About the Book:
First the birds disappeared.
Then the insects took over.
Then the madness began . . .
They call it Wanderer’s Folly–a disease of delusions, of daydreams and nightmares. A plague threatening to wipe out the human race.
After two years of creeping decay, David Arlen woke up one morning thinking that the worst was over. By midnight, he’s bleeding and terrified, his wife is dead, and he’s on the run in a stolen car with his eight-year-old daughter, who may be the key to a cure.
Ellie is a special girl. Deep. Insightful. And she knows David is lying to her. Lying about her mother. Lying about what they’re running from. And lying about what he sees when he takes his eyes off the road . . .
395 pages, Paperback
First published: July 26, 2016
Genre: Horror, Dystopian, Post-apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
My Review:
And so begins The Night Parade by Ronald Malfi. While I enjoy the horror genre, I don’t normally reach for post-apocalyptical books. In this case, I’m glad I did.
Ronald Malfi knows how to build suspense, the characters, and this dismal world where David decides to go on the run with his daughter, Ellie. This story is both intense and disturbing but in a page-turning kind of way.
Because the author is so good with descriptions that matter, I really felt like I was there. The danger Ellie and David face is realistic and horrific at the same time. I could picture these things happening in a world where society is collapsing.
The book flips from the recent past to the present, but is not confusing in any way. It’s an easy read, a real page-turner.
My Rating: 
It starts out strong and gets 4/5 stars from me. It would have been a solid 5-star book for me, but as it turned out, I did not like the ending that much. When I read what other people had to say, most didn’t mind the ending. While the ending cannot be considered terrible, I guess maybe I was hoping for something different to happen.
But regardless, I do recommend reading this one! And I will definitely read more of Ronald Malfi’s books!
About the Author:
Ronald Malfi is the 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. 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.”
Ronald Malfi was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1977, the eldest of four children, and eventually relocated to Maryland, where he and his wife, Debra, currently reside along the Chesapeake Bay with their two daughters.
Get the book on Amazon
The Author’s website: Ronald Malfi
Thank you so much for reading, writing, lurking, and commenting! I appreciate you and I hope this week finds you well. 
Just downloaded the Audible version, a reason to wait impatiently for September so I can listen in my car on my way to work!
I’m so glad you got it! Please, please, come back if you can and let me know what you thought. I’d love to hear! 🤍🌺
Ooo this sounds like one of those wonderfully realistic creepy dystopian books that put you right into the story like you’re there. I’m glad it’s a non-confusing read with flipping between past & present (it doesn’t take much to confuse me anymore!)
To be honest, while I used to read or watch a lot more sci-fi and dystopian (and zombie) stuff, I don’t so much anymore. But I’d often find endings to be a bit disappointing. I think it’s hard to get a satisfactory ending with things like this, because there’s nothing that is satisfactory in many cases. It’s a shame this one didn’t live up to the rest of the book but I’d still like to give this one a read.
Thanks for sharing & wonderfully reviewed!
Caz xx
PS. I can’t remember if I said this already but I love the changes to your site. It’s gawwwwgeous & very sophistimacated 😉
YAY!! Your comment is here! I’m so glad you are able to comment now. Thank you for letting me know about the “nonce” error you were getting. You were not the only one having that issue. xoxo
This book definitely was creepy. There were parts that had my skin crawling and it was sooo suspenseful. 😀 In a good way.
I get confused easily, let me tell you! Haha!
I think you’re right about the endings to books such as these. You don’t really know what you’re getting. All in all, I still recommend this one just because throughout, I was on the edge of my seat. And, you might like the ending even though I didn’t.
I’m so, so glad to see you, Caz. xoxo 🤍🤍
P.S. Thank you so much, Chickie! I’ve worked very hard at it. I went through so many different mock-ups, my head ached. LOL
That sounds like an intriguing post-apocalyptic book. You wrote a great and informative review.
Thank you, Thomas, that is kind of you to say.
What a wonderful review Kymber. Thanks so much for sharing it my friend. 🥰💖😍
Thank you so much, Kym. I’m glad you liked it. 🤍
You are so very welcome Kymber. Yes I did enjoy it my friend. 🤗💖😘
Thank you for sharing your great review, Kymber. The book seems to have a good story line, and the writing kept your attention. Unfortunately, the ending wasn’t what you expected.
Thank you so much, Miriam. What you say is true. Perhaps I should reread it in the future. I might change my mind. 🙂
It’s okay, Kymber. Reviews are personal. They don’t have to agree with other reviews. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your review, Kymber. I don’t often read horror, but it sounds like the book did a good job of keeping up the tension. Too bad the ending didn’t work as well for you as for other readers. I love how we all react differently to books. Happy Reading.
Thank you, Diana. I love that, too, and I’m curious to find out what others think, so I’ll be checking back on its reviews again to see if there is anything new.
I’m not much of a reader unfortunately. Every so often though I will reread the Iliad and the Odyssey, ancient stories. I’ve also read the Aeneid a few times too. Wow! I must be really, really old!
LOL Those are definitely worthwhile reads. 😀
I enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction so will give this a try. Great review. Thanks for sharing, Kymber 💕🙂
You’re welcome, Harmony. Thank you so much for stopping by. I bet you will like this one. I would love to know what you think of it.
That sounds right up my alley! I love shows like The Walking Dead and other apocalyptic tales.
I think you’d like this one, then. It is very well written and I swear, my heart was pounding so much from the suspense! LOL
Oooh, that makes it all real! It was like that for me when reading The Shining and other books that King writes.
Now that you mention King, this reminds me a little bit of Fire Starter because of the father running away with his daughter. It gave me those vibes.
I am thinking of trying some post-apocalyptic stories. Maybe this one though I–like you–hate bad endings. I usually knock off a star for that also.
The book is so good, I hated to mention the ending, especially since so many didn’t seem to agree with me. lol I just wish there had been more to the ending, maybe. There were chapters where I should have taken my pulse because I feared so much for David and Ellie. Let me know if you read this one. I’d love to hear your take on it.