Haven

by Mia Dalia

“Beautifully detailed characters and a subtle slide into dread . . .” — Booklist , Starred Review



“Subtle, sly, beautifully structured . . .” —Michael Marshall Smith, British Fantasy Award-winning author of Only Forward, The Straw Men, and The Intruders



What if revenge ripples and echoes through time?



You can’t choose your family or your destiny or your legacy. But once upon a time, a woman named Ava St. James had tried to build happiness upon the remains of her broken heart. For better or worse. Decades later, the Bakers are headed for a perfect family vacation. A full month at a house by the lake; the house passed down from a mysterious aunt no one ever talks about. Love and good intentions aside, what begins like a relaxing vacation turns into a nightmare as each of the Bakers’ nerves slowly but steadily begin to wear away at the edges. Is it their fraught family dynamics or is something more sinister at work?



The house has welcomed them, but will it ever let them leave?



For readers who enjoy The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno, and Devil House by John Darnielle.

Genres: Horror, Adult, Thriller, Audiobook, Fiction

474 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 29, 2024

About the author

Mia Dalia is an internationally published, Crime Writers Association-nominated author of all things fantastic, thrilling, scary, and strange. Her short stories of horror, noir, science fiction, mystery, crime, humor, and more have been featured in a variety of anthologies, magazines, literary journals, online, and adapted for narrative podcasts.

Featured publications:
Estate Sale (Lethe Press)
Tell Me a Story (Anuci Press)
Discordant (Anuci Press)
Smile So Red and Other Tales of Madness (Brigids Gate Press)
Arrakoth (Spaceboy Books)
Haven (CamCat Books)
Do You Know The Muffin Man? (Spaceboy Books)
Alakazam (PS Publishing)

Mia's work has been selected as Tales to Terrify's top ten best stories of 2023, shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association's Daggers Award 2024, and praised by authors and editors such as Michael Marshall Smith - "One of the best novels I've read in years", Stephen Jones - "tour-de-force", Clay McLeod Chapman - "every flip of the page leads its readers deeper into uneasy dream", Neil Sharpson, M.R. Carey, A.C. Wise, Edward Ashton, Christopher Barzak, Ian Rogers, and more.

Mia Dalia is represented by the John Jarrold Literary Agency. https://www.johnjarrold.co.uk/

Find her at
Twitter: @ Dalia_Verse
FB: Mia DaliaVerse
Instagram: daliaverse
https://linktr.ee/daliaverse

Reviews

[Leigh Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

With shades of gothic horror and a pinch of noir mystery, Mia Dalia knocks it out of the park with this one. Haven doesn't rush along to its final destination. Rather, it takes its time, allowing the reader to become embroiled in family life, as the already splintered Baker family slowly begins to unravel. The Ava interludes brought respite to the creeping tension and painted a picture of Haven's owner in all her glory. The ending seemed to taper off unexpectedly right before Dalia expertly turns the screw and delivers the final gut punch.

Highly recommend for fans of Shirley Jackson and Peter Straub, or those who prefer their horror quiet and unassuming while still delivering that killer blow. Dalia is a natural talent and one to keep an eye on.

[Sean Northage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Is will start this review by saying Haven isn’t my normal choice of book to read but the synopsis really grabbed me.

Haven tells the story of the Baker family visiting the home of their late relative Aunt Augusta home. Slowly something seeps into the family bringing their darker side to the surface. Mia Dalia weaves a tale of love, sorrow and hope and tragedy.

I found the characters extremely believable from JJ battling the war that is puberty and Jessie struggling with being a teenager in the social media generation.

I highly recommend this book even if it’s not your normal read like me as it is a beautifully crafted story

[Krys · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book sooo much ! It absolutely will be recommend to all my friends by me and I can't wait to read more books from this author!

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utter brilliance. I could not stop reading. Original premise, sublime execution, chilling ending. I might have finished the review here, urging everyone to read the book, but it's worth pointing out a couple of the novel's strengths.

The book is about a family of four, the Bakers, spending their vacation together in Haven, a house inherited from a little-known aunt. The story thrives on subtlety and characterization. It reads like a slow burn if you fail to pick up on clues, those hints hidden in the details; no shame if you do: the book has many moments where a parent's thoughts pass seamlessly into dark and disturbing thinking, where a wife starts losing her mind with no fanfare, where teenagers, already uncanny valley dwellers, plan to kill their siblings, incapable of realizing their own descent into resentment and despair.

But it's just thinking, right? Wrong. The family is caught unawares by a long-term plan of revenge by the house's builder. The house is meant to dive into the worst aspects of a person, and bring out the buried pain, the self-doubt, the insecurities, the darkness already there. The author pulls this off by telling the story in character-driven mode. Think of aerial photography: it can't show you the caves and the tunnels of an area - but they're there, waiting to capture unsuspecting victims; you have to go there and discover them yourself or hire a guide. Similarly, in "Haven" the horror is buried under familiarity, calmness, lack of fighting; you have to allow the author to show you around these people's mindcaves and tunnel a way out to the surface, through hard-won insights into parenthood, adulthood, and married life. And then comes the third part of the book, when thoughts become actions. However, don't expect gore, depravity or perversion: the house is meant to encourage already existent flaws, it does not take away choice, it influences... subtly. Personalities melt into shadows, minds are sucked into background history: a history of love and revenge, told with great empathy through the aunt's eyes.

My favorite moments were two: when we realize the implications of the house's name, its origin and its purpose (always implied); and the deeply unsettling ending, not even shown on the page. In both cases, I was chilled to the core. Mia Dalia is a genius.

And the cycle goes on.

[Yamini · Rating 3 out of 5]

A not-so-perfect family heads to a month-long vacation to a house passed down to them by a long-forgotten aunt. What starts as a fresh beginning quickly escalates into a drift driving each of them against one another, but the question remains if they had been this way all along and only now these feelings are surfacing or is there an unknown catalyst. The house it seems has plans of its own.

The book was described to give "The Haunting of hill house" and it is almost there if we focus on the eerie thoughts penetrating their mind and driving them to extreme actions. The sibling rivalry has been displayed to top notch and sometimes it was difficult to accept that they can do this to each other! This was heading to be an interesting story, although the anticlimactic ending somehow mollified the impact on readers.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

That. Epilogue.
I was never quite sure where this was going but it all tied together nicely in the end. I loved the POV switches that allowed you into the mind of each family member during their stay at Haven. Ava’s story is my favorite part of the book and Gustav I have my own theories about. I could easily read books about each family’s stay at Haven. Awesome book that kept me enthralled.

I received this as an ARC and am leaving a review voluntarily.

*I think this could potentially be triggering to people dealing with an eating disorder so be aware*

[Kimberlyisaddicted2books · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite horror book of the year! The suspense and intensity builds up to a perfect crescendo and it ends perfectly and unexpectedly. I love a book that I can't guess what is going to happen next and this is absolutely one of them. The author did a fantastic job with character development, plot and everything else imaginable. I'm very glad that I signed up to review this book for Henry Roi book tours. I couldn't put it down and when I wasn't reading it, I wanted to be reading it. If I hadn't been so busy I would've finished it in a day. I recommend this book to all horror lovers and creepy lake house book lovers. I am looking forward to reading more from this author. I don't even want to start reading another book, I want to live in Haven a little bit longer.

[Fran_reads1007 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing is predictable in this book. The Doyles are a very strange family who have all boys as kids but their last child is a girl. They do not respect her and she is expected to get married and have kids like the rest of the females in the Doyle family have done.

Augusta has different ideas and dreams for her life. When she realises she has no option but to get married and move out of the family home she finds someone suitable, realising that they are in a similar situation. They bring out the best of each other in ways she thought was not normal until he shows her where to go.

The story is about Augustas family after she dies and leaves them her house for them to use when they want to as well as a sum of money for her brothers and their kids. I found the amount she left her brothers funny but was confused by it until I got further into the book.

The baker family go on holiday to the house for a month and strange and mysterious things start happening and the family start acting weird. But it all makes sense when you get to the end of the book and read Augustas story that you read in-between.

This book definitely keeps your brain engaged trying to work out what is going on with the family and everything else throughout the entire book.

[Angie Crumpton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a unique book! I loved the author’s ability to make the reader feel like they related to every character. Some questions I had weren’t answered, and this kept it from being a five star. The story sucked me in and I caught myself sneaking in a few pages at every free moment. Well done.

[Julissa Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to BookSirens and CatCam Books for the eARC.

After the passing of a mysterious distant aunt the Baker family is headed for a month long free vacation at her house by the lake, Haven.

The Baker's are a family that really needs a break so an extended vacation could be the exact remedy. In the beginning things seem like they could have the potential to bring the family together and be relaxing, but as the vacation gets longer sinister things start to happen.

This was a slow burn following multiply POVs as we learn what really happened to the long forgotten aunt and what is really going on at Haven.

In my opinion Haven is just as much a character as the individual family members. Just give it a try. The ending still has me in a chockhold.

[Shelby Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful writing, slow burn, queer rep, alternative POV, I loved Ava and Nina 🫶

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lake house vacation that turns into a nightmare for the Baker family sounded like a thrilling and dark plot that I couldn’t wait to read. It wasn’t quite what I expected as this story provides an in depth look at each member of the family as the house begins to take hold. It is a very gradual yet intense novel that slowly drags you under and takes its toll on you as you get deeper into the story.

At first, I was expecting more from the house and thought this was going to be a traditional house of horror but the real plot underneath the surface brings with it a dark and ruthless feeling that creeps up on the characters when they least expect it. The characters were very unlikable, they all seemed to dislike each other, the parents didn’t seem to be happy in the marriage anymore and the children both had issues that affected their relationships and family dynamic. This is a very misfit family and the house and vacation definitely brings out the worst in them.

I loved the uniformity in which the novel is written. There are 8 parts and in each part there is a chapter from all members of the family and always in the same order: Jeff, Jenna, JJ and Jessie and a chapter from Ava (Augusta), the aunt who left the lake house to the Doyle family in her will. This provides the reader with a deeper insight into each character, how they feel and their darkest thoughts which gradually gain intensity throughout the novel. I knew something was going on but couldn’t figure it out and I loved the reveal about the house which added an extra layer of complexity into how the family were being affected.

I really loved Ava’s character and her chapters were from her perspective as she was writing her memoir and the reader gets so much information about her life which is so heartbreaking and beautiful. Ava and her story really makes this novel and I would even read her memoir as a completely standalone book! I love how it all connects to the lake house and comes together to create a subtle yet poignant end.

The epilogue offers a shock to finish the novel and I love the open ending of yet another family vacation which I'm sure will also take a nightmarish turn. This is a quietly dark and sinister novel about family, betrayal, grief and revenge (hevn).

Thank you to Henry Roi and Black Tide Book Tours / Tours of Terror as well as the publisher CamCat Books for allowing me to be a part of this intensely psychological horror.

[Roz Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that gets hold of you and pulls you into the pages. I devoured it in one setting and couldn't put it down. It is well written, and the story flows easily.

The story is told by multiple POV, and each chapter is focused on one of the members of the Baker family who share their perspective on the family vacation at the house. Alongside this, we get Ava's story in which she shares her own history. 

Ava was such a beautifully written character. I just loved her, and I wanted her to get the revenge she deserved. Ava's story had a lot of tragedy, but throughout there was love, light, and happiness, which I was glad for. 

The plot is so nicely put together with great pacing, and I loved the twist at the end. Although, I did feel for the Bakers... their characters are so believable and well observed. The author captures that awkwardness of puberty and trying to find a sense of belonging. The marriage that has become stale and neither party knows how to fix and can seem all too real.

I highly recommend if you like thrillers, psychological horror, and plots about revenge and dysfunctional family.

With thanks to Henry Roi Black Tide Book Tours and the author for providing a copy of the book. This is my honest review, which I'm leaving voluntarily.

[Steph's_Creepy _Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really conflicted by this book. I'm not sure if I loved it or hated it. I think I'm just sitting comfortably between the two.
There wasn't a grand finale. Not really. There's talk about it but you don't get to read it through the eyes of the character which I'm really disappointed about.
This book gives enough to keep going going until the end but I feel a little cheated by it.
I wanted more. I wanted something magic with a K.

[Wyatt Towns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once in a while, I encounter a novel that feels like it was written almost purely from inspiration, blatantly (and bravely) disregarding many of the guidelines of modern fiction. In a time when the three-act structure has been so finely tuned, and inciting incidents simply must occur between the tenth and twelfth percentile of a book’s length; when there must be a capital-letter Turning Points, Complications, and a Dark Moments or Crises, it feels so damned good to find a novel where a writer seemingly just sat down and wrote a good story on instinct. Sure, if scrutinized it’s probably following the recommended script fairly closely, but the illusion that this burst forth from an author’s head, fully formed, it an attractive one.

Such is the case with Mia Dalia and her pleasantly anachronistic novel, Haven, which carries an unshakable patience and persistent reflectiveness through its three-hundred-odd pages to great result. On the surface its a story not unlike The Shining, where a family makes a sojourn to a large house in a remote location, only this time the spirits that haunt the halls are insidiously picking apart each individual member and setting them against each other, and rather than have a primary villain, readers get to glimpse the darker side of each character.

From the first page, Dalia’s prose is remarkably considered, possessed of a terribly relatable connection to the inherent disappointment of human existence. I was genuinely giddy at moments, rapt with appreciation for the attentiveness, cadence, and precision of the writing. For all the praise I would heap on the slowburn and deliberate components, this novel also balances its genre elements remarkably well. Time and time again, Dalia would slip in a genuinely creepy tidbit or background detail to remind me that this was, indeed, going to get dark before it was all over.
Ultimately, the story keeps its secrets for a long time, and while I find them suitably developed when they are eventually revealed, I think some readers will definitely round out the last 20% of the novel wanting a bit more explanation on certain aspects. Broadly speaking, Dalia structure and style is closer to the best authors of the 19th or 20th centuries than the middling authors of today, and if you hold an appreciation for such, Haven feels like and especially good read.

[Bookaholic__Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

So the cover art and the tag line of "Not every home is a ....HAVEN" immediately piqued my interest, and I knew I HAD to grab this book.


There are so many things I could say about this book, but honestly, I want to let it speak for itself. Dalia is a phenomenal storyteller. If I didn't have responsibilities, I would have loved to sit and read it front to back in one sitting, but life! When I wasn't reading, I found myself eager to get back to reading it. I was seriously thinking about reading it at odd hours of the day. I was invested in this family, and this homes secrets.

If you love horror books, dysfunctional families, creepy houses, and suspense....run, don't walk and get a copy now!

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Chelle Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven is a psychological mystery love story and if that doesn't make you want to read it I'm not sure what else will.

The Baker family spends a month long vacation at Haven House. A house inherited to extended family after the passing of their estranged aunt Augusta. While things in the house get weirder and weirder, we also follow the story of Ava which gives us the background on the house and extended family. Ava's story made this book for me. It felt like a touch of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo with its love story. It had me near tears in some parts, mad in others, and kicking my feet in excitement the rest of the time.

The multiple POV made for an interesting insight to how everyone in the house was reacting to the events. Weird dreams, dark thoughts, and revenge plans take center stage.

Mia describes the book as "a novel first and foremost about love and its failures. Or it's a novel about revenge and its blind and vast reach. Or it's a novel about a psychologically manipulative house."

[Elyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dysfunctional family, a creepy estate, and generational secrets. What could possibly go wrong?

[olive · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish this story was more about Ava, the rest was very hard to get through with the characters being so one dimensional and the story being predictable and plain.
I hate to give low rating, especially given how much of an effort it is to write a book, but much was left desired, so the star is for Ava and Nina.

[Josette Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

One would think they have hit the lottery when being able to stay at a vacation rental for free. This novel had a story nothing of which I have ever read before. The beginning of the book reminds me of a psychological thriller. As I moved on to the next part of the book, I believed the story to be morphing into a haunted house story. Just when I was following along and feeling very creeped out by what was going on with the bakers, the story began to tell the past life of the owner of the house. The more days the family spent in the house they seemed to begin changing; their personalities began to exhibit signs of paranoia and talk of revenge for slight they perceived coming from other family members. As Ava’s story unfolds, the reader begins to wonder how such things taking place in the house were beginning to become normal. As I reached the end of the novel the ending was not what I expected to happen. I was stunned to say the least. The author of this book is brilliant! The book becomes so many genres all at once. If you are looking for something mind bending as well as a stunning read then this book is for you. I would gladly give this book 10 out of 5 stars.

[Janneke RS · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is dark, gothic and raw.
You follow the family while they go on vacation. It isn't everyone's choice, but for the family, they stick with it.
During the parts you get to hear the thoughts of each of the members, and some...
Because this family holds secrets, and their is more to the story than you think.
It is written so life like that you begin to question your own family. Because you never known what goes on in somebody's head.
And in the end it all comes together...
Really liked the atmosphere here and how the story is told. A good book for the darker days...

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This was surprising. I picked this up thinking it was a shallow straight-forward horror, not a book that would actually bring a tear to my eye.

Refreshingly nuanced, this novel doesn’t bring about an undercurrent of fear but merely uses the element of horror and the supernatural as a framework to build a complex backstory.

This was deeper than what I was expecting but I was not disappointed. Highly recommend.

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was surprisingly funny! The kind of horror where you hate every character and stick around eagerly awaiting their horrible demise. My favorite character was the bulimic teen who proudly declares herself to be "woke" but can't provide a definition of the word "feminism" when prompted.

[Vigasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 stars

[MiniMicroPup · Rating 1 out of 5]

This had everything I usually love—family dysfunction, haunted house, angsty secrets, unlikeables, a “we’re stuck on vacation together” setup, but the execution was a total flop. The story just circled around the same ideas, nothing felt fleshed out—not the characters, not the plot, and definitely not the setting. I wanted to DNF multiple times but held out hoping it would redeem itself. It didn’t. If you check it out I hope it goes better for you than me.

Energy: Bleak. Ornery. Unbearable.

🐺 Growls: The writing felt monotone and flat no matter what was happening on page. So. Much. Filler. It was stuffed in everywhere…everything was over-explained, then re-explained a few more times for good measure. After all that, I kept waiting for a twist, reveal, something.

🐕 Howls: Painfully slow. Everyone’s entire personality trait was their ‘flaw’ and we get constant reminders of it with barely any forward momentum. I swear, every other chapter it was like we were being re-introduced to the same characters. The book read more like scene directions or a plot outline than a story. Zero atmosphere.

Scene: 🇺🇸 New England, USA
Perspectives (5): We follow a family of four. One is meticulous, slightly depressed, and disillusioned with their spouse and kids. The other is a yoga enthusiast bored by their spouse and oblivious to their kids’ issues. One of the teens aspires to be an influencer and is undereating. The other copes with video games and overeating. We also follow the deceased aunt estranged from the family but having left their home for use as a vacation spot.
Timeline: Linear. 2010s on the cusp of 2020. ☀️ Late summer.
Fuel: Why was Auggie estranged from the family? What will her home be like? What will they experience there? Will the characters use their vacation to relax and reflect or will they get worse?
Cred: Suspended disbelief

Mood Reading Match-Up:
Stale sweat, unwashed hair, dirty socks. Sandalwood and pine. Basket of muffins. Nature shows. K-pop.
• Third-person omniscient being told a story, observing from afar
• Slow pace, nothing really happens
• Caricature style characters: insufferable teens, pitiful dad, long-suffering mom
• Stuck together dysfunctional family vacay misery
• Multigenerational element
• Angst and secrets, unlikeable characters
• Simplistic, repetitive, verbose writing style
• Historical romance elements

Content Heads-Up: Bullying (weight, appearance). Eating disorders (bingeing, weighing, overeating, stress eating, calorie restriction, bulimia, purging). Homophobia. Sibling rivalry. Toxic beauty standards (social media).

Rep: American. Cis. Hetero. Lesbian, queer. Ruddy, pale skin tones.

📚 Format: Kobo Plus

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶

[Sian Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I’ve read of this sort of genre and it did not disappoint. Usually, I am not a slow burn reader. I tend to get frustrated and bored and need something happening within the first few chapters, however, the way this was written with multiple points of views, kept me entertained and wanting to read on. It did take me a little longer than I liked to read, due to the slow burn but I was still pleasantly surprised.

I really liked the storyline and the background of Gussie.

The ending was a little left unsaid, however there was enough information to paint the picture and I really liked it. I would definitely read another book from this author!

* I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily*

[Ster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A family vacation in an inherited house by the lake. A tour de force. I thoroughly enjoyed the way the history and past weaved into the current present story. It was captivating, moving, and disturbing all rolled into one. A fascinating, unputdownable work of psychological horror.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0

[Alix Dodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven is the best blend of gothic horror and mystery. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this book. I absolutely love a good haunted house story and this book checked all the marks for me.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn’t the fast paced psychological thriller I was expecting. But the writing and story telling kept me invested throughout the entire book!