Author: Rachel Hawkins
Narrator: Julia Whelan, Kimberly Wetherell and Shiromi Arserio
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: January 2023
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: The bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs returns with a brilliant new gothic suspense set at an Italian villa with a dark history.
As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend.
Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album―and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder.
As Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred―and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind.
Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge―and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends.
Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle―the birthplace of Frankenstein―The Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.
My Thoughts: Fans of twisty mysteries and thrillers will definitely enjoy this one. I especially liked the dual timeline told from two characters, Mari in the 1970’s and Emily in the present day. The parallels of their lives were quite interesting. I particularly liked that all of the characters were morally ambiguous and the line separating right from wrong wasn’t always clearly defined. I paired the reading of the book with the audiobook and I think it enhanced my enjoyment of the story.
The story moves at a wonderful pace, building the tension at the appropriate levels to ensure the reader isn’t overwhelmed with details. This was my first experience reading this author’s work and I look forward to reading more from her.
I highly recommend this book to fans of mysteries and thrillers as well as readers who enjoy suspenseful novels set in locations with a creepy past.
Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.
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