Fiend by Alma Katsu

Title: Fiend

Author: Alma Katsu

Publisher: GP Putnam 2025

Genre: Horror

Pages: 243

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spooky Season; I Love Horror - Katsu

Where I Got It: Library

Imagine if the Sackler family had a demon at their beck and call.

The Berisha family runs one of the largest import-export companies in the world, and they’ve always been lucky. Their rivals suffer strokes. Inconvenient buildings catch on fire. Earthquakes swallow up manufacturing plants, destroying harmful evidence. Things always seem to work out for the Berishas. They’re blessed.

At least that is what Zef, the patriarch, has always told his three children. And each of them knows their place in the family—Dardan, as the only male heir, must prepare to take over as keeper of the Berisha secrets, Maris’s most powerful contribution, much to her dismay, will be to marry strategically, and Nora’s job, as the youngest, is to just stay out of the way. But when things stop going as planned, and the family blessing starts looking more like a curse, the Berishas begin to splinter, each hatching their own secret scheme. They didn’t get to be one of the richest families in the world without spilling a little blood, but this time, it might be their own.

I love love loved Katsu’s previous book The Hunger and was really hoping for lots of creepiness and suspense. Instead, we get a book were nothing happens for like 70% of the pages. Seriously there wasn’t enough supernatural or creepy things in this one to keep my attention. Also, the summary of the book gives away the big reveal, even if I figured it out about 40 pages into the story. Beyond the actual plot, every one of these characters are completely terrible people. I was rooting for the demon to turn and kill all of them. Seriously.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Deep by Alma Katsu

Title: The Deep

Author: Alma Katsu

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2020

Genre: Horror

Pages: 432

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

Someone, or something, is haunting the ship. Between mysterious disappearances and sudden deaths, the guests of the Titanic have found themselves suspended in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone from the moment they set sail. Several of them, including maid Annie Hebley, guest Mark Fletcher, and millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, are convinced there's something sinister--almost otherwordly--afoot. But before they can locate the source of the danger, as the world knows, disaster strikes.

Years later, Annie, having survived that fateful night, has attempted to put her life back together. Working as a nurse on the sixth voyage of the Titanic's sister ship, the Britannic, newly refitted as a hospital ship, she happens across an unconscious Mark, now a soldier fighting in World War I. At first, Annie is thrilled and relieved to learn that he too survived the sinking, but soon, Mark's presence awakens deep-buried feelings and secrets, forcing her to reckon with the demons of her past--as they both discover that the terror may not yet be over.

Alma Katsu is also going on my must read author list! I adored The Hunger and The Deep is an amazing follow-up! I have always been fascinated with the sinking of the Titanic. Scratch that, I’ve always been fascinated by shipwrecks, all shipwrecks. Ships being lost as sea has always held my attention. I especially love the ones surrounded by mystery like the Andrea Doria or the Mary Celeste. Seriously, I went down a giant rabbit hole a few years ago learning about ghost ships through history. But back to this book… We get a great story split between the Titanic and Britannic. We all know how the story is going to end, but thankfully Katsu keeps the tension high. We have to know just exactly how we get to the ending. We have to know why Annie acts strangely at times. We have to know the fate of Caroline, Ondine, and Mark. We have to know if Annie will understand why she felt the need to hid herself away. We have to know if the creepy feeling we have is due to real supernatural entities or just the fact that we know the ships will sink. I sped through this one in only a few days. I love how Katsu keeps up the pace throughout her books making the reader keep going. There are no lags in the story even when we get to the quieter moments. We have to find out how it all ends. I absolutely loved this one!

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

Title: The Hunger

Author: Alma Katsu

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2018

Genre: Horror

Pages: 376

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Horror

Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere.

That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the isolated travelers to the brink of madness. Though they dream of what awaits them in the West, long-buried secrets begin to emerge, and dissent among them escalates to the point of murder and chaos. They cannot seem to escape tragedy...or the feelings that someone--or something--is stalking them. Whether it's a curse from the beautiful Tamsen Donner (who some think might be a witch), their ill-advised choice of route through uncharted terrain, or just plain bad luck, the ninety men, women, and children of the Donner Party are heading into one of one of the deadliest and most disastrous Western adventures in American history.

As members of the group begin to disappear, the survivors start to wonder if there really is something disturbing, and hungry, waiting for them in the mountains...and whether the evil that has unfolded around them may have in fact been growing within them all along.

Oooohhhh. This was absolute terrifying and I loved every single page of this one! I am fascinated by the real life story of the Donner Party (I even had to stop at one of the historical markers to take a picture). The Hunger is the perfect book to weave together the real facts and a more fantastical element. I spent so many pages of this one so so hungry. Katsu has mastered the art of suspense. I completely loved this book so much. I definitely already put Katsu’s next book on hold at the library.

Next up on the TBR pile: