Literary Strange Digest
Review by Jeff Burk

A man wakes up on a Baltimore city bus with no memory of who he is or how he got there, and address written on the back of his hand. So begins Passenger, the dark and paranoid new horror-thriller from Ronald Damien Malfi and Delirium Books. Malfi has written in a wide variety of genres and Passenger will be many horror fans first introduction to his heart-pumping work.

Passenger concerns a nameless protagonist in his early thirties who suddenly awakes on a city transit bus in Baltimore, MD. He realizes that he has no memory as to his identity, where he is, where he is going, where he lives, his past, what has happened to him, or even his own name. All that he is able to discern about himself and his condition is that his hair has recently been cut very short, his threadbare clothes appear to be new, and he has a very bad headache. He has no identification or wallet and no money. Indeed, the only clue he has as to his own existence is the address, written in ink, that he finds scribbled onto the palm of his hand.

The story starts off with a very simple premise and to say more would spoil the tightly-knit tale. Malfi writes tension and terror with startling talent and the reader is sure to remain transfixed to the book as the main character gets closer and closer to finding out the truth of his circumstances.

There is a dream-like quality at times as the main character wanders the streets of Baltimore, which one could argue is the book's other main character. Malfi takes great care in vividly exploring the dirty and dangerous city and using the setting to its fullest effect. A constant sense of doom follows the main character as he explores the dark corners of Baltimore looking for any answer to his plight.

This is a gripping tale that the reader will not be able to put down. Malfi understands the finer points of tension building and mystery and puts them to great use in this dark and dreamy novel. This is a difficult work to review, as any commentary on the work could potentially spoil plot-points for the would-be reader. This is an immensely compelling work that one should go into knowing as little about as possible. Passenger has many shocks and surprises waiting within and an immensely talented writer at the wheel.