This is a creepy, atmospheric novel of horror with three different storylines. The body of a young woman is found murdered and dumped in the desert out side of LA. Detective Bill Renney is investigating the case and notices similarities to another murder a year ago…Maureen Parker is a writer who is recently engaged to a Hollywood producer named Greg Dawson. The night of their engagement party, Greg’s son Landon makes a surprise appearance and Maureen senses that something is not quite right with the son. As days go by, she feels more and more threatened by Landon and his strange behavior, and she cannot help but feel that he may be somehow involved in the recent murders.. Meanwhile, Toby Kampen is a loner and a stalker who has become obsessed with a woman he meets at a bar, convinced she may be otherworldly. The three story lines slowly weave together into a tale of suspense, deception and an ultimately horrific end.

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

I'm a big fan of Malfi's writing generally, and I love elements of detective procedurals in my horror, so when I saw comparisons to the likes of Zodiac for his new book, Senseless, it had my immediate attention. It can be a hard take on the genre to pull off, for that right balance of investigation and of the horrific elements to come through—luckily, here it is executed perfectly for my tastes.

It's very difficult to discuss the plot without giving too much away. There are many twists and surprises here, and I'd be doing anyone a disservice by stopping them from going in as blind as possible. What I can say is that there are 3 main characters whose points of view we follow, each story feeling very separate at the beginning, but they start to converge as the book continues. The way these points of view connect never failed to surprise me, and I was impressed with the way Malfi seemingly used literary sleight of hand to hide information from the reader in plain sight. There is a supernatural element—maybe real, maybe not—running through Senseless as well, which kept me on my toes until the final chapters.

A must-read for fans of horror crime fiction and of Malfi generally, this book is a noir-esque descent into the seedy underbelly of LA, as well as a skewering of the respectable Hollywood front. The characters are often morally grey and difficult to support, but they always feel well-rounded and believable. It's a treat to again get to enjoy a work by one of the modern masters of the genre, and I already feel it will benefit so much from a second time through.

This was a very gripping read as it delved into different genres with part police / crime and part horror. It was a great combination that flipped between the both pretty well.

The body of a young woman has been found horribly mutilated outside of L.A. and Detective Bill Renney, who recently lost his wife, can't help but see the similarities between the murder and horrific mutilation of a woman the year prior.
Maureen Park has recently become engaged to Hollywood producer, Greg Dawson and finds herself increasingly uneasy around his son, Landon. Landon seems disturbed and enjoys making people uncomfortable.
Toby Kampen, is a young man who refers to himself as a Human Fly. He lives a solitary existence but when he meets a unique woman a bar who piques his interest and has him wondering if she human or something else altogether.
These 3 storylines converge beautifully, pulling you into a conclusion you won't see coming.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for this digital e-arc.*

Senseless is now the fifth book that I have read by Ronald Malfi and I can safely say that I am a fan of his writing and would confidently recommend him to fans of horror fiction and would feel safe to purchase new releases without waiting on seeing any reviews.

With Senseless, Malfi leans heavily into crime fiction with some seemingly connected murders but the reader is kept guessing as to whether there is perhaps a more supernatural force at play. Malfi blurs the lines between horror and non-horror fiction with great subtlety and also did this effectively in the highly popular 'Come With Me' and his previous release, 'Small Town Horror'.

On this occasion, we get three POVs and it was great fun to guess and figure out what connection they all may or may not have had with the killings and potentially what connective tissues may exist between them all. Where Malfi always seems to shine is his ability to flip the script and subvert the direction of where you think the story is heading or who the culprit is.

This was a quick and enjoyable read and would appeal to both crime fiction and horror readers alike and I'm pretty sure that existing Ronald Malfi fans will find plenty to enjoy with this one. Having been in a bit of a reading slump lately, this was really good to get me back into some fast paced story telling and enjoy some page turning. However, I would still recommend that anyone who has not checked out this fabulous author before should probably start with 'Black Mouth' especially if they are looking for a straight up overt horror story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing an eArc in exchange for an honest review. Senseless is available to purchase from 15th April 2025.

Thank you to Titan Books for the ARC!

“That was how a fly survived: by being constantly aware of its surroundings”…

This book had me gripped to its pages from the beginning! With several storylines going on, I couldn’t figure out at first how they were going to come together; all I know is that I kept reading to get to the next part in each to find out what was going to happen. Part police procedural, part horror, part thriller, it’s hard to really summarize this one without giving any of it away - LOL! I just know I had to keep reading. This was my first Malfi read and clearly I’ve been missing out! He is a master storyteller with a writing style that truly draws you in.

”Senseless” releases April 15, 2025. This review will be shared to my instagram blog, (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

Malfi starts this as a throwback noir that morphs into a Lynchian nightmare and delves into shadowy horrors. Malfi is a great writer, immensely skilled, and can write anything he wants. All his skills are on display here: sharp characterization, strong mystery, creepy events. Everything you want in a Malfi book, you get in abundance here.

A dead body is found and detective Renney is on a mission to find out who did it. Was a good supernatural police procedural read.

Maureen and Greg are newly engaged and Maureen is struggling a bit with Greg’s son Landon. She more and more begins to wonder if Landon didn’t have something to do with the murder.

Toby keeps to himself typically, but finds himself with curiosity and starts to become friends with a vampire. I mean, it’s not really all that weird since he is a human fly anyways.

Follow the detective, Maureen and Toby as all of their stories collide in this book!

Dope! Malfi just keeps getting better and better. I have yet to read a Malfi book I haven’t loved but Small Town Horror and Senseless have propelled him into an entirely different class of authors.

It’s kind of hard to summarize Senseless. We have three competing subplots. In the first we follow detective Bill Renney as he works a murder case very similar to one from a year prior. We also have Maureen Park caught up in a whirlwind engagement with a Hollywood movie producer. When she finally meets his son things take a hard left into dangerous territory. And finally, Toby Kampen. He considers himself a Human Fly and is completely and totally insane. After meeting a woman at a club he believes to be a vampire their lives are forever altered. As the book continues we start to notice connections and repetitions between the storylines and Malfi does a fantastic job at making a book that is compulsive and so well done. Malfi’s ability to knit these characters together is next level.

The portrayals of crazy in this book are top tier. Toby is WILD and Landon was terrifying. Malfi nails the atmosphere within the book and no one is truly innocent in this one. There are a few things left open ended for the reader and this only elevated the ending for me. Senseless is a fantastic book and very well written. Such a tangled web we weave! Highly recommend this one to people who appreciate weird horror mixed with some typical tropes for a killer read.

I really enjoyed this one! It starts out with a lot of crime procedural / detective elements, but by the end, it’s a wild whirlwind of supernatural craziness…or is it?? I’m still not 100% sure my pea brain understood everything that did or did not happen, but I was definitely enthralled. I had no idea which turns the story was going to take or which characters I should trust.

I wouldn’t say that any of the characters were particularly “likable”, but they were all incredibly interesting. The narrative was split between three main characters, all of which carried some heavy baggage. Malfi did an excellent job of bringing these characters to life. They all felt fully fleshed out with complicated inner workings.

The story itself is a bit of a slow burn in the beginning, but it never lost my interest at any point. The last third of the book steered toward fever dream territory but made a U-turn back to reality (or did it?!). I was definitely left questioning a few things, but ultimately, I was satisfied with the ending.

If you like shows like True Detective or thrillers sprinkled with a moderate amount of WTF, definitely check this book out. Senseless hits stores April 15th!

🩸🩸🩸🩸.5 /5
✔️ Highly recommend

Senseless is like a story within a story - an unputdownable gripping read. I now want to read every book Ronald Malfi has written. Have you met the monkey? 4 stars

Another amazing book by Ronald Malfi. I had no idea where this book was going but boy by the end it packed a punch.

The horror is subtle but causes a brain worm that will not let you forget. How the three stories intertwine is crazy and at the end of it how our grief and choices carry with us and have a habit of repeating.

I loved this book as much if not more than the others I have read by this author.

An excellent thriller/horror. Told in multiple viewpoints with good characters and a plot that will keep you up but with the lights on. Ronald Mafli is fast becoming a go to author, highly recommend. Thanks to Titan books and Netgalley for this review ARC.

Malfi's work is so essential to the Horror genera. He writes about the elements that I spend endless time seeking out, the elements of humanity that are truly horrific. Senseless is an entanglement of death, anxiety, anger and resentment and they slowly bleed together as the story progresses. In addition, I must praise Malfi for his unwavering success of writing grief horror. He really gets down into your marrow to feel that loss and anguish.

The characters in this book walk with their own stories and exist in their own worlds with their chosen masks. Each get presented with a challenge that forces them to question their worlds and how to perceive the reality around them. I am so impressed the lengths Malfi went to achieve these meticulously detailed moments that have so much hidden within them. The detective, the Hollywood star and his son, the newly engaged, the young boy, the young lady. Everyone has such an essential role and how everything comes to be at the end was, as usual, such a pleasant surprise. To achieve these kinds of endings, for them to be this successful, a lot of careful mapping must take place. Everything has to make sense and have a purpose. I am so intrigued by Malfi's thought process. I so badly want to know his method for writing these stories and having such a rewarding ending!

Malfi has quickly become a name I search for when I go to any place selling books. He is an incredible author. His use of language is stimulating and inviting. The choices he makes for his stories are deeply thought out and daring always making every read satisfying. He does not skip on gore. I know I praise him for his grief writing, and the spooky aspect (Please read Small Town Horror), but he will make you cringe with well written descriptive moments of sheer gore. It's not the primary focus, I understand, but the quality is top notch.

"....An understanding that your two souls, intertwined, were now separating." 31%

Everyone wears a mask to hide their true form. The Spider, the Human Fly...the Vampire... 48%

She was as bright and sparkling as a disco ball wrapped in people skin. 53%

"Have you met the Monkey?" 67%

He was thinking about the cosmic echo of things-how the universe repeats itself after a time, bringing things back together, content in such harmony. 100%

Tense and thrilling and a twist you never see coming. This was one of malfi’s best! Absolutely loved the interwoven stories and writing style! The surprise at the end was amazing!

Senseless was one thrill ride that I couldn’t put down. I have to say that my first introduction to Malfi I was unsure if I liked their writing but now, several books in, they are easily one of my go to authors. If I want something that I know will not only be written brilliantly but have a touch or lot of horror. Senseless is no different.

I could not put this book down and I loved the mixture of horror, thriller and crime fiction all in one. With a tightly woven plot and fantastic pacing you cannot help but get invested and keep reading till the end. It’s got all the elements I love. It is equally psychological, emotional and with a touch of the supernatural to make it stand out even more.

If you enjoy horror then you will adore this but if you aren’t always a fan of the genre I think this is a perfect stepping stone into it. A definite must read.

As always thank you to Titan Books for the advanced copy to review, my reviews are always honest and freely given.

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Titan Books for the ARC of this novel.

I love Ronald Malfi’s books and I was so excited to get an advanced copy of his newest one.

First, this book was weird. In a horror, strange but not necessarily bad way. There are three characters this book followed and I have to say the detective’s story and Maureen’s story really had me hooked from the beginning. Every time we went back to Toby I started to lose a little interest but I think that’s mostly because his was definitely the most out there part of the story.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I love how the stories all connected in the end but I will say that I feel like the ending seemed to come out of nowhere.

I also liked how everything wasn’t wrapped up in a nice little bow and how we didn’t get resolutions for each character. That felt very in tune with the rest of the book.

If you are a fan of horror and love a book that is a little strange and creepy I recommend.

3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review.

I think that I am understanding that this author is not for me. I have such a hard time getting into the writing style, for me it feels flat and it takes so much of my enjoyment out of the book. Overall, this was not for me.

This is my second Malfi book and after reading this I can most certainly say that I am a fan!
There are three threads to this book. Detective Renney is investigating the brutal murder of a woman discovered in the desert. This murder is very similar to one that took place the year before but Renney thought they had the right guy.
Maureen is running from her past and is now about to marry a man that she has only known for a few months. Then his son turns up out of the blue, delighting in making her feel uncomfortable and puts the relationship into question. Finally, Tony Kampen who refers to himself as a human fly. He lives a solitary life but one night in a bar he meets a woman who he thinks is not quite human and he becomes obsessed.
This book was a slow burner for me but the seemingly separate threads to the story kept me interested as I wondered how they all connected. Malfi wove them all together beautifully because even though I had my suspicions for Toby, I also had my doubts. Although a slow burner, I found the last 20% was non stop page turning as twist after twist kept flying at me. A few jaw dropping points in the book but the most memorable was definitely the monkey (IYKYK) 🙊
The characters are memorable, most unlikeable but some you can empathise with.
There was some gore and a hint to the supernatural but it also had the underlying theme of mental illness. All leading to a disturbing, yet wonderfully written book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this book and prompting me to go read more of his books.

A mutilated woman’s body is discovered in the desert outside Los Angeles, drawing Detective Bill Renney back to a hauntingly similar murder from a year ago. Both victims suffered the same gruesome fate, leaving Renney to unravel the chilling connection between these heinous crimes. (Warning: graphic details ahead!)
Meanwhile, Maureen, newly engaged to movie producer Greg Dawson, begins to question her future when Greg’s estranged son, Landon, arrives from Europe. Landon’s sinister demeanor and unsettling intentions leave Maureen terrified, as she uncovers the dark secrets lurking within the Dawson family.
Toby Campen, a socially isolated young man in his twenties, struggles with the trauma of being raised by his mentally unstable mother, whom he calls “the spider.” Toby believes he is a human fly locked in a battle with the spider in a mother-suit. One night at a nightclub, he meets a woman with rattlesnake teeth, sparking an obsession that spirals into devastating consequences.
These seemingly separate narratives converge in a masterfully crafted tale that is both eerie and enthralling. Malfi’s latest work redeems any past missteps, delivering a spine-chilling story that grips readers from start to finish. This is my new favorite book of Ronald Malfi!

Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for this ARC!