Diavola
A Novel
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4.2 • 73 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Jennifer Thorne skewers all-too-familiar family dynamics in this sly, wickedly funny vacation-Gothic. Beautifully unhinged and deeply satisfying, Diavola is a sharp twist on the classic haunted house story, exploring loneliness, belonging, and the seemingly inescapable bonds of family mythology.
USA Today Bestseller
Best Horror Books of 2025—Men's Health
Best Horror Books of 2024 (so far)—Esquire
Most Anticipated Books of 2024—Goodreads
Anna has two rules for the annual Pace family destination vacations: Tread lightly and survive.
It isn’t easy when she’s the only one in the family who doesn’t quite fit in. Her twin brother, Benny, goes with the flow so much he’s practically dissolved, and her older sister, Nicole, is so used to everyone—including her blandly docile husband and two kids—falling in line that Anna often ends up in trouble for simply asking a question. Mom seizes every opportunity to question her life choices, and Dad, when not reminding everyone who paid for this vacation, just wants some peace and quiet.
The gorgeous, remote villa in tiny Monteperso seems like a perfect place to endure so much family togetherness, until things start going off the rails—the strange noises at night, the unsettling warnings from the local villagers, and the dark, violent past of the villa itself.
(Warning: May invoke feelings of irritation, dread, and despair that come with large family gatherings.)
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Family drama, unspoken resentments, and something far more sinister simmer—but never reach a boiling point—in this lackluster ghost story from Thorne (Lute). Black sheep Anna Pace travels to Italy for a family vacation with her parents and adult siblings prepared to deflect and endure their judgments. As an unmarried, unambitious artist in her 30s, there's no shortage of criticisms for the other Paces to throw her way. Anna weathers her sister's need for control and her mother's nagging comments, but as signs of a haunting appear around the villa they're renting, the vacation devolves into one disaster after another. To make matters worse, when the Pace family looks into the history of the villa, they open some doors better left closed. Thorne paints in broad gothic strokes, incorporating all the major elements of the genre, from the spooky architecture to the blood and romance, but leaving things disappointingly underdeveloped. Anna's snarky voice initially balances the darker elements but becomes grating as the story goes on. Eventually, her characterization descends into cliché: she's smart enough to make everyone around her jealous, and though she's supposedly unattractive, many of the male (and female) side characters lust after her. Seasoned genre fans will be disappointed.
Customer Reviews
Always check the reviews on Booking.com first!
A dysfunctional British family rent an Italian villa. Clueless parents with deep pockets and avoidance issues, bratty sister with lovely kids, gay twin brother who has fallen for the wrong guy and the misfit sister who completes the circle…until things start to go bump in the night and everyone is in danger. Of course Italian villas come with ghosts, just ask anyone in town.
Gross, I loved it
Slow where it needed to be and fast where it needed to be! Evoked personal, cultural, and fantastical elements that made for a well rounded read.
Loved loved - do read.
Not impressed
It dragged on. Extremely slow burn, almost torturous to get through with a lack luster ending. Ending seemed rushed, probably to try and just end the book. If you want something to waste your time on, Diavola is the read for you.