Jess Ryder’s The Villa is a compelling dual-timeline thriller set in a Spanish villa, where a bride’s murder at her hen do unfolds across past and present. The returning hens bring secrets, tension, and fractured friendships back into the spotlight, making for an atmospheric and page-turning story.
Ryder excels at crafting prickly character dynamics—jealousy, mistrust, and camaraderie clash in beautifully messy ways, keeping readers hooked through to a satisfying twist ending .
Perfect for summer reading, this fast-paced, psychological thriller grips from the start and doesn’t let go .

This was an interesting book - I suspected every character at least once and I loved the journey of uncovering the story, how it progressed to the final reveal and the depth of each of the characters.

Because of the use of characters it did feel it started to go in circles for a while however once events started to unlock it all came together and made sense.

Overall, pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the outcome as ir was not one I expected.

I absolutely devoured this over a couple of days, it's a really good thriller with a hefty dollop of suspense thrown in!

Aoife's hen party in Marbella was three years ago and it didn't end well as she ended up dead - but how? What happened?

The other hens have kept in touch over the years and the world has kept turning, well it seems to have for everyone else but not Dani. She is tortured by her memory blanks and what happened that last night, unable to go back and also unable to move forward.

They remaining hens agree to meetup and go back to Marbella for the third anniversary, but there are alternative motives and things still hidden in dark corners that someone doesn't want brought out into the light.

The story alternates between the present day and the original hen party trip, and also different POVs. Nobody is completely innocent, everyone has their secrets and reasons for being there and as the cracks start to show lots of truths start to unravel.

This was a brilliant fast-paced cleverly written read with lots of twists I did not see coming. Would be a great holiday read on the beach or by the pool - maybe not one for a hen do abroad though

Devoured this (late review though!) - I read this in just over a day. It had me hooked on the edge of my seat. The characters are unlikeably likeable (the fact that they're unlikeable hooks you in - I don't know how Jess Ryder has done that but wow!). They all make some terrible choices. The fact that every character could be suspected throughout was great, even if I did predict it around the 75% mark.

A great read and it turns out that I'm in love with holiday/hen-do thrillers now!

I really enjoyed this thriller set in a villa in Marbella. Three years ago Aoife died at her own hen party, Dani gets the girls back together to mark her anniversary and to see if she can piece together what happened. The novel flicks from Now and Then and is told from various perspectives. I found it very intriguing and did not guess how it all pieced together. So many secrets and so many dangers . The atmosphere is tense but also captures the beauty of the Spanish villa and its surroundings. I will definitely read more of this author .

The Villa by Jess Ryder is a suspenseful psychological thriller that takes readers on a dark and twist-filled journey through a beautiful yet ominous villa in the Italian countryside. The novel weaves a captivating tale of secrets, betrayal, and buried truths, set against the backdrop of an idyllic yet mysterious location.

Ryder expertly creates a sense of unease and foreboding, with just the right amount of tension at every turn. The slow-building suspense keeps the readers engaged, and the plot twists are skillfully executed, keeping the book unpredictable until the very end.

The Villa delves into themes of friendship, loss, and the impact of secrets. It explores the complexity of human relationships, trust, and how people deal with grief and trauma. The story also touches on the psychological toll of guilt and the way the past can haunt the present.

Brilliant, it don’t read before going on a hen-do.
I loved this and was hooked.
Definitely recommend.

Fast paced thriller told from multiple POVs and timelines. The jump between timelines grows tension, creating a complicated and unsettling atmosphere. Very easy read.

If you're about to go on a hen do, maybe read this afterwards 😂.
During her own hen do in a remote, but beautiful villa in Spain, Aoife is brutally killed. Her best friend Dani is in the room while it happened but she has absolutely no memory of the incident. With nothing to go off, the case goes cold.
On the third anniversary of Aoife's death Dani convinces the other 3 hens to return to Spain. She wants to re-trace their steps in the hope of getting her memory back. The only issue is, she has neglected to tell the other 3 girls that they will be returning to the exact same villa.

This was a great whodunnit! Different POVs from all the hens and jumping backwards and forwards between then and now, all done seemlessly. No 'filler' characters, every single one had a part to play in the plot. So many twists and turns, I loved it.

Fans of Freida McFadden, Lisa Jewell and Steve Cavanagh, you will love this one.

This was a good holiday read. Plenty of twists and thoughtful moments. Good characters. I enjoyed the setting. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys Thrillers and suspense.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this.

A great summer beach read, where the opening isnt quite what they seem.
Aoifes hen do is a fabulous weekend in Marbella with a small group of friend. From the outset it is clear that something is very wrong as tension picks up and Aoife is killed.

The timeline fluctuates between past and present so as details come to the fore we come to understand the characters a little better.

We are definitely turned into a particular way of seeing events, which makes the ending a real twist for the readers.

A great easy read but left me wanting more.

This was an incredible and suspenseful thriller with endless twists and turns. I really loved the characters as well, all brought something exciting to the plot.

This was a lovely read and one I’ll be recommending to thriller reader friends! Great fun. Enjoyable characters.

A really good suspense thriller! I was hooked from the very beginning. Perfect for fans of Lucy Foley!

Loved this one! Such a great idea and kept me guessing throughout, kept being shocked by all the interesting twists and turns the plotline took, very well written.

The Villa is full of twists and turns. There's a dual timeline to this story which i really enjoyed.

The tension throughout the book was very high and the characters were well written. The pace was quite good since there were always something happening. It kept me guessing until the very end. I look forward to read more from Ryder.

The Villa by Jess Ryder is a tense and gripping psychological thriller that delves into the dark secrets of a tragic event. Three years after Aoife’s death at her hen party, the surviving guests return to the villa where it all happened, seeking closure. But as old wounds resurface, the group’s varying versions of the night’s events and the secrets they’ve been hiding threaten to unravel everything. With its well-paced suspense and shocking twists, The Villa is an engrossing read that keeps you guessing until the final page.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Aoife is getting married and goes on her hen do in Marbella. While on her hen do, she unfortunately dies in an accident. But one of her hens, Dani, is sure there is more to it than what she has been told. 3 years after Aoife's passing, she encourages the other hens to return to Marbella to relive the weekend and finally get to the bottom of what actually happened.

This was a really good read. I was expecting a predictable plot, but it was full of twists and turns. We read the story in the two timelines, of the original hen weekend, and the present time as Dani relives everything. And we read from different characters perspectives. It was really good reading from different character perspectives, as we see how each of them are feeling in that present time, and uncovering secrets within the sub stories. The characters were well written, and the pace was good, there was something happening on every page. The author really ensured the tension was high, and that each character was dislikable to a degree, especially with how they treated each other within that friendship circle. A really great read.

I had read and enjoyed The Hike by Lucy Clarke earlier in the year, so the blurb for this one sounded very promising - again a group of friends with secrets to hide, coming together and uncovering what exactly happened to Aoife

I enjoy thrillers that are fast paced and told via multiple POV's which The Villa did. I also liked that it was told between dual timelines - before the wedding and after

Another big tick is that I didn't guess the protagonist correctly, which I often can do! So that gives it additional star power!

Wow!
I was hooked from the first page. I couldn’t put it down.
Dani is an unreliable narrator and you don’t know what to believe and what not to believe. There were twists and turns that took you in every direction and had you guessing each and every character at one point. The ending was wholesome for a thriller and left you feeling love for the friendship.
4.5*