I plowed through this book in less than a day. I loved the dual storylines and time periods. Daisy Jones with a murdery twist. So good. This author never disappoints!

“Houses remember”

A gorgeously-narrated audio book, providing a sumptuous peek into the lives of two pairs of women, one in current day, and the other in 1974. In each case, the story told by one of the women is intricate, richly textured, and compelling - in particular as it relates to their complex, seesawing relationship with an intimate female other.

First, we have Mary Godwick, nineteen years old in 1974, an insecure and somewhat desperately loving partner to the older Pierce Sheldon, a musician who is both polyamorous and self-centered. Mary’s relationship with her same-aged stepsister Lana is perhaps even more fraught - being both extremely close (almost co-dependent) and uncomfortably suffocating - in ways she has not completely come to terms with.

And then there is Emily, (Em), a thirty-five year old cozy mystery writer, whose nemesis and absolute best friend (in equal parts) is the wildly successful self-help guru Chess Chandler.

When Em and Chess vacation in a gorgeous and evocative Italian villa, known as Villa Aestas, deep in the Umbrian countryside, their lives suddenly intersect with a similar visit undertaken by Mary and Lara, some fifty years ago. A previous visit which resulted in murder.

Both Mary and Em will soon be revealed to experience transformational change - which will involve the decades old infamous murder, a long and checkered road to female empowerment, and more than one twist and turn in a plot lavish in its telling.

An absorbing story, perfectly rendered in audio, with the narrator’s silky delivery complementing stunning Italianate visuals of warm yellow walls, cypress trees and one of the most evocatively compelling settings this reader has encountered in a while. Without giving the plot away (no spoilers here), the author weaves her thematic ribbon gleefully, (suggesting, as the timelines and stories intersect — one can only hold a successful woman back for just so long) as we slowly come to learn there may be more to each heroine (much more) here than originally expected.

A great big thank you to Netgalley, the author, the publisher and an audio ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

I really struggled with this book. It's one of the first audiobooks I listened to and I found myself very confused at the beginning of the book. There were several times where I had to repeat sections to help make sense of the back and forth chapters and different timelines.

I also had a very hard time liking any of the characters and could not connect with the voice of Julia Whelan for Emily. I love Julia Whelan as the narrator for other books, but I don't think it suited Emily's character in this one.

This was my first Rachel Hawkins book and hope that I end up liking her other books a bit more than I did this one.

A solid 4 star book. I really love Rachel Hawkins's writing style in this one - such as how she adds “other sources” like interviews and newspaper articles to tell the story so you get some details without her putting it in the narrative. It would have been 5 stars, but I got a little tired of the present day story between Chess & Emily. I always love Rachel Hawkins’s characters, but the characters in the Villa and Reckless Girls are kind of spoiled and despicable brats. I really do like how all of her characters have a little bit of a morally grey area which makes them suprising & interesting, but the characters in The Villa might be my least favorite of any of the books I've read so far. I’m still mulling over how I feel about the ending. However, even in Hawkins's YA books such as Hex Hall & Rebel Belles, her ends are always suprising yet satisfying. Overall, I think this one is my least favorite out of her thrillers, but still very much worth reading.

"The Villa" by Rachel Hawkins had me enthralled from the first page. This isn't your typical haunted house story. It weaves together two timelines: a luxurious girls' getaway in present-day Italy, and a rockstar-fueled summer in the 1970s at the same location. The way Hawkins connects these two narratives is intriguing and suspenseful.

As Emily delves into the villa's dark past, the secrets that come to light are shocking. There's a murder, a budding rockstar's rise to fame, and the inspiration behind a bestselling horror novel – all with a gothic twist that kept me guessing until the very end.

The characters are equally captivating. Emily, our present-day protagonist, is a likable narrator whose determination to uncover the truth keeps the story moving. The 1970s characters felt like they leaped off the page,each with their own hidden agendas and vulnerabilities.

While the blurb mentions inspirations like Fleetwood Mac and the Manson murders, the story itself doesn't rely heavily on these references. It has its own unique atmosphere that's both thrilling and suspenseful.

Overall, "The Villa" is a masterful blend of past and present mysteries that will stay with you long after you finish the last page. If you're a fan of gothic thrillers with a touch of historical intrigue, then this book is a must-read!

I really enjoyed this twisty, suspenseful, dual-timeline novel.

I enjoyed the perspective of Mari, staying at an Italian villa in the 1970s with her lover, step-sister, and friends. We also had the perspective of Em in the present day, staying at the villa with her friend after separating from her husband.

There was a murder at the villa when Mari stays there in the 70s, and it is somehow connected to the events of the present timeline.

Hawkins does an excellent job keeping the tension high as these the events unfold across these two timelines. I would recommend to fans of mysteries and suspense stories.

I went on a bit of a Rachel Hawkins kick with two back to back audiobook listens from her and I loved it! Hawkins has such a great knack for bringing the drama with her thrills!

The Villa centers around two friends who are both writers and a mysterious history surrounding the Italian villa which they are living in for a few weeks. Readers get swept away with the history along with our main character, Emily, as we get the chance to read excerpts from a diary. I loved the mix of the two stories together and the fun ways that Hawkins links them.

This story has plenty of drama between both storylines to keep readers coming back for more. I felt connected and invested in both. The twists are addictive and well-placed to lure readers into binge reading this book.

Thanks NetGalley and publishers for an egalley.

I always live a great murder mystery and this story has a great setting, a villa. It was really interesting to hear how reuniting as friends brings back some dark memories.

I really enjoyed this Hawkins book more than her others, likely due to the beautiful setting and a timeline that bounced back and forth with sharing memories.

This is a dual timeline suspense told from two perspectives, this slows down the pacing but does help with a plot that keeps you guessing. There a lot of intrigue, a cast on unreliable and unlikeable characters and a great setting in 1970s Italy.

This was good but i didn't love it as much as Hawkins' other releases. It didn't feel fresh/unique to me. It is a good pool read to binge though!

I really thought that this was a very suspenseful listen! It is very fast-paced! I love the characters in the audiobook! I thought the audiobook was well-narrated. It made the story come alive! This, it is a worthy listen!

The audiobook was beautifully narrated. The story was a compelling thriller filled with paranoia and interesting characters.

Sex, drugs and rock & roll... and murder? I really enjoyed this book. She set the scene so wonderfully! I love the dual timeline, and seeing the modern day women search through to figure out the past. You never know what you might find!
Thank you, NetGalley, for providing this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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.

The Villa was a slow move for me. It picked up in the second half, but I struggled to really get into it.

This book had me hooked right from the very beginning! It’s so good, you won’t want to put it down. It gets a little slow during the middle, but then it picks right back up again! Theres so much in this book! Theres a little bit of mystery, historical fiction, and domestic suspense. It’s also told in dual POV, 40 years apart! There’s so many twists and turns in this book, you won’t be able to figure them out! If you’re looking for a great mystery read, I recommend checking this one out!

This was a quick, easy read and one that kept me vested throughout the book. It's the third book I've read by Rachel Hawkins and is probably my second favorite. She manages to keep you interested in where the story is going.

I binged this audiobook in just two days. I loved the atmosphere, the duel POV's between the past and present, and how all the mystery came together in the end. I wasn't sure how the ending was going to go, or if motivations and intentions were going to be what I thought they were. The narration was perfection and added so much to the story that I had a difficult time stopping.

I don't know why I waited so long to jump into this one but I'm so glad I did because I loved it! It was exactly what I was in the mood for and offered everything I look for in a good mystery/thriller. I can't wait to dive into more of Rachel Hawkins books!

This was my 3rd Rachel Hawkins book and I was not disappointed. She writes such engaging and fun thrillers!

I enjoyed this audiobook, but I think I was expecting a little more from the story itself. I loved the use of multiple narrators and felt they did a good job bringing the story to life, and the mystery along with the past/present timelines had me intrigued from the very beginning. I found myself needing to know how the different story lines would fit together, and the use of elements like music, podcasts, etc. within the audio was a nice touch too!

In terms of the story itself, I found the characters to be somewhat unlikable and underdeveloped, and I didn’t feel an emotional attachment to them or the story. The pacing was decent, but I felt the ending missed the mark and didn’t have the impact that I enjoy from a strong thriller. I also found it to be a little bit confusing via the audio, and I wished I had the physical book to pair with it.

Overall, I did feel like this was a good audio experience and I think it would be great for someone just dipping their toes into the thriller world, but I would recommend having a physical or electronic copy to pair with it to follow along with the different timelines and elements.