I really enjoyed this thriller. I liked how the different stories, past and present, intertwined throughout the book. It allowed the reader/listener to see both sides.

The Villa, by Rachel Hawkins, is being promoted as a twisty thriller – or so they would have you believe. It’s hard to classify this book. Is it a domestic drama? Women’s lit? Historical fiction?

The book goes back and forth between two timelines. In the 1974, Mari and her step-sister spend the summer in an Italian villa with their musician boyfriends. Their summer of sex, drugs and rock and roll ends in murder.
In the present timeline,

Chess and Emily spend six weeks in the same Italian villa. Chess is a best-selling author of self-help books. Emily, who is embroiled in a nasty divorce, is struggling to write the next book in her cozy mystery series.

The first two-thirds of the book was fast-paced and interesting. It felt like I was reading a book with a slow burn leading up to a surprising twist. And then it completely went off the rails and what was a strong 4-star book shattered into a complete mess.

On a positive note, the audiobook was fantastic. Julia Whelan is always superb and I really enjoyed listening to Kimberly M. Wetherell for the first time.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my fair and unbiased opinion.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins - Short Review

- Mystery & Thriller

- A Breezy Fiction

- Story of two sisters, 1974

- Story of two best friends, 2022

- Super easy to listen if you are listen to the Audiobook

- Solid Twists at the end!



Glad that I heard the audiobook instead of reading the paperback and liked the dramatic narration. Have you read the book or planning to?



Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

QUICK BITS
-Book in a book in a book
-Multiple POV

REVIEW
This book had a lot going on (but in this case I think it's a good thing).

I really loved the premise of this book and I felt it was quite an intricate idea that was well executed.

I love when we get a book in a book let alone three in one book. wow. This where I think some may think the story gets a little muddled.

Overall, this is a well done and excellently written thriller. I would recommend it to most!

RATINGS
7 Characters
8 Atmosphere
8 Writing Style
6 Plot
9 Intrigue
8 Enjoyment
2 SOS Bonus
TOTAL= 46+2= 48/12= 4.00

2.00/5.00 SOS Rating (some of the characters actions surprised me, but as for twists, fairly tame--I don think in general the book is written with shock factor is that makes an sense)

4.00/5.00 Rounded Rating

This is a story-within-a-story novel that focuses on lifelong friends Chess and Emily who are spending the summer at an Italian villa. Inside of that frame, we also learn of another group who stayed in the villa in the 1970s, which became infamous when one of them ended up brutally murdered. I was immediately drawn into the historical story that has as its inspiration the summer of 1816 when Mary Shelley, Percy Bysse Shelley, Lord Byron, and others gathered at a villa along the shores of Lake Geneva. Chess and Emily's story did not stand up to the intrigue of the other story, and so this felt like a three star read for much of the novel. However, the ending more than made up for my early misgivings. I would suggest anyone on the fence in the beginning continue reading (or listening) because the ending will make it worth it!

The dual narrators did a good job of capturing the voices of Emily and Mary and made each story easily recognizable.

Audiobook Narration by Julia Whelan, Kimberly M Wetherell, and Shiromi Arserio-- I love audiobooks with multiple narrators. This book was made for that! I really enjoyed these narrators and think they made the book so much more enjoyable! @macmillan.audio hit the nail on the head with getting this one put together!

Book Moods: murder, betrayal, mystery, toxic drama, "love, sex and rock and roll"

"Houses, remember..." and so will I. This book was like a train wreck. You can't look away. I started off by reading this and got halfway. Then, I got my hands on the audiobook and finished the second half in one day. The audiobook made it so much easier to pallette. There's just so many stories going on and so many toxic relationships. I love the idea of this book and how the storylines come together. There's twists and turns, and I did lots of head scratching. If you pick this one up, listen to it!

This book is over the top, uncomfortable, and full of drama--but I had the best time with it!!! It's exactly what I needed at just the right time. Loved how it all came together in the end. (And I really think I LOVE books that take place at a vacation home in Italy 😍)

Honestly, I can tell friends of mine would enjoy this book but I couldn’t. This book is a stomach ache. Our heroine has everything go wrong. Her husband leaves and is suing for ownership of her book series. Her friend is a huge success in a deeply annoying way. I want to tell her to get out. The anxiety is high but I can’t enjoy this as intended.

An interesting and suspenseful novel that kept me engaged. This book will appeal both readers that enjoy stories set in the seventies and those that like murder mysteries. I found both protagonists Emily and Chess likeable but the ending was too predictable for me. Nevertheless, good writing and good narration.

Wow! I think this is my favorite Rachel Hawkins book yet. It's Frankenstein meets 70s rock culture meets girls trip. I listened to this one and didn't stop until I finished it. The narration is so so good! It is a propulsive read that keeps you on your toes in both timelines. However, it does slow down a little around the halfway point; it picks back up again quickly. My only complaint is that it felt like it wrapped up a little strangely at the end. I would have liked a few more pages to flesh things out a little more - mainly in the present timeline.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an audio galley in return for a fair and honest review.

The Villa is a mystery/thriller set in Italy with two stories with alternating between a murder that happened in the 70’s and in the present are two friends on a summer vacation.

I found this book hard to get into. I really liked the present timeline the best. The relationship between the two friends had me wondering where the story was heading and how it would end up relating to the 70s story.

Overall I enjoyed it but didn’t find it to be very memorable.

Thank you NetGalley and LibroFm for the advanced audiobook,

An enjoyable, mystery thriller! Alternating between two timelines, with unexpecting yet intertwined stories, this book keeps you guessing from start to finish.

The characters in this story were layered and multidimensional, and the writing is excellent. I was surprised by how easy it was to be sucked in, and finished it in two days.

The way this story is told reminded me a bit of TJR’s writing, but mixed with a bit of mystery. I’m a big fan of Hawkins work, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

The Villa is a story within a story within a story… dual timelines with an extra fictional storyline playing out.

Emily and Chess were childhood best friends, but a few decades later, how well do they still know each other? Each are successful authors– Emily writes a popular cozy mystery series and Chess is a Glennon Doyle-ish guru. Emily is stuck in a rut–writing, working through a messy divorce, and recovering from a mystery illness. Chess invites her to spend the summer together at an Italian villa with a notorious past.

In 1974, another group of friends spent the summer there, but one ended up dead, another in prison. Despite the tragedy, two step sisters went on to giant creative success after finding inspiration at the villa.

The Villa sparks something inside of Emily– but instead of cozy mysteries, she’s obsessed with writing about the house.

We go back and forth, filling in the blanks from that fateful summer in 1974, while present-day secrets start coming to light between Emily and Chess. It’s addictive, intriguing, immersive, with an ending that, while bizarre, is super satisfying.

One thing I really enjoy about Rachel’s thrillers is the underlying theme of (I guess you would say) girl power? It seems like there’s always a lot to unpack about the nuances of female friendships.

The audio is just shy of eight hours, narrated by Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell, and Shiromi Arserio. There are a few unique epistolary interludes to break up chapters.

FYI-if you’ve steered clear of the NetGalley app for the echo-y issue in the past (it honestly never bothered me lol)... it seems to be resolved. Everything sounds perfectly clear now. Thanks to Macmillan Audio for sending this audiobook my way!

The beginning of this audiobook threw me off. I didn’t know what I was listening to but after hearing more I realized it was part of the book Mari (character from the 70’s) wrote. This book bounces between present time, 70’s and a book world and listening to the audiobook it was sometimes confusing.
I wasn’t too fond of the 70’s timeframe story and the ending wasn’t my favorite. I’ve enjoyed previous books by Rachel Hawkins fell short in my opinion.
Thank you NetGalley for ARC copy of the audiobook.

Rachel Hawkins is the queen of classic retellings, and The Villa is no exception. I always enjoy her retellings, even though more often than not I haven’t read the original. I also love a Julia Whelan narration!

I loved the haunted house vibes of The Villa. In both the past and present timelines, the characters are vacationing in the same isolated resort that has a storied past. I preferred the past timeline, as I found Chess and Emily to be somewhat boring. There was more drama amongst the group in the 70s, which made it a more interesting read.

The author/writing aspect was particularly fun to read.

Rachel Hawkins continues to be one of my go-to authors for a quick, easy popcorn thriller. I’ve liked each of her books more than the last, so I’m excited to see what she comes up with next!

Absolutely love this book. I would've never guessed what was yet to come or what had happened. I would definitely read more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the published for an ARC of this book!

This was by far by favorite of Rachel Hawkins' books thus far! I am a sucker for dual timeline novels and the inclusion of intertwined storylines from 1974 and present day weaved a twisty tale.

1974- A gaggle of musicians, authors, and general ne'er-do-wells are at a getaway in an Italian villa when one ends up murdered. The story of how this happened is told in fragments of Mari's letters and novel. Mari's story was the most compelling to me although the twist was somewhat expected.

Present- Author Emily is invited to the same villa by her childhood friend Chess, a superstar self-help author. Emily's life is in a spiral downward since her divorce from her husband so she agrees to the trip hoping to find some inspiration for her ongoing cozy mystery series. The history of the villa instead inspires her to write a different kind of novel. The twists just kept coming in this timeline, some for the better and some just didn't land quite as well for me.

Overall, this was an intriguing read that scratched my mystery/thriller itch. Was it perfect? No, there were some definite plot holes and the twists were usually pretty predictable but it was a fun read nonetheless.

Overall I loved the whole idea of the story but the sinister story of the house just wasn't all that sinister to me. I did enjoy the story but this wasn't my favorite Rachel Hawkins book.

"Houses Remember."

What a great line in the gothic suspense novel The Villa by thriller author Rachel Hawkins. I think it really should be the title of this intriguing story with different timelines that all converge at the Italian villa that has more secrets than any government agency.

In present time Emily and her bestie from childhood Chess take a summer vacation to Italy renting The Villa known as The Murder House due to the violent murder of a famous bad boy musician back in 1974. When Emily finds the hidden diary of Mari who was there in 1974 it inspires her to write the truth about the murder instead of continuing her cozy mystery series that has her suffering writer's block. Emily also reads Mari's famous horror book which begins with those eerie words, "Houses remember." Emily realizes the book is based on the truth of the 1974 murder.

Emily's distress over her ex husband's greed and infidelity has led to severe physical illness and self centered Chess is maybe not the best friend she needs in her life. The same applies for Mari whose step sister Lara has her own agenda when she goes with her to the villa in 1974.

Narrators Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell, Shiromi Arserio make this audiobook feel like a Masterpiece Theater play.

I enjoyed the similarities to Emily and Mari who find success outside of their men's notoriety and the tightrope balance often experienced with friendship. I wish the end had a scene of a particular revenge murder rather than telling us it happened and I was a bit confused by the twist at the end. I didn't understand the character's motive for the lie but I appreciated the thrill of the reveal. The Villa kept me listening and reading but I wouldn't want to visit this Murder House.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

A paralleled story of female writers finding themselves at the intersection of success and infidelity, and recognizing the fault lines of their relationships. The gothic interweave in a modern tale make for alluring character insights and discoveries.


Posted to GoodReads @KAT