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Diavola is the perfect summertime read if you want a vacation setting but also need some genuine creepiness along with the sunshiny drama.

Anna is the black sheep of the family but despite that she still feels compelled to subject herself to the annual family destination vacation. This year her father has funded a trip (which he continually reminds them) to a remote villa in Italy and Anna may not be the only one who ends up regretting attending this year . . .

This book is a genuine lesson in why you should always google your location/hotel/air bnb before jetting off for relaxation. And it’s also a lesson in listening to the locals. Le sigh. Apparently, none of these people ever read or watched The Ruins where those dummies chose to ignore all warnings as well. Anyhow, before long, strange occurrences begin to happen and Anna and her family are so consumed with their past hurts, feelings of jealousy and general pain in the assery, that they don’t notice things are getting weird until they get dangerously weird. Anna, for her part, is more aware than the rest of them and seems to be the only one alarmed.

This book blends family dramatics with a chilling story and some gruesome moments and I liked it a lot. I’ll be honest here and admit that I mostly didn’t enjoy this writer’s previous book, Lute, which so many seem to adore. I found it unscary and inconsistent and I had to force myself to finish. But this one gets everything right (for me). It has moments of humor, thanks to Anna, that I really appreciated. The humor is dark and sometimes life altering and that’s my favorite kind. Anna’s not perfect but she is a terrific character and I enjoyed reading her story.

The narrator did an excellent job with all of the drama and scary bits. If you’re an audio fan check it out this way.

4 1/2 stars bumped up to 5

CW: (view spoiler)[terrible families, ghost animals, ghost children, harm to children, past suicides (hide spoiler)]