How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
How to Survive a Horror Story features a classic Locked-Room set-up, but does actually still manage to bring something new to the trope-filled table.
After the death of legendary Horror author, Mortimer Queen, seven writers are invited to his mysterious manor home for the reading of his last will and testament. It’s believed that each one of them may be bequeathed a part of his estate.
Our characters are Melanie, Crystal, Winnie, Felix (Winnie’s uninvited +1), Scott, Petey, Buck and Chester. In addition, we also have Gia, working on behalf of Mr. Queen’s estate.
This story bounces between the perspectives and follows them over the course of their wild time within the manor.
Kicking off with a very classic Clue-like set-up, our characters individually make their way to the manor full of questions. Each wonders why exactly they’ve been included, and what they can possibly get out of it.
After everyone is settled, they’re told they need to attend dinner together and that’s when the rules of their stay are explained, and yes, it involves a dangerous game.
From here it proceeds into uncharted territory. The way the story was structured, the game itself and all that happened was fairly original. I wasn’t expecting the direction it went in, particularly in regards to the manor house itself.
And while I appreciate the author taking it in a new direction, it also felt like it was trying to do too much. For me, I wanted it to pick a lane. Was it going to be a gruesome, supernatural infused game for survival, or was it going to be a slow burn character driven literary horror story?
Nevertheless, I always love when an author takes risks and reaches to bring something new to their Readers. While the execution of this one wasn’t a perfect fit for me, that doesn’t mean it won’t be for you.
If you love this kind of classic set-up, but want something a little different, I highly recommend you check this one out. You could find a new favorite.
It also features a book-within-a-book aspect, so if that’s something you love, again, give it a shot. For me, it won’t go down in history as a new favorite, but I am definitely planning to pick up future releases from Mallory Arnold.
Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m excited to see what other Readers think of this one. Maybe they’ll change my mind on it…