Emily is a cozy mystery writer who has a bit of writer's block. She has just recovered from a mysterious illness and is dealing with a divorce from a man who hadn't "signed up for this". He is now suing her for a major cut of her royalties and income from her books, stressing out both Emily and her bank account. When her on again, off again BFF, Chess, invites her to Italy for a summer of writing and being a tourist, she agrees to go. Chess is a successful self help author, so they have that in common. Doing some research on the Villa Aesta before going, Emily finds out it is a murder house. The second timeline in the book is set in 1974 where Mari and her stepsister, Lara, arrive at the Villa Rosato that had been rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon, and his guest, Pierce Sheldon another musician. They are in for a summer of parties, drugs, sex and rock and roll. Before the summer is over, someone is dead. Emily finds this story fascinating and begins her own research. What really happened in 1974 and how does that affect Emily and Chess now?

The Villa is a thriller, but it has a gothic vibe with the house and the mystery surrounding it. The story is told in dual POVs of Emily and Mari. Mari was also a writer and became famous writing a horror classic while staying at the Villa. There are also a few podcasts interspersed in the story. It was interesting to see how obsessed Emily became with Mari's story and found clues in the villa to what might have really happened. With Emily and Chess in the present, there seems to be something going on, but I couldn't figure out what it is and why did Chess really invite Emily to Italy? The setting of a gorgeous villa in a small Italian town was inviting. This is a story of friendship, romance and secrets with a couple of huge twists that kept me guessing right to the end. This one started slow, but picked up as the story progressed and it pulled me in. I did a read/listen with The Villa and enjoyed both formats. I loved that there were multiple narrators for the audiobook and Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell, and Shiromi Arserio do a wonderful job giving voice to the various characters. If you enjoy a good psychological thriller, I recommend you pick up The Villa.

I feel like Rachel Hawkins has branded herself as a kind of campy thriller author with her first three releases in the genre. And while The Villa has that same kind of tone - it lacked a little of the dramatics of the previous two releases. But where that makes it a little less silly, it’s also just less interesting and reads very paint-by-the-numbers. Two best friends on an overseas retreat with a long standing tension between them. A parallel plotline in the past with two sisters competing over the same man that ends in murder. It’s really not hard to connect the dots.

If the Wife Upstairs suffered from being too derivative of its Jane Eyre source material and Reckless Girls suffered from just being kind of ridiculous, this book’s biggest issue is that it’s just boring. Which is maybe the most fatal flaw of a thriller in my opinion. It wasn’t even a pacing issue - it really just felt like nothing notable was happening in either timeline. I guess if you like reading about a woman's toxic best friend gaslighting her for 300 pages until a few moments of intrigue at the end it at least provides that.

This book may suit fans of Rachel Hawkins previous releases in the genre. As someone that didn’t love either and was even more ambivalent about this latest release I have to say it’s not my brand of thriller however.

Thank you to the publisher Macmillan Audio for providing an audiobook ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

Rachel Hawkins have been a hit or miss for me, however, I was really looking forward to this book because I thought the summary sounded good. However, even with the audiobook, I was very bored throughout the novel. I found the characters were rather dull and didn't have any relatability. And while the plot sounded interesting at first, the pacing of the book was really frustrating for me to be interested in it.

The line between friends and enemies is thin for Emily and Chess. Attempting to get back their close relationship from the past, Emily agrees to a vacation with Chess in a historic Villa with a murderous legacy. Sins of the past come back to curse the present. Emily becomes obsessed with the infamous murder. Will she unlock the hidden secrets of the past, or will her discoveries lead to tragedy in the present? Betrayal, revenge, deception and lies describe this intriguing thriller that alternates between crimes of the past and evils of the present. The narration expertly adds an element of suspense and foreboding to this atmospheric and haunting story. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my audiobook.

I have really enjoyed this author in the past but sadly this one fell flat for me.

I enjoyed the set up. Going on vacation to write a book and finding a secret a long the way is always a good plot for a book. I enjoyed the characters and the conflict and tension you could feel between them. I also loved the different time lines and how slowly the pieces start to fit together. But I did find the book confusing at some parts and hard to follow a long. I also wish the book had a little more shine factor to keep the reader entertained. A lot of it was just the same thing happening over and over as they were on vacation.

The ending did help to make up for what was lacking, so not a horrible book but also wish it was better.

“Stories change depending on who’s telling them.”

Two childhood best friends, who have both found themselves in the world of writing, spend a summer recharging, reconnecting, and revisiting history that will bond them together forever.

This gothic suspense alternates between two storylines both anchored by happenings in an Italian villa. I found both sets of characters intriguing and the setting simultaneously dreamy and dark. To be honest I am not always a thriller reader as I find them quite predictable but the twists and ending were well-done and not what I anticipated.

This is my first Rachel Hawkins book and I think I will need to quickly pick up another one because it was a compulsive listen! The narration was great with the accents and sounded emotive even at 1.5 speed.

Thank you to the publishing team, the author, and NetGalley for an audio version of this story. I definitely recommend it to Rachel Hawkins fans, thriller enthusiasts, and readers who enjoy historical and gothic fiction.

I’ve been loving thrillers lately and I really enjoyed THE VILLA by Rachel Hawkins! I was really excited to read this one since I enjoyed both of her previous thrillers The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls. This one is about two friends who stay at an Italian villa where a murder occurred. I loved the picturesque setting, dual timelines, multiple POVs and mystery. The way the storylines were interwoven together was great. One was full of sex, drugs and rock and roll in the 70s and the other featured a writer uncovering secrets from the past and present. I was hooked into this one all the way to the end. I listened to the audiobook too and I loved the full cast with Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell and Shiromi Arserio. Their narration fit the characters perfectly! I can’t wait to read her next book!
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Thank you to Macmillan Audio via NetGalley for my ALC!

I have heard many mixed reviews about The Villa but I’m so glad I listened to it to this one. I LOVED the setting! I really enjoyed the alternating timelines. While I love books with lifelong friendships I did not like Chess and how she treated Emily. I did expect more of a thriller, plot twists. It was a quick listen that kept me fully engaged.

This was a twisty tale that intertwines a couple different story lines. We are taken from the past to the present. The past murder to the present thriller. Emily and Chess have gone to Italy for the summer and Emily hopes to find inspiration to complete her newest cosy mystery. What she finds is the inspiration to go in a totally different direction. After all, with her ex-husband taking most of her residuals why should she continue to work on her series. With staying at the Villa Aestas there is so much to research about the former players and the murder that happened here. This was pretty much a predictable tale but it was a pleasure to read and listen to and since I had both versions that is how I devoured it.

I loved Rachel Hawkins' book The Wife Upstairs, so went into The Villa with high hopes. I wasn't disappointed. This was a fascinating book with dual timelines, both set in an Italian villa being rented for extended stays - one in the 70s, the other current day.
In the 70s, it's rented by a fading rock star who's trying to recover his creative mojo. An aspiring songwriter and his girlfriend end up staying there along with the girlfriend's stepsister (who's a bit of a singer/songwriter herself). It's the 70s and there is, of course, a good bit of sex & drugs & rock & roll happening - and ultimately, a notorious murder.
Current day, the house has been rented by a successful self-help author and blogger, Chess, who invites her childhood friend to come with her for a vacation. That friend, Emma, is a writer as well, but her forte is writing cozy mysteries. She's gone through a nasty divorce, and they go hoping to revive their fading friendship, adult life having played havoc with their ability to spend time together. While they're there, Emma becomes fascinated with the history of the villa, particularly with that murder in the 70s. At the same time she discovers things about her own life and marriage that make her question everything she thought she knew.
The writing is excellent, and the narration by Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell & Shiromi Arserio only adds to the story.
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

This was too much of a slowborn for me - I wanted more Italian villa setting, but overall I just felt like not much happened and this was not a "thriller".

This book had me hooked from the beginning: the story was fast-paced (which I liked) and was just overall very exciting. I enjoyed this story greatly, and it’s outside my normal realm of books that I read, so I shocked myself with how much i liked it!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Netgalley, and Rachel Hawkins for an advance copy of The Villa in exchange for an honest review. This was an interesting and atmospheric story told in dual timelines with both timelines focusing on A Villa in Italy. I felt like this was a very character driven story with a very slow burn. It was interesting to me to see the dynamics in Chess and Emilys friendship but it also was just so toxic to me, which turned me off from wanting to get to know the characters more. I didnt see the twist coming which is always a readers dream and I was happy with the ending. I think Im chasing the readers high I felt when reading this Authors first novel so this one just fell a little flat for me. I will say that the narrator was fantastic and kept my attention which is always a plus! This one is available now! 3.5 stars!

The Villa starts off with two childhood friends, Chess and Emily, who are reconnecting in their 30s.

Both are writers, yet Chess is much more famous. Emily makes a great living, but she's goung through a divorce and has writer's block. And she's on a deadline.

On a whim, Chess invites Emily to stay with her at a Villa in Italy for 6 weeks. (Turns out the mansion has been haunted since the 70s).

Then the plot takes a turn to 1974 and brings four new characters into the picture. Noel is from a band in London and invites his rocker friend, Pierce, to join him at a Villa for the summer. Pierce's girlfriend and her stepsister, Lara, join them.

Every other chapter goes back and forth with these two groups.

Will Noel and Emily break out of their creative ruts?

What other betrayals are in store?

How haunted is this mansion and what clues are uncovered by Emily + Chess?

Well, all I can say is that, thank goodness, this is a short, easy read. It's good. But not great.

Unfortunately, it didn't give me Daisy Jones rocker vibes whatsoever.

It wasn't an edge-of-your-seat whodunit thriller, either.

In fact, the ending was pretty lackluster...


Thanks to Macmillan Audio for an advanced listener copy via the NetGalley app.I appreciate the opportunity to listen to Julia Whelan narrate quite a bit of this audiobook. She's always a fan favorite!

This was enjoyable at the beginning but about 2/3 of the way through I lost interest. I liked the present storyline a lot more than the past, so I think if it had been from Emily's point of view the whole time I would've liked it more. The writing isn't bad and I'd probably pick up Hawkins' next book because I think her plots are more creative than most thrillers.

Still looking for the book that will break my reading slump :(

This twisted suspense has two timelines, and the one from 1974 focused on music was right up my alley since I was a teen then and am a big music junkie.
Both story timelines, the current one with Em and Chess, and the one in 1974 with Mari and her step-sister, Lara (and the "rock stars") were filled with who-can-you-trust twists and kept me invested in the story to figure out what REALLY happened in 1974, and how things would play out between Em and Chess, and had twists right up to the end. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an audiobook (great narrators!) of this book.

Escape the gray skies of February to a mysterious villa in Italy with the audiobook The Villa. There’s a lot going on at the historic villa where a rock star was murdered in the 70s. Best friends, Emily & Chess, take a girls trip to escape the stresses of life and rekindle their friendship. Emily distracts herself from her struggling marriage and career by seeking out answers to the murder of the rockstar while on holiday with his own friend group years ago. High maintenance Chess reminds Emily why their relationship has always been filled with turmoil. As the mystery from the 70s unravels, so does the complex friendship between Chess and Emily. Secrets and lies are revealed. The alternating timeline is easy to follow on audio. The accents pulled me in and made me want to reach out and slap Chess!

I really liked the dual timelines in this book, but I feel like I enjoyed the supplemental story more than the main story.

Unfortunately I DNF’d this book as the dual storylines were just not gripping me. Really cool setting, interesting characters, but just not what I typically look for in a thriller.

This book was extraordinary, Rachel, Hawkins never disappoints!! I loved that one of the main characters was a writer. Personally, I was a soft spot for Italy so I like that the book setting took place in Italy. Chess was definitely one those characters that you never really like and I think that was the author’s intent. plot twist of the end was unexpected. I could see this going into a sequel personally based off of how it ended! I definitely would read a sequel to this story