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. "An absolutely wicked delight! Fiend ruined several nights' sleep for me, which is the highest praise I can give a book. Damn you, Alma Katsu, please write another novel as quickly as possible. I'm bereft to be done with this one." -Kelly Link, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Book of Love
"Alma Katsu has staked her claim as one of the top names in both contemporary horror and twisty thrillers! With Fiend, she delivers a devilishly cunning, supernatural Succession that brings all her skills to bear! This one will unite Katsu's readers, and earn her plenty more! Don't miss it!" -Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of The Night Birds and Road of Bones
"A mesmerizing tale, twisting generational wealth together with family trauma. . . greed is the plan and the monsters are everywhere." -Karen Joy Fowler, author of Booth Alma Katsu is the author of eight novels, most recently Red London, The Fervor, Red Widow, and The Deep. Prior to the publication of her first novel, she had a thirty-five-year long career as a senior intelligence analyst for several U.S. agencies, including the CIA and NSA, as well as RAND. Katsu is a graduate of the master's writing program at the Johns Hopkins University and received her bachelor's degree from Brandeis University. She lives in West Virginia with her husband and is a contributing reviewer for the Washington Post.
