April 26, 2021
Malfi (Bone White) impresses in this taut, supernaturally tinged mystery, an intriguing variation on the well-worn serial killer plot. Translator Aaron Decker’s life is upended by tragedy when his wife Allison, a columnist for a Maryland newspaper, is killed in a mass shooting at a mall. His grief is complicated by survivor’s guilt, having turned down Allison’s request that he accompany her that fateful day. Decker’s turmoil is further exacerbated by his discovery that Allison kept secrets from him, starting with a two-night stay at a North Carolina motel he’d never known about. His initial worry that she was having an affair is soon allayed, only to be replaced by concern after learning that she’d been conducting a private investigation into the deaths of six young women in different states that had not been linked by the authorities. As Decker follows the clues in the files Allison left behind, he begins to suspect that her spirit is manifesting itself to him. The supernatural elements are fairly minimal, but Malfi makes his lead’s shifting emotions plausible and sticks the landing with a powerful denouement. There’s plenty here to enjoy.
December 1, 2021
After Aaron Decker's wife, Allison, is killed in a random act of violence while out shopping one morning, he finds that she had files on numerous, seemingly unrelated murders of young women around the country--a considerable amount of research she had never mentioned to him. He also finds a receipt for a motel several states away, a trip taken while he was traveling for work that she kept secret. Grieving and confused, he goes to the motel to learn more about what she was doing. Aaron finds that almost everything Allison had told him about her past and family was heavily edited or invented completely. Haunted by her ghost and an entity he refers to as "the other Aaron," he works to uncover the dark secrets his wife was keeping from him. Joe Hempel's narration capably conveys Aaron's grief and the purpose he begins to find in the pursuit of answers. An author's note from Malfi (Bone White) is a touching tribute to the friend whose death inspired the book. VERDICT Both an effective work of suspense and a touching meditation on whether we can ever truly know the people we love, this will appeal to fans of literary dark fiction and horror.--Stephanie Klose, Library Journal
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