#BookPreviewReview ! ‘The Hive’ by Ronald Malfi

About the book…

An epic, Lovecraftian horror novel in the vein of Black River Orchard and American Elsewhere about a small town that becomes obsessed with a series of random objects left strewn across their town in the aftermath of a storm. From the Bram Stoker award-nominated and bestselling author of Come with Me.

The residents of Mariner’s Cove are changing…

In the aftermath of a violent storm, a collective obsession is rapidly developing among the people of this quaint suburban neighborhood. Random, everyday items left scattered upon the lawns, the streets, and the shoreline all seem to call out to them. There is an item for almost everyone, and each item has a certain hold over the person who finds it—a hold that soon turns into unwavering infatuation. They hide their items from each other, obsess over them, and they will do anything—anything—to protect them.

The collective hum of bees’ wings…

A young boy finds himself the possessor of a strange and inexplicable power. Is the arrival of this power linked to the increasingly odd and dangerous behavior of the residents of Mariner’s Cove? Has he been granted this power in order to thwart whatever is about to happen in this small, bayside community, or is there a more sinister purpose?

All hail the Dragon…

All eyes are on him now.

The residents of Mariner’s Cove are watching.

Thank you thank you THANK YOU Titan books for my gifted preview of Ronald Malfi’s ‘The Hive’ which is due to be published in  April 2026.

It comprises of Part 1, which is a deliciously dark teaser for the complete novel, and oh boy, does it leave you dangling, breathless and wanting more.

All I could do after finishing it, is to go back to my Malfi back catalogue to distract me about how long it is till April,Januray lasted about a million years so April will arrive in about 18288 days according to my terrible maths?

Anyway, this novel gives me Millhaven vibes, the town that Peter Straub created, most notably in his ‘Blue Rose’ trilogy.

Here, Mariner’s Cove, has awoken following a storm which some people were disturbed by, but not all, to find their reality, and perceptions of items and others around them, altered.

Mother Ellen McBride and her son Cory, witness things that should not occur, a strange suspension of items in motion that defies gravity. And afterwards, Bryan is not quite right ….(really trying hard to avoid spoilers!)

Michael Danver finds a door in an impossible place , the only thing he knows is that wherever it came from, this marked, numbered door is his.

Raj Subador is driven by a need that he cannot explain it’s origins, or the why of it, just that it exists now, an interloper inside his mind.

Elsewhere, Brian Russo,who I have a feeling is from another Malfi book, or it may be my imagination, drives from Baltimore to be with his sister, Ellen, after crashing and burning, both professionally and personally. What waits for him in Mariner’s Grove may be the making-or, the undoing-of him.

Cory McBride, the son of Ellen, with an uncanny ability to sense things before they happen, but lacking the understanding of what these warnings mean, other than they flash hugely in his mind.

This is something he shares with his uncle, Brian, who previously was able to use his mind to move things, akin to the Shining style psychic powers, however Brian has dulled his with drink and drugs whilst Cory refers to his as a ‘gnome’ that flexes, and reaches out into the minds of others with varying success. The preview hints at events which precede the storm and leave the reader with lingering thoughts as to why Ellen and Brian needed a cataclysmic storm to reconnect, and how their relationship will move forward.

Chalk drawings appear on pavements , fear of invasion creeps in…but was what ever is ailing Mariner’s Cove, already present?

Mysterious neuralgia, headaches and odd behaviour, a sense of ‘otherness’ is present amongst the general populace, a sense of fear and worry that pervades but nobody actually does anything but blame those outside, in an act of protecting the interior.

Here, in part 1, Malfi sets the stage, populates his characters , and pulls the reader in close to see what happens, when the dragon comes…..

Eerie, atmospheric and poignant, this has all the hallmarks of a classic small town horror which the author is so very good at.

About the author…

Ronald Malfi is an award-winning author of many novels and novellas in the horror, mystery, and thriller categories from various publishers, including ‘Little Girls’, summer’s 2015 release from Kensington. In 2009, his crime drama, ‘‘Shamrock Alley’‘, won a Silver IPPY Award.

In 2011, his ghost story/mystery novel, ‘Floating Staircase’, was a finalist for the Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Award for best novel, received a Gold IPPY Award for best horror novel, and the Vincent Preis International Horror Award.

His novel ‘Cradle Lake’ garnered him the Benjamin Franklin Independent Book Award (silver) in 2014, while ‘‘December Park‘, his epic coming-of-age thriller, won the Beverly Hills International Book Award for suspense in 2015. Most recognized for his haunting, literary style and memorable characters, Malfi’s dark fiction has gained acceptance among readers of all genres.

He was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1977, and eventually relocated to the Chesapeake Bay area, where he currently resides with his wife and two children Links-https://ronaldmalfi.com/ Twitter @RonaldMalfi @TitanBooks