Diavola

De: Jennifer Thorne

Narrado por: Andi Arndt

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...

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.

(Warning: May invoke feelings of irritation, dread, and despair that come with large family gatherings.)

©2024 Jennifer Thorne (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

The eerie Italy vibes!

What a fresh read! I’m not one to read books where the plots are abroad but man can I say this one was great! I’ve never travelled but reading/listening to this I felt as if I was there! Such creepy, foreign vibes and it was amazing. I could not STAND the main characters family but I think that was the point. The ending was a tad underwhelming only because I would’ve loved to hear about more of her families unraveling (I wanted the satisfaction of their suffering lol) but other than that I love this book! Read itttt

Narrator and setting

Way too much disfuncional family bantering and not enough scare!
I had to fast forward many times.

Family Vacation is the True Horror

This was a solid read...good fun, lots of creepy moments, just an enjoyable horror novel. Overall it didn't feel all that deep or leave me with any remarkable insights, but it did hit a nerve with the infuriating and truthfully rendered family dynamics at play throughout the story. The protagonist is the black sheep of her family or, more accurately, the scapegoat. Anything that goes amiss must be her fault, and despite the absurdity of her family's reasoning, the interactions were raw and real in a way that made the family unit really the most terrifying element of the story. Some more backstory on the ghost and the haunting might have made this a more compelling tale, but I still liked it nonetheless.

Family vacations are always scary

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️’s! I feel like this would be a great book for someone just getting into horror. I loved that the horror came more so from a sense of foreboding and the descriptions of the entities rather than actual jump scares. Honestly, I think the scariest part of the book was how the main character’s family treated her like such a burden😅

Great story! Perfect ending!

she is a great story teller and I will definitely be reading every book she publishes

Italian countryside, made me find my horn

Character were spot on to follow, made me find my horn and wear it through out the story. I loved the ending . I didn't see it coming.

The switching tone of voice between characters

I loved how the narrator used different tones for each character. You could sense the emotions through her voice regardless of what kind of emotions she was portraying.

🤎🤎

OBSESSED! I loved the story of Anna and her sh*tty family so much. I felt like the mix of relatability, humor, and horror through the book was refreshing. Definitely a book worth reading and re-reading. The narrator encapsulated the character well!

This was sooooo good!

Kept my attention until the very end! Unpredictable. Definitely recommend it to anyone who has complicated family dynamics. Isn’t that all of us?

Mostly effective haunted house story

This book has been seriously hyped, and it, somewhat, delivers. It’s interesting to set the haunting in sunny Tuscany. And the initial mystery is suspenseful and intriguing. The unreliable narrator trope is kind of cliche, but the author makes it interesting by framing it in a toxic family dynamic, with the protagonist grappling with the gaslighting and scapegoating of her horrible family as well as a malevolent ghost. I thought the tension in the story slackens quite a bit in the last third of the novel. And the resolution is kind of messy and unsatisfying. Overall, I recommend it. The Audible narrator is very good, and the author’s wonderful descriptions of Italy really bring the setting to life.