Book Review - The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

Title: The Villa
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2023
 
Description: As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bons has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girl trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend.
 
Villa Aestes in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1947, 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.
 
Review: Emily and Chess, two best friends since childhood, decide to take a trip to Italy, staying in Villa Aestes in Orvieto. Both want to take time to write their books, but especially Emily doesn’t feel inspired. Until she hears about a murder that occurred in the 70s, at the villa the two women are staying at.
 
The story follows two timelines, the current one with Emily and Chess, and the one in 1974, about writer Mari, her rock star friends and step sister Lara. The story sounds interesting and I always enjoy reading dual timelines. But this book feels more like a historical fiction with a mystery element, than a mystery thriller.
 
I expected more twists, reveals and suspense, but there was one of that. I was still invested in the story, especially the mystery in 1974, but it was all very predictable. And I really did not like the conclusion of both the timelines.
 
It was just okay, I will probably forget most of this book withing a few days.
 
Rating: 2,5/ 5