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Book Review: Fiend by Alma Katsu

cover art for Fiend by Alma Katsu

Fiend by Alma Katsu

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2025

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593714348

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook

Buy: Bookshop.org | Amazon.com 

 

Not being wealthy or influential myself (though I would be somewhat, if you pick up this book based on this review), it’s fun to read about wealthy, ruthless families getting their comeuppance. The only reason why I am not on a superyacht right now is because I have not made a pact with any supernatural force to acquire immense wealth beyond what I can spend in my lifetime, oppress the working class, and wreak havoc on the environment.

 

Fiend centers around the Berisha dynasty. The clan has existed for over a thousand years, and through arranged marriages and corrupt business practices, has kept the Albanian bloodline and family fortune flourishing. Zef is the cruel and unscrupulous head of household and your stereotypical super-powerful rich guy. Then there’s Olga, his beautiful, unassuming wife, a Melania Trump figure, who stays out of her husband’s politics but is complicit in what she does know. Dardan, the eldest, is weak and ineffectual, but has been primed to take over the family business. He is probably the most empathetic character in the family because he wants to break away from the hold the family has on him, but at the same time,  he won’t totally give up his money and privilege. Next there is Maris, the ambitious daughter who has all the horrible characteristics of her father, Zef, and seems to be the most logical replacement. But Maris can’t compete with Dardan since Dardan’s crowning achievement is being born with a Y chromosome, and she is expected to follow in the Berisha female tradition of keeping house and siring more Berisha babies. Finally, there is Nora, the unstable emo socialite who would rather party than have anything to do with the Berisha empire.

 

The novel goes back and forth (“Then” and “Now”) of memories the Berisha children have of growing up in a house seemingly possessed by a supernatural force, a fiend known as The Protector, which keeps the Berisha clan rich and powerful while their competitors are suspiciously afflicted with horrible diseases and accidents. 

 

Under strange and mysterious circumstances, Maris is finally given the chance to break away from her Jan Brady status and the “Dardan, Dardan, Dardan” shadow to take over the business, and, in effect, the whole Berisha legacy. Little does she know that there are responsibilities that she will inherit that are not in her official job description. 

 

Fiend is a deliciously fun book to devour after a day of business meetings, synergizing, estimating bandwidth and defining deliverables, doing deep dives but still picking low hanging fruit, and talking about circling back to things that you know will never be addressed. Alma Katsu is known for her historical fiction novels such as The Hunger (based on The Donner Party) and The Deep (based on the sinking of the Titanic). Fiend is instead inspired by the television series Succession, about Logan Roy, the patriarch of the powerful and dysfunctional Roy family and owner of a NYC based global media conglomerate and the power struggle by his four children to take over as his health declines. Katsu reimagines the characters and their background and throws in a splash of her signature supernatural, horror talents to create an entertaining novel that will make readers forget all the tech debt that their company has pushed aside until it’s all hands on deck when the whole system comes crashing down. I think I have been working too much because a book about corporate greed and demonic possession makes perfect sense. Recommended. 

 

Reviewed by Lucy Molloy

Posted on November 8, 2025 by , Reply

Book Review: Somewhere Quiet, Full of Light by Henry Corrigan

 

cover art for Somewhere Quiet, Full of Light by Henry Corrigan

Somewhere Quiet, Full of Light by Henry Corrigan

Slashic Horror Press, 2025

ISBN: 9781763725607

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy:   Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com

 

Somewhere Quiet, Full of Light will probably get categorized as just another haunted house tale, but it is a good deal more. The reader watches a strong family unit disintegrate, due to the influence of a house with its own abilities and desires. It’s a smartly written tale that shows that Corrigan is an author to watch. He creates real tension throughout, while using very simple elements. Corrigan realizes that real scares often come not from fear of the supernatural, but from what people fear in each other– and themselves. This is a story that will stick with you long after the final page is turned.

 

The plot itself is simple enough: Mike and Joe Tillman want to move their two young kids away from the city, but have limited funds. They buy a fixer-upper in a remote location, planning to turn it into their dream home, but the house has other ideas. 

 

Corrigan is very adept at building tension without going over the top. No shrieking banshees or flying body parts with buckets of blood are needed: he keeps it straightforward. That’s very difficult to do, and it works beautifully. Just an occasional shadowy figure, a creak in the house here, a movement there…small stuff, but due to Corrigan’s writing style, very effective and unsettling. The story isn’t about creating big scares (although the ending is a real banger) but instead creates a constant feeling of dread that lingers throughout the pages.

 

Right when the family first arrives at the house, you’ll feel that something is distinctly off with the whole situation, but it won’t be shown to you in any obvious way. Throughout the entire book, the suspense level increases like a tightly-wound string, that finally snaps in the last few pages. Writing suspense and keeping it constant is not an easy task, but Corrigan does it with ease.

 

The house itself plays a large role in the story, and that gives the book a decidedly different flavor. It’s like a living, breathing entity, and a number of chapters are written from the perspective of the house itself. You’ll feel its pain as it goes through renovations, and its joy at seeing parts of itself repaired. When the house has to move something by itself, be it a floorboard or panel, it feels like an immersive experience. It’s another of the reasons the book is a cut above the rest.

Bottom line: just read this one: you won’t be disappointed. Hopefully, the author will write a full length novel at some point. As good as this story was, at just 150 pages I wanted more. Definitely a case of a great story that most readers would have wanted to continue longer. Most certainly recommended!

 

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on November 6, 2025 by , Reply

Book Review: Samhain Screams edited by Greg Chapman and Cameron Trost

cover art for Samhain Screams edited by Greg Chapman and Cameron Trost

Samhain Screams edited by Greg Chapman and Cameron Trost

Black Beacon Books, 2025

ISBN: 978-0-9756118-2-1

Available: Kindle edition (pre-order release October 17, 2025)

Buy: Amazon.com

 

Samhain Screams is an anthology of Halloween and Samhain-inspired stories, focusing on the creepy and terrifying rather than the superficial aspects of this spooky time of year. Editor Greg Chapman, an Australian, brings a perspective distinct from the typical American experience of the season. It’s a strong collection, with plenty of hits and very few misses. Many of the authors have created atmosphere and suspense that will hook the reader and keep them on the line.

 

Favorite stories include Mia Dalia’s “The Last Pumpkin”, in which a horror writer encounters his biggest fan; DJ Tyrer’s “The Knock”, in which a mystery knocking in the narrator’s apartment building leads to disappearances; Matthew R. Davis’ “Hauntology”, which reveals the secrets of a shopping mall; Hannah Baxter’s outstanding ” The October Shadows”, in which a film studies student is taken over by an obsession with a 1922 horror movie that caused a disturbing riot at its only showing; Kevin M. Folliard’s “Vengeance of Halloween”, an entertaining nightmare about monsters going corporate and planning to take over the world in an ‘eternal October’;  Brian Moreland’s “Sweet Tooth”, in which Helen’s obsession with candy saves her from a serial killer; and C.E. O’ Conaing’s “The Hollows”, where three kids trick-or-treating in a newly-built development have a terrifying experience. The point of view character in this story was in a wheelchair, and her character development was great. The last story in the collection, S.B. Watson’s “The Day You Die’, won me over. I was glad I hadn’t skipped through to the end– it was a perfect “last bite”. Recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Posted on October 8, 2025 by , Reply
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