The Premise – A Game You Don’t Want to Play
Let’s be honest. This book had me hooked from the blurb alone. A legendary horror author dies, seven writers gather in his creepy, sprawling manor to hear the reading of his will. Instead of walking away with bags of money, they’re pulled into a deadly game. Each room in the manor presents a riddle, and if you don’t solve it, the house itself takes someone as payment. And oh, did I mention? The estate was built on the bones of Mortimer Queen’s family, so the house is not just creepy, it’s hungry.
It sounds like the perfect mix of Clue, escape-room puzzles, and gothic horror. Honestly, I couldn’t hit add to TBR fast enough when I first read that premise. The setup feels cinematic, like the kind of spooky Netflix miniseries you’d binge with the lights off, popcorn in hand, saying, “Just one more episode.”
The author also weaves in this “book-within-a-book” concept, since the guests are all writers who had some kind of connection with Queen. It creates layers. Are they living inside a horror novel of their own, or are they simply pawns in someone else’s story? On paper, it sounds brilliant.
And at times, it really was. The manor itself is eerie and atmospheric, practically a character on its own. Each riddle adds a pulse of tension “solve or perish” is a rule that instantly raises the stakes. The way the characters wander through its locked doors reminded me of playing a horror game, where you never know what’s lurking behind the next hallway.
But while the premise was amazing, the execution didn’t always land.
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The Characters – Too Many Voices, Not Enough Depth
This is where things got messy for me. We have a lot of characters: Melanie, Crystal, Winnie, Felix (Winnie’s uninvited plus-one), Scott, Petey, Buck, and Chester. Plus Gia, the estate’s representative. That’s nine people we’re supposed to follow in a fairly short book.
The story jumps between perspectives, which can be fun if every voice is distinct and memorable. But here, some characters blended together, and I honestly didn’t care who lived or died by the halfway point. That’s not great when the whole premise revolves around survival.
To be fair, some of the backstories were intriguing. Learning about each person’s connection to Mortimer Queen gave the book a layered feel, like peeling back secrets one by one. Some reveals worked, others just felt “meh.” It didn’t help that the pacing sometimes dragged during flashbacks, then rushed through the actual high-stakes scenes.
This also made the tension uneven. Normally, in survival-style books, I find myself rooting for at least one or two people. Here, I felt more like a detached observer. The house would claim someone and my reaction was basically, “Oh, okay then.” And that’s a shame, because this setup screams for gut-punch losses and nail-biting loyalty shifts.
It almost felt like the book was trying to juggle too much. Big cast, riddles, flashbacks, literary commentary, and couldn’t give the characters the depth they deserved.
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The Execution – A House That Eats, But Pacing That Falters
Let’s talk about the game itself, because that’s the engine driving this story. The riddle-and-room structure is clever, and when it worked, it really worked. There were moments where I was holding my breath, waiting to see if they’d solve the puzzle in time. The atmosphere was eerie, and the haunted manor setting was perfect.
But the tension didn’t always stick. Some of the death scenes felt rushed, almost glossed over, like the book wanted to hurry up and get to the next twist. For a story where the stakes are literally life and death, I expected more impact in those moments. If the house is supposed to be “hungry,” I wanted to feel that hunger clawing off the page. Instead, sometimes it was just… poof, one character gone, onto the next riddle.
The pacing was also uneven. The opening chapters were surprisingly slow for such a juicy premise. I had to push myself through the first quarter before it found its rhythm. And once it did, there were still sections that dragged because of lots of repetitive dialogue or filler that didn’t add much suspense.
On the flip side, the book did take risks with its structure. The way the manor itself became almost alive was an original twist on the locked-room setup. I loved that it wasn’t just humans turning on each other (though there’s a bit of that too), but the house itself felt like the true villain. It’s refreshing when an author pushes against familiar tropes, even if the results are a little uneven.
That said, I often found myself wishing the story would “pick a lane.” Did it want to be a gruesome, supernatural survival game? Or did it want to be a slow-burn, character-driven gothic tale? It tried to do both, and ended up a bit scattered.
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Final Thoughts – A Mixed Bag, But Worth a Look
So, where does that leave me? Honestly, somewhere in the middle. 'How to Survive a Horror Story' isn’t the horror masterpiece I hoped for, but it’s also not a flop. It’s more of a mixed bag. Brilliant premise, creative atmosphere, some clever risks… but bogged down by too many characters, uneven pacing, and an execution that didn’t always match the potential.
Would I recommend it? That depends. If you love the locked-room trope but want something a little fresher, you’ll probably enjoy the unique spin this book offers. The manor, the riddles, and the overall concept make it worth checking out, especially if you’re not bothered by a few rough edges.
If you’re someone who needs to be deeply invested in characters to enjoy a survival horror, this one might leave you cold. Personally, I wanted to feel more attached, more devastated when the house claimed its victims. Instead, I mostly admired the creativity from a distance.
One thing I will say: I always appreciate when a debut author swings big. Mallory Arnold took risks here, and even though not all of them paid off for me, I’d rather read an ambitious book that tries to innovate than a safe one that doesn’t surprise me at all. I’ll definitely keep an eye on whatever Arnold writes next.
In the end, I’d rate this around 3 out of 5 stars. Not quite a favorite, but with enough spooky fun and originality that I don’t regret the read. If you’re looking for something eerie, atmospheric, and just a little bit campy, give it a shot. And maybe don’t read it alone in a creaky old house.
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