A thrilling read, loved the modern 'Love Island on steroids' vibe and the back and forth nature between the events in the villa and the murder investigation.

Ruth Kelly’s “The Villa” takes readers on a suspenseful journey into the world of reality television. Set on a stunning private island, the ultimate reality show promises intrigue, drama, and a hefty cash prize. Ten contestants vie for victory, with every moment streamed live to a global audience.

Enter Laura, a journalist coerced by her callous editor to infiltrate the show undercover. Her mission: get the inside scoop on her fellow contestants. But paradise quickly turns treacherous as Laura finds herself out of her depth and at the mercy of a ruthless producer. The pressure mounts, and the contestants’ secrets bubble to the surface. How far will they go to secure audience votes? And would someone really kill to win?

The novel alternates between Laura’s experiences on the island and post-death interviews conducted by the police after one of the contestants meets an untimely demise. The gripping narrative keeps readers hooked, and the mystery surrounding the suspicious death adds an extra layer of tension.

While not the best-written or most intricately plotted thriller, “The Villa” delivers what it promises—a compelling summer blockbuster. If you’re a fan of fictional portrayals of reality shows, this one is a must-read.

The first book I’ve read by this author and it certainly won’t be my last. Right from the start I was utterly gripped and my heart was in my mouth at times. Highly recommend.

This book was a very different read for me. Laura is a reporter and is told by her boss, who she is also sleeping with, that she will be going undercover as a contestant in the reality game show The Villa and has to try to get an exclusive insight of the contest, Laura is very reluctant to take part but soon finds herself being jetted off to a secluded island along with the other contestants. They are all competing to find love and win the £50,000 prize money but it soon becomes clear that they are all hiding secrets. The programme will be live streamed and the general public who watch it will make the decisions. Things soon start to go wrong as a body is found in the swimming pool and the programme has to go off air. The story is told from the producer’s point of view, Laura’s point of view and members of the public watching it and in the present and past timelines. I thought it was quite far fetched but it did make a compelling read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Pan books for giving me the opportunity to read and review This book.

This is the type of reality contest you cannot miss! A journalist gets the chance of a lifetime to cover a contest on a remote island that quickly turns very dangerous indeed… An absolute thrill of a ride!

The Villa - Ruth Kelly

Wow - now I love a reality show, so this was right up my street, imagine Love Island and Big brother crossed with the Dark web. The atmosphere of the setting was perfect, and the tense fast pace was addictive to read, it was hard to put down.

This book gave me the same feels as a recent book I have read and loved - The last passenger by Will dean. Both of these books will stay with me for a long time and I would love to see them made into a TV style series, and I have recommended them both to friends and family to read.

The story was really easy to get into, and flowed really well, I thoroughly enjoyed the authors style of writing, and look forward to reading more from them in the future. Thank you very much Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for this e-arc in return for my honest thoughts and opinions.

Fast paced and fulled of tension, suspense and mystery. There was a good level of twists which kept me guessing all the way through.

For anyone that love's reality programs such as Love Island or Big Brother then this book is for you. 10 contestants are sent to a luxury private island. The idea to find love, at stake is a huge prize. However, one of the contestants Laura is actually an undercover journalist, she enters the Villa sceptical of the whole process of finding Love The difference with this program is the public determine which way the competition should go. As the nation gets engrossed in the program things become fraught in the villa and somebody’s life is in danger.
The story is told from different perspectives. You also get to see how the contestants evolve through the competition. The author has put together an enthralling story with an ending. I did not see coming. This book is a very quick read and one that everyone will enjoy.

Many thanks, to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to see an ARC

Love island on steroids
In the crazy age of reality television this really hit home with how things could get out of hand with psychology, secrets, promise of huge wins and audience participation to the extreme. This really kept me reading through some late nights and I couldn't wait to see how it ended. There are a few twists turns and surprises - its a great summer read! Well recommended.

Thank you to NetGally and the Publishers for this ARC.

It’s destined to be the ultimate reality show: Ten contestants. A luxurious villa on a stunning private island. Every moment streamed live to a global audience who have unprecedented control over those competing for the cash prize.

I feel like this book took a little while to get going but around the 40% mark it got really exciting.

I've never read a book with a plot like this before and it was done really well, all the characters were well written and the entire book kept me in suspense.

The Villa starts with a murder which happened on a reality TV show and that is the first mystery - the identity of the victim is not revealed instantly.

Then we meet the contestants one by one, first being a reporter, sent as an undercover contestant, who is trying to climb the ladder of her career. Add in the stereotypical people who are most likely to rub off the wrong way with each other, the drama and scenes explode out of the pages. When combined with manipulative producers with their eyes only on the bottom line, it's no wonder things escalate into murder.

The story unfolds in two timelines in the POV of many people, primarily of the reporter and the producer, whose names are intentionally not revealed instantly, thus making the story both generic and superimposable at the same time, and as the murder is solved in the current timeline, the events which lead to the murder get revealed in the other timeline. Altogether, they make for a thrilling and atmospheric read which challenges the reader's perception of each character and the world in general at every possible moment.

I am not a big fan of reality TV; so, that aspect of the story didn't appeal to me greatly. Keeping that aside, I did enjoy the mystery aspects of the story to some extent; I did have a problem with the length of the story though. Overall, it is a racy, slightly disturbing, psychological thriller, with some interesting twists and turns, which could have benefited from a shortened length.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of the book
This book is definitely one to read this summer!
Warning: once starting the book you will be hooked. It took me little over 3 sittings to devour the book
Reality tv is my guilty pleasure. Although I don’t watch it as much as I used to and particularly not love island anymore. However when I read the synopsis of this book, I immediately thought of love island
The one thing about this book, is the short chapters so you just keep reading one more chapter. The book is absolutely fantastic and as well as being a great thriller, it gives a great insight to reality tv shows
Any fans of thrillers and / or reality tv, this one is for you!

I found The Villa to be an interesting read full of secrets and lies. I enjoyed the setting and the story but I could not shake the feeling that I had read something similar to this in the past. Still a good read though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for my ARC.

Confession time - reality television is definitely my guilty pleasure (Love Island anyone?) so when I heard about The Villa, a thriller set in the world of reality tv, I knew it was going straight on my summer reading list. And it definitely delivered - full of twists and with plenty of drama, it’s a fun read that I can certainly see popping up poolside this summer!

Laura, a journalist, goes undercover on a new reality show set on a secluded island. With 10 contestants supposedly there to find love and win £50,000, the programme is live-streamed and the audience makes all the decisions - and the prize money on offer keeps going up. Is this experience quite what the contestants signed up for?

We learn straight away that the the programme has been taken off air following the discovery of a body, but we don’t know who it is and gradually events leading up to that point are revealed.

There is much in the book that feels all too familiar and it is a fascinating behind the scenes look at these types of shows - intentionally stereotypical characters, chosen to make good television, and the intensity of being put in a strange and largely stage-managed situation that leads to some explosive results as we see to what length some people will go to in order to win.

With short chapters that keep you turning the pages and told from multiple points of view - largely Laura and the producer, but also some of the viewers which adds an extra element - it’s a gripping read with twists galore as you try to figure out both victim and killer. Add this one to your holiday reading!

Not many of us can say we haven't indulged in a bit of reality TV, so I couldn't resist combining that with reading a locked room (villa?) style mystery.

Tensions always run high in these situations - living in a goldfish bowl with big money at stake - throw alcohol, challenges & a surprise guest into the mix, and Laura being there under false pretences - & everything is amplified.

I loved the glamour of the surroundings & could see myself there quite happily (minus the stilettos and micro bikini!) but I'm not sure how long I would last amongst the other contestants. They have all been carefully selected for good TV, not necessarily to get along with eachother!

Despite the number of cameras, there are a few surprises, & it is not a case of what happens in the Villa stays in the Villa!

The Villa is an ideal book for summer.

An interesting and enjoyable plot and a brilliant setting. There are lots of secrets waiting to be revealed as you move through the story but unfortunately I felt it had so much more potential. I was hoping to read more about the actual show and the reality aspects for longer than they appeared.

An enjoyable but not what I expected or hoped for from the synopsis.

This was a clever idea - kind of a reality TV on steroids - and gripped me from the start. I love stories like this that start with a body and work backwards, keeping you guessing not just 'whodunnit' but who the victim is too. Unfortunately, however, as things and contestants got a little dark and crazy I did become less and less engaged - much like reality TV though I couldn't quite look away desperately wanting to know where it was all leading. But that too left me slightly disappointed. There were some good unexpected twists but also lots of unanswered questions and storylines such as who was the show's backer and why or was Matt a victim or perpetrator?

The Villa reminded me of the shows Love Island and Big Brother but produced like it was a Black Mirror episode. Watching Love Island is a guilty pleasure of mine so I was extremely excited to receive this ARC.
I love the premise of this book and the drama, and twists and turns just kept coming. Some I expected, and others took me by surprise.
I do wish that the book was a bit shorter because it started to drag out at one point.

Read if you like:
- Reality TV
- Dual Timelines
- Multiple POVs
- Summer vibes

Overall, I enjoyed it and it was exactly the book I needed at this moment.
Thank you to NetGalley, and Pan MacMillan for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Villa is a cross between reality TV shows Big Brother and Love Island. Watching Big Brother for many years is a guilty pleasure of mine so I was excited to receive an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher.

I really enjoyed most of this book. I loved that it opens with a body in the pool but isn't clear who it is. This is a murder mystery we have to solve as the plot jumps backwards and slowly builds in tension and pace.

The characters seem like the stereotypical people that star on reality shows. But I would have liked to get to know their characters a little more and their back stories.

I also felt that the story lost a bit of momentum near the end which was a little disappointing but the final twist is a good one.
All in all this was a good read and something to think about next time I tune in to a reality show.

Generally never post author bio’s etc but when read this and then the book thought it would be interesting to add to the review

‘Ruth Kelly has ghostwritten a string of Sunday Times top ten bestsellers - most recently The Prison Doctor, which sold over 250,000 copies, and The Governor, which went straight in at number one on the Amazon charts and number five in the Sunday Times bestseller list. The Villa is Ruth's debut thriller.
She's drawn inspiration from her years working as a reporter for national newspapers as well as her experience writing for TV shows, most notably with Endemol, the creators of the original reality show - Big Brother.’

That can really tell you more than me as to what to expect from this book, and it delivers as expected, contestants drawn to a competition that’s streamed 24/7 with the rules and prize money changed as and when suits the Producers…..very Big Bro style kind of story….however the crux of the matter is more with the contestants themselves than the show and just how will they react under pressure and the people
who are creating the drama!

Quickfire, fast paced and racy in parts, it certainly grabs hold of you and keeps grabbing, not perfect but that doesn’t matter as the authors experience in this world shines through and makes for a full on dive into reality TV reading
Pretty good