3.5 

Diavola

By Jennifer Thorne
Diavola by Jennifer Thorne digital book - Fable

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.

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Diavola Reviews

3.5
“I should have DNF’D but I held onto hope that at some point it would get better. It did not. It had promise and potential but I truly was not a fan of the authors writing style unfortunately. I found myself more bored and confused than anything else.”
“It was OK. It definitely didn’t pick up until about halfway through the book. Wasn’t really scary. It was more kind of just creepy and I got goosebumps a couple times but definitely won’t keep me up at night.”
“🎧 “diavola” is one of those stories that makes you question whether the real horror is supernatural… or just family vacation logistics. set in an eerie italian villa, the atmosphere promises tension and unease; but for me, a lot of that tension gets swallowed up by the family itself. there’s so much focus on their internal drama that it often feels like the story could’ve been much tighter if less time was spent circling the same interpersonal frustrations. the villa is meant to be haunting, but honestly, the bigger horror is watching a family who clearly don’t like each other insist on spending extended time together in close quarters anyway. that dynamic becomes the REAL unease of the book—less “something is in the walls” and more “why are you all still here, arguing over nothing?” it creates a strange kind of dread that works, even if it sometimes overshadows the actual plot. i also kept circling back to one question the entire time: why does everyone seem to hate anna so much?? it never fully clicked for me, and that disconnect made some of the interpersonal conflict feel uneven rather than compelling. instead of building tension, it occasionally made the relationships feel more frustrating than engaging. overall, the story has a strong premise and a setting that does a lot of heavy lifting—but the family dynamics often take center stage in a way that slows the story’s momentum. it’s less about fear that creeps under your skin, and more about the discomfort of watching people who should absolutely not be on vacation together try to survive it. ⚠️ trigger warnings ⚠️ • family conflict • psychological tension • death • references to grief • unsettling supernatural elements”

About Jennifer Thorne

Jennifer Thorne is the author of Lute, The Wrong Side of Right, The Inside of Out, Night Music, and (with Lee Kelly) The Antiquity Affair. American by birth, she now lives in rural England with her husband and two sons.

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