SKULLBELLY, by Ronald Malfi

 Ronald Malfi has been my discovery of 2012. So far this year, I've read THE NARROWS, THE BOY IN THE LOT, and THE MOURNING HOUSE, all of which have been excellent. Add to that list SKULLBELLY, which was absolutely phenomenal. Malfi delivers a fast-paced novella, which finds a Private Investigator looking into the disappearance of a trio of teen-agers. Their friend was found wandering in the woods, terribly wounded, and covered in their blood, and has since been in a vegetative state. The investigation into just what happened in the woods is riveting, and  the end came too soon for this reader. I closed the book (Well, it was an e-book, so I didn't have a book and I didn't close it, but that sounds better than "I shut off The Kindle....") thinking "How the hell did he do that?" I won't say what exactly it WAS that Malfi did, but I will say that SKULLBELLY featured some extraordinary literary sleight-of-hand, and it's cemented Malfi as one of my favorite "New discoveries" of 2012. Highly, highly recommended.
Tomorrow I'll post my "Best of 2012" list.
Hopefully.....