Lots of twists and turns. Multiple POVs and timelines; however, the ending was dragged out. Still a good read. #LastNightatVillaLucia #NetGalley.

Brilliant as always, Simon never disappoints! From north wales to Tuscany, the twists are just as good 😜😜😜

This is one of those great books that pulls you in from the beginning and doesn't let y9u go until the very last page! Cerys runs Villa Lucia in Tuscany after leaving her cheating husband and loves getting to know the visitors that stay there. Daughter Lowri plays guitar and writes songs but is often lonely as there is no one on the mountain her age. Housekeeper Lucia and husband/gardener Lorenzo help her and life is good. But then guests Zoe, husband Harry, and son Charlie come to stay and Lowri is happy to have another young person her age to occupy her time. But things get dicey--to say the least--and there are secrets, lies, dead bodies and fingers pointing everywhere! It's a fast-paced, action-filled, often-tender story of jealousy, friendship, and love...but I won't be visiting Tuscany anytime soon!
Thanks to NetGalley f0r this ARC!

I was drawn into this book from the very beginning. The suspense kept me reading to find out who the suspect was and I did not guess who it was at all, I was shocked by the revelation. I thought that the characters were very well developed and that they dealt with some modern day issues as well. A very good read overall.

Cerys owns the Villa Lucia, a vacation getaway in Tuscany. She has hired help that is always there and has things ready for the guests when they arrive. Cerys also has a daughter that lives with her, Lowri. Cerys is recently divorced but her ex-husband and Lowri's father still keeps in touch with them and is very overbearing to Lowri. Lowri doesn't like to spend much time with him because of this. Lowri is at the age where she is trying to decide what to do with her life and has some big choices to make.

When the new guests, Harry, Zoe and their son Charlie arrive, they are surprised at how nice the Villa is. Zoe is wanting to have some down time to just relax and thinks that this is going to be just the place to do it. Cerys can immediately tell that Zoe is on edge around Harry and wonders if there is something going on there. Zoe and Cerys hit it off immediately and Zoe ends up opening up to Cerys before too long. Zoe likes her alcohol and so does Cerys.

When a dead body shows up in the pool, things get sort of crazy at the Villa. Who could have killed this person? It is a known fact that this person is not very well liked but who did he make mad enough to kill him? Everyone at. the Villa is a suspect until they are proven innocent of course. Developments lead you to think that it is one person and then they find out it wasn't them. You are kept guessing until the very end. I enjoyed this book and I hope you do as well. Very well thought out and written.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thank to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this book.

#LastNightatVillaLucia #NetGalley I have read this authors Anglesey series and absolutely love it so was delighted when I saw this stand alone thriller set in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Whilst there are certainly plenty of action and many twists and turns which keep you guessing right until the end, I did not enjoy this book as much as the Anglesey series. Firstly, I was not drawn to any of the main characters - the two men (Nick & Harry) were both obnoxious bullies and the two women (Cerys and Zoe) were weak and unlikable. Having lived in Italy, also the police investigation didn't ring true and I felt there were some unanswered questions such as who were the men in the car watching Lucia and Lorenzo's house? Having said that, the pace was good and it was a nice holiday read but without the depth and grit of the Anglesey series.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and lovable. The pacing was perfect and left you wanting to read more. I can't wait to read more by this author!

Three women all who have lived with overbearing and abusive men. Cerys who is recently divorced from her abusive husband and has moved to their Tuscan Villa with her daughter, Lowri, turning it into a vacation rental property. Lucia who the villa was named after when her father built and ran the resort before succumbing to his demons which made him lose ownership of what is rightfully Lucia’s. Zoe is still married to her brutish music mogul husband, Henry, who will fly off the handle at any moment. Zoe and Henry decide to take a much needed vacation to Villa Lucia with their son, Charlie, but someone will end up dead by the end of the night. One night is all it took for someone to be murdered, one night was all it took to change the lives of three women forever. But who is responsible?
Overall rating 4/5
The multiple POVs and timelines added for an interesting and intriguing story line. The way McCleave waited until just the right time (or timeline) to divulge information that will change your mind on who actually committed the murder was fantastic. The ending was a little drawn out for me, but if you like happy endings to your thriller then this ending is for you.

*Thank you to the author, Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books, and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

This was so dam good, I couldn’t put it down. I constantly wanted to know what was next. I liked the way the back story’s of each person came out without you even realising it. Loved the characters and each of their demons. Well recommended and in my top five of this year.

Opening scene: a body is floating face down in the majestic infinity pool. Cerys, the Tuscan bed and breakfast owner makes the discovery. This is just one more item to add to her ever-growing to-do list. Who is the murderer? There are suspects galore, but the evidence is sparse. I humbly admit to changing my mind while pointing the finger at different suspects. Last Night At Villa Lucas is a twisty thriller that will keep you guessing throughout the pages.

I devoured this thriller in less than a day! I loved the fast pacing, short chapters, and multiple viewpoints of this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this eARC. Last Night at Villa Lucia follows 2 families. One family that owns and operates a beautiful villa in Italy and the family that comes to stay for holiday. I was totally pulled into this book by the second chapter and wanted to know how it ended. I also liked that all of the characters had flaws, no one was truly fully likable. The twists and turns were great too. I would warn that this does discuss domestic abuse and alcoholism. I'd recommend this!

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My first Simon McCleave book certainly was a pleasant surprise! I’m looking forward to going back and checking into some of his other books.

All of my favorite things that make a book entertaining for me are in here: Alternating timelines, multiple POVs, unlikeable characters and a murder mystery! Toss in a gorgeous Tuscan villa setting and I’m all in!

We find out who the murder victim is fairly early on, so it was fun trying to piece together the “whodunit” throughout. I enjoyed the twist at the end too!

Pick this one up before summer is over! ☀️

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my advanced copy to read and review.

Zoe, her husband Harry and their son Charlie book a holiday at Villa Lucia which is owned by Cerys. Cerys lives there with her daughter Lowri, and husband and wife duo Lorenzo and Lucia help her to run the villa. The morning after an argument at the dining room table, a dead body is found face-down in the pool. The ideal holiday venue becomes a crime scene and everyone has something they want to hide.

Last Night at Villa Lucia was a great poolside read. It had everything you want from a holiday book - easy to read, plot twists (some predictable, some unpredictable) and an interesting storyline.

This is my first book by this author and I throughly enjoyed the plot, the setting and the mix of toxic characters that all seemed to be the perfect suspect.

I did find the start of the book to be a bit slow, but once the crime happened, I was sucked in and had to know who did it.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC and for introducing me to yet another new author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Really great book. Well written, lovely setting and I loved the mystery and surprises as well. Great book!

It is a psychological suspense set in an Italian holiday setting. It has unreliable narrators, unlikeable characters, and a locked-room mystery vibe. The author creates an atmospheric ethos and a twisty mystery the reader wants to solve. There are disturbing elements in the story, but these are necessary to widen the cast of suspects. I like the complex protagonists, the Italian setting, and the dysfunctional relationships explored in this story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

2.5 Stars

Though Simon McCleave has written 30 novels, this is the first time I’ve read one. This is his first standalone, not one of his DI Ruth Hunter, DC Ruth Hunter Murder File, or Anglesey series. Unfortunately, I was not impressed.

After a divorce from her husband Nick, Cerys Williams now owns a Tuscan villa which she operates as a B&B with the help of Lucia and Lorenzo, a couple who live nearby. Cerys struggles with alcoholism though she tries to hide her drinking from her daughter Lowri who is staying with her for a while. Guests arrive from England: Harry and Zoe and their son Charlie. Harry, who is described by family members as “a selfish, self-absorbed, predatory bastard” and an “absent, hostile and selfish father,” antagonizes everyone so it’s not surprising that it is his body that is found floating in the pool. The rest of the book focuses on finding who killed Harry.

In many ways this is a locked room mystery, though there is an attempt to suggest someone from outside the villa could have killed Harry while trying to rob the villa. This explanation does not ring true. In fact, the entire police investigation is unrealistic. To eliminate suspects, the police take fingerprints and DNA from everyone at the villa but not from Lucia and Lorenzo who work there? Car keys are apparently stolen but there’s no reference to the car? When Charlie is questioned, his mother is allowed to sit in on one interview but not on a second one?

The author tries very obviously to make everyone a suspect. Multiple points of view (Cerys, Zoe, Lucia) are used to suggest motives for various characters. However, I found it so easy to predict the murderer, especially because of the flashbacks. The fact that there’s such reliance on coincidence to bring characters together affects the novel’s credibility.

Characters are not likeable so it’s difficult to care about them. So many feel they are not being treated fairly. Men in particular are portrayed negatively; both Nick and Harry are controlling and violent, and even Charlie and Lorenzo are described as capable of anger and violent explosions. The women are weak victims; both Cerys and Zoe had long-term relationships with abusive men and did virtually nothing to remove their children from dysfunctional households.

There are both needless repetitions and unanswered questions. Is it necessary to make reference to Lorenzo’s dubious past every time he’s mentioned? How many times must we be reminded that Harry smokes cigars? I understand why but there’s no need to be so obvious. The vehicle that Lucia and Lorenzo see watching their property – in the end we’re just supposed to dismiss it as irrelevant? There’s also the huge plot hole surrounding much of Nick’s behaviour.

This book wasn’t for me. The plotting in terms of red herrings and twists is just so obvious. I prefer mysteries with more nuance. (Potential readers should be aware that the book touches on several serious topics like alcoholism, sexual assault, and domestic abuse.)

I enjoyed this book and I loved the setting.
Felt like I was almost there.
Some of the characters were awful, making it a wide suspect pool (no pun intended) with a bit of mystery about who it actually was.
First from this author and won't be the last.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A move away from the usual murder and mayhem in Snowdonia and Anglesey this is a stand-alone novel set in the beautiful Villa Lucia in Tuscany where we meet the owner Cerys Williams. She is divorced from Nick and is a functioning alcoholic. Staying at the villa is Cerys’s daughter Lowri. Whilst living there Cerys rents the main part out for holidays and her new arrivals are Harry, wife Zoe and 19 year old son Charlie. Told in dual timeline and multiple POV’s this is a well written and brilliantly plotted murder thriller.

Briefly, not long after the latest family arrive a body is found in the pool and this is no accident. The victim has been stabbed. With everyone a suspect we learn the history of abuse and violence each of the families has been through. But is it enough to kill?

Twists and turns big enough to match the roads around Tuscany keep the suspense high in this fast paced and exciting read. So many secrets and lies, the killer really could be anyone. A very good read with an excellent ending that I really wasn’t expecting. Very entertaining book.

The fact that the story begins with a body face down in an infinity pool in Villa Lucia in Tuscany hooked me.
The description of the location alone made me want to be there. Cerys is doing all she can do to keep her bed and breakfast business going. Reputation is everything. Important guests are due to arrive when a body is found floating in the pool.

I enjoyed that I could not pinpoint who did it right away, too often are these books predictable. I enjoyed the true suspense and surprise as the story unfolded.

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Wow, wow, wow! An absolute masterpiece! One of my best reads of 2024! Do read this one - I guarantee you will love it. Just brilliant!