Horror

December Park

December Park

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  • Create Date：2021-07-17 07:52:10
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ronald Malfi
  • ISBN：1504066863
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Summary

"A complex and chilling tale of friends， family and the often murderous secrets that hide in the dark" from the award-winning author of Bone White （Robert McCammon， New York Times-bestselling author）。

The Piper has come to take the children away 。 。 。

In the fall of 1993， fifteen-year-old Angelo Mazzone sees his first dead body。 The murder is linked to the Piper， the possible abductor of three other children--who haven't been found--over the past few months。

Some people in town say the woods are haunted， but Angelo and his friends head in anyway， to search the darkness for a monster。 What they find there will change who they are--and everything they once believed in 。 。 。

"A frightening， thoroughly engaging read with a deeply moving series of narrative motifs running throughout， ones that needle the mind and tug at the heart in the best way 。 。 。 A triumph of suspense， an affectionate ode to adolescence and by far Ronald Malfi's strongest effort to date。" --Horror Novel Reviews

"Malfi is a man of many voices， a sort of literary version of Mel Blanc （the 'man of a thousand voices'）， but all of his voices are captivating， though none of them quite the same。 Horror and crime fans will find much to like here。" --Booklist

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Reviews

Sarahreese ，

Great Read！I loved this book！ It reminded me of being a teenager in the 70s。 We did everything outdoors and away from our parent's prying eyes。 It is a scary mystery story with a surprise ending。 I could not put it down。 Great Read！I loved this book！ It reminded me of being a teenager in the 70s。 We did everything outdoors and away from our parent's prying eyes。 It is a scary mystery story with a surprise ending。 I could not put it down。 。。。more

Dibs Dow ，

I am a sucker for coming-of-age horrors （though I prefer the supernatural sort。） This is one of my favourite Malfi books。 Not a spoiler， but I hated the ending。 I rarely use that word unless I really mean it。 Some other reviews have bemoaned it's length， but I think that if you're going to write about the development of teens under some pretty adverse circumstances， you're going to want a lot of words to do so。 I am a sucker for coming-of-age horrors （though I prefer the supernatural sort。） This is one of my favourite Malfi books。 Not a spoiler， but I hated the ending。 I rarely use that word unless I really mean it。 Some other reviews have bemoaned it's length， but I think that if you're going to write about the development of teens under some pretty adverse circumstances， you're going to want a lot of words to do so。 。。。more

Sasha ，

This has entered my list of favorite books of all time！ It is a chunker but every second was well worth it！ Malfi did an extremely good job with the character development， the atmosphere， the plot twists。。。I can't think of one thing I would have changed！ I loved every bit of it！ This has entered my list of favorite books of all time！ It is a chunker but every second was well worth it！ Malfi did an extremely good job with the character development， the atmosphere， the plot twists。。。I can't think of one thing I would have changed！ I loved every bit of it！ 。。。more

Amanda ，

Loved it。 Really took me into the lives of the kids， their friendships， and that time。

Stacey OBrien ，

Awesome book， major twistIt's 2:55am and I literally had to stay up， even though I have things to do， because this book really got to me。The characters were excellently drawn and reminded me of Stephen King's characters- they feel like real people with real depth and backstories and motivations that make sense。 Conversation flows naturally as does the plot and story arc。This was a lot like a Stephen King novel where the story is told from the POV of kids in a town， where the town is a character Awesome book， major twistIt's 2:55am and I literally had to stay up， even though I have things to do， because this book really got to me。The characters were excellently drawn and reminded me of Stephen King's characters- they feel like real people with real depth and backstories and motivations that make sense。 Conversation flows naturally as does the plot and story arc。This was a lot like a Stephen King novel where the story is told from the POV of kids in a town， where the town is a character in its own right。It's an adventure with heart and depth。 I really hope this author has more books - I happened across this book so I don't know anything about the author， but my next move will be to see if he has any more books。You'll really enjoy this book！ It's a keeper！ Wow！ 。。。more

Pernille ，

3。5

Natasha Van Duser ，

I went above and beyond to track down a physical copy of this novel， and it was beyond well worth the effort。December Park is a coming of age story any fan of Stephen King's It needs to read。 Based in a small town in Maryland， five teenage boys go on a year's long adventure to discover the true identity of the serial killer who has been plaguing their town。 They call him The Piper， because he lures away children never to be seen again。 The character dynamics of Decemeber Park allowed for one of I went above and beyond to track down a physical copy of this novel， and it was beyond well worth the effort。December Park is a coming of age story any fan of Stephen King's It needs to read。 Based in a small town in Maryland， five teenage boys go on a year's long adventure to discover the true identity of the serial killer who has been plaguing their town。 They call him The Piper， because he lures away children never to be seen again。 The character dynamics of Decemeber Park allowed for one of the best character-driven novels I have ever read to really flourish。 Angelo， Adrian， Michael， Peter and Scott all felt like totally fleshed out individuals that I believed I could have gone to school with。 They made sense as friends， but their differences allowed for compelling situations to unfold。December Park， unlike many of Malfi's other works， is not a location based horror story。 It is also not a plot based story。 December Park's effectiveness relies entirely on the friendship of its five main characters， but oddly， never feels stagnant or overdone。 It's difficult to talk about December Park without spoiling any of its many twists and turns， but I can say that this book is first and foremost a beautiful metaphor for the loss of innocence as one grows up and has to leave their childhood behind。 The ending of this novel really hits that nail on the head， and while from a practical stand point， the ending may seem to at first miss the landing， the execution and point it is driving home （metaphorically） brings this conclusion to a bitter， yet highly relatable conclusion。 。。。more

Kristyn ，

**5 out of 5 stars！**Oh。 Wow。 I just finished this and am still reeling from that ending。 I need a moment。 Okay。 I think I'm good now。。。What a book！ It had all of my favorite elements。 Coming of age， in the 90's， well-developed characters that you care about， suspense/mystery， a twist。。。（that I did not see coming！ What？！）， and some genuinely thrilling moments。 I could not stop reading in that final stretch of the story。 The characters were the winning aspect all the way。 I loved all of them。 But **5 out of 5 stars！**Oh。 Wow。 I just finished this and am still reeling from that ending。 I need a moment。 Okay。 I think I'm good now。。。What a book！ It had all of my favorite elements。 Coming of age， in the 90's， well-developed characters that you care about， suspense/mystery， a twist。。。（that I did not see coming！ What？！）， and some genuinely thrilling moments。 I could not stop reading in that final stretch of the story。 The characters were the winning aspect all the way。 I loved all of them。 But special shout out to my main man， Peter ;）。 I particularly liked he and Angelo's （Angie） friendship and bond。 I respected Peter's level-head and calmness he often brought to the mix。 Also， the father and son moments between Angie （our main character） and his father were so real and touching ❤。 There were times my heart just couldn't handle it。 Seriously。 Can't recommend this book enough and I can't believe that more people aren't talking about it。 It was so good！ I was very lucky to even get a copy。。。sooo glad I did！ Would hate to miss this one for sure。 。。。more

Ingrid Kim ，

What a ride。。。 It's been quite a while since I experienced this "I don't want this book to end EVER" feeling while reading。 I enjoyed the two previous Malfi I read， but this one is another level of awesome。 I usually am a bit tired of coming of age thrillers or horror， so often similar to It or Boy's life， but this one was so original， so relatable and sensible and intense that it made me remember I love this trope when it's well done。 Having teens instead of little kids was refreshing， and havi What a ride。。。 It's been quite a while since I experienced this "I don't want this book to end EVER" feeling while reading。 I enjoyed the two previous Malfi I read， but this one is another level of awesome。 I usually am a bit tired of coming of age thrillers or horror， so often similar to It or Boy's life， but this one was so original， so relatable and sensible and intense that it made me remember I love this trope when it's well done。 Having teens instead of little kids was refreshing， and having been a 13 year old in 94 made me all the more partial to the story。 I can't convey enough how I loved this book， how great the writing is， how nicely the tension builds and you want to hug the bunch as much as slap them， how rich and developed their personalities are。。。 just do yourself a favor and please， read it。 Solid 5 stars。 。。。more

Margaret Rogers ，

A tale of friends in 1993 searching for a child serial killer who's named the Piper。 I feared for these boys and I felt scared for them。 They cared for each other and they were endearing characters。 There was a sense of a boy's life and lots of nostalgia。 This was a good story and moved quickly for me。 I really became invested in their welfare。 This was my first Ronald Malfi book so I will be reading more by this author。 A tale of friends in 1993 searching for a child serial killer who's named the Piper。 I feared for these boys and I felt scared for them。 They cared for each other and they were endearing characters。 There was a sense of a boy's life and lots of nostalgia。 This was a good story and moved quickly for me。 I really became invested in their welfare。 This was my first Ronald Malfi book so I will be reading more by this author。 。。。more

Raymond Stiehl ，

An absolutely amazing book。 A top five read for me。

Sandy Lewis ，

I love Ronald Malfi and his story telling is top notch。 That being said I did not enjoy this story as much as Ithought I would and that is very disappointing。 Nothing much happens for the first half of the book; then it ends with a very weak conclusion that is implausible。 This gave me Stand by Me and IT vibes; maybe paying homage to Stephen King？ I don’t know but it really didn’t work for Malfi in my opinion。 I know plenty of people who love this book and if coming of age stories are of interes I love Ronald Malfi and his story telling is top notch。 That being said I did not enjoy this story as much as Ithought I would and that is very disappointing。 Nothing much happens for the first half of the book; then it ends with a very weak conclusion that is implausible。 This gave me Stand by Me and IT vibes; maybe paying homage to Stephen King？ I don’t know but it really didn’t work for Malfi in my opinion。 I know plenty of people who love this book and if coming of age stories are of interest then check this one out for yourself。 。。。more

Amanda ，

I really didn't want this book to be over。 It was excellent。 A little slow at times but overall in my opinion 5 stars are deserved for sure。 Nostalgic， great characters， and a very good story。 I really didn't want this book to be over。 It was excellent。 A little slow at times but overall in my opinion 5 stars are deserved for sure。 Nostalgic， great characters， and a very good story。 。。。more

Shorty ，

Man， Ronald Malfi has done it again！ What a wonderfully written and captivating novel。 My soul has a special room in it set aside for coming of age stories set against the backdrop of something evil happening in a small town。 This one hit the spot！ I never really knew where this story was going to go next， and that thrilled me。 And the final reveal was unforeseeable！ The ending choked me up pretty good， too。Eric G。 Dove is the fantastic narrator for this audiobook。 His talents are what brought t Man， Ronald Malfi has done it again！ What a wonderfully written and captivating novel。 My soul has a special room in it set aside for coming of age stories set against the backdrop of something evil happening in a small town。 This one hit the spot！ I never really knew where this story was going to go next， and that thrilled me。 And the final reveal was unforeseeable！ The ending choked me up pretty good， too。Eric G。 Dove is the fantastic narrator for this audiobook。 His talents are what brought this novel to another level， for me。 I will have to search out more of his audiobooks quite soon， as I was captivated from the very beginning。 Fantastic emoting， and I loved his characterizations！All in all， I can’t recommend this novel more。 Please give it a try if you haven’t already。 It’ll be worth your while。4。5 stars 。。。more

Alan ，

I've been a fan of Ronald Malfi for years， but hadn't read anything of his in awhile。 I'm so glad I finally read December Park， because it may just be his magnum opus。I was a bit hesitant to read this one because on the GR categories it's listed as being YA。 Which is ridiculous。 People need to stop categorizing every book that stars teens as the protagonists as YA。 This was a straight up adult horror/thriller like Stephen King's It or Dan Simmons's Summer of Night， but without the supernatural e I've been a fan of Ronald Malfi for years， but hadn't read anything of his in awhile。 I'm so glad I finally read December Park， because it may just be his magnum opus。I was a bit hesitant to read this one because on the GR categories it's listed as being YA。 Which is ridiculous。 People need to stop categorizing every book that stars teens as the protagonists as YA。 This was a straight up adult horror/thriller like Stephen King's It or Dan Simmons's Summer of Night， but without the supernatural elements。December Park unspools almost like a memoir。 The story and the characters are written so authentically， they seem like they're right out of real life。 From the get go there's a palpable dread permeating the story， keeping you on edge wanting to hurry up and find out where the tale is going， but at the same time not really wanting to know。**Minor Spoiler-ish**And the resolution was definitely not what I ever would have expected。 It really came out of left field。 It was original， but also kind of surprising in a way that I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it。 Was it brilliant or was it kinda cheesy？ I'm still not sure。But overall this book was pure literary horror and an emotional roller coaster。 。。。more

CORY ，

EXCELLENT BOOK

Leda Frost ，

DNF p。 50 or so。 Didn't hold my interest， but I won't hold it against him。 I guess a boy's coming of age story wasn't for me， which I should have known， but I liked the author and wanted to give it a shot。 DNF p。 50 or so。 Didn't hold my interest， but I won't hold it against him。 I guess a boy's coming of age story wasn't for me， which I should have known， but I liked the author and wanted to give it a shot。 。。。more

Atul Kachru ，

I have a soft spot for coming of age thrillers。 This one has some unique ideas， but sags enough in the middle that I questioned whether I would finish the story。 Ultimately， the third act remained engaging even if the payoff didn't feel earned。There are better stories than this in the genre I think。 I have a soft spot for coming of age thrillers。 This one has some unique ideas， but sags enough in the middle that I questioned whether I would finish the story。 Ultimately， the third act remained engaging even if the payoff didn't feel earned。There are better stories than this in the genre I think。 。。。more

Oxana ，

I'm really， really sorry， but it didn't work for me。 The writing was pretty good， but boy， how boring the plot was！ And I guess the next time I see another 80s-90s nostalgic reference， I gonna puke。 WE GOT IT， YOU ALSO LIKE KURT COBAIN， SPRINGSTEEN， 80S CLASSIC HORROR MOVIES AND THE MOST POPULAR HORROR AUTHORS。 SO WHAT？ One can't base a whole book on just naming things we all like and remembering how everything was greener back then。The characterisation was also uneven。 I could distinguish Angel I'm really， really sorry， but it didn't work for me。 The writing was pretty good， but boy， how boring the plot was！ And I guess the next time I see another 80s-90s nostalgic reference， I gonna puke。 WE GOT IT， YOU ALSO LIKE KURT COBAIN， SPRINGSTEEN， 80S CLASSIC HORROR MOVIES AND THE MOST POPULAR HORROR AUTHORS。 SO WHAT？ One can't base a whole book on just naming things we all like and remembering how everything was greener back then。The characterisation was also uneven。 I could distinguish Angelo's granddad， Angelo himself， Michael & Adrian。 The Keener's band of psychos are just psychos， （how taaaame） without any reason， but let it be。 What struck me though was that Angelo's BEST FRIEND was just a bleak fleck of a character。 And so was Scott。 Though we do know about Scott that he had a knife and liked movies（feel my irony）。What do we know about Peter-the-best-friend？ Nevermind， I must have missed something。 。。。more

brianna ，

Another solid horror by Malfi， taking on the well-worn coming-of-age group of kids versus a murderer。 I really enjoyed this， and it was genuinely creepy。

ju ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I was really into solve the mystery with this teens。 For moments I freak out with them"go tell your father！ that's dangerous！" （I'm too old for this）When I was pass the middle I was thinking "this gonna be a 4 star because I don't like when a autor don't create a realy good killer， I mean is ease surprise you with the ending if you don't talk before of who the killer really is"。 Then， THAT ending came and， I must to eat my thoughts。 O。oAnd of course 5 star for the music to😍 I was really into solve the mystery with this teens。 For moments I freak out with them"go tell your father！ that's dangerous！" （I'm too old for this）When I was pass the middle I was thinking "this gonna be a 4 star because I don't like when a autor don't create a realy good killer， I mean is ease surprise you with the ending if you don't talk before of who the killer really is"。 Then， THAT ending came and， I must to eat my thoughts。 O。oAnd of course 5 star for the music to😍 。。。more

Maria Rose ，

I decided I enjoyed this read of December Park at the end of 2020 and the start of 2021。 In fact， I finished the book within the early hours of the first day。 The book is told through the eyes of the narrator Angelo Mazzone， who is an adolescent boy of 15 at the start who experiences a change in his viewpoint of life in the 18 months of the story because of what he learns。 He is the youngest son and lives with his father and grandparents in the town of Harting Farms， Maryland right off the Chesa I decided I enjoyed this read of December Park at the end of 2020 and the start of 2021。 In fact， I finished the book within the early hours of the first day。 The book is told through the eyes of the narrator Angelo Mazzone， who is an adolescent boy of 15 at the start who experiences a change in his viewpoint of life in the 18 months of the story because of what he learns。 He is the youngest son and lives with his father and grandparents in the town of Harting Farms， Maryland right off the Chesapeake Bridge。 He's part of a group of boys， Scott， Peter， and Michael， who add to their group the new kid Adrian who had moved in next door to Angie。 The story starts in October 1993 just before Halloween when the boys are riding their bikes near an overpass section that had a broken guardrail because of a drunken-driving accident， the week before。 They find a group consisting of cops and ambulance personnel blocking half the road。 They ride past and hang out on the other side to watch and they see a body being brought up the embankment on a stretcher covered with a sheet which happens to blow up because of the wind just enough for them to see the body briefly。 From Angie's father， they find out that it was a girl who had gone missing recently。 The boys get the idea that they need to solve the mystery of who the Piper was， to figure out and stop the disappearances of the children from Adrian， who had found a locket that belonged to the dead girl whose body they had seen。 Their investigations （little explorations） lead them to the site of the old original building that had been the girls' school twin building to Stanton， called the Patapsco Building， which had been abandoned decades ago。 It was built on the top of the cliffs that overlook the river。 The cliffs had caves and tunnels which lead into the bottom of the building。 They realize that they need to report their findings to the police， Angie's father， but before they do so Adrian goes missing， and after riding with his father on the initial ride search， he gets his friends together to hopefully rescue Adrian。 They find him and the Piper in the Patapsco Building in the room with the hooklike hanging projectiles。 Because of the extreme dark and limitations of the flashlights， they only see flashes of the Piper in motion but Angie manages to hit the Piper with 2 bullets when he shoots off his father's gun。 When Angie goes to check on Piper's body， he recognizes the person as his brother， whom he believed had died in Iraq as a soldier。 This is the part of the book， I found to be the most disturbing because it involves secrets of family interactions。 Charlie was the older brother of Angie， whom Angie had adored as a role model。 He had many memories of him， one of which was the memory of Charles's "rescue" of him。 In the trama of realizing that he had killed his brother， he remembers the entire incident， including the repressed memory that Charles had caused him to fall out of the boat because of his erratic behavior。 His father in dealing with Charles and his behavior had forced him to join the military， in the hopes that the discipline learned would help him control his outburst， rather than seeking the psychological help he needed。 What Charles had done was use the excuse of the attack in Iraq to switch identities and returned unknown to all back to Harting Farms。 Unfortunately， he had become very psychotic was suffering from PSTD。 He hid in the cliffs and found his way up into the Patapsco Building， where he started his killing spree。The events of this year （1993-1994） on Angie， makes him realize that he needs to explore better options for his life going forth。 Both his father and his current English teacher agree that he has the potential ability to become a great writer based on their reactions to his writings。 I loved the "reference" of using an old regular typewriter （one that needed ink ribbons） and required hand pressure to the type-bars to put words to paper。 I know that it is a very foreign idea to people who have never use a real typewriter to understand the connection between your hand movement and your thought process。I am glad I ended 2020and started 2021 with this book because it makes one review your present life situation and revise your concept of the next step， by accepting the fact that it takes a leap of fate sometimes to go forward。 Great read。 。。。more

Casie Blevins ，

DNF at page 283。 For god's sake this novel needs to go on a diet。 It's bloated and fat and pointless。 Of what I read so far I feel like he could have chopped it down by 200 pages and that would have vastly improved the story。 There are so many floating scenes with just a bit of dialogue that serve no purpose。 The motivations of the characters seem weak or waffly。 There's not enough forward motion to the plot to carry it further。 I am just all around disappointed by it。 I was tricked by the lovel DNF at page 283。 For god's sake this novel needs to go on a diet。 It's bloated and fat and pointless。 Of what I read so far I feel like he could have chopped it down by 200 pages and that would have vastly improved the story。 There are so many floating scenes with just a bit of dialogue that serve no purpose。 The motivations of the characters seem weak or waffly。 There's not enough forward motion to the plot to carry it further。 I am just all around disappointed by it。 I was tricked by the lovely cover。 。。。more

AJ ，

3。5 This was a suspenseful journey which kept me guessing until the very end; and it was a mighty twist which was impossible to have guessed so it was definitely a shocker。 Recommend for anyone who likes a dark mystery。

Nat ，

Great coming of age horror story

Beth Roberts ，

Fantastic。 Similar to The Body for the nineties generation。 Fantastic。 Similar to The Body for the nineties generation。 。。。more

Vincent Rey ，

12 out of 10。Quite possibly the best emotional roller coaster ride I've been in， and will ever be。 12 out of 10。Quite possibly the best emotional roller coaster ride I've been in， and will ever be。 。。。more

Nathan Brown ，

I chose this book at random and， luckily， I really enjoyed reading it。 It was hard to put down and I liked the characters。 Good stuff。

Libby Zellers ，

This book is pure nostalgia and murder and I didn’t want it to end。

Ken Jensen ，

This sat on my tbr for at least 4 years。 That was a mistake。 This book was wonderful。 The characters are fun to follow as they try to solve the mystery of the killer。 The end is crushing and unexpected but fits with some of the hints dropped through the book。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=December Park

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=December Park&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,December Park&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0