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A review by justinkhchen
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
3.0
3.5 stars
While pretty subpar as a thriller, The Villa is still quite effective as an involving human drama with a dash of mystery. Keeping one's expectation in check is going to be the best way to enjoy this title from Rachel Hawkins — treat it as a general adult fiction (rather than a thriller) will help you appreciate its strength rather than focusing on its flaw.
Getting the harsh criticism out of the way — The Villa's thriller aspect is basic and alarmingly transparent; at first I thought the obviousness was intentional, leading us to think one way in order to counteract with a clever, unexpected reveal. But no, the novel took its red herrings as oath, and followed through every single one of them — this is easily one of the most surprise-less 'thriller' I've read in recent years.
Yet, I confess I did have an enjoyable reading experience for the most parts, thanks to its breezy length (just shy of 300 pages), a digestible yet immersive writing style, and an enticing setting (An Italian villa with a murderous past, who can say no to that!). I'm also a sucker for a multi-timelines, mixed medias narrative, and characters in the creative industries (we have multiple singer-songwriters and authors in this one), so The Villa is basically catnip to my reading taste, so much so I can overlook its absence of thrills.
The Villa is at its core an observation on toxic relationships, and how it can push people beyond their limit, whether that's to write the most heart-wrenching piece of music, or conjuring the courage to end someone's life. While it's a shame these strong themes and character work is bookended by the shallowest thriller cliches, it is still a read worth picking up — at least as a library loan.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**
While pretty subpar as a thriller, The Villa is still quite effective as an involving human drama with a dash of mystery. Keeping one's expectation in check is going to be the best way to enjoy this title from Rachel Hawkins — treat it as a general adult fiction (rather than a thriller) will help you appreciate its strength rather than focusing on its flaw.
Getting the harsh criticism out of the way — The Villa's thriller aspect is basic and alarmingly transparent; at first I thought the obviousness was intentional, leading us to think one way in order to counteract with a clever, unexpected reveal. But no, the novel took its red herrings as oath, and followed through every single one of them — this is easily one of the most surprise-less 'thriller' I've read in recent years.
Yet, I confess I did have an enjoyable reading experience for the most parts, thanks to its breezy length (just shy of 300 pages), a digestible yet immersive writing style, and an enticing setting (An Italian villa with a murderous past, who can say no to that!). I'm also a sucker for a multi-timelines, mixed medias narrative, and characters in the creative industries (we have multiple singer-songwriters and authors in this one), so The Villa is basically catnip to my reading taste, so much so I can overlook its absence of thrills.
The Villa is at its core an observation on toxic relationships, and how it can push people beyond their limit, whether that's to write the most heart-wrenching piece of music, or conjuring the courage to end someone's life. While it's a shame these strong themes and character work is bookended by the shallowest thriller cliches, it is still a read worth picking up — at least as a library loan.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**