Book Review: The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

Let’s get back into book reviews, shall we? In my book review era once again…

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. 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 Review:

I don’t normally read thrillers, however, like my recent review of Legendborn, I am really trying to get out of my comfort zone. I picked up The Villa by Rachel Hawkins because I saw it just released in 2023 and it was the January book club pick for Bad on Paper Podcast. (The discussion was great, btw!)

I loved this book. The book came recommended to me (by the podcast) and described as Daisy Jones meets White Lotus, and honestly, they had me at Daisy Jones. The book itself is shelved as a mystery/thriller, but honestly, I wouldn’t classify it under the thriller. It surely was suspenseful, and there was a murder plot, but you knew that the murder was going to happen and it wasn’t one of those murder-y books where it’s a jumpscare. It was more of a thriller where it kept the reader on the edge of her seat (lol, me).

I liked how the book jumped from different time periods, from the 1970s to present day. Usually, I don’t like books with a then/now setting because it gets confusing, but this one kept it interesting. The setting in the 1970s was rockstars and writers. The present day included Emily and Chess, two estranged best friends who reunite in their 30s to go to the same villa. I think that’s what kept it so interesting—it was the same villa, just decades apart.

It also was cool that the two settings (1970s and present day) had similar plot lines. Emily was almost embodying Mary’s personality and you can definitely see parts of Chess’s personality in Laura, Mary’s step-sister. Spoilers aside—I can see parallels between the two settings and their plots.

This book got me excited for the Daisy Jones & The Six TV series which premieres in March! Overall, I’d recommend this book to anyone, especially the type of reader who doesn’t typically read thrillers. But honestly, if you’re a thriller junkie, then this is definitely a book that you have to pick up.

Rating: 4/5