Book Review: The Villa
I received this galley in exchange for an honest review.
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publish Date: January 3, 2023
Format: eBook
★★★★☆
This book is perfect for those that like: Dreamy Italian settings, past/present storylines, writer main characters, 70s rock
You might not like this book if you aren’t into: Toxic relationships, storylines involving the loss of a child, or mentions of death by suicide
Favorite Line: “Made her think she was somebody when really she was just a part of somebody’s story.” ~ Giulia
The Book
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
Listen, I would have picked this book up the moment I saw the words “girls’ trip to Italy”, ESPECIALLY when it involves women with a complicated BFF past because isn’t that the part of adulthood they don’t really tell you about? How your relationships alter the older you get? Like that aspect alone would have been enough for me to read this, however, after coming off a month-long deep dive into all things Frankenstein for the podcast and seeing that this was inspired by that whole Shelly/Byron/Lake Geneva time period had me all, GIVE THIS TO ME NOW.
Told in dual timelines, The Villa is a “whodunnit” on the surface but it’s also a deep dive into the complicated world of female friendships. While each timeline features a pair, Emily and Chess in the present day (friends for decades, but their relationship is a bit strained) and Mari and Lara set in the 1970s (stepsisters who might have been close once, but find themselves competing for the same man), we are told these stories from the perspective of Emily and Mari, leaving us, the reader, suspicious of Chess and Lara. Y’all, when I say it works…
For about 75% of the book, you are not sure who the real villains are - the toxic men that both Emily and Mari are involved in or their BFFs, Chess and Lara. Tensions with each pair of women arise and secrets are revealed, and in the end, Emily and Mari must choose which relationship to prioritize. I loved the push/pull dynamic in each of these storylines, but I have to say that I was enthralled with the past timeline more. The ending to that story left me wide-eyed, while the ending to the present day fell a bit flat for me. All in all, I had a damn good time reading this book. The visuals of Italy, the stories within the stories, the Lord Byron/John Polidori stand-ins, and the surprise podcast transcript that popped up all made for an engaging read that I could not put down.
I would say to read this on an overcast day to match the mood, but I think this would be better out in the sun, by a pool with a cold Lemoncello next to you.
more about the Author
Born in Virginia and raised in Alabama, Rachel Hawkins has been writing since Kindergarten when her first book, a tense thriller involving a unicorn, a witch, and a princess, was called, “very imaginative!” by her teacher and “a searing work of genius” by her mother.
Since then, Rachel has written over a dozen books for children and adults (sadly all unicorn-free thus far), and been published in more than twenty countries. As Rachel Hawkins, she wrote the New York Times bestselling THE WIFE UPSTAIRS, a Southern Gothic twist on JANE EYRE that the Southern Review of Books called, “a thrill ride,” and Entertainment Weekly dubbed, “a gothic thriller laced with arsenic.” Her latest thriller, RECKLESS GIRLS, also debuted on the New York Times list with Kirkus calling it, “a soapy, claustrophobic page-turner.”
When not writing modern Gothic thrillers as Rachel Hawkins, she also pens paranormal romantic comedies under the name Erin Sterling. Her debut romance, THE EX HEX, was a Book of the Month pick as well as a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller.
Rachel currently lives in Auburn, Alabama with her husband, son, and five cats. (Yes, five. She knows.). In her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and picking up an assortment of creative hobbies she will give up on after a week or two.