, who is a spoiled, entitled 20 something. The more she gets to know Landon the more she begins, questioning her relationship to her fiancé, as well as what secrets may be hidden within this family.

Toby is a 22 year old vagrant who characterizes himself as a fly, of the common household variety, He spends the better part of his evenings going to seedy nightclubs within the city in an attempt to fit in somewhere. It’s at one of these nightclubs he has a brief run-in with a girl who has rattlesnake teeth. Yes, you read that right, rattlesnake teeth. Who is this girl and could she possibly be a vampire? The brief encounter has left Toby infatuated to the point he spends every evening trying to find her. Inevitably, he does and they spend their evenings driving around the city, Toby, being more of the chauffeur than anything else.

The author ties together all of these point of views, almost perfectly. This is one of those books that I absolutely could not put down and to be honest would have kept reading it if it was 1000 pages I realized I was getting close to the end and definitely wanted more. The only reason this isn’t a five star read for me is the ending. I believe a few points were definitely tied up and I liked how they came together, but it almost felt a little bit rushed due to the pace of the rest of the book.. This, in my opinion, is completely evident with the tie up of Maureen’s storyline. It just didn’t fit as seamless as the rest of the other storylines did. If I had to choose, I would say Bill‘s storyline is the one that I was most interested in. It had a bit of the gritty crime thriller that I really enjoy, but I also don’t want to discount some of the other storylines, they had a bit of a horror element to them.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and was reading it into the wee hours of the night and it was the first thing I picked up in the morning. I would highly recommend you pick this one up if you are a fan of this author’s work or even if you were interested in trying one of his novels, this one is it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Ronald Malfi is one of my all-time favorite writers—and I’m sure he’ll be one of yours too!

In Senseless, we meet Detective Bill Renney, a man still grieving the loss of his wife and now faced with a gruesome new case: a body found in the desert with telltale signs suggesting a serial killer. The body is desiccated in a unique way—details the police never released to the public. Bill, struggling to make progress on the case, reluctantly leans on the husband of the first victim, a psychiatrist with his own secrets, and partners with a rookie officer eager to make his mark.

Then there’s Maureen Park, engaged to a Hollywood producer. But when his strange son crashes their engagement party, Maureen starts to sense something deeply unsettling beneath the surface.

Finally, we have young Toby Kampen, living in squalor and convinced he’s found a real vampire. The “gift” he presents to this dark figure sets off a chain of horrors that links these lives in unimaginable ways.

This book is scary, smart, and full of twists that will keep you guessing until the wild ending brings it all together.
#titanbooks #senseless #ronaldmalfi

Okay, so, like, wow, this was a total rollercoaster! I mean, it’s so twisty and dark—think LA, but with, like, supernatural vibes that’ll keep you guessing until the very end. There’s a detective trying to connect some gnarly dots in a murder mystery, but, like, the secrets and hidden agendas are soooo much deeper than that. Think seriously unsettling characters with wild storylines that will keep you on edge—that’s the kind of stuff that gives you chills 😳

The suspense is, like, totally next level, and you're on the edge of your seat the whole time. I couldn’t put it down because things just kept getting crazier—the kind of stuff that makes you wanna double-check your locks at night, y’know? And the horror? Ugh, it’s like, unapologetically creepy in the best way.

The way everything ties together is SO satisfying, and, like, it’s definitely a must-read for anyone who loves a good, spooky puzzle. It’s dark, it’s twisted, it’s everything you want in a horror, with a touch of something else lurking in the shadows. 🦇

Huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!