The Villa: A Novel
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
"Hawkins weaves an engrossing tale about betrayal, sisterhood, and the power of telling your own story. Captivating!" ––People
"Hawkins is the reigning queen of suspense." ––Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author
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.
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Community Reviews
This is a psychological thriller novel layered with a suspenseful dual story and timeline. We are a story within a story told decades apart.
The two timelines intertwine and get more interesting when Emily begins to find secrets and clues inside the villa about the murder that took place there in the past. These discoveries lead up to an unexpected turn and a few surprise twists in the story.
The Book is largely told from Mari’s perspective in the past, and Emily’s perspective in the present. Both Mari and Emily are effective narrators in very different circumstances. In 1974, a time famous for sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll, Mari knows she’s in a bit over her head. She is staying with her stepsister and three grown men in a secluded Villa. Emily, on the other hand, knows she’s directionless. After coming to terms with her pending divorce, financial difficulties, and the pressure to finish her upcoming book. Both find inspiration at the Villa to escape their pasts and the shadow of the men in their lives. Emily begins to read about Mari and the Villa Rosato Horror. Emily suspects that this was more complicated than people were led to think…
Overall, was a dual narrator that was easy to follow, and suspenseful! It’s about friendship/sisterhood and it makes you think about the lengths you might go for that certain bond. This was another great one by Rachel Hawkins. I love The Wife Upstairs, Reckless Girls and now…The Villa.
I had the "mystery" figured out pretty early on (#MassiveMysteryReaderProblems), but I could not stop reading!
Wonderfully done, but DAMN IT the ending. Feeling anger and frustration...but still loved it. Ha!
This one we have poor Emily, a successful cozy thriller writer who is recently separated and suffering from writers block. Her bestie from way back when Chess invites her to spend the summer at a Italian Villa and she jumps at the chance to repark her writing and just live a little outside of her ex who is pressuring her to keep writing (He is trying to get a portion of the royalties in the divorce. Loser alert!)
But this particular Villa, in the 70s was also rented for the summer by Rock Star Noel Gordon who invites his fellow Rockstar Pierce and his girlfriend Mari, sister of Mari: Lara. Noel is also looking to repark his music career by going to the Villa to write music. But during that time period Pierce was brutally murdered and Mari writes her debut book, a genre defying horror book.
And the sparks fly from here. Emily ignores her thriller commitment and instead starts a non-fiction book of what really happened in the 70s. And we have two timelines: The 70s and current timeline.
Positives: This book, like her earlier book, is very well written. Between the two timelines we almost have two different books. Both intertwine with each other until the end. The story is very engaging and sucks you in.
The Bad: If you are not into one of the timelines you will not be into the book at all. While there are plenty of thrillers written this way, this one has so much meat on it that you can't just gloss over one. You will lose interest. Plus, its a really slow burn and more so the first 25%. Like mentioned above, however, it's very engaging, but if you are not into it by page 80 or so just give up. Also, experienced thriller readers will predict one of the "twists" pretty easily.
Overall, I enjoyed it. I can't rate it 5 stars and I have to attribute that to the really slow burn and long chapters but understand that will be a positive for others. Go for it! This one has a publication date of January 3, 2023.
Advance Reader Copy Given Free for honest review.
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