Two women take a summer long trip to a villa in Italy. Emily and Cass are both authors, but very different genre. Emily writes cozy mysteries while Cass is quite famous and wealthy from her self help books.
While at the villa, Emily discovers it is the site of a murder of a rock star and the book that was written by once of the guests is now in the house. Emily gets quite excited when she realizes there is so much more to this old story and begins her own research. Betrayal and secrets begin to unfold and the tension between Cass and Emiy is heightened.

3.5 starts possibly 3.75
After reading Reckless Girls I was apprehensive about reading this book by the same author. However, I must say I was pleasantly surprised. As I reader that
completely and utterly disliked Reckless girls, Rachel Hawkins redeem herself with this book . The Villa in aspects of thrillers is definitely not an edge of your seat
thriller, but Rachel Hawkins brilliantly and effectively interweaves together past and present, artfully luring readers into an intriguing dark tale filled with twisted secrets, suspect loyalties, and deadly encounters.

Emily's life has suddenly started collapsing. Her career as an author of cozy mystery has paused, she is having health issues with no known etiology, her husband, Matt, has left her after more than 5 years of marriage.
On the contrary ,Emily's childhood best friend, Chess, has a successful career writing self-help books and being motivational social media influencer. Chess decides to invite Emily to spend the summer together in
Italy at the luxurious Villa Aestas. Shortly after arriving at the Villa Emily is swept up in the mystery of a murder that occurred in the villa during 1974. What follows is a cleverly- narrated dueling past and present timelines
sexual tension, questionable friendship , longstanding resentment and betrayal
This was a very quick read I tore through this haunting thrill ride during a 5 hour flight. I really appreciate how the The Villa was a great depiction on the effects of toxic relationships, and how these relationships can push ordinary people beyond their breaking points. I did wished it had more of the the thrillingly experience I have come to expect of thrillers. Regardless, I would still recommend this book as I believe its worth reading.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an advance readers copy.

I got an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley. The Villa was a quick read—I read it in less than a day! It was an easy book to jump into. There was a twist at the end that I didn’t expect, but in the end I was still left wishing it had been more.

All in all, a great pool or summer read!

I loved this book. Lifelong best friends, Emily (recently divorced, cozy mystery writer) and Chess (best selling women's self help author) head to a villa in Orvieto, Italy for a summer of writing and friendship. The villa where they are staying was the scene of a famous gruesome murder in 1974. And although Emily is supposed to be writing her next cozy mystery, she starts to dig into the mystery of what happened that Summer in 1974. Was it just simple sex, drugs, and rock and roll that lead to the death of an up and coming musician? There are secrets and layers of friendship between Emily and Chess that come undone while Emily is uncovering the secrets in the Villa and it's famous residents in 1974. Will Emily find answers to her current problems by learning about the past?

The Villa is written from 2 points of view: Emily (current day) and Mari in 1974 (and through her life after). The twists and turns were well done. This thriller combined a beautiful setting, complex by likable characters, friendship, the idea of historical fiction, writers, and musicians, all of the things that make me love reading. It was the perfect book for me.

4.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Rachel Hawkins for an advanced copy.

Wow! Before I knew it I was 79% into the book and I was eating it up! Chess and Em are great parallels to Lara and Marie. I thought the ‘74 story was so captivating and I definitely thought Emily was being poisoned and somehow stories would converge and it would all make sense. Which it kind of did when Chess and Em pull a page out of Marie’s book (the unpublished one found in the house thought to be journal entries) but when Marie reveals what those pages actually mean?! I was floored!!!

I love a good back and forth thriller with two timelines and this books is exactly that. The setting of a luxurious Italian villa is perfect! The story jumps back and forth between 1974 (when a brutal murder occurred) and present day. The relationships between the inhabitants in 1974 were much more interesting and you felt more sympathetic towards those characters. The modern day characters are childhood best friends who have always had tension between them. Maybe because I have a low tolerance for friendship drama between women, or maybe because Chess is, as she calls herself in the book, a “see you next Tuesday,” I didn’t enjoy many of the parts with her in it. She’s a wholly unlikable character, although perhaps that’s the point? There are a few twists here and there in the 1974 timeline that made things even more intriguing! Overall, the book was good and I enjoyed reading it!

Thank you to #netgalley for this ARC of #thevilla

I love Rachel Hawkins and this book did not disappoint!!! It is a wonderful written mystery thriller with a creepy plot line of two stories about friendship, betrayal, and murder.
Two best friends Chess and Emily set out for a trip to Italy for the summer. They stay at the Villa Aestas which is also the site of a famous murder in the 70’s. This villa has secrets and the girls find themselves trying to find out the truth of what happened in the past. They also unearth truth and secrets about themselves.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Matin’s Press for a gifted copy!

I so love Hawkins' books and this one was excellent as well! It focuses on longtime childhood friends, Chess and Em vacationing in Italy at a villa that has a gothic feel from the beginning! Chess has become a bestselling author of non-fiction self-help books but Em finds some scraps of history exploring the villa that intrigue and resonate with her. Still reeling from an ugly divorce and an ex who wants money from her own cozy mystery series, she digs deeper and this is intertwined with the present as her relationship with Chess shifts when truths come to light. I was fascinated by both past and present and how they intertwined and merged to create such a vivid story (that would make an incredible movie)! Will continue to read all her books!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

2.5 stars
honestly I was quite bored for the first half and i couldn’t have cared less about the past timeline which i felt added very little to the story. Hawkins’s previous 2 thrillers were fun and fast paced, but this one was a bit slower even though it’s a pretty short read.
I also don’t understand why this book is releasing in January when it’s set in June-July and SCREAMS summertime pool read? weird publishing move

Villa is three dimensional, smart, claustrophobic, women empowerment story with creepy and intriguing plot. I read it in one sitting. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the complimentary copy.

Wow! What a fun read. I have read all of Rachel Hawkins books, and was so excited when I was granted the ARC to The Villa. Twisty, suspenseful, and I finished it in 24 hours - could not put it down.

At first the storylines were a little confusing, switching between Mari in 1974 and Emma in present day. Some of the “throwbacks” were unnecessary (the podcast transcript and song lyrics) but after I got used to the changing timelines I was engrossed in both girls stories.

Really fun to read, and exciting book that I will definitely be reading again when it’s released. Perfect for a book club!

Thank you SO much to St. Martins Press for the ARC - absolutely thrilled with this book. Can’t wait to see what Rachel Hawkins comes out with next!

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and kept me guessing the whole time.
Absolutely loved the very unexpected ending too!
Definitely recommend this one!

Emily is a struggling writer in the middle of a divorce when her best friend, Chess, invites her to spend the summer in Italy together. They stay at Villa Aestas, which saw a murder of a musician back in 1974. Once there, Emily starts to investigate the murder and she writes a book about it, getting out of her writing funk. Along the way, she learns some secrets about her marriage.

Rachel Hawkins does it again! While this book isn’t of the same caliber of The Wife Upstairs, I did enjoy it. I especially liked the juxtaposition of the two stories: Mari in 1974, along with Emily in modern-day.

Probably two pieces of this book bothered me: 1) Chess is a VERY difficult person to like. I spent most of the book hoping their friendship would fall apart because I thought Emily could do better; and 2) I don’t think the explanation for Emily’s illness is good enough. It seemed a little unbelievable.

Overall, however, I’d recommend this book for something fun to read. It’s a very fast read and I especially enjoyed the twist at the end.

“ how often are we bright stars in someone else’s sky, but they couldn’t find us with a telescope, huh? And how do we not only find ourselves a new galaxy, but become supernovas?”

Synopsis: 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. 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.

Personal review: 3 stars

Gothic suspense, an Italian Villa with a dark history. Hints of Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the summer Percy and Mary Shelly spend with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle, which is the actual birthplace of Frankenstein, yep- this book had deep historical connections! For fans of that free love 70’s vibe, friendship rivalry, historical Italian locations, podcasts, and murder mystery.

My qualms about this novel are that it was super confusing and a painfully slow burn. Between the timeline in the 70’s with Mari, current day with Emily, the interwoven novel Lilith Rising, the song lyrics and interviews by podcast, I had to go back and reread way more than I liked. I wasn’t super invested in the plot and felt like it didn’t give much information about the Villa, the murders, or the characters. The end of the modern day timeline was super rushed.

Very grateful for the early release, and was super into the summary, but this one fell flat for me. In the words of Elena “Errano tutti pazzi” They are all mad.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advanced review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Um… OKAY this was so fun and I couldn’t put it down! I was absolutely hooked from the beginning and stayed up far too late to finish it. There was mystery, deception, infidelity, drugs, rock & roll, and we can’t forget about the murder.

The twist at the end has me reeling. WHERE IS MARIS FINAL PART?

Ugh. This was great. 10/10 recommend. Thank you to NetGalley for this arc!

A little bit of heartbreak, a little bit of best friend rivalry, a little bit of betrayal, and a little bit of murder. Two best(ish) friends spend the summer in an Italian villa, the scene of a historic murder.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It's a mysterious book that leaves you wanting to know more with each chapter. It makes you want to go visit Italy and dig into true crime podcasts on your way. I enjoyed the mystery and being kept on my toes!

I enjoyed the dual timeline bouncing between the summer of the murder and present day but I would have preferred that there be a separate chapter for each timeline rather than both in the same. I really did not like Chess. She just rubbed me the wrong way and was very manipulative. She was a fairly good character for the book. Just not a fan personally.

I thought the book was really good and I quite enjoyed the story itself. I love this style of writing, where it tells the present (Emily and Chess) and the past (Mari and Lara).

I just thought characters personalities were kind of annoying.

3.5 stars. I had a hard time getting into this book at first. The switching back and forth between stories was confusing at times. It did pick up and start to get interesting, but then the ending fell a little flat for me. Overall, it wasn’t bad— it just wasn’t my favorite.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

"The Villa," appears to be an innocuous title for Rachel Hawkin's latest mesmerizing thriller. The villa refers to a historic home outside of Orvieto, Italy called Villa Aestas. When Emily Sheridan is invited by her friend, Chess, a very successful self-help author, on a six week vacation to Umbria, it's almost impossible for her to say no. Entangled in a messy divorce and suffering from writer's block on her latest installment of her cozy mystery series, Emily jumps at the chance of getting away for six weeks hoping she can climb out of her writer's slump.

Emily soon discovers that the villa has a sordid past. Back in the summer of 1974, one person was murdered amid swirling rumors of drugs, sex and rock and roll. The story is told between alternating time periods. In 1974 we are introduced to Mari, in a toxic relationship with her boyfriend, Pierce, a wannabe musician. Living with them is Mari's stepsister, Lara, who Mari suspects has a crush on Pierce. The three of them are invited to the villa by the famous rock star, Noel Gordon, under the pretense of him helping to jumpstart Pierce's career. Rounding out this unlikely cadre of friends, is Noel's friend, Johnnie, whose relationship with Noel is shrouded in mystery.

As the story unfolds, Emily starts to dig into the past murder back in 1974 and learns about Mari's wildly successful horror novel and Lara's iconic record album. What comes to light are unresolved interpersonal relationships in the past and the present. The reader will question whether history will repeat itself as an idyllic getaway in Italy starts to eerily parallel the summer of 1974.

As usual, Rachel Hawkins delivers another fast-paced mystery. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Betrayal. Guilt. Cursed. Horror. Sex. Drugs. Rock and roll. Murder. The Villa by Rachel Hawkins has it all and more. Split between 1974 and present day, the main characters are Mari (1974) and Emily (present day) staying as a guest at an Italian villa in Orvieto.

Present Day: Emily is getting over a health scare and divorce when her childhood best friend, Chess, invites her to come stay at a villa she’s rented for the summer. Desperately trying to find inspiration for her latest cozy mystery that her editor is pushing her to finish, Emily agrees that a change of scenery is what she needs. She comes to discover that the villa they are staying in was the site of a murder of up and coming rock star, Pierce Sheldon, in 1974. Not only did a murder happen in the villa in 1974, but a best selling horror novel was written and a much talked about and best selling music album by Mari and her stepsister Lara. Emily finds a much read copy of Mari’s best selling novel and reads it. She finds in the novel and the villa the inspiration she needs to overcome her writer’s block, but it isn’t for her newest cozy mystery. It’s a passion to write about what happened in the villa.

1974: Mari and her (married) boyfriend Pierce meet Noel Gordon through Lara. Noel and Pierce hit it off and Noel invites them to come to his rented villa in Italy so they can write music and put together an album. What Mari finds at the villa is a weird connection between all the people staying at the villa, which also includes Noel’s drug connection, Johnnie. Johnnie is fascinated by Mari, as is Noel. Mari finds inspiration of her own in writing what will become her best selling horror novel, Lilith Rising. Lara, who tries to convince the men of her own musical talents, writes soul wrenching songs that rival Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell.

The parallels that Hawkins demonstrates between Mari and Emily reach out to suck the reader into the story as the mystery of what really happened in 1974 develops over the course of the book. I felt it was a bit slow in the first part of the book, but once I got through the first third of the book, it took off - about the same time that Emily’s writing did the same. Without revealing spoilers, I would’ve liked a more detailed telling of the final twist in Italy before the book concluded. Fans of thrillers and Hawkins will enjoy this Italian delight of a story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own.

#netgalley #arc #rachelhawkins #thevilla #stmartinspress