Spin a Black Yarn: Novellas

Set in fictional Samhattan, MI, Malerman’s (Daphne) collection of novellas gives to Michigan what Stephen King’s Castle Rock stories gave to Maine. These five varied novellas demonstrate Malerman’s capacity to flex his creative muscle and writing skills. He shows he can create creeping dread with the dueling childhood narrative Half the House Is Haunted; constructs a solid science fiction thrill ride in The Jupiter Drop; and wraps it up with the more traditional revenge tale Egorov. An ensemble of narrators—Ashley Laurence, James Fouhey, and Pete Bradbury—help these stories live rent-free in listeners’ heads. Bradbury’s raspy, euphoric voice makes the horrifying deathbed confession of the man in Argyle all the more haunting. After serving as half of an intriguing sibling duo, along with Fouhey, in Half the House Is Haunted, Laurence lends a sardonic tone to Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer™, a fancifully macabre story about a house washer that tries to clean the stains of Doug’s and Judy’s souls. Malerman also jumps in, narrating his insights into his writing process.