I enjoyed this book from the beginning. I liked the setting which was covered well by the author. The plot twists and turns sufficiently to maintain interest and the back story is both important and well covered. I also liked the ending so a thoroughly enjoyable read.

An idyllic setting in a fabulous villa in Tuscany hides darkness in this closed room murder story. A cracking read with real characters, some thoroughly unpleasant and others whose motivations are revealed as the story unfolds. I liked the chapters which highlighted the different people’s actions, some in the current time and some from the recent past. I thought I’d worked it out only to go down another thought process, which is the author’s skill.

Thank you Netgalley, Dreamscape Media and Simon McCleave for the audio Arc of Last Night at Villa Lucia.

Narrated by Sally Corbett

This is a standalone psychological thriller set at a Tuscan Villa holiday home. Cerys is expecting visitors to her holiday home in a few hours but unfortunately there is a dead body in her infinity pool! After calling the police, the plot opens up from 3 POVs. Cerys, her daughter, Lowri and the Detective Inspector, Saachi who pieces together the mystery of the dead body.

I really enjoyed this book by Simon, my first read of his. The character building of the family and friends of Cerys and Saachi were detailed and intricate, building in the direction of the book as well as the plot itself. They also felt very real. Cerys has lots going on with her mental health, the coping strategies, the drinking and hiding it all from her teen daughter.

The plot line itself ticks along at a medium pace overall with some great twists and nice foreshadowing. So if you pay attention, you will probably figure out who the murderer is and if not, it will keep you guessing till near the end!

Last Night at Villa Lucia was narrated by Sally Corbett who has a great voice for this Mystery/Thriller. Her voice suits the pacing of the book and she put the right emphasis where needed.

4 stars

This book begins slow. The author uses the beginning to set up the characters involved. The setting is in Tuscany, and the descriptions are beautiful! Cerys owns Villa Lucia. She and her ex husband, Nick, purchased it two years ago. However, they divorced a year later. Cerys has set it up as a vacation villa. Her daughter Lowri (20 years old) is staying with her. Zoe, Harry and their son Charlie (19 years old), arrive to spend a couple weeks vacation. Also living on the premises are Lucia and her husband Lorenzo. Lucia's family owned the villa 20 years ago, and she stays to cook and clean. Lorenzo takes care of the property.

Once the author has set up the story, hold on to your seats!! The pace ratchets up. The story is told through multiple POV's: Cerys, Zoe, Lowri, Charlie. After a dinner party one night, there is a murder!

What I loved about this book was how the author builds the story through the lives of the characters. At the beginning I thought this would be a straight forward thriller. However, Simon McCleave deftly weaves each characters past and present in way that allows the story to unfold rapidly, while also giving the reader nuggets of information about the many secrets each character has. There are various strands of narrative happening, but there is a thread that pulls them all together.

I love the connection between Zoe and Cerys. They both have experienced the life of being abused wives. Cerys is a struggling alcoholic. The reason why she began drinking becomes clear as she reminisces about her past. Zoe is so forgiving and kind, there were times I wanted to shake her! But I believe that the author wrote sensitively about the ways some abused women react.

Lowri struggles with knowing what her father is, and also that her mother is struggling with alcohol. She is trying her best to love them both, but faces many struggles and agonizes over the situation. She connects with Charlie because his father is similar to hers. I liked how they were caring and supportive to one another based on shared experiences.

All these characters, including Lorenzo, have things that have happened in the past. These things really have an impact on how the murder unfolds. I feel like I cannot explain this well! It was such a good read! And everything flowed and made sense. In the end, I was a little shocked- but still satisfied!

I feel that this is a perfect beach read! It is deep enough to make you think, set in a beautiful location, paced quickly, and so engaging! I read this in 2 days, in between working and running errands! I have never read a book before by this author, but I will read all his others now!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC! This is my honest and voluntary review!!

Absolute gem of a psychological thriller.

Cerys Williams is awaiting her latest guests at her beautiful Tuscan Villa.
She’s had a rough few years one way and another, but she’s hopeful that things will change. They certainly will, but never in the way she had expected.

From the absolute start I was hooked with this book, and found it extremely hard to put it down.
It had me guessing this way, then that way as to how I thought things may go.
Some sensitive issues covered, but handled well.
From start to finish a page turner.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

I love the writing of Simon McCleave and this is the fifteenth book of his I have read and have purchased five others that I am yet to read. This book is very different from the rest and I admire his tackling dark themes such as toxic masculinity, alcoholism and abusive relationships. Many of us have addictions and this book aims to explore how these addictions are dealt with. I think the subjects are well dealt with producing both an entertaining and interesting book that gripped this reader. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

The twists at the end were wild but made so much sense!! My only issue with this story is I felt I’ve read this plot and storyline so many times before. Cerys runs a Villa, she ends up having a family, a husband and wife Zoe & Harry and their son Charlie, staying at the Villa. Harry ends up getting into an argument with everyone at dinner, he walks off and it’s the last time he’s seen before the next morning, when he’s found face down floating in the pool. The way this story unfolds is crazy and takes you on an adventure.

My issue is some parts were a bit long and the story overall just needed to be shorter, other than that it was great. I’ve just read this storyline too many times before, which I get it’s a good storyline but I just wish there was something different that made it stand out against the rest. If you like this storyline or haven’t read it before, definitely check this one out!

This was a fun, easy to read summer thriller. With its Tuscany setting this thriller takes you along a very messy story, toxic characters and a mysterious murder.

The character development is really good and on point but the characters were sooo unlikeable I would’ve loved having multiple POVs from different characters in the first person.

There are a lot of twists and turns throughout the story that sent me in every wrong direction possible. I loved how the story unfolded and how it came full circle at the end.

Thank you Simon McCleave, Storm Publishing & NetGalley for an e-ARC copy.

#LastNightAtVillaLucia #NetGalley

This is a classic murder mystery book with some dark undertones. It looks at misogyny, coercive control, rape and addiction so do not expect a light hearted summer read!
Cerys owns a beautiful villa in Tuscany and runs it as an Airbnb. Her teenage daughter, Lowri is living with her before deciding what to do next in her life, hoping to pursue a career in music.
However Cerys has a secret addiction which consumes her every moment, making it difficult for her to manager her life successfully.
When Zoe, her husband, Harry and their teenage son, Charlie arrive for a holiday, it sets off a chain of events which leads to a shocking death.
The book is written in the present with flashbacks to Cerys’s earlier life and her difficult relationship with her ex husband, Nick. This serves to build up the tension as the perpetrator of the crime is sought. It was very cleverly plotted with many “red herrings”. It was really a closed room mystery as only one of the people at the villa could have committed the crime unless an intruder was the culprit- a highly unlikely scenario.
I certainly didn’t guess what had happened which meant the book was very well written- I read a lot of mysteries so I can sometimes work out the plot twists!
I also liked the examination of the themes mentioned earlier as this made the novel more interesting than a normal murder mystery. It definitely portrayed addiction in a way which I was able to understand.
I recommend “ Last Night At Villa Lucia” as a deliciously compelling, dark murder mystery.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

Last Night at Villa Lucia by Simon McCleave
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇ out 26th July 2024◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
I loved this story beautifully set in Tuscany. This murder mystery will have you hooked. Brilliant, relatable characters, this is the perfect beach read 📚 ⛱️ Highly recommended xx

If you are looking for a fast paced thriller that is hard to put down then look no further than Last Night at Villa Lucia.

The beautiful Italian Villa Lucia is run by Cerys, an alcoholic with an abusive ex, and her daughter Lowri, an aspiring musician. A wealthy family from London visits the beautiful Villa Lucia in Italy for a relaxing vacation. The father is a music executive who has a strained relationship with his wife and son, the mom is a cafe owner, and the son is a troubled teen. One of the family members winds up dead in the pool.

I had never read anything from this author so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I liked his writing style and thought this thriller was fast paced and engaging, I would read from him again. I thought the twists were done well. I liked the characters in the book, they were all flawed and tricky to root for. I changed my mind a few times throughout this story about who I thought the killer was and I was correct on one of my hunches.

I would say there is trigger warnings for alcohol abuse, physical abuse, rape and suicidal thoughts, so just be aware going into it. Some of the abusive scenes were tough to read.

Thank you to Storm Publishing or an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Villa Lucia is a bed and breakfast that Cerys is trying to keep going. Harry, Zoe, and Charlie book a vacation there. In the beginning of the book there is a body floating in the infinity pool at Villa Lucia. Everyone is a suspect. The ending was a twist for me.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked how it kept me guessing until the very end! It is a real talent to create a story around everyone having a motive!

* Easy to read with small chapters. Gripping. I did guess a few of the twists. But did not see the ending coming! Would definitely recommend as a good gripping mystery. Easy 4 stars

I loved this book, as soon as I started reading and I was hooked. I had to keep reading until I knew the truth.

3.5 stars
Last Night at Villa Lucia is the perfect summer thriller.
It is a very enjoyable and fast-paced whodunit.
Even though Last Night at Villa Lucia had me guessing until the very end with twists and turns, the ending was a bit predictable.

Publication Date: July 26, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley, Storm Publishing, and Simon McCleave for this arc!

Thank you netgalley and Storm Publishing for this arc.

I enjoyed this one. I think I suspected all but 2 of them at one point during the story. The twist isn't too terribly shocking but it was a good one.

Can't go wrong with it being set in Tuscany. However I would say that in today's world a disclaimer ot trigger warning page would be helpful for readers as this book contains domestic violence, sexual assault, and mention of rape.

Overall it was an enjoyable read and good thriller.

Great summer thriller, there was a lot going on with the Cery’s back story as well as the back stories of Zoe, Lowri, Lucia and Lorenzo but honestly it was needed to build the guess who done it storyline.
I don’t want to give the ending away and spoil it, what u will say is it really surprised me, in a really good way!
Really enjoyed Simon’s writing style, just the right pace too.
Thank you NetGalley, Simon McCleave and Storm Publishing for this ARC, all opinions expressed are my own.

What a thriller! I loved the way the flashes back and forward gradually revealed the background to the characters. I can't say too much without giving spoilers, but the way the women support each other is brilliant. Loved it.

A murdered guest at a Tuscan villa forces the owner to confront the past she has been hiding from.

I thought this was going to be a lot more murder mystery (which was part of it), but it does focus a lot more on Cerys, the villa owner. There were multiple POVS early on, which I always find hard for a thriller as it can take away from the suspense.