Over the past two and a half decades, Ronald Malfi has quietly become one of the most talented (and underrated) modern writers in the horror genre. While his name doesn’t have the recognition of Stephen King, Joe Hill, or Clive Barker, Malfi has put together an impressive catalog of more than 25 novels and novellas since 2000.
Malfi’s writing is known for its vivid description of graphic moments, mixed with well-developed, King-esque character building. His 2011 novel, Floating Staircase was recognized with a Bram Stoker Award nomination for Best Novel, and 2024’s Small Town Horror was one of his best-distributed books. Following its success last year, Malfi recently released Senseless, another great blend of the crime and horror genres.
Senseless primarily follows the point of view of three characters: Detective Bill Renny, a grieving widower in charge of a mutilated woman’s murder case; Maureen Park, a small-town writer who is engaged to a big-time Hollywood producer; and Toby Kampen, a 22-year-old man, suffering from mental illness, who believes he’s transforming into a housefly.
The story begins with Renny being called to investigate a body found out in the desert: a woman with her eyes, ears, fingers, nose, and tongue removed. The case is eerily similar to an unsolved murder case from the year before, and assumptions of a serial killer begin to form.
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Meanwhile, Maureen Park’s engagement party is crashed by her fiancé’s grown son, Landon, who is consistently aggressive and invasive to Maureen over the next few days. A horrifying discovery causes Maureen to believe Landon may be responsible for the murdered woman in the desert.
At the same time, Toby, the man who thinks he’s a fly, has been living in a storage unit, hiding from his abusive mother, whom he refers to as “the Spider,” and goes to clubs at night in hopes of meeting a new friend or partner.
All three stories are woven together brilliantly by Malfi, creating a web of uncertainty and layers of doubt over who committed the crime, and who, if any, are the innocent parties. Malfi’s character depth is fantastic for the most part, especially on Bill Renny and Toby Kampen, but it felt a little lacking on Maureen Park. Her character’s story wasn’t explored as much, and it felt a little too late in the final act.
Senseless is certainly a crime novel at its heart, but a noir horror feel is peppered throughout its story, showcasing the grimy underworld of Los Angeles and the isolated aura of the desert, where anyone can be watching from a distance. The horror aspects were present within its intense character confrontations and the brutality that the victims are met with.
“’There are places in the desert where things can be hidden and never found.”
The pacing feels a little slow to start, but swiftly picks up about 20% through the book’s moderate 432 pages. Once it gets going, it doesn’t slow down. As the story develops, side characters are explored slightly more to the point of shocking and disturbing behaviors, but are left otherwise untouched in the book’s wrap-up, which was a bit disappointing.
I didn’t have many issues with the way the story unfolded and the reveal of what happened and how, but it felt a bit anticlimactic after such a lengthy and complicated build-up. I’ve only read three Malfi books at this point, but Bone White and Small Town Horror knocked my socks off in the third act, and Senseless came off like a soft explanation.
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Overall, Senseless was a choice crime novel, and certainly a worthy read (3.6 on Goodreads), but it just didn’t hit me like his other books have. I recommend picking this one up, especially if you love serial killer crime stories, or you’re just feeling something dark.
Senseless is now available at major book retailers and was published by Titan Books.
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