''December Park'' is a

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

bildungsroman In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is impo ...

suspense novel written by

Ronald Malfi Ronald Malfi is an American novelist whose genres include horror, thrillers, mainstream, and literary fiction. Malfi is also a musician, having fronted the Baltimore-based alternative rock band Nellie Blide as well as his current project, Vee ...

. It was published in 2014 by Medallion Press, with a limited hardcover collectors edition from Cemetery Dance Publications.Publisher's press release of December Park
/ref> Malfi has credited this book with being his most autobiographical to date, citing that the fictional town of Harting Farms and its titular neighborhood park are based on the Maryland suburb of

Severna Park Severna Park is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. Severna Park is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, and is located approximately north of Annapolis, south of Baltimore and east ...

, where Malfi grew up.Severna Park Voice's interview of Ronald Malfi
/ref>

Synopsis

The novel takes place over the course of one year, 1993-1994, and focuses on a group of friends growing up in a small bayside community called Harting Farms,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, located on the shores of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

. The novel is narrated by 15-year-old Angelo "Angie" Mazzone, who relays the story of a child abductor and murderer who has been plaguing his hometown called the

Pied Piper The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to ...

by local police. When the novel opens, Angie and his two best friends, Scott Steeple and Peter Galloway, witness local police extricating the body of a dead girl from the woods that surrounds December Park, a local suburban park. Later, they inform their friend Michael Sugarland of what they saw, and each boy is affected by the event in a different way. Later, Angie befriends his new neighbor and classmate, the awkward Adrian Gardiner, and introduces him to his circle of friends. When Adrian learns of the Piper and the girl found in the woods, he confesses that he recently discovered a heart-shaped locket near where the body was found which must have belonged to the girl. From there, the five friends make a pact, agreeing to continue searching for clues as to the identity of the Piper, who continues his abductions throughout the course of the novel.

Inspiration

In an April 2014 interview with the ''Severna Park Voice'' Malfi said that the impetus for the novel began when he was attending

Severna Park High School Severna Park High School is a public high school in the United States located in the suburban CDP of Severna Park, Maryland. It is a part of the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system. SPHS opened its doors to students in 1959 and was the seve ...

, with his intention being to write a horror novel that included his friends as main characters and many of the locations of his hometown of

as the backdrop. The book went through several drafts and title changes until, two decades later, it was published as a coming-of-age thriller. Malfi has often referred to the novel as a "fictionalized memoir with a serial killer subplot," and notes that the fictional town of Harting Farms is a derivative of the Arnold, Maryland neighborhood of Harting Farm. Names of local landmarks have been changed, with, for example, "Governor Highway" in the book replacing the real

Governor Ritchie Highway Maryland Route 2 (MD 2) is the longest state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The route runs from Solomons Island in Calvert County north to an intersection with U.S. Route 1 (US 1)/ US 40 Truck ( North Avenue) in Baltimore. The route ...

and the "Generous Superstore" as a stand-in for the chain of grocery stores known as Giant Food of Maryland.

Reception

The book received generally favorable reviews, with '' Booklist'' touting that "horror and crime fans will find much to like here" while Horror Novel Reviews called the novel "a consistently engaging read, and one that should have you turning the pages long into the night....a great book about childhood. Malfi's at the top of his game, and December Park is a must-have for horror readers. Highly recommended." Reader reviews were mixed, with some suggesting this was Malfi's strongest book to date while others complained about the languid pace of the novel and the fact that it did not involve any supernatural or horror genre elements.Reader reviews of December Park on Goodreads
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References

{{Reflist 2014 American novels American thriller novels Chesapeake Bay Novels set in Maryland Severna Park, Maryland American bildungsromans