Whisper House Press

Book: Senseless

Author: Ronald Malfi

Publisher: Titan Books

Pub Date: April 2025

Capone’s Rating: 5 of 5 ⭐s

100%. A+. 5 of 5, Would Recommend. Interconnected nonlinear storylines collide in Malfi’s latest.

Y’all might have noticed I appreciate Ronald Malfi’s writing. I previously reviewed his Ghostwritten (2022) and Small Town Horror (2024), and I’ve read a few of his others besides these—Black Mouth (2022) and Snow (2010). He’s gotten better and better over the years (I compare his newer stuff to Snow and can only hope I improve as much as he had, and that’s not intended to denigrate his earlier efforts), and Senseless might be his best yet.

There are a few storylines here, and the book reads best with zero foreknowledge—so if you trust me, stop reading and go grab a copy of his book. If you continue, though I’m not revealing anything directly, the surprises in the structure and whatnot will be somewhat spoiled.

Still with me? Okay.

Storyline One: A murdered woman is discovered in the desert? The setup is a whodunit, with increasing tension around the lead investigator who is starting to feel pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty conflicted about the guy he let go last year after a similarly treated victim was discovered outside the LA County limits around the same spot as the fresh corpse. We follow this guy, Detective Renney, as he does his best to untangle the web of evidence without ensnaring himself in the process.

Storyline Two: Maureen Park is about to marry a rich Hollywood producer (Greg Dawson) when his estranged son shows up at his door and throws a wrench in those works. The kid (Landon Dawson) insinuates his father is maybe / possibly / probably a murderer with a dark past (his second wife did drown—how, exactly?—in a swimming pool, right? Or was she his third?). Is this guy maybe the fella Renney is looking for in that other storyline?

Storyline Three: Toby, a common housefly in human form, wants more than anything to be accepted, and he’s escaped the spider (in “mother skin”) and is on his own. How does he ingratiate himself to women (specifically) out in the world? Just what the hell is that creepy thing, that VERY SPECIAL THING, he keeps stroking so affectionately to which he turns whenever he feels overwhelmed by the timelines, events, and places out in the world who all seem conspiring against him?

Are all these timelines happening simultaneously? At staggered intervals but aligning at key points? In the past, present, and future? I MUST KNOW. I was driven—nay, compelled forward through Senseless. As noted above, I always appreciate Malfi’s storytelling, but this is a work of intensely (excruciatingly) careful application of skill. It ought to be appreciated and swallowed whole—taken in with all five senses.

100%. A+. 5 of 5, Would Recommend.