DIAVOLA by Jennifer Thorne – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Diavola by Jennifer Thorne
Published by Tor Nightfire on March 26 2024
Genres: Adult, folk horror, Horror
Pages: 296
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Diavola has it all: a creepy, haunted villa, an uncomfortable, dysfunctional family gathering, an ominous Italian setting, and even some jump scares. Come for the well executed folk horror ambiance, stay for the unforgettable characters.

“And yet there was something idiosyncratic about Villa Taccola. The whole house suggested pentimenti, original brushstrokes covered over by something else. The same subject in a different style. Past mistakes hidden by fresh paint. What mistakes had been made here? she wondered.”

Diavola is a stunning piece of folk horror fiction, and I’m blown away by how much I loved this book. I enjoyed Jennifer Thorne’s last book, Lute, but Diavola is much better in every possible way, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Thorne’s bizarre mix of toxic family dynamics, a haunted villa, black humor, and colorful characters results in a dark, scary, funny story with a perfect ending.

Welcome to the medieval village of Monteperso in Tuscany, where a six hundred year old house called the Villa Taccola sits on a hilltop. This is where the Pace family has decided to gather for an extravagant family vacation, funded in full by mom and dad Pace. Anna arrives from New York, grateful for the break from her advertising agency job, but reluctant to face her toxic family members. Her twin brother Benny has brought his new boyfriend Christopher along, who has been told that Anna is a “train wreck” and has already decided he doesn’t like her. Anna’s sister Nicole, her husband and two young daughters round out the group, and even though Nicole has a bitter resentment towards her sister (for all sorts of reasons), Waverly and Mia love their Aunt Anna and can’t wait to see her.

As the Pace family members settle into the villa and brace themselves for Nicole’s minute-by-minute itinerary, strange things begin to happen. Anna keeps hearing a voice behind her, but no one is there. Doors slam shut by themselves, and swarms of flies invade the house. At the top of the villa is a tower room, but the door to the tower is locked. Why, then, does Anna see a figure standing at the tower window? Even stranger, the next time she looks, the window is gone. Anna is also having weird dreams about a woman with bright yellow hair.

Is the villa haunted? If so, why is Anna the only one seeing and hearing things? Or is the rest of the family simply refusing to acknowledge the ghost, convinced that Anna’s being her usual dramatic self? As the incidents escalate, Anna finds herself caught between a vengeful spirit of the past and her horrible family in the present. And she’s not sure which is worse.

Diavola is one of those rare books where all the elements are perfectly balanced, with pitch perfect writing and pacing, great characters (who you’ll love to hate!) and a truly spooky, atmospheric setting that will have you jumping at shadows. Let’s start with the haunting, which was so scary and made me regret my decision to read at night. All the elements of folk horror are present: the secluded village full of odd, superstitious folk (none of whom speak English, by the way); the crumbling Villa Taccola with it’s secret doors, drafty rooms and insect-infested grounds; there’s even a goat tied up outside, perhaps as a sacrifice? Each sentence is dripping with quiet, unsettling horror, and Thorne masterfully infuses her story with seemingly insignificant details that make the reader uncomfortable. For example, insects are everywhere in this story. Mosquitos swarm the characters when they’re by the pool, leaving everyone with nasty bites. Anna wanders barefoot through an ant’s nest and is attacked. Later, when the ghost becomes particularly enraged, flies and maggots inexplicably invade the house. I’m not a big bug person, so these scenes were particularly upsetting for me.

The tower is the focal point of a lot of the horror, and I loved the old fashioned skeleton key that opens the door—although everyone is warned never to open it! The key is very important later in the story and becomes almost a character itself. I also loved the scenes by the villa’s pool, where, despite the blazing sun, some bad things happen. Anna’s shower scenes were pretty frightening as well, and I had a few days there where I was terrified to take a shower myself.

Just as uncomfortable is the way everyone treats Anna. I loved the way Thorne made the family dynamics such a big part of her story, and at times the interactions among them are even more entertaining than the haunted villa. I was shocked at how horrible everyone is to Anna, a successful but misunderstood woman who can’t seem to do anything right in their eyes. Sure, she’s a bit of a flirt and may have acted inappropriately with Nicole’s husband at one time, not that Nicole will ever let her forget it. And yes, during their last vacation she ditched the rest of the family when she met a cute bartender. Anna is convinced that they only invited her on the trip because she speaks Italian and can interpret for them, and that’s exactly what happens. I’ve read a lot of books with messed up families, but never one quite as messed up as the Paces.

Anna is an artist and spends a lot of time sketching the beautiful Italian landscape. She also knows a lot about Italian art history, and the author includes lots of scenes in museums and old churches where Anna is admiring the art. And Thorne doesn’t just include these scenes to add ambiance. A particular piece of art becomes central to the ghost story later on, and I thought those details made the story even better.

There is a weird shift about three quarters of the way in, where it seems like the story is going to end but then it doesn’t. And while this “surprise” type of shift doesn’t always work for me, this time it did. The ghostly antics increase at this point, and the story almost enters “bat shit crazy” territory. Luckily Jennifer Thorne is a talented writer and had complete control the entire time. The last chapter gives a nice sense of closure, and it’s one of my favorite endings of anything I’ve read in recent memory.

Bottom line, Diavola is a must read for horror fans, and it’s one of my favorite books of the year so far.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.