This is my first Simon McCleave book, but it definitely will not be my last. Firstly, let me say this cover is gorgeous!! I wish I was in the pool at the Tuscan villa.

Our story alternates between the 1st person POV of Cerys and the 3rd person POV of the other characters. The other character POVs included several flashbacks and I was a big fan of the multiple POVs. The characters were very well fleshed out and seemed like real people. This was a fun whodunit and would be the perfect poolside read!

What secrets could a luxurious villa in the heart of Tuscany hold? Simon McCleave’s Last Night at Villa Lucia offers a gripping blend of suspense, betrayal, and atmospheric storytelling that will keep you turning the pages well into the night.

A Story of Intrigue and Deception
The novel opens with a mysterious invitation to a reunion at the picturesque Villa Lucia. What begins as a seemingly idyllic gathering among old friends quickly unravels into a web of lies and hidden motives. McCleave masterfully constructs a narrative where no one is entirely innocent, and every character is cloaked in shades of grey.

The Allure of Tuscany
The vivid descriptions of the Tuscan landscape are almost a character themselves. McCleave’s prose captures the lush vineyards, sun-dappled courtyards, and shadowy corridors of the villa, creating an immersive setting that heightens the suspense. This is not just a thriller—it’s a sensory journey through one of the world’s most romantic yet enigmatic locales.

Complex Characters, Tangled Relationships
The novel’s strength lies in its characters. Each guest at the villa has a past they’d rather keep buried, and as their secrets come to light, the tension becomes almost unbearable. McCleave’s talent for developing layered, believable characters ensures that readers are deeply invested in the unfolding drama.

A Satisfying Whodunit
Last Night at Villa Lucia is a masterclass in plotting. With twists and turns that are both surprising and satisfying, McCleave keeps readers guessing until the very last page. The final reveal is as shocking as it is rewarding, tying together every thread with precision.

Final Thoughts
If you’re a fan of atmospheric thrillers with a literary edge, Last Night at Villa Lucia deserves a place on your reading list. Simon McCleave has crafted a tale that is as evocative as it is thrilling, making this book a must-read for anyone who loves a good mystery set against a breathtaking backdrop.

Rating: ★★★★☆
A near-perfect blend of suspense, setting, and character-driven storytelling.

Simon McCleave paints a gorgeous picture of Tuscany....hot blistering sun and vast views. Cold drinks on a shady balcony...sounds idyllic, until someone ends up facedown floating in the pool.
A modern day murder mystery, differing from my usual genre of choice, but I enjoyed the challenge of assessing each character for their likelihood to be a killer.
And I didn't see the cheeky twist at the end coming!!
Although set in a holiday vibe environment, people's troubles don't stay at home when you go on vacation, so there are sensitive, violent and graphic themes around and facilitating the murder. The characters are complex and cover all demographics. Psychological warfare is often employed.
"Last Night at Villa Lucia" is well paced, and covers a small amount of realtime, but pops back to characters prior lives to bring more context. Their secrets and traits are slowly revealed and the suspense grows....until you realise who the killer must be.
A very readable book....a good southern hemisphere summer holiday read in my opinion. Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and author Simon McCleave for the advanced reader copy of this book. P.S love the cover artwork!

Gotta love a thriller that takes place on vacation because it’s always so much fun with lots of descriptions. This book had twists and turns and kept the pace moving. Things at the end wrapped up neatly. Thank you for the arc!

Simon McCleave’s Last Night at Villa Lucia offers readers a twisted and murderous tale, blending the intrigue of a traditional mystery with the atmospheric allure of a cozy whodunit. Set against an evocative backdrop, the narrative unfolds with precision, layering suspense and secrets in a way that keeps readers riveted.

What sets McCleave’s novel apart is his ability to balance the cozy mystery aesthetic—tight-knit relationships, suspenseful revelations, and richly drawn settings—with darker, grittier twists. The story hooks you from the start, pulling you into a world where every character seems to harbor a hidden agenda. The pacing is taut, as clues drip-feed steadily, leaving the reader piecing together the truth until the final, satisfying twist.

The brilliance of Last Night at Villa Lucia lies in its unpredictability. While cozy mysteries often follow familiar patterns, McCleave subverts expectations, ensuring that the resolution isn’t easily guessed. His characters are both relatable and complex, allowing the emotional stakes to resonate just as strongly as the plot’s twists and turns.

For mystery lovers seeking something both comforting and chilling, Last Night at Villa Lucia delivers in spades. Twisted, engrossing, and cleverly plotted, this is a page-turner that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Simon McCleave once again proves his mastery in crafting mysteries that linger long after the final reveal.

McCleave does an awesome job of building tension and keeping you guessing about who’s behind all the drama. The characters are interesting, and the setting adds to the whole vibe of the book. If you like a good mix of suspense, secrets, and a little bit of romance, this one’s a perfect pick for a weekend read!

This was another great book from Simon McCleave.
It is a great and interesting thriller set in Tuscany.This
Very good characters, but sometimes a bit slow. A few good plot twists thrown in for good measure, and a wonderful.setting.
A fairly easy read and a good whodunit.

This is exactly what I would expect from a mystery novel; drama, twists and turns throughout. It was definitely an interesting read for sure. From the first page of the book, I had questions running through my mind - I wanted to know what had happened, who was to blame and quite frankly, what went wrong. I genuinely trusted no one, and everyone was in my bad books at least one point through the novel,

I wish it kept me engaged and captivated but I did find myself losing interest at various points in the novel. I would definitely recommend this novel to a mystery reader, but maybe one with a more refined attention span than me!

Amazing edge of your seat story you won't be able to put down this is a thriller which will keep you turning the pages long into the night

A good fast paced read that will keep you hooked from the first page. I really enjoyed this read first book I've read by this author.

I really enjoyed this book and the character development. This book was thrilling and the plot was full of surprises, I managed to read this book in 3 days (would have been quicker if I could have skipped being an adult) as I just couldn’t put it down (until I was forced to have to attend work!) really recommend this to all

Vacation thrillers are neat because you get to imagine a fabulous location far from home but then terrible things happen there so you can be like oh it's not that great. I'm happy here on my couch and not jealous of people vacationing in Italy because murders happen abroad. And the locals are weird and the whole shebang is infested with expats. Yikes! Luv u, couch!

I did very much enjoy thinking about lazy days at a Tuscan villa drinking wine by the pool even though there's an active murder investigation going on. But what really felt luxurious about this was the European-ness of it all, where people have a month of vacation time from work, and high school graduates can take a "gap year" which Americans kinda don't really do and that year can involve lounging around in Italy making TikToks, and just like buying a villa in Italy is a reasonable activity, and you can swan around in caftans and people will still take you seriously. Wild!

That said, this book was overall fine. Which is to say occasionally ridiculous but not without sympathetic characters, and engaging and well-paced enough to make for a nice weekend read. The final twist was dumb as hell (if you're going to try and <spoiler>Big Little Lies</spoiler> it you need to have your shit together well enough for that kind of coincidence to be forgivable), and mostly I was left with the feeling that the two leads, Cerys and Zoe, should give bisexuality a try with each other. It could not possibly go worse for them than how things ended up with their husbands.

Anyway, sometimes I wonder if thrillers written by men are just judged less harshly in general, because the current overall Goodreads 4.23 star rating feels insaaaanely generous to me in a genre where readers (myself included!) are for the most part supremely unafraid to pop off a three star on a middling work. Can everyone please just be meaner to men? It feels great, trust me. Kinda tingly.

My thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

Last Night at Villa Lucia is a great mystery thriller book. It is a fast paced read, it is told in multiple characters point of view from the beginning until the end, and it has shocking and surprising twist too. This was my first book that I have read by Simon McCleave and I plan to read more of his books in the future. Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and review a ARC of this book.

Amazing! A really gripping read that kept me hooked throughout. There was a cpl of dark topics that weren't in the synopsis but it was all good! Really well developed characters, realistic plot lines and just some very clever weaving together of plot lines made this a must read for me

Twists and turns and girl power! Things at the beginning of the book were finalized at the end and wrapped up neatly. I loved the woman duo and how the ending included everyone in a fresh beginning. Good, well paced mystery in a beautiful location!

Great mystery novel. Lots of twists and turns. Beautiful imagery. This will have you guessing the whole way through!

"Last Night at Villa Lucia" starts with an intriguing setup: a beautiful Tuscan villa, a group of guests with hidden agendas, and a shocking murder that disrupts the idyllic setting. Recently divorced, Cerys has poured her heart and soul into Villa Lucia, hoping to turn it into a successful luxury getaway and move on from her painful past. But when one of her guests is found dead in the infinity pool, the secrets of the villa's visitors start to unravel, and Cerys finds herself caught in a web of deceit that could destroy everything she's worked for.

The story captures the tension and suspense of a classic whodunit, with each character hiding something that could make them a suspect. As the police investigation unfolds, Cerys is not just an observer but deeply entangled in the mystery, forcing her to confront her own troubled past. The setting adds an atmospheric backdrop, making the villa feel almost like another character in the story, filled with secrets of its own.

However, while the plot is engaging and the suspense keeps you guessing, I rated this book 3 stars due to the lack of a content warning where it was needed. Some sensitive topics are unexpectedly introduced, which may catch readers off guard. This oversight detracted from my overall enjoyment, as a content warning could have prepared me for the themes explored.

Overall, "Last Night at Villa Lucia" is a gripping read with plenty of twists and an evocative setting that draws you in. If you're a fan of mysteries set in beautiful locations with complex characters, this book might be worth checking out—just be aware that some content might come as a surprise.

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and author Simon McCleave for the advanced reader copy of this book. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

Simon McCleave's descriptions of this villa in a beautiful area of Tuscany will have everyone who reads this book wanting to find it and visit. It's an extraordinary setting for a murder mystery.

Cerys owns a lovely home in Tuscany. She lives in an annex to the home and rents out the major part of it as a bed & breakfast. Her daughter, Lowri, is currently visiting. Cerys is divorced and an alcoholic in denial. Zoe, Harry, and their son Charlie arrive on a much-needed vacation from London. Cerys and Zoe bond, as do Charlie and Lowry a bit. Lowry is an aspiring musician and Harry happens to be the A&R man for a record company.

What could have been an enjoyable time for everyone takes a dark turn when Harry is found floating in the infinity pool one morning. The Italian police swoop in to investigate. What at first seemed to be a terrible accident was actually a murder and everyone seems to be a suspect.

I have to say this was a mystery that didn't keep me guessing. I was sure I knew who did it - and I was completely wrong. The path to the identity of the murderer is fraught with secrets. Everyone seems to have a reason to have wanted Harry dead. Both women were abused by their husbands and stayed with them despite it until Cerys had enough and left, taking possession of the villa. Zoe knows some of her husband's faults, including infidelity and abuse, and stays with him. Lowry knows her father's overbearing and possessive nature and has come to stay with her mother to get away from all of that, yet he still is trying to keep tabs on her from London. When he shows up in Italy after the murder, his behavior also makes him a suspect. Charlie has been distancing himself from his father. He knows what Harry is like and doesn't particularly like his father.

Finally, there are the two caretakers. The villa was built by Lucia's father (who named it after her) and she has some resentment of another family living there. Her husband, Lorenzo, has a questionable background. They are afraid of his past coming back to haunt them.

This was a great thriller to read. The setting was so stunning and described very well. It was easy to picture everything that was happening. The characters are all caught up in toxicity that they can't seem to shake. The police investigator was thorough but sympathetic. He has evidence that Harry was not a nice guy, but that still doesn't excuse a murder.

I also loved the relationships formed out of this. Seeing Cerys and Zoe grow close to each other seemed like a natural thing. The reader knows they have common experiences, but the women do not for quite a while. Still, there's something in them that draws them to each other. It also seemed obvious that something was going to happen between Charlie and Lowry, but the situation also gave them both the possibility of growing closer or falling apart. The setting and characters were so well-crafted and authentic.

If you like thriller mysteries in a beautiful setting, I think you'll thoroughly enjoy Last Night at Villa Lucia. It's also a great summer read. I found myself immersed in the setting so much that I'd like to go back to Tuscany.

This book has everything needed for a strong thriller, and didn't disappoint! I would highly recommend.

super thrilling and downright addicting!! i loved this from start to finish. it was such a quick read because the content itself was so addicting you couldn't put the book down. i will definitely read more from this author.