I absolutely loved this book and flew through it - it had everything, great setting with a nod to the underbelly, death, mystery and resentment which were revealed as the story progressed.
It is definitely one of my favorite books I've read this year, i love a girls holiday, in this case a return to the scene of the crime, a villa in Marbella, to hold a memorial for their dead hen, killed three years earlier.
Great writing, woven together seamlessly, i didn't want the book to end.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read "The Villa." It has a reasonable plot with an interesting array of characters, possibly a fair reflection of a group of hens who do not really know each other. An undercurrent of darkness and mystery prevails as the bride-to-be is murdered; the hens reluctantly return to the crime scene and the true events of three years previous are slowly revealed.
A little predictable, but sufficiently paced to ensure that the reader continues to the end.

3 years after Aoifes death at her Hen party, Dani returns to the scene, along with the other 3 hens, to piece together what actually happened that night.

Set in Marbella, on a hot sunny weekend this is a great fast paced "who done it" set in 2 different time lines & multiply voices. I flew through this and it was a very unexpected twist at the end!

Well worth a read!

"The Villa" is a psychological thriller written by Jess Ryder.

A hen party. A wild weekend in Marbella. A magnificent and secluded villa. A bride-to-be brutally murdered. An unsolved mystery. Hens returning, three years later, to that same house for a closing. These are just some of the elements that make up "The Villa," a bewitching, intriguing and compelling book that captured me completely. A story full of jealousies, envy, grudges, lies, deceptions and secrets, which kept me glued to the pages, sweeping me into the vortex of the narrative. A tale developed on two different timelines, alternating between past and present, following the events that led to the tragedy and the hens who return to the mansion three years after the murder. I appreciated this choice, in my opinion handled very well, and I was fascinated by the mystery the author managed to create. The novel proceeds quickly and appealingly, without moments of boredom or heaviness, delivering the puzzle pieces a little at a time, until the final resolution. The hens Dani, Celine, Tiff and Beth, all with their respective povs, convinced me. I admit that I found them shallow and not particularly lovable, but given the enigmatic nature of the tale, this did not bother me.

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, thank you so much to Netgalley & Random House UK, Cornerstone, Penguin for the opportunity to read this in exchange for honest feedback!

It took me a wee while to get into this book but once I did, I was hooked!! It can sometimes be a wee bit confusing to keep up with the viewpoint of multiple characters across different time periods, but this flowed really well. All of the characters had their flaws and weren't overly likeable, but by the end, you understood a bit better.

It was very well paced & I struggled to put it down from 25% onwards. The ending was fab and twisty, thinking I knew who'd dunnit, but I was kept guessing until the end.

I really enjoyed it!

Three years ago Beth, Dani, Celine, Tiff and Aoife went to Marbella for Aoife’s hen do. With the chief bridesmaid having planned the most luxurious, fun filled time, all the girls ate certain to have a brilliant time right?

Well when all the girls don’t exactly get along, everything seeming to cost a small fortune and things going wrong around every corner, it doesn’t exactly seem like the perfect hen do.
Especially when at the end of the trip the bride is murdered.

So when the girls decide to go back to mark the third anniversary of Aoife’s death, Dani believes it will be the closure they all need. But staying in the same villa from last time, things start to happen which leads Dani to believe it probably wasn’t a burglary gone wrong the police believed it to be.

I really loved the idea for The Villa and the story flowed well for the most part, with the chapters going from the girls trip now and their past trip. I would definitely recommend this to someone who would love a quick read thriller.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Jess Ryder, Penguin and Netgellay for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. The Villa comes out on July 4th! I’m

The villa is a fast paced psychological thriller. The timeline of the book is split between present and past tense. 3 years ago 5 friends fly out to Marbella in Spain to celebrate the hen do of Aoife, when she tragically loses her life. Three years later Dani, who can’t seem to remember what happened , is desperate to figure out what happened to her friend 3 years ago so she manages to persuade the others to go back to the villa where it happened to “celebrate the anniversary” of their late friend.
The book is divided between the perspectives of each friend & from very early on in the book you can tell that each of them have something to hide. This book was so cleverly written, each pov from both past and present gradually puts all the pieces of the story together and sets up the perfect reveal for what actually happened to Aiofe. I enjoyed this book, I feel like a lot of thrillers tend to use the same story lines but this story felt very unique. The only things that I didn’t like was that at times the multiple POVs felt a bit overwhelming and a little confusing and although the build up to the reveal was done very well it felt as though when we got there it was a little bit rushed and certain things could have been explained better. Besides that I enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone looking for a fast paced thriller. 3.5*

I enjoy books where there's a party abroad with uni friends or in this case, hens as I haven't been on one with lots of people. When I read these I think I have made the right decision - brilliant to go through this in a book but not in real life. The villa sounded nice though but what was more enjoyable was the tension and secrets between the guests.

#TheVilla #NetGalley
Bride-to-be Aoife is murdered on her hen weekend in an isolated villa in Marbella. A few years later, to mark the anniversary of her death, her best friend, Dani, persuades the other 'hens' to go back to the villa. She'd blacked out when the murder took place and she is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and find closure.
The multiple viewpoints and timelines make for an interesting, multi-layered read but, for me, gave the novel a disjointed feel, lacking in flow. I didn't like any of the characters - they all seemed self-absorbed and shallow - but I did want to know who had killed Aoife and why.
The first half was slower than the second half, when all sorts of motives were thrown up, confusing the reader into identifying the killer. I didn't see the ending coming but when it came, the big reveal felt a bit of an anti-climax, with lots of information dumping.
The Villa is an easy, read, ideal for the beach or a plane/train journey.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK Cornerstone Century for giving me an advance copy.

I wasn't a big fan of this book. The ending was too rushed. The storyline didn't flow amazingly well. It felt a bit disjointed as the different characters all had the same voiced narrative which made it hard to differentiate between the people.

Mostly everyone has reviewed this at 5 stars so I am the outlier.

I couldn’t cope with the multiple timelines/narrators when it all sounded like one person.

It’s a decent thriller until the end where it feels like time ran out.

Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for ARC.

Please be aware that there are themes of violence and sexual assault, as well as alcohol and other substance use, which some people may find very difficult reading.

Three years after Aofe died horribly at her hen do, the other hens have assembled in Marbella to honour her memory. One of her friends (Dani) has her reasons to want to fill in some of the many blanks from that weekend, while the others have reason to avoid doing just that.

Full disclosure - I'm probably 35 years too old to be the target market for this book and the original hen weekend and the return visit sounded like very bad ideas to me. I found the recreation of the original fateful weekend rather laboured and the characterisation sketchy. Despite that, I admired how Ryder brought all the elements together and painted a picture of the expectations on young women and the harm that can ensue, including complicity in our own harm. I will look out for more from this writer.

I enjoyed the Villa, I did guess the ending but it was enjoyable and fast paced, it moved between now and when the event happened three years ago.

Firstly truly greatful for my copy from #netgalley for my honest opinion

I am .afraid I guessed the ending 😕 but i enjoyed the book and wanted to know what happened, kept me interested

I really enjoyed the book. Set in Marbella it was fast-paced and smooth. The back and forth timelines were very interesting to follow especially in the second half of the book where it rushes with a sense of urgency. The revelation was great but the aftermath of the big reveal fell a bit flat for me. The characters were the main appeal and the fact that the crime has happened in a close space. What I also noticed was how throughout their weekend, the girls keep being in danger because of men. It really portrays all kinds of problematic men: toxic and pushy but also controlling or even dangerous. It's not super obvious but I liked that it shows how women have to think to keep themselves safe.
The characters are also not very likable but I cared about them and wanted to know what had happened. Some dialogues were not the best though, sometimes they were so basic they didn't feel authentic, Thankfully, it wasn't all of them so I could enjoy the rest of the story.

4 STARS!
Thank you to NetGalley, Jess Ryder and Penguin for providing me with a free Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.
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The Villa is about 5 “friends” who go on a hen do where the bride mysteriously dies. 3 years later the remaining 4 hens return to the villa and uncover what really happened that weekend.

I really enjoyed this book. I think I read it in less than a day as it was very fast paced, exciting and kept me hooked all the way through. I feel like I somewhat suspected the plot twist but then I was still blown away with how it all linked together. The Author does a really good job of making you suspect everyone at some point, but still shock you with the reveal.

I did struggle slightly with how plausible some parts were, especially around the investigation, but I feel like I could say that about literally any thriller book ever in some way. I also struggled with the writing a little at times as it didn’t really make sense to me why Dani had third person POV and everyone else had a first person POV, but maybe I’m just missing something there.

I am definitely interested in reading more of Jess Ryder’s books.

I don’t know if I just wasn’t in the mood for a thriller but I really struggled to get into this book. It took a while to get going but the second half had good pacing. I found the change of prose a little peculiar as it switched from third person to first person depending on which character’s chapter it was. That being said, I didn’t expect one of the twists at the end which was a nice surprise as the rest of a little predictable. Overall it was an okay book - would make a nice summer read.

Three years prior a group of friends went out to Spain on a hen do, 5 people went out but only 4 came back. Dani has no memory of what happened on the night that her friend was murdered, so in an attempt to find out what happened she engineers a group trip back to the island.

This was one of those novels that had me in two minds. Whilst reading it I absolutely enjoyed it and sped through as I found myself closer and closer to finding out what happened. Yet after I’d finished and was thinking about it a bit I did think that the ending and motive was a bit weak.

However despite that I most definitely enjoyed it. The novel was written from multiple viewpoints, and back and forth timelines as we find out not only what happened leading up to the night of the murder but also what led to the group of people being at the Villa together in the first place.

I liked the way the characters all had their own secrets and unique take on the others and it was interesting to see the build up from the individual points of view. This is another story that focussed on friendship and how toxic they can become. Overall I really enjoyed this story and would definitely look out for more

I loved the premise of this story, but my God do I hate back and fourth time lines. They are over used and I personally struggle to stay absorbed in the story when it flicks all over the place. So while this isn't a book I would rave about it is still a book I would recommend to people who like that then/Now trope.

Would definitely try another book by Jess Ryder

Wow, what can I say- I LOVED this book!

The Villa is an excellent, fast-paced psychological thriller. It follows four hen's (Dani, Beth, Tiff and Celine), who travel back to Marbella, to try to find answers as to who may have murdered their bride-to-be friend Aoife, during their fateful hen weekend there 3 years earlier. It is an emotive book, revealing an array of lies, deception, jealousy and secrets, alongside trials and tribulations in different relationships, friendships and social gatherings, both old and new.

The Villa is told from multiple POV's (though mostly focusses on Dani) and keeps switching between a 'then' and 'now' timeline. I often get a little lost and struggle to remember who said what and when it happened, with this type of back-and-forth, multiple POV format usually, but Jess Ryder nailed it perfectly, in my opinion. I couldn't find any almost inevitable plot holes or unfinished leads, which often accompany this format either, so that was refreshing! I was gripped from the very first page! I read the whole book in less than 2 days, even staying up until 4am to finish it as I couldn't bear to wait any longer to find out what was going to happen next! Like a good TV psychological thriller (I'm looking at you, Harlan Coben), every time I suspected who the murderer was, I was then railroaded again moments later. Though I had my major suspicions on one character in particular, right up until near the very end of the book, there was yet another shocking plot twist which blew me away! I'd love for The Villa to be made into a TV series-i'd binge-watch that with popcorn for sure!

This was the first book that I've read by Jess Ryder and if this book was anything to go by, she will be added to my 'must buy' author's list from now on. I look forward to reading her previous releases.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jess Ryder and Penguin for providing me with a free Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.