Snow

by Ronald Malfi

A brutal snowstorm has blanketed the area and brought with it translucent phantoms that invade humans and drive them to murder.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Christmas, Audiobook, Mystery, Paranormal

311 pages, Kobo

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Ronald Malfi is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of many novels and novellas in the horror, mystery, and thriller genres. In 2011, his novel, Floating Staircase, was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for best novel by the Horror Writers Association, and also won a gold IPPY award. In 2024, he was presented with the prestigious William G. Wilson Award for Adult Fiction by the Maryland Library Association. Perhaps his most well-received novel, Come with Me (2021), about a man who learns a dark secret about his wife after she's killed, has received stellar reviews, including a starred review from BookPage, and Publishers Weekly has said, "Malfi impresses in this taut, supernaturally tinged mystery... and sticks the landing with a powerful denouement. There’s plenty here to enjoy."

His most recent novels include Senseless (2025) and Small Town Horror (2024), both of which received favorable reviews and saw Malfi stretch his authorial voice.

Come with Me (2021) and Black Mouth (2022), tackle themes of grief and loss, and of the effects of childhood trauma and alcoholism, respectively. Both books have been critically praised, with Publishers Weekly calling Black Mouth a "standout" book of the year. These novels were followed by Ghostwritten (2022), a collection of four subtly-linked novellas about haunted books and the power of the written word. Ghostwritten received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called the book a "wonderfully meta collection...vibrantly imagined," and that "Malfi makes reading about the perils of reading a terrifying delight."

Among his most popular works is December Park, a coming-of-age thriller set in the '90s, wherein five teenage boys take up the hunt for a child murderer in their hometown of Harting Farms, Maryland. In interviews, Malfi has expressed that this is his most autobiographical book to date. In 2015, this novel was awarded the Beverly Hills International Book Award for best suspense novel. It has been optioned several times for film.

Bone White (2017), about a man searching for his lost twin brother in a haunted Alaskan mining town, was touted as "an elegant, twisted, gripping slow-burn of a novel that burrows under the skin and nestles deep," by RT Book Reviews, and has also been optioned for television by Fox21/Disney and Amazon Studios.

His novels Little Girls (2015) and The Night Parade (2016) explore broken families forced to endure horrific and extraordinary circumstances, which has become the hallmark for Malfi's brand of intimate, lyrical horror fiction.

His earlier works, such as Via Dolorosa (2007) and Passenger (2008) explored characters with lost or confused identities, wherein Malfi experimented with the ultimate unreliable narrators. He maintained this trend in his award-winning novel, Floating Staircase (2011), which the author has suggested contains "multiple endings for the astute reader."

His more "monstery" novels, such as Snow (2010) and The Narrows (2012) still resonate with his inimitable brand of literary cadence and focus on character and story over plot. Both books were highly regarded by fans and reviewers in the genre.

A bit of a departure, Malfi published the crime drama Shamrock Alley in 2009, based on the true exploits of his own father, a former Secret Service agent. The book was optioned several times for film.

Ronald Malfi was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1977, the eldest of four children, and eventually relocated to Maryland, where he currently resides along the Chesapeake Bay.

When he's not writing, he's performing with the rock band VEER, who can be found at veerband.net and wherever you stream your music.

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Reviews

[Tracy P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snow is the first book I have read by Ronald Malfii and it was excellent. Main character, Todd Curry and three other people decide to share a rented automobile from a snowed in airport on Christmas eve with the singleminded quest of making it to their respective homes in time to visit with family by the following morning... Christmas day.

As you can imagine - in true horror book form - things starting out bad quickly progress to terrifying. Their rented car precariously trudges through the unrelenting snow with much difficulty, all street signs are covered, and visibility is near zero. This is why Todd does not see a disoriented man stumbling through the drifts on the road right in front of them until it is too late to stop. When they realize he is unscathed they are relieved. That is, until he tells them his daughter - who was with him in his abandoned car which crashed into a snowdrift - has since gone missing. The group sets out to help him - with little hope of finding her alive in such brutal conditions. The back of the man's shirt is shredded, he is acting very odd, and they quickly begin to suspect him as untrustworthy and having nefarious intentions. Well... Their suspicions are proven right when the man finds his daughter - and she appears to have no face. The father and daughter immediately begin to run away with Todd and the other three group members close on their heels. Little do they know this is the biggest mistake they could have made (of all the bad decisions they have made thus far that night) when they end up in the small midwest town of Woodson. There seems to be no sign of life except for a few oil barrels alit in the town center. They try to start multiple cars with the hopes of getting out - and not one will turnover. Then they start to discover the multiple torn up and decapitated bodies everywhere. What has happened and/or is happening?

When they are chased by a a horde of zombie like people who clearly mean them harm the foursome is saved by a young girl who has been holed up in the town's mini-market for several days. She is wielding a rifle and kills enough of their pursuers to get them safely into the market for protection. This is when she reveals what is happening appears to be coming from something that is happening in the snow. It is using human bodies to take on solid form by slashing open their backs and using their shells to catch other humans and feeding off them for sustenance.The storm has completely cut off all possible forms of communication with anyone outside the town's limits as it continues to reap its hideous goal of turning everyone into a husk to serve its purpose.

What ensues from here on in is nothing short of a terrifyingly atmospheric blood fest. The survivors band together in an attempt to figure out exactly how this insidiously evil entity operates, where it came from, and what - if any - its vulnerabilities are. This is a must, if they are going to have a fighting chance of survival. Sadly, very few of the ever expanding group of survivors get out alive and all who die spend their last moments suffering through extremely grotesque and torturous ritualistic transformations.

I hated putting this page-turner down, and was constantly eager for the next chance I would have to pick it back up to find out what would happen next.The events leading up to the ending had my heart pounding as I sat riveted with my jaw dropped on the edge-of-my-seat.
Highly recommend to all my horror genre loving friends - especially those who enjoy the addition of frigid and blizzard like atmospheres.

[Misty Marie Harms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stranded in a blizzard on their way to Chicago, Todd and Kate make their way to the nearest town. Bizarrely, the town seems to be empty. No lights, no cell service, no people. They follow the fires that are in barrels to the center of the small town. There they are confronted by someone....or something. Sensing something is wrong, they make a run for a convenience store. Just as they are reaching for the door a shotgun blast rings out killing the thing chasing them. A swirl of snow leaves the body into the air, screaming. The snow next to them starts moving, twirling into a snow tornado. There is something deadly in snow. Taking human bodies as puppets. And that is just the start....

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for books set in cold snowy places. I am drawn to books where characters find themselves trapped, battling the elements while also battling unknown forces to stay alive. Ronald Malfi nailed that criteria for me in Snow!❄☃

Todd Curry is rushing home to spend Christmas with his son, when an unrelenting snowstorm cancels flights he shares a car with Kate, a woman he met at the airport and a couple she also invited to travel with her. As they hit the highway, the snow continues to fall, and they come upon a man who claims to be looking for his daughter...❄

And we're off in a snow filled, seemingly abandoned eerie town. There is no cell phone service and no internet - that is a nightmare for most. That feeling of not being able to call for help or make a call to a loved one. But there is a bigger nightmare out there!❄

This book was equal parts atmospheric, tense, brimming with dread and danger. I found myself rooting for the characters while keeping my fingers crossed for them throughout the book. Of course, readers will need to suspend disbelief and just go with it. I found this book to be entertaining and creepy. Is it the scariest book out there, no not by far, but it's still enjoyable and a worthy read for horror fans.❄❄

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration.

3.5 stars rounded up

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖

[JJtheBookNerd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Todd Curry, a lawyer, is travelling to see his son for Christmas. When his plane gets cancelled because of a snowstorm, he decides to share a hire car with a woman named Kate and an elderly couple, Fred and Nana, whom he meets at the airport.

On their journey they nearly run over a man in the middle of the road. He says his name is Eddie, he has broken down, and he is looking for his daughter who has run off. Todd doesn't believe him and thinks there is something odd about him.

As they resume their journey, their car ends up breaking down too; they end up walking in the icy-cold storm to the nearest town only for it to be completely deserted. Here they end up in a fight for survival from creatures who rise up from the snow and can use human bodies as a disguise.

Todd was an annoyingly written character; they're all fighting for their lives, he's injured his leg, and yet he keeps lusting after Kate—it was cringe-inducing. I don't know about you, but if I'm on the run from an array of monsters who are out to either tear me apart or take over my body, the last thing I would be thinking about is my libido.

Then there's the fact that he couldn't run anywhere without falling over; I swear this happened in nearly every scene that required him to move—it got to the stage I was rolling my eyes every time he did it. When you start thinking, 'I wish they'd just eat him,' you know you're not really connecting with a character.

This is one of those books that started off pretty good, and then it all just started to fizzle out the longer it went on. The conclusion fell completely flat and was one of the most uninspired endings I've read in a while, and we never do get to know why the snow monsters were there or where they'd come from. The whole thing with the police station towards the end gave me Assault on Precinct 13 vibes, and the creatures gave a healthy dose of Invasion of the Body Snatchers; with that mix the story could have been so much more.

I've read a couple of books by this Author, and both were pretty good, especially Come With Me, but this one was a bit of a letdown; it was all a bit shallow and vapid. It had some good elements; I thought the creatures were quite unique, and I liked the wintry theme, but everything else was a bit pedestrian.

[Dona's Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Ronald Malfi's SNOW with one of my Booksta book clubs and that's the only reason this book is getting two stars instead of ending up on the DNF shelf. It's only avoiding a 1 star review because the snow is actually really terrifying stuff and I love horror stories set in snowy landscapes.

Initially, the snow creatures Malfi introduces are quite terrifying, but much like playing with a tiny cousin and having him scream new rules at me every time I'm about to score, reading about Malfi's antagonist becomes more preposterous and comedic every time Malfi randomly evolves it. He does this to raise story stakes because his storyline is always weak.

Still, human versus cold kept me interested in this very long read. Until Malfi has his characters eat food out of a refrigerator that's been powered down for a week. It wouldn't have maintained temperature inside; either it would have warmed enough to rot the food (because sealed and insulated) or if it was cold enough outside ro affect the food inside, the food would have frozen over the course of a week. Wow is there a lot wrong with this book.

I can't say too much about the basic quality of the writing, because the editing is lacking. Errors stack up fast enough to impact the reading experience and bias the reader against the writing, if style is a thing the reader cares about.

Then there are the problems Malfi seems to have with fat bodies (even pregnant ones), old people, and mental illness, all of whom deserve death in his fictional world.

I know Malfi is kind of a big name in horror these days. I love horror. But I don't love Malfi even a little and I won't read anymore of his books. But hey, everyone else in my book club raved about it, so who am I to say this book isn't great?

Rating: ❄️❄️ / 5 snow monsters
Recommend? Nope
Finished: January 16 2023

[John (JC) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Ronald Malfi book. I am impressed. I am looking forward to continuing reading his intriguing novels.
This writing started in a convenience store with a battle against snow monsters and their puppets. Needless to say, they had me at the first paragraph. It is interesting how visceral his writing gets. I am not a squeamish reader but some of this writing caused me to have a serious pause. What would you do if you could not leave a town occupied by snow creatures?
I feel that my fellow GR readers will really get into Malfi’s writing if this is one of their genres of choice. I say jump on the rollercoaster and see where it takes you.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Todd and a few stranded passengers have to head into a nearby town after getting waylaid by a storm during a flight. They stop to help a man who claims his child is lost in the storm, but when they go for help the stumble onto an empty town. It doesn't take long to discover there's some seriously-eerie stuff involved with this particular snowfall, and they must figure out how to beat it if they hope to survive.

There's something enchanting about thrillers or horror set in a snow-filled environment. Even if it's in an open area, there's a sense of isolation that comes from the winter white. Some genuinely creepy parts graced the pages, and there were twists on who to trust (of course). As always when you meld a group together to brave evil forces, they start coming apart at the seams and turning on each other. It starts with one group, becomes another, and ultimately they have to battle yet another set of strangers at the end.

As fun as it is to play in the snow, it's not a fully fresh, unique story. Writing style is fine and characters are genuine enough, but there isn't a lot of surprise waiting for the reader. The beginning is strong and promising, and I dug the ending conflicts, but the middle was slightly weighed down.

[Tressa · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK. I'm going to be brutally honest here. I do not understand the 4 and 5 star reviews for Snow. While it is a passable monster yarn, it brings absolutely nothing new to the horror genre. I've read this plot in hundreds of previous horror novels over the past thirty years.

Good looking man/woman protagonists attracted to one another and thrown into a supernatural situation beyond their comprehension? Check. Disappointing father/husband trying to make it back home to little Jr. in time for Christmas? Check. Isolated town invaded by unknown evil forces? Check. Few survivors band together for a showdown? Check. Two good looking people make it out while the expendable faceless characters don't? Check. Just when you thought it was over, a Twilight Zone ending gets tacked on? Check.

Sorry, but this was a disappointing and over-hyped book.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Altar-13 hardcover edition of “Snow” by Ronald Malfi contains three parts. The first section is the novel itself consisting of 280 pages of rip roaring excitement. Part two is titled “Weathering The Storm” in which Mr. Malfi explains from whence the story originated, filling in some interesting and personal background information. And with part three we have a short story unrelated to the above, titled “I Let Them In”.

This is the way that “Limited Editions” should be produced, and some are. With bonus material above and beyond your expectations. The book itself is well produced, sturdy and well bound, sporting a beautiful dust jacket by Daniele Serra, with an intreaguing foil stamp on the front board by Greg Posey.

Sadly, the story itself is nothing exceptional., involving a small group of travelers stranded in a snow storm in a town that has been invaded by, we are never told what exactly, sinister things that a) feed on the helpless inhabitants or b) invade their bodies and wear them like skins in order to perform their own nefarious purposes.

Mr. Malfi’s writing is crisp and engaging so the story moves along at a good clip. However original plotting is not the mainspring of “Snow”. We have all read this multiple times, with that said, the book is still an enjoyable read.

This is copy 29 of 100 of the signed and numbered hardcover edition, signed by Ronald Malfi.

[Court Zierk · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2

As I write this on Christmas Day, amidst yet another snowless backdrop, it’s almost as though the winter wonder has permanently retreated from existence. No dreaming of a white Christmas, no chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and certainly no frightful weather outside.

But at least I have ethereal, talon-wielding, human-inhabiting snow creatures in a bloody winter wonderland setting, to get me by.

I love Malfi, and this one was fun. Not his best, but it was just the Christmas romp I needed to snap me out of a reading slump.

There was nonstop action throughout this book, almost to a detrimental extent. This lacked the typical depth we get from Malfi’s characters, and that psychological depth is what I love so much about his writing. This had straight to streaming horror vibes, the kind of mindless horror needed to occupy a lazy weekend night.

There are better Malfi books, but if you’re looking for a good slump-buster, then look no further.

[Kenneth McKinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snow is a perfect wintertime read if you’re like me and looking for blood-covered snow, a small town cut off from the outside world, and crazy killer alien something-or-others that will make you shit your pants the next time a gust of wind blows loose snow down your neck.

Todd, a recovering alcoholic and gambling addict, comes within a whisper of losing everything, but is determined to get his life in order. And it starts with getting back to his little boy and estranged wife for Christmas, and for mending long broken fences. In his way is one hell of a snowstorm that shuts down all flights out of Chicago. In a final act of desperation, Todd joins up with other stranded passengers and rents the last four-wheel-drive vehicle left. With the snow storm still raging, the going slows to a crawl, and the visibility is next to nothing. Along the way, they realize they’ve got off the main highway and got turned around on some unknown desolate road in the middle of nowhere. To make matters worse, they almost run over some guy wandering around in the blizzard claiming to be looking for his daughter. His car won’t start, and he has strange slashes in the back of his coat. And to say he’s acting weird is an understatement. All Todd and his group want to do is get to the nearest town and drop this guy off at the authorities. Let them help him. But the town is where the nightmares really are… and they’re in the snow.

Snow is one of Malfi’s earlier works for the now defunct Leisure Books, but even his earlier work kicks ass. The dude can flat out write with the best of them. There are shades of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Blob, and Dreamcatcher. His character building is top-notch, with a cast that comes to life over the next 300 pages. The atmosphere weighs on you until you’re helplessly looking over your shoulder at every creak in the house, telling yourself it’s only the wind blowing outside.


4.5 Skin-Suits out of 5

[Laurie (barksbooks)]

Snow is about a guy and a gal who first meet at an airport. They end up stranded when their flights are cancelled due to a snowstorm. They, very unwisely if you ask me, decide to rent a car and drive to their destinations instead. During a blizzard.



Bad and bloody things happen because more than snow has come rolling in with the blizzard. It has a lot of gore, action and even a religious wingnut BUT . . .

I am sad to say that this one was a DNF. The writing was good, there was attention to atmosphere and to character but I just didn’t love it and found myself daydreaming. The characters and their plight did not move me. After the fifth attempt at getting it done, I put it aside for the final time at the 50% mark. It could be my mood (probably), or the fact that I sort of recently read a similar book and didn’t love that one either (Chills) but whatever the reason I tired of the struggle and pulled the plug.

It has lots of fantastic reviews by many of my trusted friends but alas it wasn’t meant for me.

[Paul (Life In The Slow Lane) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The abominable snowthings.

The plot was pretty good, and the spooks/monsters were original. Some of the scenes did get a bit tedious. Lots of guts and folks getting bits blown off.

I think as I get older, I get harder to frighten, although, a possum gave me a pretty good fright last night when he dropped a palm nut (I hope it was a palm nut) on me while I was despatching a cane toad. My neighbour laughed at me and called me a girl. I need new neighbours. I digress. Yes, I'm a tough Horror customer these days; probably because I've read/watched so bloody much of the stuff. Still, I think the "fright factor" of this book is high, especially if you're a bit skittish. The other problem is, I just can't bring myself to think of snow as anything other than magical. Despite all that, I quite enjoyed the story.

Oh. Mr Malfi needs a better Kindle editor. 3 snowy stars. ❄❄❄

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good.

[Cupcakes & Machetes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book for $1 at a dollar store, so I didn't hold out a lot of hope that it would be fantastic or anything. However, the first half of the book was promising, even with a less than imaginative premise. People get stranded in a small town where scary things happen. The characters were pretty generic as well. Sexy-sassy lady, down-on-his-luck guy, old couple head over heels in love. But half way through the book things start going to shit. The descriptions of things just get stupid.

In reference to a leg wound:
"The pain was like a thousand holocausts." Really? I shouldn't have to tell you how many ways this comparison is awful. A few chapters later and he references the holocaust again with something burning. It didn't work the first time, it sure as hell won't work the second time around. But please, keep beating that dead horse.

In reference to a caribbean island wallpaper on a laptop:
"...the skies unmarred by clouds and about as blue as a newborn baby's dreams of the womb."
WTF....I don't even....

Despite all this, I was still considering 3 stars....and then I got to the ending. Unimpressive, is the word that comes to the forefront of my mind.

In conclusion, I got my one dollar's worth.

[Ghoul Von Horror · Rating 4 out of 5]

TW: Fat shaming, parent abandonment, cancer, cheating, gore, abuse

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Todd Curry wants nothing more than to spend Christmas with his son. But when a brutal snowstorm cancels his flight from Chicago to Des Moines, Todd and a few other stranded passengers decide to rent a Jeep and make the trip on their own. During the drive, they pick up a man wandering through the snow, who claims to be searching for his lost daughter. He is disoriented and his story seems peculiar. Strangest of all are the mysterious slashes cut into the back of the man’s coat, straight down to the flesh… When they arrive at the nearest town, it appears deserted. Windows dark, car abandoned, fired burning unattended. But Todd and the rest of the travelers soon learn the town is far from deserted, and that they are being watched…
Release Date: 03/2010
Genre: Apocalyptic horror
Pages: 311
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

What I Liked:
• In this unrealistic book people do realistic things
• I like Kate
• The writing is so good
• Serious creepy moments

What I Didn't Like:
• Todd and Kate hating on overweight people
• The random pov's from different characters
• There's a ton of spelling errors
• Some parts felt repetitive
• The book didn't follow its own rules

Overall Thoughts: Starting out this book I was alarmed at how many times the main character kept bringing up the man's weight. It felt very cringe worthy and pointless. What did that offer in the way of plot?

So, from the start I hate Todd. He insults people's weight and he hasn't seen his child in a year.

Todd is an asshole. He gives Bree shit when she gets upset and tells him not to disappoint their child. She's been the one there for the child and he's been off living his life so who is he to act like she's being unreasonable.

Todd is super nice to attractive females.

Chapter nine is odd because out of the blue the narration changes and we get a perspective from Kate when so far it's been from Todd's pov.

I know that it's silly but one of my big pet peeves is that they go all day and never go pee or eat in books, but in this book they do both. The characters have to go pee and they find themselves starving so they go through someone's fridge and eat. Weird to me that it takes this unrealistic book for such a realistic moment to happen.

Some parts felt repetitive. They would go to a place they would find a survivor, then things would attack them, then those people would be killed off, then they would find another place to go and, then those people would be killed off and, so on and so on.

The rules were that batteries didn't work in this town because somehow the things were able to stop batteries from working. How did flashlights work? How did they plug the modem into a battery to work? I feel like the rules weren't followed to what the book said. If a big part of your plot is that something doesn't work you can't have it work sometimes when it fits a different purpose.

Final Thoughts: So I love in the North East and decided to start this book during a bad snow storm. It creeped me out at moments while I sat in the dark reading it on my phone. There are scenes that are described that made me scared and grossed out. The writing was absolutely wonderful. I had previously read another book by this author Come With Me and I wasn't too impressed. That book was more thriller than horror so I only have it 3.5 stars. I am happy I have the author another chance because this book was a special treat. I still hated Todd though. He's not a good person. He hates overweight people but is nice when people are attractive. He even judged the older couple that was with them by how fit they were. Overall I found this book creepy, weird, and just great writing.

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[Kasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I belong to the Leisure horror book club so this was sent to me automatically, but even if it wasn't I would still snatch this if I saw it in a book store. I love these kinds of tales; woods, snow, strange things happening, possible ghosts/monsters/something wicked roaming around, people acting strange, yum! Malfi created a fun and entertaining story that is realistic enough to make the reader worry about the characters that are believable even if most of them don't get to witness any happy endings and a nemesis who is unlike anything else I have read about. This tale reminded me of a few books and movies while I was reading it, mostly The Mist, Dreamcatcher, The Thing, Tremors and few others that escape me at the moment, saturated with those unnerving elements of scare and uncertainty and some ugly death scenes that seems to reduce any changes of survival, not to mention some creepy crawlers that are beyond any human DNA mutation. Plus the hint of supernatural really added a zing to the whole tale, the fact that snow was somehow unsafe added more urgency to all actions, after all everyone was surrounded by it in the middle of nowhere.

Todd Curry is a divorced father, desperately trying to get to his son during the holiday season, unfortunately the weather is not agreeable and when his flight out from Chicago gets canceled he decides against better judgment to rent a car and try to make the drive himself. Along for the ride come three more people, young woman named Kate whom he met at the airport bar, and an elderly couple that simply sees this as their lucky opportunity to get home. Their trip seems fine once they are on their way but when they stop in the middle of the road, trying not to hit a deluded wandering man, their kindness turns out to be quite dangerous. The man starts talking about his lost daughter, that they need to help him find her, as time goes by Todd has an eerie feeling that they guy is lying or perhaps not telling the full truth, little does he know what the real story is, even if he knew back then he would never have believed it. So the terrors start, slowly, but pretty soon the passengers are trapped in a remote little town that has no intentions of letting them go, I don't want to say what happens because the less one knows the better this book is. But the story was fun and very quick, only getting slower towards the middle, but picking up steam that leads to a very interesting ending.

Malfi did a really good job when he created the characters, they had enough heft to stand out in the story and take the lead. When I was reading it I felt like they took the story into their hands and made it real, also their security wasn't set in stone, the author really took some of them and dragged them through the meat grinder, not sparing anyone's feelings. The setting and scenery were also wonderfully dark and creepy, who knew that glittering sweet snow can be so deadly, in talented hands it's something you want to stay far away from, and this book certainly made me shiver but not because it was cold.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 2nd time I have read this book and I enjoyed it as much if not more than the first time around. It's a story of a town besieged by mysterious beings in the form of snow. While this type of set-up is not anything new, given predecessors such as "The Bodysnatchers", it was engaging enough to set an eerie tone from the moment we first meet Eddie Clement, a man our main character, Todd Curry encounters in the middle of a snowstorm. Todd Curry is a recovering gambler determined to visit his son for Christmas. Unfortunately, a snowstorm cancels his flight, and in his desperation to be with his son, Todd agrees to share a rental car with Kate, a cynic who is meant to be engaged to what she describes as a loving, understanding man. Good thing he's understanding since it read as if Todd and Kate wanted to share more than just a ride. I didn't care much for Kate. She was a nitwit that constantly babbled on about nothing and tossed her red curls. I think it would have been better to keep the mysterious snow beings mysterious for longer. After all, the thrill of Todd going back for a laptop wasn't really worth it. If you are a fan of horror, which I am you will find the story worth reading. Just suspend judgement and take the story for what it is...mayhem and creepiness of a snow bound town.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

"There's roughly twelve hundred people in this town. Those who aren't dead are something else now..."

The town of Woodson is having a really bad week, and our main players get caught in the middle due to cancelled flight plans and an insane snowstorm. After a chance encounter with a mysterious man in the middle of the road and a minor wreck our folks search out the closet town for help. Stumbling into a haunting, seemingly deserted town square they soon find out that what's hiding amongst the wrecked cars and broken storefronts is something formidable and unbelievable. This book is well written and the story is very unique, it throws you right in this nightmarish situation with these characters. This book definitely made me fall for Malfi's writing and I can't wait to dive into another one of his!

[Addy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another book that grabbed me right away but started to feel a bit lovecrafty towards the end and unfortunately I'm not a big fan. Survival horror isn't high on my list either. Usually it's hit or miss. The character development was superb. I cared for all of them. The monsters were unique. I kind of wanted it to be explained to me but sometimes the unexplained is better. It was better for this book anyway. I'm glad I gave Malfi another shot. He certainly raised the bar.

[Lisa Lynch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found myself in the mood for a fun, mindless, snowy horror novel after the first snow of the season. I picked Ronald Malfi's Snow after it was recommended to me by members in a horror book group. I knew Snow wouldn't be a great book, but I was hoping it would be fun. Unfortunately, the writing was a little too cringy and the plot was predictable and sloppy.

I almost didn't read this book. After the prologue, we meet our protagonist, Todd. Todd's story is simple: he has not seen his son for a long time because he made mistakes with gambling and... yeah, that's it. Unfortunately, his connecting flight gets cancelled and he is stranded with nowhere to go and no way to get to his son for Christmas. He meets Kate, the other protagonist, at the airport and she decides to rent a car to drive through the blizzard that cancelled their flight because she wants to get to her fiancé for Christmas.

The reason I almost didn't read this book was because of an interaction Todd has with an overweight man at the airport. The way Malfi describes this man just didn't sit right with me. The man does nothing wrong other than complain about his cancelled flight, but Malfi chooses to describe him in a demeaning way. Malfi writes that the man's pants "...looked like they had been cut from the fabric from a multicolored circus tent," and describes him as having "squinty eyes" and "an index finger roughly the size of a kielbasa" (p.8). I was confused as to why the author was describing the guy in a way that was clearly meant to lead the reader to dislike him. But the only subjectively unlikable thing about the man is that he is overweight. I decided I was being too sensitive about the subject and kept reading despite this terrible description:

"...sliding the tip of the pizza into his mouth. He tore a bite out of it that would put the shark from Jaws to shame." (p.9)

Um...ok. I'm pretty sure there is no human who's mouth is comparable to a sharks. So, Malfi, you are just being ridiculous and dramatic because... the guy is fat?

I should have stopped reading this book there, but I knew it would be a quick read and it came highly recommended. Unfortunately, this book is filled with an abundance of terrible, cringy descriptions of things that slowly made me dislike the author more and more as I continued to read. The plot is also contrived and unbelievable.

::spoilers::

So Todd, Kate, and an old couple rent an SUV and decide to risk driving through the blizzard to get to their families for Christmas. You know this isn't going to go well. They drive for a while, then crash after they find a strange guy on the road with tears on the back of his jacket. He is stranded, confused, and looking for his daughter, who is lost in the snow. This part of the book was actually really good. Malfi developed the characters a little and created a good balance of tension and intrigue. I really wanted to know what was going to happen.

Todd sees a young girl in the snow, but she has no face. They let the strange guy get into the car and drive to a nearby town to get help. Their car is leaking coolant from the accident, so they are only (very conveniently) able to make it to the town before the car dies.

We quickly meet the monsters of the book. So these snow monsters need a body to control like a puppet in order to feed. They stab people in the back with these arm/talon things, kill them, and reanimate their corpse. Truth be told, I like this idea. But things get fuzzy when we are told that the clouds in the sky that brought the monsters also jam phone and Internet signals, so nobody can call for help. The strange man they picked up behaves differently from anyone else in the book who gets killed by the monsters, so I'm not sure what to make of that. I think the truth is that it was convenient for the plot, so Malfi didn't care that this man contradicts every other description of the snow monsters.
Unfortunately, as I kept reading, I found that the monsters, which were intriguing at the start, become silly. Our cast of characters get boring. Events that happen are ridiculous.

The couple that Todd and Kate pick up are described better than our protagonists and I knew the author was trying to get me to like them because he was going to kill them off. And, as predicted, exactly that happens. Todd and Kate meet the lady from the prologue and some kids, who are all killed off relatively quickly. It was very obvious that each character that was introduced was there solely so they could be killed by the snow monsters. I would have been ok with that if they were believable, developed characters (like the old couple), but they aren't.

Todd and Kate then meet some more people who are trying to get their phones and computers working so they can call for help. It is at this time that it is revealed that only phones and technology that was in town before the monsters and their clouds came to eat everyone are affected by the jammed signals. Lucky for the plot, Todd left his laptop in the car. If they can just get it back and hook it up, they will be able to email someone for help. Uh, what?

Now, I'll admit it. This is where I started skimming through some pages. I knew they would get the laptop, the characters who were likable would die, and Todd and Kate would make it out alive. I knew that Kate and Todd would make it because, as they story progressed, they quickly become love interests. This book absolutely did not need a romance in it AT ALL. It felt so phony and ridiculous. Todd and Kate have spent like a day together fighting snow monsters and now they are kissing. What?? Kate was on her way to meet her fiancé when we met her and she was so motivated to see him that she was willing to drive through a blizzard with strangers to get to him. But, turns out, he sleeps around, Kate sleeps around, and they know they won't get married, but continue to be together because... um... I don't know. Uh, what?

Speaking of romance, there are a couple descriptions that I found to be a crime against the art of writing:

"They spent the next few months rutting like feral cats." (p.152)

"...they stumbled back to her place and he'd gored her like a bull in heat right on her loveseat." (p.174)

Hey Malfi, you might wanna check the definition of "gored" because it definitely doesn't involve a penis and vagina. Also, you are gross.

The end of this contrived plot is exactly how I predicted. Todd makes it back with the laptop and they boot it up and open Yahoo! I had to laugh out loud. Does Yahoo! still exist? I know it did in 2010 when this book was published, but I don't think anyone uses it anymore. It was fun to laugh about it.

So they email the government or something and everyone is rescued. Todd gets shot by some crazy bitch and wakes up in the hospital and his son is there. Blah blah blah… I really don't care to discuss what happened because it was so silly.

Check out these terrible, cringy descriptions that I found while reading this book:

"The pain was like a thousand holocausts." (p.181) A woman has a cut on her leg and this is how it is described. Uh, hey Malfi, pretty sure this is disrespectful to the word "holocaust" and anyone who has lived through one.

"Tully's eyes shook like the last two gumballs in a gumball machine." (p.215) Hey Malfi, wtf are you talking about? I'm pretty sure the last two gumballs in the machine just get stuck in that spot between the top of the machine and the exit hatch, so they don't shake around.

"...the wallpaper depicting a remote island in the middle of some undisturbed Caribbean waters, clear as lucid thought, the skies unmarred by clouds and about as blue as newborn baby's dreams of the womb." (p.278) Seriously Malfi, wtf does this mean? Are wombs blue? How do you know that babies dream about blue wombs?

"Bruce stood looking like a ghost among phantoms." (p.295) Hey Malfi, I'm pretty sure "ghost" and "phantom" are synonyms. Wtf are you talking about?

I decided on a generous 2 stars for this book because the beginning when they are in the car was great. It was an easy read, but I would only recommend it to someone looking for a mindless, silly snowy horror book.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Todd Curry wants to do is get home to his wife and son. After a winter storm cancels his flight, he agrees to drive with a few other stranded passengers. They didn’t make it very far before they almost hit a man wandering around the storm. He claims he’s looking for his lost daughter. Something about this man and his story doesn’t sit right with the group. After the stranger bails out of the car after what he claims is his daughter, they all follow him into the woods. Lost and disoriented they press on and come across a town that seems to be abandoned. The windows are dark, cars are deserted and they feel like they are being watched.

This book was the perfect read for this time of year. It was so creepy and atmospheric! I’ll definitely never look at snow the same way again.

Snow is available now.

[Kaycee Sterling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book if you love Christmas themed horror stories!

[Benji's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, "small town horror", set in winter. Specifically, this story takes place on Christmas Eve, as a group of people rent a car after their flights keep getting canceled on account of the Winter storm. They encounter a seemingly deserted town, until they realize some of the townsfolk might not be human...

It's quick and full of thrills. Recommended.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
This was a really entertaining survival horror story. Set around Christmas, during a snowstorm, this was a great book to read during the winter months. The writing and characters were fairly average, yet the story was very engaging, reading like a page-turner. I loved the incorporation of the elements of cold weather horror.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had started it like a year before but had to stop as I didn't have it available anymore. 3.5 stars. It was an okay zombie type of holiday horror but didn't get me the 4 stars vibes. Felt similar to other books like this even if the zombies was a bit diffrent.

[Johann (jobis89) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started strong and then faltered a little bit for me.

[Kate Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was maybe 15 pages in the book by the time I wanted to flip the author the middle finger. Not just because the characters are already doing stupid things, but because he's already had a loud, obnoxious fat character that he's described as having piggy, squinting eyes; having fingers the size of kielbasas; wearing shorts that look like they were made out of a a circus tent; grotesquely shoveling pizza into his mouth with greasy, oversized fingers like an animal tearing bites out of a person; and being a "fat bastard." All within a couple pages. He couldn't give the guy a line of dialogue without referencing his disgusting he was.

So sick of these stereotypes in books, movies, and TV shows. Not just because they perpetuate the crappy treatment fat people get in society--god forbid we ask someone to be kind--but because they're lazy and just untrue. Watch fat people. (Though this is a generalization, and fat people can be as varied as any other group), generally they're more likely to be quiet and try to fly under the radar. Because we've learned that if we attract attention, it's often not going to be kind. And we wouldn't eat like that in public (again, a generalization), making a show of shoving food into our mouths, because we've been taught that it's shameful when we eat. I knew a fat guy who'd developed such a complex about his eating that he wouldn't eat in front of anyone ever. He would only ever eat in private. My point being, Malfi's characterizations aren't based on thoughtful observation or keen insight into human behavior. They're lazy shorthand created for convenience to force his plot down the road.

He doesn't understand the details of driving in a bad snowstorm, much less driving from Illinois to Des Moines (all those pine forests, dontcha know). Or how human beings talk to each other.

Ronald Malfi is just a plain bad writer, and I'm angry that I wasted my time on this book.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Snow is a chilling, claustrophobic horror novel that grabbed my attention and never let go. As a fan of Malfi’s writing, this book was everything I had hoped for; with its snowbound setting and relentless tension, Snow creates an atmosphere that keeps you on edge from the first page to the last. The horror elements are expertly woven throughout the narrative, making it a thrilling ride from start to finish.

The premise of the story is simple yet effective. But the true horror begins when strange, creatures begin to attack, with their presence somehow linked to the snow itself. The idea of the monsters being almost a part of the snow—creatures that seem to be born from the very elements surrounding the characters—is one that really stuck with me. There’s something deeply unsettling about the way the snow becomes both a weapon and a source of terror, and it’s a concept that Malfi explores with his signature skill.

The creatures themselves have a body-snatcher-esque quality to them, which adds a layer of paranoia and fear, and the tension only builds as the story progresses. Once the action really kicks into gear, there’s no slowing down. The pace picks up, and the horror becomes unrelenting—this is a book that grips you and doesn’t let up until the final page. The sense of dread and danger is ever-present, and I found myself reading faster just to see how it would all unfold.

What I particularly appreciated about Snow is Malfi’s ability to balance the supernatural horror with the emotional stakes of the characters. The isolation of the setting and the fear of the unknown force the group to confront not just the external horrors, but also their own inner demons. It’s a book that keeps you turning pages not just for the scares, but also for the well-crafted character moments that add depth to the story.

[♡Heather✩Brown♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

They came in with the snow. But what exactly were they? Oof loved this one. It kind of reminded me of The Mist by King but only with snow. Lots and lots of snow.

Todd is at the airport getting ready to catch a flight to see his son who he hasn’t seen for a while. But when a snow storm comes all planes are grounded and the flights are all cancelled.

Determined to get to his son Todd decides to catch a ride with a couple of other people who are determined to get where they need to go also. But they don’t get too far before something prevents them from traveling any further. And the snow? It just won’t stop.

Snow by Ronald Malfi is a fantastic horror that I read in one sitting. It’s creepy and has all the action. Just a fab read.