The Villa
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Two friends have grown apart. Things always seem to magically align for Chess. And, Emily seems to struggle to find her path. Best friends. Or, at least they used to be. Things are a bit strained. They don't see each other much these days. Things have grown a bit distant due to schedules, jealousies, changes. When Chess suggests a girls get-away to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect and rekindle their friendship. The villa where they are staying has a history....an excitingly dark one. A famous horror novel written there. Stunning music composed there. A murder..... As Emily gets pulled into investigating the events from 1974, it seems her relationship with Chess is disintegrating like those 3 friends from decades before.
I listened to the audio book version of this story. Narrated by Julia Whelan, Kimberly Wetherell and Shiromi Arserio, the audio is just under 8 hours long. The narrators are wonderful!
The story is a slow burn, and while I did enjoy it, I expected a bit more actual darkness, mystery, thrilling aspects, but the plot fell a bit short for me. No real gothic feel for me. Not all stories are for all readers, and this one just wasn't for me. I didn't mind the shifting time lines. The 1974 plot held more interest for me, and really carried any thriller/creepy vibes this book had for me. The modern day characters fell flat for me. I just never felt connected to that portion of the plot.
Definitely up for anything else by this author as I enjoyed The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls, but this newest story just isn't my thing.
**I voluntarily listened to a review copy of this book from Macmillan Audio. All opinions expressed are entirely my own**
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