4 stars
Cerys is a newly divorced mom to a teenaged girl and also the owner of a villa she rents out during high season. The most recent guests are a wealthy family of 3, which include an ass of a husband, a sweet wife, and a teenaged boy. One of the guests gets murdered and the story turns into a whodunnit mystery. There are many red herrings and possible suspects. This isn’t a cozy mystery exactly, but more of a domestic suspense.

The narrator was excellent as well.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Dreamscape Select for providing me this ARC in exchange for a written review.

Last Night at Villa Lucia was an amazing listen. I listen to the audio version and immensely enjoyed the story. It was an engaging thriller with great narration that made for one of the best listens of the year.

This book was intense! Who did it? Everyone’s a suspect. Everyone’s sketchy. I didn’t want to stop listening and it was quite suspenseful. The ending was surprising but good! If you like mystery/suspense stories, this is a good one! The narrator was good too!

This story blew me away! My first time reading something from Simon McCleave. And now my TBR is one author richer!!!
To sum up the story in short: strong women taking back control of their lives!!!
I was so into this story that I couldn't stop listening to the audiobook all day long. It was a true pleasure to listen to Clare Corbett!!

Thank you #NetGalley #Dreamscape Select | Storm Publishing for this highly recommended audiobook

Last Night At Villa Lucia will have you completely sucked in.

The story opens with Cerys, the alcoholic owner of the Villa Lucia located in Tuscany, where she runs it as a vacation property. Cerys drinks in attempts to forget a traumatic event from 4 years ago and as an escape from her memories of her abusive and controlling ex-husband.
Their daughter Lowry is currently staying with her mom while she figures out what’s next with her life.
Lucia and Lorenzo live nearby and help with the caretaking of the Villa. The Villa used to belong to Lucia’s family and is named after her and she is resentful that it’s no longer hers. Lorenzo is hiding from his past.
Current guests at the Villa are Harry, Zoe and their son Charlie.

When a body is found floating in the pool one morning, the police quickly suspect foul play. The victim is disliked by many and they all had motive and opportunity. And everyone is keeping secrets and telling lies.

I was completed hooked and fully enjoyed my listening journey. This story alternates between Cerys’s point of view (including flashbacks from her past), and the other characters.

This murder mystery/family drama is fast paced and will keep you guessing right up to the end.

This book deals with alcoholism and abusive relationships #triggerwarning

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for the opportunity to listen to this advanced copy of the audiobook.
This was my first book by this author, but I will definitely keep my eyes open for his future books

Last Night at Villa Lucia by Simon McCleave. I felt it was kind of disjointed at times but overall it was good. Someone is murdered at the start and the rest of the book is spent unraveling the mystery. I wish I could do half stars, I would probably do 3 1/2.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #DreamscapeSelect for the book #LastNightAtVillaLucia by #SimonMcCleave. Cerys is an alcoholic. All because of something that happened years ago. Now she is divorced and lives with her daughter in their beautiful villa. But someone has been murdered. Who wanted him dead and why? This is an unputdownable thriller!

"Last Night at Villa Lucia" by Simon McCleave, narrated by Clare Corbett is the story, I was hooked once I became immersed in the world of Cerys, Lowri, Zoe, Harry, and Charlie. The novel is set in a beautiful Tuscan villa, where these two families come together for a vacation that turns deadly.
The story begins with Cerys discovering a body floating face-down in the pool, and as she tries to piece together what happened, it becomes clear that everyone involved has secrets and motives. The novel is expertly crafted, with multiple points of view that add depth and complexity to the narrative. The characters are flawed and relatable, and their struggles with their personal lives are woven throughout the mystery.
One of the standout aspects of this book is its portrayal of its characters. Cerys's struggles with alcoholism are particularly well-handled, and the dynamics between the characters feel realistic and nuanced. The male characters are all complex and multi-dimensional, with no easy villains or heroes.
The mystery itself is engaging and twisty, with plenty of red herrings to keep me guessing until the very end. While I did find the ending to be a bit too tidy, I appreciated that it left me feeling satisfied rather than wondering what would happen next.
Overall "Last Night at Villa Lucia" is for anyone looking for an engaging and suspenseful summer read. With its well-crafted characters, twisty plot, and atmospheric setting, it's a great choice for anyone who enjoys a good mystery.

Quick Summary: “A totally addictive psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist”

My Review: Last Night at Villa Lucia by Simon McCleave and narrated by Clare Corbett is touted as general adult fiction. Specifically, it is billed as a mystery/thriller.

About the Book: Colorful characters with seemingly disturbing backgrounds are brought together at a Tuscan villa. While there, the body of a horrid figure is found floating in a pool. Secrets that happened in the dark are brought into the light of truth. Everyone is a suspect. Who will the guilty party be?

About the Narration: The narrator performed well. Initially, I had difficulty with her rate of speech and tones. After an adjustment was made with my system settings, it became a bit easier to appreciate her style of delivery.

My Final Say: This was a really intriguing story. Much of what was revealed was surprising, to say the least. I liked the dark tones that casted shadows over the main characters. All in all, this was a pretty good story. On the flip side, listening to the audio was somewhat challenging in that the POV threads were, at times, confusing. They often shifted without adequate transitioning aids. Eventually, I was able to better follow the movement, but this was only after I had listened to quite a bit of the story.

Other: This book had several triggers that readers should be aware of. Please refer to the author's notes for more details.


Rating: 4.25/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: 🕸👍🚨
Triggers: Abuse/violence, Alcoholism, SA, MDK, Profanity
Audiobook: Yes
Narration: +

Thank you to the author, to the publisher (Dreamscape Media), and to NetGalley for making this book available for review. I am grateful to have had the chance to listen to an ALC in exchange for an honest critique. The words I have shared are my own thoughts and opinions.

This book opens up with a zen montage of Cerys' loving atmosphere of her beautiful Tuscan villa fronted by its tranquil infinity pool. She mentions the sirens in the background and then makes a calm yet shocking revelation - there is a body in the infinity pool.
Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC/audiobook of this charming thriller.

I don’t really enjoy when narrators switch octaves between genders. It always feels forced and throws me out of the story. That’s my only gripe here. And although I don’t like it, I understand it’s necessary as to not make the story insanely confusing. I loved this one. So so so twisty. Never saw that big reveal coming! Love girls supporting girls.

If you like White Lotus, this one is for you. It’s high drama with a vibrant cast that’ll make you feel like you’re poolside at an Italian resort!

Premise - a bunch of Brits go vacation in Tuscany and then the least likable of the lot turns up dead.

Simon McCleave is a new-to-me author, but I was delighted to find his writing style very enjoyable. He has a knack for telling a story and really transporting the reader to a different place - I hope he keeps writing vacation thrillers!

I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator, Clare Corbett, did a lovely job with the story. She made the characters distinct and gave them great accents and manners of speech. She was an emotive reader (important for a high drama story like this) but never let her narration overshadow the story. All in all, great job and I look forward to listening to more of her work!

Thanks, NetGalley and Dreamscape Select, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Zoe is going on holiday with her husband and teenage son to a beautiful villa in Italy to reconnect and relax but there is a murder and it’s quite hard to do so after that isn’t it?
I thought we started off strongly, I felt like I could feel the sun beating down on me and I enjoyed how we were introduced to all of the characters.
However the middle and end really lagged and even though the time line moved back and fourth a little we were never really out of the villa and it felt quite boring. The villain felt very pantomimey and I didn’t really care what happened to any of the characters.
Good narrator though

Last Night at Villa Lucia was a Netgalley arc for an author I've never read before - but will now look at all previous books. It was fabulous. I started listening on a late Wednesday afternoon and was finished by noon Thursday, exclaiming, "I didn't see that coming."

Based at, you guessed it, a resort Villa, this story centers around a business woman with a drinking problem, a daughter who is struggling, an ex husband we will all hate, guests who check in for the week, and adjoining neighbors with a vested interest in the success (or failure) of this villa.

Of course, as frequently happens on most vacations, a murder occurs. We spend much of the book convinced we know the killer, only to realize we are the reader and authors have great imaginations.

In its Netgalley blurb the publisher says, "Fans of The Housemaid, T.M. Logan and Gone Girl will be utterly gripped by this addictive, twisty, psychological thriller." Not sure I would have pulled those two titles for comparison. I found it very similar in genre to the streaming show The White Lotus, or the work of Liane Moriarty such as Apples Never Fall. In fact, I spent a lot of time envisioning this one on the small screen as an 8 part arc and have some ideas for casting.

Totally, and fully, can recommend this one.