I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Fiend
by Alma Katsu
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on September 16, 2025
Setting: New York
Genres: Paranormal Thriller
Pages: 256
Format: Audible Audiobook, Hardcover, Kindle
Source: NetGalley
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Historical horror maven Alma Katsu turns her talents to the modern world for the first time, in this terrifying tale about an all-powerful family with an ancient evil under its thumb.
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.
Fiend by Alma Katsu is full of greed with plot twists galore.
Will the Berisha family find happiness or ruin at their own hands?
This story showed how evil one family can be. They constantly said that family came first; however, that really wasn’t true. There was love, maybe more of honor than love. Not that they weren’t a strong family, but they could have used their power differently. Oh, and the secrets that they kept were insane. I did feel bad for all of them in different ways. Anger fueled the power, and then the isolation was also a key factor.
Dardan
Dardan knew what was going on. He saw it in action, and he also understood the dangers he was about to inherit. I like his character and think he would have been a good replacement for his father.
Maris
Maris was the most like her father and dangerous, too. He should have seen that and given her a bit more information about the actual inheritance being passed down. However, I felt that he helped set her on the path that she ended up on. She is not a nice person, and the need for power is very strong.
Nora
Nora is the youngest of the three Berisha siblings. She is the one who their father dismissed from the beginning. Even though her mother loved her, her father clearly did not want another daughter. Yet, Nora is labeled the party girl, and she lives up to that title. But Nora has a softer side that her family tramples. I like her, but she is smarter than anyone in her family has given her credit for.
Zef and Olga
The Berishas’ parents tried their best, but I think the situation was more complex than Olga understood at first. Zef believed he had everything under control, but he became complacent and let his guard down. I think he could have handled the situation better, but it wasn’t in his character to do so.
Four Stars
My rating for Fiend by Alma Katsu is four stars. The story is well written and kept my attention; however, I figured out the endgame before Maris was aware of what was happening. I do look forward to another book by Ms. Katsu, as I enjoyed her writing style. Also, I am recommending it to all thriller readers.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Fiend by Alma Katsu.
Until the next time,
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About Alma Katsu
NYT bestselling author Alma Katsu’s books have been nominated for and won multiple prestigious awards including the Stoker, Goodreads Readers Choice, International Thriller Writers, Locus Magazine, the Western Heritage Awards, Spain’s Celsius 232 festival, and appeared on numerous Best Books lists including NPR, the Observer, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Goodreads, and Amazon.
She has written two spy novels (RED WIDOW and RED LONDON), the logical marriage of her love of storytelling with her 30+ year career in intelligence. She also writes novels that combine historical fiction with supernatural and horror elements. THE HUNGER (2018), a reimagining of the story of the Donner Party, was named one of NPR’s 100 favorite horror stories, was on numerous Best Books of the Year lists, sold rights in 17 languages, and continues to be honored as a new classic in horror. Her first book, THE TAKER (2011), was named one of the top ten debut novels of 2011 by Booklist.
Ms. Katsu is also a contributor to the Washington Post Book World, where she reviews thrillers. She has relocated from the Washington, DC area to the mountains of West Virginia, where she lives with her musician husband Bruce and their two dogs, Nick and Ash.
^got from her website
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2026 Cloak and Dagger JEN
- 2026 Goodreads RC JEN
- 2026 Medical Examiner Mystery RC JEN
- 2026 Thriller RC
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