This is a story of friendship, of murder, of shared stories. It is told in dual timelines, a story within a story. Best friends, Chase and Emily are both writers. Chase writes self-help books and has been wildly successful. Emily writes cozy mysteries, and while she has had some success, her marriage has failed, and her husband, Matt, wants a majority of her profits. Chess (Jessica) tells Em that she has a plan for them to go to a villa in Italy and write. The villa is one where an infamous gruesome murder took place years earlier. While there, Em is inspired to write a different murder mystery, based on the pages she found which detailed the famous history of the villa.
There are secrets that Chess and Em are keeping, and which keep them bound together.
I knew one of the twists pretty early, and had an idea of the final twist. But, still a good read.

This was a fun Gothic suspense novel to read, especially for the summer months, because of the setting. I especially enjoyed how the characters and the interactions between/relationships with them are written. The weaving of these people and relationships is what really makes this Gothic novel shine.

This was not my favorite by Rachel Hawkins. I thought it was unnecessarily depressing and the two separate timeline stories were way too different to mesh well together.

Wow. This was so good!

“The Villa” is presented in dual timelines - Mari in the 70’s and Emily in the present along with news articles, podcasts, interviews and excerpts from books and songs. If that sounds confusing or annoying, it would have been in the hands of a lesser writer. Here, Hawkins weaves everything together seamlessly, never revealing too much at once to keep you guessing.

There are an incredible number of parallels between the two storylines, both exploring the connection between love and hate and the messiness that ensues when the two combine. Many times, I thought I knew what was going to happen and then was wrong, which made me delightfully uneasy.

I also loved that the Villa itself plays a starring role in the book. It’s gothic and creepy and made me wonder if houses really do remember.

Thanks to St Martin’s Press, Netgalley and especially Rachel Hawkins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately I couldn't finish this one but thank you for the ARC. The characters were vapid and one dimensional and a little unbelievable at some points. I wasn't a fan of the plot and thought it was boring and disjointed.

I started this book back in 2022 and then stopped reading on the Kindle I had this story on for the longest time. This time, I got started and finally kept going. I was thrilled that they killed off Matt, though I anticipated that making a deal with the devil (Chess) was something Emily should have thought harder about. Enjoyed the parallel timelines and the ending where we learn the pages Emily found weren’t the true story after all.
On the education side, I was glad that any sexual references weren’t graphic as I do think many of my high schoolers will enjoy this book.

Good story line, but I struggled to keep up with the different perspectives. Also a random pop up of a podcast threw me for a loop. Couldn’t get onboard with this one unfortunately.

Eeeek! I have been looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint! I love a thriller that has me on the edge of my seat and this was it. I couldn't put it down which is the universal sign of a great book. Loved!

I enjoyed the scenic background of this novel and I enjoyed the twists and turns of this suspenseful novel.

This story was definitely not what I expected to read but very happy that I did! It kept my interest and none of it was predictable

Another enjoyable page turner from Rachel Hawkins! I loved the vibes and the Fleetwood Mac-esque elements. I will definitely pick up other books by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and author for an advanced copy of this book, The Villa.
Unfortunately this book was just okay for me. It didn't really stick with me after completing it. I do love a dual timeline and found it mysterious.
3.5⭐️

This was my third attempt at reading a Rachel Hawkins, but I'm happy to say this is now a new favorite!

I loved the contrast in atmosphere with the summer Italian villa, while exploring some of the horror elements of the past. It created such a unique experience. I only wish we could've gotten even more of those subtle Mary Shelley vibes! The ending was slightly predictable but didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the story.

I always enjoy books set in the same place but at different times. This book was no exception. Betrayal, revenge, female friendships. Great twists!

This was a good summer thriller but not quite has complex as I wanted. I enjoyed the parallels of Mari's and Em's stories but I was a bit more complexity and grit to their characters. However, the setting was great, particularly for a summer read and overall I enjoyed the story.

Rachel Hawkins does NOT disappoint. Another great thriller and perfect summer read! Can’t wait for more by Hawkins in the genre or even romantasy:)

Not my favorite from Rachel Hawkins but still solid! She really knows how to write terrible characters that you can also sometimes root for!

I really liked this! It was full of suspense. It was well written and I wanted to keep reading to see what was happening. Would definitely recommend. Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for the opportunity.

I have enjoyed Hawkins’ books in the past, but this one fell short a bit. It was a fast and easy read, the ending was satisfying, and the location was beautifully described, but I struggled to be real engaged in the story. It just didn’t suck me in like I was hoping it would.

story but at times it was annoying. So many people with no morals makes for a good book, I guess. The characters were well developed but some were just bothersome. The ending was twisty.