The Villa

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense,set at an Italian villa with a dark historyfor fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware. As kidsEmily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30stheir bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to ItalyEmily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend. Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home nowbut in 1974it was known as Villa Rosatoand rented for the summer by a notorious rock starNoel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative sparkNoel invites up-and-coming musicianPierce Sheldon to join himas well as PierceΓÇÖs girlfriendMariand her stepsisterLara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all timeLara composing a platinum albumΓÇôΓÇôand ends in PierceΓÇÖs brutal murder. As Emily digs into the villaΓÇÖs complicated historyshe begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps PierceΓÇÖs murder wasnΓÇÖt just a tale of sexdrugsand rock & roll gone wrongbut that something more sinister might have occurredΓÇôΓÇôand that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind. Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truththe more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to lightequally dangerous betrayals from the present also emergeΓÇôΓÇôand it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends. Inspired by Fleetwood Macthe Manson murdersand the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castleΓÇôΓÇôthe birthplace of FrankensteinΓÇôΓÇôThe Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.