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The Death List
Ronnie Dark is having a bad day. Facing rock bottom after losing his job, losing his wife, and being served eviction papers, he hatches a dark and desperate plan for revenge on his ex-wife. Meanwhile, the home's former inhabitant, Patrick Dermotty, the infamous Balloon Boy Killer, has escaped from the institution holding him. Patrick has one to return to his home and finish what he started thirty-five years ago—the resurrection of an ancient, dark deity. Ronnie Dark’s bad day is going to get worse before it gets any better.
269 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 27, 2020
4 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Thomas R. Clark
30 books67 followersThomas R Clark is a musician, writer, and podcast producer & engineer. He is a two-time Splatterpunk Award Nominee for his novella BELLA'S BOYS and the short story Fireflies & Apple Pies (in THE GOD PROVIDES). His books include GOOD BOY, and THE DEATH LIST-published through Stitched Smile Publications, and A PRAYER FROM THE DEAD, THE GOD PROVIDES and SUMMERHOME, from St. Rooster Books. His most recent collection, IMMORAL DILEMMAS, is currently available. Tom's journalism has appeared in Rue Morgue, This Is Infamous, Memento Mori Ink, and House of Stitched Magazine. He lives in Central New York with his wife and their canine companions.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 4, 2021
Great book, start to finish!
The Death List was my first encounter with this author and definitely won’t be my last. It had everything I look for in a novel: great characterization, a unique plot, lots of twists, and plenty of gore. I highly recommend this book for fans of extreme horror.
Ronnie Dark’s bad day only gets worse as he loses first his job, then his wife. The final straw is when he’s served eviction papers. Desperate for revenge against his ex, Ronnie makes his way home with a plan of his own. Meanwhile, the house’s former inhabitant, the infamous Balloon Boy Killer, has escaped from the institution holding him. He wants to finish what he started years ago.
My favorite part of this book was how relatable and believable the characters were. It was like I was there with them, feeling what they were feeling. I also enjoyed the dark humor thrown in. It gave depth to the story. Definitely worth the read. My rating: 4.5 stars.
The Death List was my first encounter with this author and definitely won’t be my last. It had everything I look for in a novel: great characterization, a unique plot, lots of twists, and plenty of gore. I highly recommend this book for fans of extreme horror.
Ronnie Dark’s bad day only gets worse as he loses first his job, then his wife. The final straw is when he’s served eviction papers. Desperate for revenge against his ex, Ronnie makes his way home with a plan of his own. Meanwhile, the house’s former inhabitant, the infamous Balloon Boy Killer, has escaped from the institution holding him. He wants to finish what he started years ago.
My favorite part of this book was how relatable and believable the characters were. It was like I was there with them, feeling what they were feeling. I also enjoyed the dark humor thrown in. It gave depth to the story. Definitely worth the read. My rating: 4.5 stars.
June 22, 2022
What do you get when you cross John Carpenter's Halloween with heavy metal and a dash of afternoon gameshows? That's right, you get The Death List! This serial killer blood fest was a hell of a ride. From start to finish I enjoyed every moment. Compelling characters, wild and violent death scene that will make you look twice when that guy comes to your table at the local Fuddruckers to make balloon animals for your kids. Seriously entertaining stuff here for any horror fan, but especially those who dig serial killers and heavy metal music.
May 31, 2022
In The Death List, Thomas R. Clark takes the baton carried by John Skipp and Craig Spector through the 1980s and runs with it as if he's being pursued by some entity from one of their novels. Rock 'n' roll and exquisitely perverse horror come together with Clark's guidance and wry humor to produce a thrilling experience from the shocking beginning through the blood-soaked conclusion.
Ronnie Dark had it all, but those years were behind him, and it was beginning to look like he was about to lose everything. Bitter and driven by cruel impulses, Ronnie sets his mind on a path he's sure will display all of his spite and condemnation of those he perceives as having wronged him. Unfortunately, Ronnie's plans didn't factor in the previous resident of his mansion making his way back home.
Patrick Dermotty, nurtured on a diet of television game shows and influenced by the dark goddess who inspired the graphic and horrifying murders that earned him the title of the Balloon Boy Killer, has escaped from the institution where he's been all but catatonic for the previous three decades. Dermotty's bloody, violent rampage is far from over, and he's on a collision course with Ronnie Dark, a man with nothing left to lose.
The Death List is heavy metal Halloween, with one of the eeriest and most unsettling killers ever described on page or screen.
The narration provided by Cheryl May is spectacular, especially her delivery of Dermotty's unnerving dialogue following his escape from the asylum. She captures the creep factor of Clark's novella and brings it to an awful but entertaining life.
Ronnie Dark had it all, but those years were behind him, and it was beginning to look like he was about to lose everything. Bitter and driven by cruel impulses, Ronnie sets his mind on a path he's sure will display all of his spite and condemnation of those he perceives as having wronged him. Unfortunately, Ronnie's plans didn't factor in the previous resident of his mansion making his way back home.
Patrick Dermotty, nurtured on a diet of television game shows and influenced by the dark goddess who inspired the graphic and horrifying murders that earned him the title of the Balloon Boy Killer, has escaped from the institution where he's been all but catatonic for the previous three decades. Dermotty's bloody, violent rampage is far from over, and he's on a collision course with Ronnie Dark, a man with nothing left to lose.
The Death List is heavy metal Halloween, with one of the eeriest and most unsettling killers ever described on page or screen.
The narration provided by Cheryl May is spectacular, especially her delivery of Dermotty's unnerving dialogue following his escape from the asylum. She captures the creep factor of Clark's novella and brings it to an awful but entertaining life.
July 25, 2025
This story hits and hits hard. My first Thomas Clark read did not disappoint. Who doesn’t love a mental patient on the loose and the lead character being a Heavy Metal god…well used to be. Get ready for shock and awe and let the games begin!
December 30, 2020
This is an amazing debut novel by Thomas R. Clark. The novel is a peek into the mind of someone working out how to commit suicide because his life no longer has meaning. Clark has found a way to weave a tale that has ample sarcasm, brutal terror, and dread while keeping the subject of suicide in the background as the story unfolds. The power of this story is more meaningful to me after reading the Acknowledgements section at the end of the novel. Clark takes us through several dynamic emotions; to the edge of darkness and back. There is a powerful message in this story that everyone should read. Clark also reminds us that we each have a role in helping our friends that struggle with their inner demons and that there is help if they reach for it.
Ronnie Dark is a washed up rock star. His band, The Dark, has broken up, he is in the midst of a divorce with his wife and hates his life. He wants to get revenge by leaving his wife a parting gift in the house he is supposed to vacate. Meanwhile, a psychopath has found a way to escape confinement and has some unfinished business to take care of at his old home, the home currently owned by Ronnie Dark and his wife. Murder and mayhem ensue while Ronnie is trying to decide what is the best way to leave both this world and the perfect retribution.
Ronnie Dark is a washed up rock star. His band, The Dark, has broken up, he is in the midst of a divorce with his wife and hates his life. He wants to get revenge by leaving his wife a parting gift in the house he is supposed to vacate. Meanwhile, a psychopath has found a way to escape confinement and has some unfinished business to take care of at his old home, the home currently owned by Ronnie Dark and his wife. Murder and mayhem ensue while Ronnie is trying to decide what is the best way to leave both this world and the perfect retribution.
June 15, 2022
This one wasn’t as good as Bella’s Boys but it was still a pretty great story! It was a very unique and interesting the way the story played out. I will never be able to look at balloon animals the same ever again.
December 19, 2020
The Death List by the talented Thomas R Clark is an Extreme Horror story full of incredibly dark life humor.
This is a unique and irreverent story that takes Murphy’s Law to horrific and humorous new depths. It’s a suspenseful page-turner to make you chuckle and cringe in empathy and alarm, sometimes simultaneously, as the story builds and progresses. The colorful characters are wholly entertaining themselves, and they both compliment and drive the action. The brutality and gore are not as graphic as one expects from most Extreme Horror, it is instead balanced, but this IS Extreme Horror, so check your intestinal fortitude before you dive in.
Without offering a spoiler, I will say Clark inflicts one of life’s most daunting and frustrating obstacles onto our main character. It is something we can all relate to, a small horror of existence we have all suffered through. It is a truly cringe-worthy tidbit.
The Death List has a delightful lateral link to Bella’s Boys, though you can read them in any order. But you should definitely read them both.
Clark is a fun, fresh voice in Extreme Horror, and I highly recommend The Death List to fans of daring horror tales.
This is a unique and irreverent story that takes Murphy’s Law to horrific and humorous new depths. It’s a suspenseful page-turner to make you chuckle and cringe in empathy and alarm, sometimes simultaneously, as the story builds and progresses. The colorful characters are wholly entertaining themselves, and they both compliment and drive the action. The brutality and gore are not as graphic as one expects from most Extreme Horror, it is instead balanced, but this IS Extreme Horror, so check your intestinal fortitude before you dive in.
Without offering a spoiler, I will say Clark inflicts one of life’s most daunting and frustrating obstacles onto our main character. It is something we can all relate to, a small horror of existence we have all suffered through. It is a truly cringe-worthy tidbit.
The Death List has a delightful lateral link to Bella’s Boys, though you can read them in any order. But you should definitely read them both.
Clark is a fun, fresh voice in Extreme Horror, and I highly recommend The Death List to fans of daring horror tales.
July 19, 2025
"The Death List: Remastered" is Thomas R. Clark's updated version of his 2020 debut novel, an entertaining slasher tale revolving around a washed up rock star trying to unalive himself, a demented serial killer escaping from the institution he was held in for decades, and what happens when one man's path crosses the other's! The premise sounds darkly humorous, if not absurd, and, well, it is, though the idea of unaliving oneself is treated with all the seriousness it deserves (all joking aside, this is an issue Clark takes not at all lightly, as his acknowledgments show); however, the way the plot develops, it's hard not to laugh aloud at the rock star's ire at his cheating wife, and the revenge plan he comes up with - not to mention the slow, complicated, bloody and gory building up to the meeting with the psychopath.
So many people are converging on the same place (the wife, the police, a psychiatrist, and so on), the book feels like a Coen brothers movie with "Better Call Saul"'s sarcastic humor - packaged as an occult Halloween-inspired slasher, with a creepy mask, gore, and everything! Add to this the New York music scene references, and you have a hugely enjoyable book to read in a couple of sittings!
The original "Death List" stopped a bit earlier than the "Remastered" version. Wisely, Clark added the full ending, and made the book even better. I really hope that there is a sequel in the works, as hinted. I recommend the book to slasher fans, of course, and readers who enjoy clever and heartfelt horror tales with flawed characters and uncomfortable situations. Though you'll probably not see ballon animals the same way again!
So many people are converging on the same place (the wife, the police, a psychiatrist, and so on), the book feels like a Coen brothers movie with "Better Call Saul"'s sarcastic humor - packaged as an occult Halloween-inspired slasher, with a creepy mask, gore, and everything! Add to this the New York music scene references, and you have a hugely enjoyable book to read in a couple of sittings!
The original "Death List" stopped a bit earlier than the "Remastered" version. Wisely, Clark added the full ending, and made the book even better. I really hope that there is a sequel in the works, as hinted. I recommend the book to slasher fans, of course, and readers who enjoy clever and heartfelt horror tales with flawed characters and uncomfortable situations. Though you'll probably not see ballon animals the same way again!
October 15, 2024
Thomas R. Clark, like many authors, has reoccurring themes and references in his stories. This is by no means a bad thing.
Are you a fan of heavy metal of various subgenres?
Chances are, you'll see some familiar band names setting the background for the scenes.
Do you like/love violence and gore?
You're likely to get that too! Though, he portions it out appropriately. He reads the room (a.k.a. what the scene and tale calls for). He knows when over-the-top splatter is called for and when subtlety is right.
Are you looking for ancient and or cosmic deities/horrors?
Yes sir/ma'am/preferred honorific! He is not called the master of splatterfolk for nothing.
That being said, "The Death List" is the tale of rock god Ronnie Dark, turned hair-metal cruise guitarist and his battle with a pending divorce, how he's going to handle it, and (in my opinion) the true star of the book... a hang nail.
Oh, did I mention the serial killer? The one that killed his friends and family in the house that Ronnie is living in now? Or how, after 35 years... he's coming home?
I didn't? Well, I guess you're just going to have to read or listen to the story to find out.
Are you a fan of heavy metal of various subgenres?
Chances are, you'll see some familiar band names setting the background for the scenes.
Do you like/love violence and gore?
You're likely to get that too! Though, he portions it out appropriately. He reads the room (a.k.a. what the scene and tale calls for). He knows when over-the-top splatter is called for and when subtlety is right.
Are you looking for ancient and or cosmic deities/horrors?
Yes sir/ma'am/preferred honorific! He is not called the master of splatterfolk for nothing.
That being said, "The Death List" is the tale of rock god Ronnie Dark, turned hair-metal cruise guitarist and his battle with a pending divorce, how he's going to handle it, and (in my opinion) the true star of the book... a hang nail.
Oh, did I mention the serial killer? The one that killed his friends and family in the house that Ronnie is living in now? Or how, after 35 years... he's coming home?
I didn't? Well, I guess you're just going to have to read or listen to the story to find out.
February 6, 2024
2nd book I've read by Thomas Clark and it did not disappoint at all.
Ronnie Dark is down on just about everything in is life at this point and is now planning on taking his life. Unbeknownst to him life has other plans when a infamous serial killer escapes to finish what he started 35 years ago. The two collide at Ronnie Darks home which also happens to be where the Ballon Boy Killer committed his original crimes.
This was an amazing read of suspense terror and bloody kills. Throw in a little rock n roll and a main character that nothing can go right for, not even suicide and wow amazing story! Will say I'm glad about Melissa 🤣 had it coming!
Ronnie Dark is down on just about everything in is life at this point and is now planning on taking his life. Unbeknownst to him life has other plans when a infamous serial killer escapes to finish what he started 35 years ago. The two collide at Ronnie Darks home which also happens to be where the Ballon Boy Killer committed his original crimes.
This was an amazing read of suspense terror and bloody kills. Throw in a little rock n roll and a main character that nothing can go right for, not even suicide and wow amazing story! Will say I'm glad about Melissa 🤣 had it coming!
January 27, 2021
Thomas R Clark delivers a fun, exhilarating read that draws inspiration from the early era of slasher films, blended in with Spinal Tap-esque Rock and Roll drama (or dramedy to put it best). And as always, Tom gives you a healthy dose of gore, guts and fecal matter! The Death List is a welcome entry in the extreme horror genre!!
February 6, 2024
Thank you, Thomas R Clark
Marilyn Mason vs Captain Howdy
There is nothing better then chilling with great music and slashers. Buckle up Buttercup as you take a ride for your life. It's my favorite book from this author to date filled with bloody gore and mental health issues.
Music
Mental Health issues
Marilyn Mason vs Captain Howdy
There is nothing better then chilling with great music and slashers. Buckle up Buttercup as you take a ride for your life. It's my favorite book from this author to date filled with bloody gore and mental health issues.
Music
Mental Health issues
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2025
80’s horror film, death metal and fun old game shows. That’s what to expect when you read this book. Really good and entertaining. Grabs you and doesn’t let go until you finish. I loved the ending done in chunks of time to get to the now and where it all “ended”.
August 6, 2025
Rock star, Ronnie, wants revenge on his ex wife and band mate who wronged him. A escaped mental asylum patient, Patrick, comes back to the home he once lived in to finish his quest. Ronnie and Patrick meet up to have a diabolical ending.
January 19, 2023
Super enjoyable. Love how the story and characters all come together. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid!
March 25, 2025
The Death List
Bro. Metal bands and serial killers with a (blood) splatter of comedy! Balloon Boy is such an amazing concept and I want more!! Great story! Great narration! Read it!
Bro. Metal bands and serial killers with a (blood) splatter of comedy! Balloon Boy is such an amazing concept and I want more!! Great story! Great narration! Read it!
June 17, 2024
Eddie VanHalen Vs Freddy. An aging Rock Star buys a murder house with some unfinished business. I loved the writing style, very fluid.Great story. I read it in 2 days, it was so good!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews