What readers say
3.75/5 ⭐️ In the 70s, a beautiful Villa in the Italian countryside becomes infamous for a sex, drugs and rock-and-rock fueled murder. A group of young rock stars and writers come here on vacation to escape their lives, but don’t expect to lose a life along the way. Staying here, Mari is inspired to write a novel- following in the footsteps of her mother. It ends up becoming one of the most famous horror novels of all time, hauntingly similar to the events that happened at the Villa that summer. Other characters include Mari’s stepsister Lara (an aspiring singer), Noel (rockstar/ head of the house), Johnnie (the drug dealer Noel brought along), Pierce (the man Lara is ‘dating’). Everyone is sleeping with each other, everyone is doing drugs. Someone is bound to get hurt- and that someone ends up being Pierce. Flash forward to the twenty first century, lifelong best friends Chess and Emily stay at the same ‘murder’ Villa. Emily is fresh out of a marriage that ended in an affair and struggling to write her next novel. Chess is a famous self-help writer who was interviewed by Oprah. Both girls are at different parts of their lives but trying to make their friendship work. Rumors of the rockstar’s death years ago in the Villa cloud Emily’s mind and she becomes obsessed- trying to uncover the truth of what really happened that summer. She reads Mari’s horror novel and realizes that the house described in that book is eerily similar to the Villa they’re staying at. She searches for clues amongst the pages of the novel and realizes her and Chess have more in common with Mari and Lara than she originally thought. I enjoyed this book but it wasn’t jaw-dropping exciting for me. This was the second book I’ve read by Rachel Hawkins and I couldn’t put it down- slightly restoring my faith in thrillers (especially since I read it back to back with ‘The God of the Woods’). Not really many likeable characters and some of the writing was screaming cringey millennial. (coral nail polish