An incredible book with wonderful characters and a beautiful setting. It will keep you guessing until the end.

Great summer read. I love a book about people going on holiday and there is not one but two murders! And you really don’t know who it is until the very end which was the best part. Very likable characters and great narration.

2.5 stars for this one - A family vacation for Zoe, her garbage husband Harry, and teenage son Charlie intended to help them reconnect in a Tuscan villa turns sour when incredibly unlikeable Harry winds up dead in the pool. Everyone and yet no one seems to be a suspect, including alcoholic host Carys and her teenage daughter Lowery (sp?), and the couple in the villa nearby who serve as groundskeeper and housekeeper. A whodunit shrouded in mystery with plenty of potential.

Alcoholism is the overwhelming theme in this book, repeated multiple times per chapter to make sure the reader knows Carys is an alcoholic and the reader is led to see her as a terrible mother and an unlikeable, weak minded character.

None of the characters in the book are likable, but the men in this book are all incredibly toxic. Rapists, abusers, murderers, liars. The son Charlie seems like a decent guy until he tells the girl he watched his father sexually assault she should keep it to herself so they don’t get implicated in his murder… this ends well.

A grown man punches a teenage boy in the face and there is no bruising/ no one asks what happened to his face amidst the murder situation. A man is found stabbed, and no one is worried they don’t know the people around them? It’s fine because he’s a garbage human… but why isn’t anyone worried someone amongst them is a murderer?

The narrator did a fabulous job and her accent helped to bring the Italian countryside into view.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TW for family abuse/trauma/hard relationships, alcoholism, sexual assault (not too graphic, some detail), and domestic violence (not too graphic, some detail).

The characters in this book are so compelling, and I have enjoyed reading it. The family dynamics of the book are intense, and I love how the two families are intertwined while not really having known each other before the story.

This book tells a beautiful story of connections and relationships, how we impact each other, and how memory plays a roll. These characters arte well written, and I appreciate how much time we spend in the mind of each of the women.

**Spoilers ahead:




This is also a great female revenge story, but in a very different way then I've seen. It's a very "reclaiming your story and empowering yourself through revenge" angle.**

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.

Clare Corbett narrated this story beautifully and delivered such a wonderful presentation. The story is told in multiple perspectives which can be confusing at times, but Clare's delivery made it clear who was speaking and when.

Thank you, Storm Publishing, Simon McCleave and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cerys is struggling to keep her yoga retreat/bed and breakfast alive in a beautiful villa in Italy. Plus, she is barely holding it together herself. She is a full fledged alcoholic and it is beginning to take a toll on her life and her relationship with her daughter. When a body is found floating in her pool, everyone on the premises is a suspect.

Cerys is a train wreck in more than one way. Not only is she an alcoholic, she has lots of trauma. Her ex-husband is extremely abusive and she is just struggling to keep herself upright.

There are a lot of moving parts to this tale. The author does a good job keeping all the balls in the air. There is Cerys’ past, her daughter’s situation (you will need to read this to find out), her abusive husband, the murder…all of these form one big outcome you do not want to miss.

This story is more of a 3 1/2 star rounded up. It has a really slow start and the ending is a bit drawn out. I thought that it would end at a certain point and when you listen to this or read this, you will think the same thing.

The narrator, Clare Corbett, did a good job, especially with all the voices. There are quite a few characters and she keeps it rolling pretty well.

Need a good murder mystery with a twist…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Last Night at Villa Lucia was a fun thriller audiobook! I was surprised by the twists and enjoyed the beautiful villa setting!

I very much enjoyed this fun thriller. The multiple POV chapters really added to the story unfolding, and I really enjoyed the visiting couple and the villa owner's daughter. I also loved the ending after the ending - after learning who did what, seeing where the characters were going on their next chapter was fun in it's own right.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC audiobook in exchange for this honest review.

Last Night at Villa Lucia is an ominous murder mystery set in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Rose is taking her family (husband and son) to stay in Villa Lucia. The owner/caretaker Caris and her daughter live there and take care of the guests. A body is found in the pool. There are many twists and turns in the solving of the crime and the ending is fabulous. The narrators of the audiobook are great and really bring the story to life.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon McCleave, and Dreamscape for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Last Night At Villa Lucia by Simon McCleave follows two families that are completely different; and when their worlds collide, someone ends up dead. On one side, a family of three, on holiday, staying in a villa. The other side of the story follows a single mom and daughter who run the villa, starting over after separation from her abusive ex husband.

This story starts off slow, introducing each character before getting to the juicy murdery parts. The twists though! I was not prepared!!! Overall, this book was well written, slowly built up anticipation, and kept the reader guessing all along. I listened to the audiobook and aside from getting used to the accents, it was an enjoyable listen.

Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Select, and Storm Publishing for this advance listening copy!

I loved this book! It was a murder mystery that kept you on the edge of your seat and kept me guessing. I thought I had it figured out and I was so wrong. Those are my favorite mysteries! I audibly gasped when all the pieces fell together. It was so good!
I listened to this on audio. The narrator was great. Just at times it was too quiet. I had my head phones on max but couldn’t listen if I was at a loud place.

This was such a good mystery! I couldn’t put it down! Will definitely be reading more from this author

As a fan of his Snowdonia based detective series, I was intrigued to read this Italian based mystery from Simon McCleave. Set in Tuscany, the audiobook tells the story of a murder at the villa owned by divorced Welsh ex-pat and functioning (just) alcoholic Cerys. Cerys forms an immediate bond with Zoe, one of the villa’s guests, who arrived with her husband Harry and son Charlie. A few days into their stay, Harry is found floating in the villa’s pool and an investigation ensues. With a cast of unreliable witnesses - alcoholic Cerys, abused wife Zoe, ex-Mafia Lorenzo - the Italian police have a huge task on their hands to identify the perpetrator but also seem a bit inept in their investigative procedures. I enjoyed the slow reveal of relevant back stories and was kept engrossed by the narration. The only slight irritant was the mispronunciation of the Welsh name Lowri by the narrator.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and the audiobook producer for the opportunity to listen and review this audiobook.

A vacation getaway in the perfect beautiful setting, two families meet, what could possibly go wrong? This book is a bit of a slow burn while it builds the characters and sets the stage. By mid book the story takes off and is full of mystery and suspense!!! The past meets the present and you will begin to piece together the last parts of the puzzle. I would recommend reading this book versus audiobook. I struggled with the narration and felt it would have been a more impactful book if I had read it. I would rate this book 3.5 ⭐️ as completer via audiobook.

Thank you Net Galley, Dreamscape Select and Storm Publishing for an ARC via audiobook of Last Night at Villa Lucia.

In the book Last Night at Villa Lucia, author Simon McCleave follows Cerys, a recently divorced mom who started a new life by buying a luxury Tuscan villa and creating an airbnb. But when a guest is found dead, the police descend on the villa and everyone’s secrets begin to come out. Who killed the dead guest? And who didn’t have a motive? This was a solid story that kept you guessing as to how the author would wrap up all the threads. I would recommend this book. I received a copy of this audio-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this audio book ARC opportunity!

This story contains multiple points of view and timelines, starting when the main character, Cerys, moves to a villa in Tuscany, to start over after her divorce. As other guests arrive, one is found murdered in the pool, and we are left to wonder how this happened, and why. While the build up was slow in the beginning, the characters were built up so you not only got to know them, but were consistently wondering “who done it” and their motive, which kept it interesting. There were a few surprises and a unique setting. Well done!

This was a good book. I love how friendships were made through different tragedies. This book kept me intrigued, and the twist in the end caught me by surprise. I thought the narrator did a good job.

This is shown as a thriller, but to me it was more suspense, without the thriller part.

Last Night at Villa Lucia is an interesting read. The beginning is rather slow, and you really don't care for the MC right off the bat. However, the book does pick up as you move toward the middle, and then it is rather BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. That kept me reading.

I did like the narrator. It was a good mix for the book.

Overall, decent read. A good poolside read.

This was an enjoyable mystery with an idyllic setting and a cast of flawed and interesting characters. I thought the narrator did an excellent job at capturing all of them, including different accents, but a multi-cast of readers would have been even better.
It was a bit of a slow-burn (not always a negative thing) but once the twists started coming, they didn't stop. I definitely could not have predicted all that transpired.
Definitely check out this good summer read by McCleave, who normally writes books in his series about DI Ruth Hunter. I may head there next!
Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC. All opinions are mine.

Chilling suspense, fabulous scenery and Italian balmy nights....what more can you ask for! A drama filled thriller that was both intense and passionate offering the reader the opportunity to immerse oneself into the Tuscan ambiance.