u003cpu003eu003cbu003eINSTANT u003ciu003eNEW YORK TIMES u003c/iu003eBESTSELLER!u003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003cbu003e"Hawkins weaves an engrossing tale about betrayal, sisterhood, and the power of telling your own story. Captivating!" ––u003ciu003ePeopleu003c/iu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003e"Hawkins is the reigning queen of suspense." ––Heather Gudenkauf, u003ciu003eNew York Times u003c/iu003ebestselling authoru003cbru003eu003cbru003eThe bestselling author of u003ciu003eThe Wife Upstairsu003c/iu003e returns with a brilliant new gothic suspense set at an Italian villa with a dark history.u003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003eAs kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eVilla Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album––and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eAs Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred––and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eYet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge––and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eInspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle––the birthplace of u003ciu003eFrankensteinu003c/iu003e––u003ciu003eThe Villa u003c/iu003ewelcomes you into its deadly legacy.u003c/pu003e
