Diavola

Anna is going on a family vacation in Italy and dreading having to navigate the dynamics that will come with it. Her twin brother is bringing his cringey new boyfriend, her sister will inevitably tell her all she’s doing wrong, and her mother will question why Anna broke up with her boyfriend, all while her father disassociates. Thank goodness for her nieces—and the homicidal ghost that lives in their Airbnb. Thorne’s (Lute) novel takes the typical fare of dysfunctional family fiction to another level. Anna’s family not only brushes familial strife under the rug but does the same when they are all being openly attacked by the entity that is staying with them in Italy. Often it feels as if Anna might be safe in the light of day, only to be surprised by a hostile family member or something unnerving happening at the villa; readers never know when, or where, the next scare will come.