What do you get when you cross the Roy family from the show Succession with the supernatural? You get author Alma Katsu upcoming book Fiend. It comes out September 16.

Zef Berisha is the patriarch of a massively successful import export company. The family and their company have been in business for generations and are staggering wealthy. They’ve always been lucky too. Their business rivals always suffer- from illness, natural disasters, or some kind of unexplainable calamity. Zef says their family is blessed and family legend says they have a protector. Oldest son Darden is preparing to be the keeper of the family’s secrets and to take over one day. Middle child Maris thinks she’s better suited to run the company instead of just marrying well. And youngest sibling Nora is basically ignored. When Maris goes against her brother to ingratiate herself with Zef, the family begins to experience unexpected tragedies.

This a fast paced and entertaining light horror novel that combines family and boardroom drama and backstabbing with the supernatural. The characters are pretty cliched - a cold and distant father, a complacent mother, a son chaffing against family expectations, a daughter who wants daddy’s love and power, and another daughter who’d rather party than do business. The characters and the plot are all pretty surface level. There’s not a lot of depth here. This is definitely a bubblegum book. I could see all the twists and turns coming, but it was still a fun read. Hard core horror fans might find it disappointing, but if you want something filled with family drama with a smidge of supernatural this one fits the bill.

This is definitely a deep dive into family drama. The Berisha family is at the center of this story, with three siblings and the parents creating a family of uber weathly New York elites. Told from the alternating perspectives of the Berisha children this is a tale of greed, wealth, and an ancient family evil. The three children were definitely distinct, but I felt like they fell right into the expected stereotypes and then were not expanded on beyond that. Everything about them felt surface level. Beyond that the Berisha Family business was never really expanded on beyond the very basic description so it was really hard to truly understand the so call evil moves this company was making. And without that, it was kind of hard to care. This one is definitely a slowburn and I feel like I spent most of the book just waiting for something to happen. I feel like the storyline progressed exactly as I imagined it to. The whole book just felt very surface level and I felt like it struggled to deliver on the potential that is there. Overall I feel like a bit more development and depth to this story would have made it much better.

Fiend is Alma Katsu’s first foray into contemporary fiction, and it does not disappoint! She retains all the creeping atmosphere and slow-burn dread from her historical fiction novels, but intensifies the horror with an entirely believable story about the world’s richest and most powerful people. It’s got unlikeable characters, family dynamics, and ancient curses - everything I love in a horror-tinged thriller!

I enjoyed the viewpoints of each of the three Berisha children, as well as the jumps between Now and Then. I thought the length of the novel was perfect - just enough to develop the siblings and their world, while leaving many details open-ended and full of existential dread. This story is perfect billed as Succession meets The Fall of the House of Usher!

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve enjoyed almost all of Katsu’s other books and I was excited to get an early copy of Fiend.

The beginning intrigued me and I felt the story was really interesting. Unfortunately for me, the rest of the story didn’t live up to my expectations. It was fine but lacked more of a horror aspect. Don’t get me wrong, there’s horror elements but I needed it to be laid on more heavily.

If you are looking for more of a cutthroat family dynamic with a sprinkle of horror, you may enjoy this. I flew through it so fast it felt more like a novella than a fully fledged novel.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alma Katsu, and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to read Fiend. I have written this review voluntarily and honestly!

"Fiend" by Alma Katsu is a brief supernatural thriller (I wouldn't really call it a horror) surrounding the machinations of the ultra-wealthy Berisha family. The Berisha family are the owners of a centuries old, globally successful, manufacturing and trading company that seems blessed by good fortune throughout its history. Rivals to the Berisha, whether personal or business related, though, seem to suffer mysterious and catastrophic misfortune -- accidents/suicides, fires, crushing localized natural disasters. The plot plays out in the modern day focusing on the actions of the children of current clan head and CEO Zef Berisha: only son Darden, the reluctant heir to the company; Maris, elder daughter suffering a classic case of middle child syndrome; and Nora, the social justice warrior youngest sibling. Through flashbacks to the youth of the children, however, we find glimpses into the supernatural nature of the Berisha's fortunes.

The story had a great slow burn with the only drawback being the relatively quick resolution that honestly deserved another 30-50 pages to explore. As a first foray into a "modern" timeline by Katsu, it was a solid outing -- although the desire to fall back into a historical setting was rather evident (maybe a prequel opportunity?). Overall, a very good read that just ended a tad too soon.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for the opportunity to experience this eARC.

I was immersed in the Berisha family's struggles throughout this novel. Felt more thriller than horror, with several shocking twists. A modern take on the House of Usher with a twist of Devil's Advocate. Greed, money, power, heirs. With an absolutely beautiful ending.

Fiend is very much "Succession" meets Mike Flanagan's "Fall of the House of Usher"—billionaires being terrible people, an ancient evil, and some major Monkey's-Paw consequences. I always love Alma Katsu's books (The Hunger is one of my favorites), and I was so excited to see her take the dive into contemporary horror rather than historical fiction. Fortunately, I wasn't disappointed at all.
Dual timelines sometimes suffer from pacing issues, but that wasn't a problem at all. I was hooked right away and stayed on the edge of my seat the entire time. While I personally didn't find the story particularly scary, I loved the creepy atmosphere and the ties to current political issues. The characters are engrossing, and the Berisha family is one I won't forget any time soon.
Alma Katsu continues to be a queen of horror, and I will continue to devour and recommend her books as long as she's writing them.

I'm a fan of Alma Katsu and her atmospheric horror novels so I was really interested in Fiend. The Berisha family did not disappoint and my one complaint would be that I wish the book was a little longer so Katsu could really delve into the characters of the children.

ominous book. definitely not very twisty but i found that that worked really well for it, because the unease factor really shone here. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

This short book is a very disturbing mix of ghost and possession story. The Berishas are a family with very deep Albanian roots. Some say that they’re cursed, but the patriarch describes them as blessed. After all, things have a way of working out for them, which has made them extremely wealthy and powerful. Zef is the despotic father of three adult offspring, grooming the son to succeed him as the head of the family and the eldest daughter to marry and have children. The youngest daughter is a mess and not even in the running. But this is the ultimate case of “careful what you wish for” because family is complicated and this is a messed up group of people. The characters are unlikable and completely unrelatable and yet I was invested in them. This is the ultimate test of good writing, I wanted them to get away with it, despite being mostly despicable people. I loved the supernatural element and the descriptions of the creepy family home. Engrossing, well written and incredibly entertaining.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/PENGUIN GROUP Putnam.

Fiend by Alma Katsu follows the uber-wealthy Berisha family, whose thousand-year-old import-export empire seems impossibly blessed - their rivals suffer convenient strokes, buildings catch fire at opportune moments, and whistleblowers end up dead. The story alternates between present-day chaos and childhood flashbacks as three siblings - reluctant heir Dardan, power-hungry Maris, and idealistic Nora - discover the ancient evil that's been fueling their family's success for generations. This is Katsu's first contemporary horror after her historical novels, and honestly, it was fine - a quick read that somehow also managed to be a slow burn. I've been liking each of Katsu's books a little less than the one before, with The Hunger still being my favorite, and this one continues that trend without being actively disappointing. The family dynamics and supernatural elements work well enough together, but it never quite grabbed me the way her earlier work did.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Alma Katsu for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

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@netgalley
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My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Available: 9/16/25

Ancient evil + powerful family + greed = perfection

The Berisha Family is a very powerful rich family that you should never double cross. They run one of the largest import-export companies in the world. They have unusually good luck throughout generations, but could it be a curse? There is an eerie darkness looming.

I loved the family’s dynamic and ruthlessness of the patriarch father. Her intricate writing draws you in fiercely and won’t let you go. I have read many books of hers, and she is one of my favorite authors. Thank you Alma, you are truly amazing. She puts her all into her novels and that is evident!! A must read!!

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Prior to this, I had only read Katsu's Red Widow books - which are spy thrillers - and had no idea she wrote horror. She is excellent at the intricacies of espionage, so it came as no surprise to learn that she was equally excellent at the intricacies of family drama and literary horror!

I really enjoyed this peek behind the curtain at one fabulously wealthy and powerful family's source of success. It was dark and creepy - in both the actual horrific secret sense, as well as in terms of the familial relationships! I found the sibling and parent-child interactions to be every bit as disturbing as those with The Protector. The pacing was spot-on and really kept me engaged. Just when I thought I had a handle on some element of the family or relationships, the rug would be pulled out from under me - it made for a deliciously off-kilter reading experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I'm definitely looking into her horror back catalog now!

Succession with a supernatural bend. This story of a powerful family and the unusually good luck through the generations drew me in. Any business rivals? Key documents? Legal cases? All are removed!

The description of this book had so many things I love: Rich people having rich people problems! Dysfunctional family dynamics! A dark curse! This is like the TV series Fall of the House of Usher meets Succession with a side of Rosemary's Baby — and I loved every second of it. So clever and perfectly eerie. Just a fun ride from beginning to end.

A terrific, quick read of a horror novel about family and evil and a supernatural protector of the clan. Set in the present in the cutthroat world of a large, family-owned company, Fiend chronicles the rise (ish) and fall of Maris, the oldest daughter of the family scion and a woman determined to succeed at the family business. But the family is cursed--or is it blessed?--with the aid of a violent spirit. Maris is at first skeptic about the protector, but discovers soon enough that it is very real and very dangerous. I really liked the way the story ended, making it a parable, a bit, for our times.

If I had to label this book, it would be “slow burn horror”.
The Berisha family owns one of the largest import-export businesses in the world. Everything always works out in their favor, to bring them incredible wealth. Their rivals die suddenly, and evidence of their shady business gets destroyed by “natural” causes. Nothing sticks to them. They will tell you they are blessed. But is that really what’s happening?
The members of the family are under extreme stress to live up to their destinies, and when one decides to step away from that destiny, the blessing vindictively turns inward on the family, and the family shatters.
I enjoyed this book, but it was not a gruesome, action packed horror that some may be looking for.There are purposefully no likable characters in this book, and the setting is dark and off-kilter, you know something is not right before you can even put your finger on it, the tension building slowly. The ending of the story is an irrational, personal fear of mine, and it definitely left me spooked.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well, as always, I need to thank G. P. Putnam, and Megan Beatie for the opportunity to read Alma Katsu's forthcoming (September) novel, FIEND.

Having only read THE DEEP (and thoroughly enjoyed it), I jumped at the chance to read something else - especially before the general public.

I'm not sorry I grabbed it.

FIEND is a delightfully haunting story about curses, family, and greed - very much in the same gothic feel of The Fall of the House of Usher.

Long story short, this extremely rich and successful family seem to always get what they want, or need. Troublemakers to the family tend to wind up dead, in extremely mysterious, and often unsolvable, ways. Is it luck, or something more sinister? Well, read the book and decide for yourself.

It was mentioned in a different review that one of the negative points to the story is that there is no character that you feel for. The Berisha family make Gordon Gekko seem like a upstanding citizen, and are just ruthless, uncaring, and, well, plain evil. Exactly what you would expect from a family that's obscenely rich, and has been for over 1,000 years. They have no friends, many enemies, and no meaningful relationships. By the end of the story, you're actually rooting for... oops, almost put a spoiler in there. Suffice to say, you're hoping every member of the Berisha family goes the way of the Dodo.

There were some twists, and turns, and enough plot to keep the story line going; and the end was perfect for the way the story went.

If you're a fan of gothic thrillers, and/or supernatural thrillers, you won't go wrong with this one.

Fiend was a phenomenal read. It explored the core of the human experience: the yearning for acceptance, mostly parental acceptance. The characters embodied this yearning for acceptance in the very fibers of their being; the professional routes they chose, the person they married, and their general day to day existence was all for seeking the acceptance of their head of clan.

As the story progressed, it became painfully obvious that the yearning for acceptance was not a choice, but rather an obligation to keep the family's "protection" in check. A failure to fall in line meant exposing the family to the more than just disappointment.

Fiend gave me everything I needed, and it concluded with a twist I totally didn't see coming. I turned the final page completely full. I would 100% recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Groups Putnam for the ARC.

I picked this one up because I was intrigued by the "Succession meets horror" pitch of "Imagine if the Sackler family had a demon at their beck and call."

However, imagining is what you'll be doing while reading this -- because Katsu never bothers to flesh anything out beyond a surface level. All the Berisha children feel like unrealized archetypes, and we never learn enough about the evil "plottings" of the family to care. Tons of tell and don't show.

I never say this, especially about books I don't particularly enjoy, but this definitely could've been longer. Some scenes felt pulled straight from an outline. I think this could've been elevated by taking some time to establish more atmosphere and depth to the characters.

I wasn't a huge fan of The Hunger, but was willing to give Katsu another shot. After this, I think her style just isn't for me. HOWEVER, if you liked The Hunger you may enjoy this.