The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is a novel that is far above any other she has written before in the mystery thriller genre and very well be the best read of the year and it has only just begun!

Summary -

"...Houses remember.
That was what Mr. O'Hare had said to Victoria the first day she and her family came to Somerton, the day that began the end of everything.
At the time, she liked the sound of that. Somerton was an old house, after all, and the idea of its papered walls and mullioned windows holding the secrets and dreams of all who had walked its halls appealed to her. She hadn't thought that perhaps houses hold on to the bad with the good, just as people do.
But why would she ever have thought that there might be bad memories in such a place? That summer, the last good season of her life, was such a glorious one, full of blue skies and lemon-yellow sun, and there was no sign of all the horror to come. There were only warm, lazy days, the soft hum of bees in tall flowers, the silky feel of grass against her calves as she walked through the fields surrounding the house.
She had forgotten, as we all do, that beautiful things can contain their own darkness..."

Growing up, Emily and Chess were best friends. But as adults their relationship has become strained and distant. Career and a failed marriage are making demands on Emily's life and the seemingly easy success that Chess has achieved has created a simmering jealousy. But they were once the best of friends and when Chess suggests a girl's trip to Italy Emily jumps at the chance to get away.

Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a beautiful high end rental home now but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato and the notorious rock star Noel Gordon rented it for a summer. Gordon invites up and coming musician Pierce Sheldon and well as Pierce's girlfriend Mari and her stepsister Lara.

"....This place will be good for him, Mari thinks. Noel will make him focus on actually producing something. She looks up at the villa, the windows winking in the sunlight. And it'll be good for me, too.
Later, she'll look back at this moment and wonder why there was no warning, no sense of the horrors that would unfold in that house.
But on that bright June afternoon in 1974, Mari just basks in the promise that here, in this beautiful place, things might finally be different..."

That summer changes their lives forever. Mari writes one of the greatest horror novels of all time. Lara composes a platinum album and Pierce is brutally murdered.

"...What are you two gossiping about?' she asks, and Guilia laughs, gathering up her purse.
'She wanted to know all about the muuuuurder,' she replies, wiggling her fingers like claws, and Chess shoots me an indulgent look that makes my teeth itch.
'Are you still thinking about that?' she asks.
'I'm writing about it, actually,' I say. 'Already have a couple of chapters.'
I don't know why I tell her, and it's not technically true, anyway-what I've got so far is mostly freeform, nothing organized into sections yet. But saying it out loud makes it feel real, and I want desperately for this to be real. An actual book, a thing I've made..."

Emily dives into the history of the Villa and begins to realize that there was much more to the tragedy of the summer of 1974. Just maybe it wasn't just sex, drugs and rock and roll. Just maybe it was sometime far more sinister. How is it that only the women came out of that summer and became two of the most successful women in their field and the men ended up in jail, forgotten or dead.

But the further Emily digs into the past, the clearer the present becomes. Betrayals from lovers and friends turn this idyllic vacation into a cruel and tense time. Emily begins to wonder, was the tragedy of 1974 really due to drugs and sex or is it to with Villa itself?

Review -

The Villa is actually two stories in one and Rachel Hawkins weaves them together into one tense and moving thriller. The story of Mari and Lara and the summer of 1974. The story of Emily and Chess and what happens to the women in the Villa. There is a murder mystery here that seems to be solved that unravels to reveal an even deeper truth. There is also the world that Emily lives in and the part Chess played in it spiraling out of control.

Rachel Hawkins has written several really good novels but with The Villa she has taken it up to another level. This is a one sitting, can't put down, going to miss supper and pour me another glass of red kind of novel. Read it. Enjoy it. You will love it.

Various timelines, a murder, women's friendship tested, all at the same Villa. Who could ask for more? I began by listening to this, but that wasn't fast enough! I had to check out the book so I could keep reading!!

3.5 stars

Even though I finished this book there were times I wanted to dnf it. Book has two timelines past and present. At times I was confused whos POV I was reading. But I did finish it!

Fun and twisty, enjoyed the ending. Kinda was able to guess at part of the twist, but thought it was going to go another way.

This one was okay. I think there were just too many things going on. I didn’t care for how the book ended. I will still read more from this author but I wasn’t wowed by this one.

The Wife Upstairs will reign supreme for me. I found this plot to be a little slow and wasn’t really invested in the characters.

Em and Chess are best friends. Chess is a best-selling self-help writer. Em writes cozy mysteries. Em has had an unknown chronic illness and is now getting a divorce because her husband has been cheating. Chess invites Em to Italy to write at a villa where a murder occurred in the 1970's.

Mary & Laura are sisters who've been invited to stay at an Italian villa with some rock stars. This part of the story my brain would zone out during the audio book and I would have to remind my ears to listen.

This mystery/thriller was good. I kind of guessed a lot of it. The writing kept me engaged in parts. The narration was good especially the Julia Whelan parts. Overall, a good listen to a good thriller.

initial thoughts: really enjoyed this one! liked the multiple timelines, and the podcast/newspaper/magazine articles that tell different parts of the story from different POVs and the setting.

I have lots of unanswered questions about Chess, but maybe that’s part of the point of the second timeline.

quick read, short chapters.

I thought this was fine, but I was ultimately underwhelmed by it. I just didn’t really care about the relationship between Emily and Chess, and I expected more out of the past-tense story line. I would like to read more of this author’s thrillers to see what I think, but this one didn’t land for me.

I believe this is my third Hawkins book, and I’ve come to the conclusion that she is not for me. The mystery/thriller aspect of this book and lacking, and therefore I think the marketing went wrong. Wasn’t a fan of any of the characters in either timeline.

A tremendously enjoyable read in a beautiful setting. I loved the twists this book took and how the reader could question the deeply flawed characters throughout. 3.5 stars.

I love all things Rachel Hawkins, so I knew this would be a winner for me, and I was right! I read this book without stopping over two days, with no regrets! This time around we have two stories in one, that twist and turn and intertwine together, with (in my opinion) an amazing ending. You will NOT be disappointed, this book was amazing!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I wish I could have gotten through this book because I have always enjoyed Rachel Hawkins books, but this just was not for me.

This book took me a while to get into. I started and stopped it several times before just pushing through and finishing. It had a very slow start. It didn’t even pick up until over halfway through. There was so much going on in both time frames that it sometimes got confusing.

This was just an okay read for me. I have enjoyed another of Rachel Hawkins book more than this one so I did have a little bit of high hopes. Little bit of a letdown.

The multiple timelines really did it for me in this one. For a slow burn, i quickly became invested in both sets of characters and couldn't wait to see how the story would unfold. Absolutely bingeable.

This story follows two, now adults, who have been close since childhood. Emily and Chess's relationship now is strained for reasons that are made both aware early one and some which are revealed throughout the story. While they stay in an Italian Villa with a complicated and dark past, Emily begins to connect to the villa in more ways than one.

The story is interwoven between the past and the present, creating connections between characters across the span of time. I found the past story to be the more interesting portion of the book, Emily's character really drives the plot forward with her exploration into these past stories and looking at the dark underbelly of this villa. In the end, I was a little bored at points but the slight horror elements did keep me interested.

The Villa started out slow and picked up around 40%. It was a slow-burner, for sure. I didn’t love the characters and the friendship dynamic between Chess and Emily. The ending between them felt too unrealistic. I did love the Italian villa vibes and the older storyline of Mari woven in was enjoyable! I love Rachel Hawkins books so while I found this one only mediocre, I can’t wait to read her next one!!

Thank you St Martins Press, and NetGalley, for a copy in return for my honest review.

I enjoy Rachel Hawkins’ books and her style of writing but I have to admit that this was not my favorite of her books. I found it hard to like the primary characters but that is just me. Overall an interesting read and plot.

I enjoyed The Wife Upstairs and was so looking forward to this book by Rachel Hawkins. I liked it but I didn’t love it as much as The Wife Upstairs. The ending felt rushed and messy. I enjoyed the twists and psychological turns but overall, not my favorite by her.