Written in Malice
Daniel Park hasn't written a sentence in fourteen months.
His agent has stopped pretending. His advance is spent. He has six weeks to deliver the novel he's owed his publisher or surrender money he no longer has. So he does what writers like him do when their lives are on fire; he retreats to a cabin in the woods. October on a ridge in LaRue County, Kentucky. Gravel road. Dead cell signal. Fog so thick in the hollow that the road back disappears at sundown.
On the second night, he finds the journal in the attic.
Leather. Warm to the touch. Pages thick and waiting.
"Quiet enough to hear your own thoughts. If you can stand what they're saying."
He tells himself he won't open it.
He opens it.
He writes one page. He sleeps better than he has in months. In the morning, he writes another. The cabin is silent. The woods are silent. The journal is silent. Everything in Daniel's life is finally, terribly, working.
He should know better.
Written in Malice is a slow-burn literary thriller about a man, a cabin, and the patient cost of finally writing something true. A complete standalone novella for readers of A Head Full of Ghosts, Home Before Dark, and The Twisted Ones.
Don't forget to come back to check out all the other Lethal Obsession stories in the collection!
Reader Reviews
14 ratings
Carol G.
Written in Malice is a creepy, tense story about an unravelling writer whose journal entries manifest into reality. A great premise and a fun, quick read!
Daniel G.
Written in Malice was my first book by Carly Black, and it definitely won’t be my last.
This was a quick, addictive read that kept me hooked from beginning to end. The mystery surrounding the journal had me constantly questioning what was really going on and, more importantly, who kept writing in it.
If you enjoy fast-paced psychological mysteries with an intriguing premise that keeps you turning the pages, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a try.
Overall, an excellent story and a fantastic introduction to Carly Black’s writing. I’ll definitely be checking out more of her books! 📖✨
tanya k.
This is a dark and twisted tale of sorrow and justice. I followed this one way down the rabbit hole! This was such a great read!!
Grace .
It was a short, easy to follow read but with a dark and heavy story. Following Daniel’s story made me thought that it was something spooky at first. I was about to really feel bad about his situation. But he did it to himself. He deserved it. He deserved the ending. Kudos for his sister who has been supportive of him. Ugggh! I hate Daniel.
Sabrina B.
Read it in one sitting, no regrets
Okay, I did not plan to lose a whole evening to this book but here we are. I picked it up "just to start it" and then it was midnight and I'd finished the whole thing. Oops.
It's a dark, twisty obsession story — someone's always watching, nobody's telling the full truth, and Carly Black just keeps tightening the screws until you're way more stressed than you meant to be on a random weeknight. I kept doing the "one more chapter" thing and lying to myself about it.
Also a weird little thing that made me love it even more: one of the characters has my name, and somehow my daughter's birthday shows up in the book too. Pretty sure that's a total coincidence and the author has no clue, but it kind of felt like the book was made for me. Stuff like that is why I read.
If you're into slow-burn psychological thrillers with secrets and a grip that doesn't let go, just clear your night now. You're not putting it down anyway. Already waiting on the next one. 👀
Jenny C.
Initially the premise reminded me of Stephen King's Secret Window, but this novella soon took on a personality of it's own. The pacing was consistent and I had to constantly question the sanity of the main character until I figured out the truth around 75% in. Even at that point, I didn't know how the story would resolve.
Jen S.
Written In Malice starts strong and wastes no time dropping you into an eerie, mysterious atmosphere. The creepy cabin vibes are perfectly executed, building an immediate tension that hangs over the entire story. The medium-length chapters keep the suspense building, letting the dread mount steadily.
The pacing stays strong as the plot unfolds, leading to a solid twist that caught me off guard. It shifts the perspective on everything that happens in the cabin just enough to elevate the final act. The ending is decent, wrapping up the narrative in a satisfying way that stays true to the spooky groundwork laid in the beginning. If you like the isolated cabin in the woods trope, you will enjoy this book.
Gail C.
Daniel hasn't written anything in 14 months. His agent is pressing him to meet the deadline and suggests a remote cabin, with no distractions. He finds an old journal in the attic and begins writing in it. He soon discovers what he writes, happens for real within days of writing it. He's drawn to the journal, it's the only place his words flow smoothly. The journal only wants bad, angry thoughts and Daniel struggles to stop writing in the journal. I enjoyed it!
Mandy S.
Dark, unsettling, and impossible to shake. What begins as a writer’s retreat spirals into a chilling exploration of creativity, obsession, and the price of uncovering uncomfortable truths. Atmospheric, intelligent, and wonderfully creepy.
Crystal O.
Carly Black has outdone herself again!
An author has run out of his advancement and has writers block for three years now. He rents a cabin in an isolated area to hopefully help his writers block. He finds a journal and finds that he sometimes writes in it without knowing he has written in it and everything that is written in it starts to happen. He must face the weirdness when he remembers the truth of what happened three years ago.
This will have you hooked from the first paragraph and the writing is superb! Highly recommend as part of The Lethal Obsession Collection
Danielle L.
As always, Carly bailed this book.
Daniel hasn’t written in several months, so he goes to a cabin to try to get out of his writers block. Weird things start happening after he finds a journal in the attic. Things he writes actually start happening and things he doesn’t write end up in the journal.
Something happened 3 years prior that he hasn’t told anyone about. This is all connected in a way you will find out.
This had me hooked from the first page and wondering what the heck was going on!
Anything from Carly is.a must read so don’t miss this one!
Katlin S.
Carly has really outdone herself with this short story. I absolutely loved the concept of this book and it freaked me out a few times! That twist really got me towards the ending.
Matt D.
Daniel has been suffering for 3 years with writers block. His previous work was successful and yet, somehow, he just can't break through. His advance from the publisher has run out. His time has run out. He books a stay at a remote cabin in hopes of ending the nightmare. Little does he know, the nightmare is just beginning. The cabin's sordid history will pull him in, and once it does, his life will be forever changed.
This is a quick read that is an extremely gripping story. I often struggle when we have lots of characters to keep track of names and identities in books, so I was glad this book limited the number of characters. It gave me time to focus on the story and not worry about whether I was missing something. The pacing is quick. The writing is sharp. It's definitely one to grab if you like a creepy, isolated cabin story.
Book a stay at the cabin. Just be careful with what you find there.
Rachel B.
“Written in Malice” by Carly Black was such a great short story! Part of the Lethal Obsession story collection, this one follows a writer retreating to a secluded cabin to finally finish his book, only to find himself haunted by the truth. The atmosphere was tense and creepy, and the deadly secrets woven throughout the story kept me hooked from beginning to end. I read this in one sitting and absolutely loved it!