Review of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

****4 stars

The main character of this novel, Emily, the author of a cozy mystery series, is in trouble. She’s been sick for months with a mysterious illness. Her husband has cheated on her, and they are in the midst of a divorce. Her best friend, Chess, a popular non-fiction self-help author, wants to help her. She suggests a summer away at a villa in Italy. Emily wants to go but becomes hesitant after learning that the villa was the scene of a murder that took place in the 1970’s of a musician who stayed there with his girlfriend and some friends. Despite Emily’s concerns, she takes the trip.

At the villa, Emily researches the murder. She becomes so wrapped up in it that she starts to write another book based on her findings and puts aside the cozy mystery she’s late in submitting to her publisher. When Chess learns what Emily is working on, she offers to co-write the book. Emily doesn’t want her to do that.

As Emily makes further discoveries into that old murder and sees similarities between her and Mari Godwin, the woman whose boyfriend was killed and who wrote a bestselling book after the murder, she believes the book Mari wrote holds a clue to what really happened that summer night at the villa.

Further revelations serve as plot twists to the novel which features flashbacks to the time of the murder. I felt the main plot of this gothic-like tale focused more on the friendship between Emily and Chess and how staying at the villa changes them. Without revealing the ending and the twists, the story kept me intrigued but seemed to lack the punch I expected. I’d still recommend it as a read for those who enjoy books that include flashbacks and eerie settings. I also found the descriptions of the authors and their writing process interesting because I write both cozy mysteries and other genres.