Emily has had a rough year. She has been ill, she is in the middle of a contentious divorce, and she has writer's block. When her best friend, Chess, invites her to join her at Villa Aestas in Umbria she decides to go. Formerly known as Villa Rosato, the house has a troubled history. In 1974 the house was rented to a rock star. He invited three other people: Pierce, his girlfriend Mari, and Mari's stepsister Lara to join him. Before the end of their stay, Pierce was murdered. Following the murder, Mari's horror novel became a bestseller and Lara's album became legendary. Emily becomes fascinated with the story and Mari's book. She begins to suspect there was more to the story about the murder than what was told. Is she right?
THE VILLA by Rachel Hawkins is presented cleverly in dual timelines, from different characters' voices, podcast transcripts, interviews, and more. The relationships between the characters, both past and present, are complex, often bordering on being toxic and dangerous. There is a continuous undercurrent of mistrust. The storyline is unusual and Rachel Hawkins skillfully weaves together the two stories. There are various narrative twists that leave readers not knowing who to trust. THE VILLA is a haunting tale about deeply flawed characters in an idyllic setting whose holidays end with unexpected events. Highly recommended.
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.
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