The Villa – Book Review

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set at an Italian villa with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

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.

This is the second Rachel Hawkins book I have read, the first one The Heiress which I gave a four star rating.

This book follows two friends Emily and Jessica. Jessica known as Chess is a famous author and when she starts inviting Emily to the Villa in Italy, Emily willingly follows her to Italy. But the Villa has a dark history. In 1974, an up and rising rock star was found murdered in the villa and the rock star’s girlfriend Mari had written an infamous novel named Lilith Rising, based loosely on the murder.

The story is medium paced and I like all these newspaper articles, snippets of writing from Mari’s published novel and of course Mari’s POV in 1974. It was slightly boring at first but then things got started interesting when Emily discovers Mari’s published book. I didn’t really like Emily’s POV part much although I did think it got interesting when Emily discovered Mari’s diary . I also like the descriptions of Italy that made me did feel like I was in Italy. However, I feel entertained throughout the story and I actually did enjoy reading the book, though not as much as I did with the Heiress. Overall, in my opinion, it wasn’t really a great book but then it was an OK thriller.

Overall this book worth 3 stars.