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The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

$18.00 USD

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Instant New York Times bestseller • Gothic suspense in an Italian villa • “sex, drugs & rock ’n’ roll” meets something darker

A girls trip to Italy is supposed to fix a fraying friendship. Instead, it drops Emily into a villa with a blood-soaked creative legacy—and a past that starts echoing a little too loudly in the present. The Villa is moody, twisty gothic suspense with betrayal, ambition, and that delicious feeling that the walls are listening.

The vibe

As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. In their 30s, life has pulled them apart—so when Chess proposes a getaway to Italy, Emily says yes, hoping they can find their way back to each other. Their destination is Villa Aestas in Orvieto, a luxe holiday home now… but in 1974 it was Villa Rosato, rented by notorious rock star Noel Gordon. That summer brought together Noel, musician Pierce Sheldon, Pierce’s girlfriend Mari, and her stepsister Lara—and ended with Pierce’s brutal murder, alongside the creation of a legendary horror novel and a platinum album.

Tropes & tags

Gothic suspense / locked-in atmosphere
Dual timeline (present day + 1974)
Best friends trip / friendship tension
Dark creative legacy (music + horror writing)
Secrets, betrayal, and ambition
“The past isn’t done with this place” vibes

Perfect for readers of:

Italian settings with sinister undertones
Dual-timeline mysteries that braid together
Stories about who gets credit, who gets blamed, and who gets buried
Fleetwood Mac–adjacent drama with a murder at the center

As Emily digs into what really happened in 1974—possibly hidden inside Mari and Lara’s iconic work—her friendship with Chess starts to strain in dangerous ways. And the closer she gets to the truth, the more it feels like the villa might be ready to claim another victim before summer ends.

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