10/24/2022
Friendship and professional jealousy fuel this nail-biter from bestseller Hawkins (The Wife Upstairs). As children, Chess Chandler and Emily Sheridan were inseparable, but they grew apart as adults. Chess became a popular self-help guru with books, videos, and TED talks, while Emily found moderate success writing an amateur sleuth mystery series. Chess’s star and wealth continue to rise as Emily deals with a divorce conflict over her royalties, health problems, and writer’s block. Then Chess suggests a “hard reset” to their friendship with a six-week stay at Villa Aestas outside Orvieto, Italy. Emily is reluctant until she learns the villa was rented in the summer of 1974 by rock star Noel Gordon. The villa became known as the Murder House after a guest of Noel’s, an unknown musician, was murdered there that summer. The villa—and its past, chronicled in a hidden diary—energizes Emily, who begins to write again, starting with the provocative first sentence: “Houses remember.” But Chess is stymied, unable to work until she finds Emily’s rough draft. Intense characters complement the brisk plot, which shifts smoothly between the present and 1974. Hawkins consistently entertains. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (Jan.)
"Clever and wickedly fun, The Villa is a moody labyrinth of a novel fortified by Hawkins’s evident knowledge of Gothic conventions: missing manuscripts, debauched aristocrats, isolated locales and the like....a spooky, intricate thriller." —The Washington Post
"A catnip literary premise: It’s a dual-timeline psychological thriller inspired by the birthplace of the novel Frankenstein...all deliciously atmospheric fun." —The Seattle Times
"Hawkins casts a sharp eye throughout to the way we construct stories about female artists—and the moral ambiguity inherent in creation and fame. The effect lingers like a shadow, or a creature, that endures past the final words. Hawkins manages to achieve the seemingly impossible: A Frankenstein-inspired novel that feels both fresh and unique." —Kirkus (starred review)
"This story’s finely honed interplay of creative ambition and haunting sadness makes it a step above. Hawkins pokes at the darker aspects of both true crime and self-help, and it works beautifully. Hawkins' star is definitely on the rise after two bestsellers, and this one will propel her further into the stratosphere." —Booklist (starred review)
"The White Lotus" vibes with a side of moody, gothic suspense elements? We’ll take it." —TheSkimm
"Equally compelling dual timelines intertwine as The Villa progresses, showcasing Hawkins’ skill at crafting intriguing characters who take the notion of an unreliable narrator to clever new heights. Sly commentary on self-help and true crime mixes nicely with eerie gothic elements in this inventive and provocative tale that explores the dark side of artistic genius and the corrosive effects of unhealthy relationships...Fans of twisty, creepy, layered thrillers will revel in their suspenseful stay at The Villa." —Bookpage
"Friendship and professional jealousy fuel this nail-biter...Intense characters complement the brisk plot, which shifts smoothly between the present and 1974. Hawkins consistently entertains." —Publishers Weekly
"In The Villa, Rachel Hawkins brilliantly stitches together past and present, deftly luring readers into a deliciously dark tale filled with twisted secrets, suspect loyalties, and deadly encounters. I tore through this haunting thrill ride at breakneck speed but hated to see it end. Everything about The Villa is pitch-perfect, again proving that Hawkins is the reigning queen of suspense." —Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest
"Cleverly-narrated via past and present timelines...The Villa teems with sexual tension, festering tempers, and questionable friendships. Hawkins' latest thriller reminds us that no matter what truths we think we've stumbled upon, writers cannot always be trusted—and certainly not the tales they tell." —Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary
"Rachel Hawkins DELIVERS with The Villa. Slick, twisty, and packed full of pop culture references spanning decades, this book is a perfectly delicious read. I devoured it as fast as I could and wanted to read it again immediately. Buy one for yourself and another for your best friend because you’ll want to talk about it for days." —Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author of Killers of a Certain Age
06/10/2024
"Perhaps houses hold onto the bad with the good, just as people do." When Emily's best friend and fellow author Chess invites her on an impromptu Italian getaway, she leaps at the opportunity to escape her messy divorce and demanding job. The beautiful villa in Italy, however, hides a haunting history; in 1974, it was both the site of an infamous murder and the inspiration behind groundbreaking works of art. As Emily, too, seeks inspiration, she instead finds connections to the decades-old slaying that suggest it was not what it seems. Hawkins (Reckless Girls) creates an eerie and irresistible psychological suspense about fame and friendship, with pop-culture and historical connections from Charles Manson to Mary Shelley. Narrators Julia Whelan, Kimberly M. Wetherell, and Shiromi Arserio are an entrancing trio. Their portrayals of the multiple perspectives and timelines will keep listeners on edge and uncertain what to believe. The listening experience is enhanced by fictional book excerpts, song lyrics, and podcasts—complete with theme music! VERDICT This audio will appeal to listeners seeking an intricately plotted and endlessly twisting psychological suspense about art, affection, and ambition. Recommended for fans of Riley Sager, B.A. Paris, and Mary Kubica.—Lauren Hackert
11/01/2022
In 1974, aspiring writer Mari Godwick penned her famous feminist horror novel, Lilith Rising, during a summer spent at the Villa Rosato in Italy—the same villa where her boyfriend, up-and-coming musician Pierce Sheldon, was bludgeoned to death. Now, nearly 50 years later, cozy mystery writer Emily McCrae and her wildly successful friend, self-help guru Chess Chandler, are spending six weeks in the villa. Unfortunately, the beautiful setting isn't enough to blunt the feelings of jealousy and annoyance Emily harbors for Chess. A copy of Lilith Rising, found on a bookshelf in the house provides the escapism she needs, and before long, Emily is seeing clues around the villa and wondering what really happened that summer. Told in dual time lines, Mari's story reads a bit like an episode of VH1's Behind the Music, while Emily's is more women's fiction with a focus on her dysfunctional relationships. VERDICT The story is a slow burn with a flame that never quite materializes. Give this one to readers looking for psychological suspense and twist endings, but those seeking high-stakes tension will want to look elsewhere.—Vicki Briner
★ 2022-10-12
Past and present collide when two old friends spend a summer writing at an infamous villa in Italy.
After a tough year, Emily Sheridan needs a change. Enter Chess Chandler, her best friend since childhood, the golden girl who has become effortlessly famous for her self-help books and her glamorous Instagram posts and who has rented an Italian villa for the summer—a villa famous not only as a luxury retreat, but as the scene of a 1970s murder. Hawkins then turns the narrative over to the people who inhabited the villa that tragic summer—particularly a young woman writer who finds the inspiration to write a seminal work of horror; her hapless, brilliant husband; and the cruel, famous young aristocrat who drew them all there. It takes barely a page for the allusions to become apparent: This is a reimagining of the famous summer of 1814, when Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Byron held a ghost story contest from which Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was born. The novel continues to cut from the summer of 1974 to the present, as Emily begins to recapture her own power and imagination as a writer—even as she discovers that Chess may not be the friend she appears to be. Though the introduction of the major players of 1974 (Mari Godwick, Pierce Sheldon, Noel Gordon, etc.) feels rather heavy-handed, the characters quickly take on a fascinating life and energy that elevates them from being mere copies of the historic Romantics. And while the operatically tragic characters of the 1970s are ultimately more intriguing than Chess and Emily and their (mostly) petty dramas, Hawkins casts a sharp eye throughout to the way we construct stories about female artists—and the moral ambiguity inherent in creation and fame. The effect lingers like a shadow, or a creature, that endures past the final words.
Hawkins manages to achieve the seemingly impossible: A Frankenstein-inspired novel that feels both fresh and unique.