A review by tyreadsbooks_
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

🍋 The Villa by Rachel Hawkins 🍋 

★★★★ 4/5 stars

"𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦?"

🍋 𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴

 Orvieto, Italy | Present Day & 1974

“𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳.”

Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, & the infamous Mary Shelley - The Villa is a gothic mystery, a gripping tale of betrayal, sisterhood, & the power of storytelling unfolds in this captivating novel set at an Italian villa with a dark history.

“𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰'𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”

🍋 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 :

• present day & 1970s alternating timelines 
• Italian countryside setting 
• books about writers
• toxic friendships / professional jealousy 
• music lyrics, journal entries, interviews, & articles sprinkled in
• Daisy Jones but make it spooky vibes
• full cast audio narration

🍋 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 :

A cozy mysteries about cozy mysteries. Coming in under at 300 pages, this is a quick read that packs a punch! 

Writing is involved in every aspect of the book. The writing of books, song lyrics, truths & confessions.. that paired with the Italian setting made it all deliciously atmospheric.

I especially loved the 1970s timeline. It was so haunting  & compelling, it gave me wistful  yet spooky Daisy Jones energy. Mari (the 70s era MC) is based on Mary Shelley & her experience writing Frankenstein, if she were alive in the 1970s. It had me wishing that Lilith Rising was a real book! 

A fun, suspenseful ride that stitches together past & present kept me turning the pages. I definitely recommend this dark, picturesque summer mystery!