Three years ago on her hen weekend in Marbella, Aoife was killed in a tragic accident after a break in and her friend Dani, who blacked out that night, wants to learn the truth.

She manages to get the group back together under cause pretences so that she can find out what happened on that fateful night.

Told from multiple points of view from each of the hens in the past and from Dani’s in the present, the hen weekend unwraps piece by piece each time Dani revisits one of the scenes that the group faced those years ago.

The story is complex and there are some surprising twists which you don’t see coming; all keeping me on the edge of my seat.

The hens - Beth, Tiff, Celine, Dani and Aoife are all completely different characters which at first you think will compliment, but as the story unfolds they each have their own secrets they are trying to keep.

I really enjoyed this one and look forward to more from the author.

Overall I have rated it three stars, I loved the premise and set up for this book with great character development. I loved the twisty ending which kept me hooking but I felt like it was a bit slow in the middle of the book. I would still recommend this book!

Three years ago Aoife and her friends are on her hen weekend in a lovely villa in Marbella when tragedy strikes. Aoife has been attacked and has died, but who killed her. Three years late Dani invites the “hens” back for the weekend in Marbella, she just doesn’t tell them they will staying in the same villa.

This is a great book, I liked the back and forth to now and then and each girl told their own version of the story. The author dealt with subjects well in the book. A chilling 4 star read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advanced ecopy. This is a really good, interesting suspense thriller. We begin the book by meeting Dani who is attending Aiofe's hen do in Marbella. There are 5 friends in total including Celine, Beth and Tiff and after lots of fun and mischief , the trip ends in tragedy with the Hen found dead. The book tips between then and now - now being 3 years later when they are returning to try and patch together what happened as the killer still hasn't been caught. There are plenty of suspects, secrets and lies and I couldn't stop turning the pages to try and find out the truth. Absorbing book I will be recommending and looking out for others from Jess

I've been reading very slowly lately but I found this to be a fast and easy read. Great for summer.

It has dual timelines, the past in which a hen party goes awfully wrong and the present where one of the bridesmaids tries to put together what happened that weekend.

While there were some questionable choices made by everyone, I could understand the tension in both timelines and could see character growth as well. I flew through the book and guessed every possible ending. This was a fresh thriller and while it was fun, I felt like there could be a bit more closure from the ending.

Overall an entertaining thriller.. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the e-ARC!

"The Villa" by Nora Roberts is a novel that intertwines romance, mystery, and family drama. It follows the lives of three generations of women in the Sullivan family who come together at a beautiful villa in Italy. As they uncover family secrets and navigate their relationships, they are drawn into a captivating story of love, loss, and resilience. The book delves into themes of love, heritage, and the power of family bonds.

A group of friends is off to Marbella over two timelines; past and present. Their trip in the past ended in tragedy as their friend Aoife, whose hen do it was, ended up killed. As the group returns in the present, you can tell that there is tension amongst them. As the story unfolds, fluctuating between timelines more details are uncovered relevant to solving the Aoife's murder. The past timeline is narrated from the pov of each of the friends while the present timeline is told through the pov of the Dani, Aoife's friend trying to understand exactly what happened to Aoife. As a reader you start making your own assumptions and potential conclusion, however, it is safe to say the plot twist is one that you would not imagine.
With 4 stars, The Villa by Jess Ryder is a psychological thriller/ myster story that I would recommend to any lover of the genre.

I was really excited to read this book as the premise was super intriguing and super up my street.
However this book didn't live up to the excitement.
It took forever to get started, and then when it did finally get going, I just wasn't invested. It was very similar to other books I have read. It's not one that will stay with me and not different enough from other books I have read within the genre.
Disappointing.

A hen party goes terribly wrong in Marbella and the bride to be ends up dead.
Three years later and Dani is still coming to terms with the death of her best friend. She’s invited the hens back to Marbella, officially to pay respects to Aoife, but really to walk through the steps of the fateful hen party so she can work out what happened that night.
The dynamics are strained when the old best friends, Tiff and Beth, the new best friend Dani, and a work colleague, Celine are all thrust into a house share in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Marbella. With the husband-to-be pulling strings behind the scenes the hen party ends in tragedy but can Dani figure it out or will she put herself in danger by reopening old wounds?
An interesting concept, I was keen to read and learn what happened to Aoife, but while I warmed to Dani (mostly) I found it hard to like any of the other characters.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I found this to be a reasonable read. We have the 3 years previous story unfolding which culminates in Aiofe the bride to be dying in a Marbella villa. And we have the current day story where her remaining hens visit to work out what happened. I like the set up of the story which reveals bits little by little and thought the ending was good.

Three years ago, bride-to-be Aoife died at her own hen party. Now the hens have returned to the villa where that terrible weekend unfolded. Everyone has a different version of what happened that night. Who is keeping secrets? And how far will they go to keep them hidden?

This was an engaging thriller told from the perspectives of the hens. There is a dual timeline - the present (where the hens return to the secluded villa 3 years after Aoife’s death) and the past (the hen do). The past is presented as flashbacks which link in with the present story, revealing secrets bit by bit.

None of the characters are particularly likeable, but that leaves the story open and you’re wondering whether any of them could have played a part in what happened to Aoife. There’s twists, lies and betrayal, making this an exciting and tense read. This is a great summer book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. The suspense was there from the first pages. I could feel the tension, fear and trepidation of all the characters. The duel timeline was great to get a bit of backstory.

I would highly recommend this book if you are looking for a thrilling mystery. Everyone had a secret to hide. Would I recommend taking this book on holiday? Nope! Keep it for home with the door locked!!

Excellent holiday read
Three years on from the death of the bride-to-be at her hen party the hens return.
A brilliant twisty turny tale with a cast of characters that you'll find hard to like.
Moving between the hen weekend and the current time we learn what really happened
Who killed Aofie and why? The answer will surprise you.

Three years ago, five women arrived in Marbella for a hen party.

Only four returned to the UK.
Dani has no recollection what happened as she partied hard that weekend, and she insisted on booze coming her way.

Aoife, the bride-to-be, was Dani’s best friend, and she tragically died at her own hen party.

Dani manages to persuade the other three women, who attended that fateful weekend, to return to Marbella to piece it all together.

What really happened in Marbella?

This was such a tense read! It definitely portrayed a much darker and sinister side to this hen/stag party destination in Spain.

Everyone had something to hide, including the bride-to-be. I must admit she wasn’t a likeable character at all, but then saying that, you couldn’t really warm up to any of the characters at all.

Dani and Aoife were drinking hard, Tiff was shouting at everyone, Beth followed Tiff like a puppy, and Celine just kept to herself and observed.

I liked the dual timeline, especially the references to the past, as I was desperate to find out what happened and why the women didn’t want to talk about that weekend.

Overall, it’s a tense read, a perfect book to take with you on holiday (maybe not in Marbella 😉).

Thanks to Penguin for approving my NetGalley request to read and review this title.

Enjoyable book, one to read by the pool. Not entirely sure you would go back to where the tragedy happened and you lost a friend. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

Three years ago a wild and raucous hen weekend ends in tragedy when bride to be Aoife is killed. Dani is still unable to recollect the events leading up to her best friends death. So three years on she gathers the hens to stay in the secluded villa again, seeking closure and hoping for her memories to return.

The Villa by Jess Ryder is a pacey thriller that makes the perfect summer read. I loved the sunny Spanish setting which contrasted perfectly with the chilly and foreboding atmosphere inside the villa.

The story is told from the POV of the four hens, with past and present timelines. I loved the characters, they are flawed and mostly unlikeable but that made for a compelling read, full of lies, jealousy and betrayal. There were some interesting twists and the ending was certainly unexpected.

Thank you to Random House UK and Cornerstone for providing me with a digital copy to read and review

The premise of this book was great. However for me, it just didn’t live up to it. Firstly, I could not warm to any of the characters. Secondly I found the book overly slow and way too long. I was waiting for the suspenseful build up with a great twist but for me, it never came. I would rate this book 2.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and the author for the chance to review.

A thrilling summer read with a questionable or unlikeable main character. Every thriller needs a villan right? It's one of those reads by the pool thats so easy to pick up. I'm excited to see what new novels will be published by this author. Hopefully they're summer thrillers in future, this was good.

Thank you to the team for an ARC review.

This was a well written book, bit atmospheric and and I read this in the time I watched a sporting blitz.
However it isn’t anything new, a book again, about a group of friends going away and one not returning.

A great story cleverly revealed by different points of view and then and now timelines. 5 women go on a Spanish hen weekend but only 4 return. Three years later the remaining four revisit Spain and try to unravel what and why the tragic event occurred. This is a page turning, just one more chapter book that will have you up late into the night.