December Park (2014) by Ronald Malfi

Over the last few decades there have been some excellent examples of the effectiveness of combining horror or mystery plots with a coming of age/bildungsroman tale. Robert McCammon’s Boy’s Life is a great example, as is Dan Simmons’ Summer of Night. Stephen King has done it a couple of times with great success, both in his novella, The Body (made into the movie Stand by Me) and perhaps his most famous example, IT.

December Park takes place over the course of a single year starting in the fall of 1993. Harting Farms is a small, quiet Maryland town in the grips of an increasing realization that they have become the hunting grounds for a predator who abducts and murders teens, labeled by the local media as The Piper. Our main character and narrator is 15-year old Angelo (Angie) Mazzone, the son of a local police officer investigating the abductions. At the beginning of the book, Angie and his tight-knit group of friends happen to be on the scene when the body of a murdered girl is pulled from the woods surrounding December Park, an isolated suburban park.

This event deeply affects the teen boys and galvanizes their resolve to search December Park for clues that could lead them to the identity of The Piper. The novel’s central mystery is ever-present, even as the book focuses on a larger palette of ideas and observations as our ragtag team of boy investigators begins to realize a depth and history to The Piper’s crimes than was previously known. Throughout, the timeframe of the 90s is strongly reinforced with many references to music, movies, and other cultural touch-points that add wonderful period detail. Malfi takes his time weaving his tale, at times becoming almost languid, yet never lapsing into anything less than intriguing.

Special mention should be made of Malfi’s deft handling of the interpersonal relationships between the boys. Their dialog and constant joking around with each other is very believable and helps to quickly delineate their unique personalities. Of special note is a shy and awkward new boy, Adrian, who moves into the neighborhood and is initiated into the group of friends. All of these characters come to life and breathe on the page in a way few authors can as effectively achieve. The town of Harting Farms and its various locations, including December Park, are all rendered in detail that gives the entire book a sense of real place and time. 

There are many memorable action set-pieces as the boys get closer to their goal of unmasking the killer and the suspense ratchets up to a truly chilling, violent, and bittersweet conclusion. If I had any complaint it would be in just how out of left field the resolution to the mystery turns out to be. I would have to re-read the book to be certain, but I feel there are no real clues laid out to enable the careful reader to piece together the killer’s identity. But that is a small quibble in a book so well-written, literary, and genuinely moving.

I have read that this book split the author’s fanbase due to its lack of supernatural elements, which is not typical for Malfi. The deeper into the narrative I went, the more I began to appreciate that very down-to-earth fact about it. There are monsters everywhere. And they are usually human.

I highly recommend this book. It earns its place alongside some giants in its genre.

Review by Steve Carroll