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Publish Date: January 3, 2023
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Gothic, Suspense/Thriller
Page Count: 288
Description
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.
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.
Book Reaction Navigation
The Gist
Rachel Hawkins’, The Villa is an unforgettable and unputdownable tale of women, their influence on each other, and the men in their lives. Written across two timelines, set in the same location with a dark history, both stories evoke speculation. A searing chain of events merges and unfolds, leading you to second guess people’s motives carefully clothed in the sweet and comforting guises of “care”, “love”, and “support.” It’s dark, unsettling, and exciting. And I adored it.
What Worked for Me
My 5 out of 5 rating for this book was weighted heavily by the questionable relationships between characters. I reviewed my annotations and it was clear that the complexities of the character relationships stood out to me the most and greatly impacted my enjoyment of the overall storyline.
It’s interesting how the author constructs connections between seemingly unrelated people across timelines. Connections that are easily fractured, filled with resentment, yet firmly bonded by shared tragedy. There’s Emily and Chess, Emily and Matt, Matt and Chess, Emily, Matt, and Chess, then there’s Lara and Pierce, Pierce and Mari, Mari and Lara, Pierce, Mari, and Laura, and so much more. People continuously weave themselves into each other’s lives while trying to make the most of their own.
Having something of their own is essentially what these women of ambition want. Unfortunately, they are surrounded by people who do not respect or acknowledge their professional or artistic goals. And if they do attempt to have something of their own, people of a certain caliber (greedy) seek to have it too. It’s as if they aren’t entitled to have anything for themselves.
In this novel, we witness men pushing the idea of “children will make us better” as a tool of control. This control or keeping women in “a woman’s place” is subjective. For them, that place is barefoot, pregnant, with little drive to fulfill any passions and dreams, and hand with a brush, ready to stroke their egos. They expected this even after much is already sacrificed by the women to prove themselves worthy. Worthy of conditional love, that’s within reason. Worthy of wanting more than what the current man provides. Physically and emotionally.
From another standpoint, we witness how even the strongest of sisterhoods decay under layers of jealousy. Jealousy, is so strong an emotion, that it drives people to act out of character and justify unsavory behavior. An emotion so easy to playoff, that I’m amazed at how the insights behind the story of the 1974 murder furrowed and influenced my viewpoint of the events that impacted the present-day character’s relationships.
On the surface, the events in the house are reflective of each other, but the longer I’ve sat with my thoughts on the novel, it seems like the past was used to influence or direct the future. The book opens and ends with “Houses remember.” This is true, and people remember too. With that being said, I still don’t trust Chess. If you’ve read the book, you will see what I mean. I may be overthinking it (lol), but let me know what you think.
What Did Not Work for Me
Very little didn’t work for me in this novel. The pacing was comfortable and the tension surfaced and progressed without force. Everything felt natural. If I had to pinpoint something that I could have possibly done without, it would be the mixed media sprinkled throughout the book, specifically the song lyrics and some of the book excerpts. At most, the podcast transcripts and articles facilitated the backstory of the 1974 murder. Other than that, I didn’t care for it much. I understand that its purpose was to help build suspense, but for me, I don’t think it lent as much suspense to the story as much as the inner thoughts and actions of the protagonists did.
Final Verdict
5/5, I recommend this book.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Rachel Hawkins, and NetGalley for an Advanced Review Copy in exchange for an honest review. My review/reaction is voluntary, all thoughts are mine and unbiased, and receiving the ARC does not influence my rating and/or recommendation.
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