Repressed memories are the key to this story about friends reuniting 3 years on at the house where the then bride to be was murdered. They are brought back by one of her besties who is desperate to know what actually happened on that fateful night whilst others are still trying to forget. The story twists and turns as much as the roads up to the villa and just when you think you have an idea of who it was, you are led down another alley - both literally and figuratively !! The mind is certainly a complex thing and I am not sure that I could have returned to such a place even to get to the truth. Good solid story and a very enjoyable read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

Three years ago, Aoife and her hens - lifelong friend Tiff, school friend Beth, uni friend Dani, and work friend Celine, set off to Marbella for her hen do. A weekend of guaranteed sun and debauchery. No one expected it to end in murder. On their last night in the villa, Aoife was murdered.

Three years on, and Dani wants answers. After too much alcohol, she had blacked out during the time of Aoife’s demise, and is desperate to fill in those blanks. She needs to relive that weekend to try and jog her memory. Dani manages to persuade the other hens to revisit Marbella with her on the third anniversary of Aoife’s death, albeit under false pretences. The other women aren’t happy that Dani has lured them back to the villa, the place where the worst night of their lives occurred. There’s massive tension between the group, a group that aren’t really even friends now that their missing link in Aoife has gone. It’s a fraught few days with Dani trying to retrace their steps, and the other women desperate to forget it and just get back home. We learn just what went on during that fateful weekend, and how much danger the women are putting themselves in by daring to venture back there.

A tense, eerie atmosphere was present all the way through this book. You could cut the tension between the women with a knife, it was that palpable, both during the hen party and now. There were very clear divides between the women, with loyalties constantly being tested. Aoife was a very difficult character and I would imagine she would be very hard to be friends with! The remote setting only added to the sense of unease that the author created throughout the book, with it finally coming to a head in the last few pages. Very much edge of your seat reading! Some red herrings thrown in but I did manage to guess part of the ending, as I kind of saw it coming with what a certain character was experiencing.

A great destination thriller to sink your teeth into, maybe not if you’re currently on holiday in a villa though, it might creep you out 😅

I liked the format of this book. The story developed well with the original hen party weekend revealed in flashbacks alongside the progression of the revisit to the villa. It was clear and not at all confusing like some books dealing with dual timelines can be.
The characters were well portrayed and there were plenty of details to set the scene but not so many to bore the reader.
Overall a good read with plenty of pace and twists.

I found it really hard to settle into this story, it felt quite long winded at the start but eventually it started to get interesting. The story is told form two different time frames and the jump between the two took some getting used too.

Aoife died at her own Jen party, a horrific event that changed the lives of her friends. Unable to find a way to move forward from what happened to Aoife, Dani comes up with an idea to try and remember everything that happened that night. She tricks the rest of the hen party to go back to the villa where it all happened much to the dismay of Tiff.

The flashbacks between then and now help to build the context for the story and allows the ending to unravel in a really clever way.

Triggers: violence,sexual abuse, substance use

Three years after of the death of bride-to-be Aoife at her hen party, Dani brings the unwitting bridesmaids back to the same villa to try to make sense of what happened and put an end to the nightmarish flashbacks she’s experiencing. But will the truth come out, and will this reenactment push the killer too far?
I loved everything about this book. The characters could have jumped off the page and the author captured the oppressive atmosphere, both of the heat of the country and the situation perfectly. The story unfolds neatly but not too neatly and new characters/potential suspects are introduced smoothly rather than just thrown in as subplots. I don’t want to spoil the ending so won’t delve into the plot any more than that. Highly recommended read.

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.

They long for closure. But the moment they step back inside, old wounds open and tensions begin to rise.

Everyone has a different version of what happened that night.

Someone is keeping secrets.

How far will they go to keep them hidden?


What. A. Book. This is the perfect summer thriller read. I am a sucker for a good ol' whodunit, and this one did not disappoint!

The Villa was twisty and fast paced. I loved the dual timelines (then and now), and how it was told from multiple POV's. I thought it'd be difficult to keep track of what was going on but I was truly mistaken.

The characters were shady and should have been unlikeable but actually they were so relatable... we've all had a friend who drinks too much and throws themselves at men, right?

I have to admit, I saw aspects of the ending coming but it was so much worse than I had thought! It still managed to shock me.

I ended up rating this one 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Three years ago Aoife died at her own hen party. Now, Dani and the other hens are back at the same villa for closure and Dani is determined to remember everything about that night.

This was a fabulous summer read. I was hooked from the beginning. The story was told from multiple POV and dual timelines (as Dani remembered) that helped to weave an enjoyable story. I loved how different all the characters were, the bitchiness between them as well as the tension that sometimes ensued and how Dani didn’t let it get to her. None of them are particularly likeable and I thought Aoife’s behaviour was horrendous. There were a lot of secrets revealed throughout the book and a lot of deception that made for an absolutely delicious read.
I am so glad that I was surrounded by hens I liked (and trusted).
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book which has now been released.

A great psychological thriller set in a lovely Spanish location. Three years ago, on a hen weekend, the bride to be is killed. Her friend Dani cannot remember what happened and wants to recreate the weekend to jog her memory. She arranges for her and the other three hens to go back to the same villa without telling them until they get there. What follows is a gripping story that you can’t stop reading!

Three years ago Aoife was murdered at her hen party in an isolated villa in Marbella. Three of the four friends with her have moved on with their lives but Dani has been unable to. She has big gaps in her memory, (not surprising the amount of alcohol consumed!) Before she can move on she feels she has to find answers & to do that she feels they need to recreate the weekend. She persuades the other 'hens' that this trip will be a final memorial to Aoife. Reluctantly they agree.

Told in the present & back to the original weekend by each of the women the story doesn't show any of them in a particularly good light. I like a drink as much as the next person but this story was enough to make you reach for the alcohol free booze! The story kept me guessing. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

'"What could be worse than your best friend being murdered?" He gives her a long pitying look. "Believe me, you don't want to find out."'

In a gorgeous villa on the Spanish coast, Aoife is celebrating her hen party ahead of her wedding, with her best friends in tow. But before the debaucherous weekend is over, the bride-to-be will have been murdered. Police suspect she confronted an intruder during a party, but no one saw a thing. Her best friend, Dani, who was in the house with her, passed out and remembers nothing.

Three years later, Dani has convinced the other hens to return to Spain to honour Aoife. What she doesn't tell them is that she's booked them back into the villa. Because Dani is determined to recreate the weekend so that she can finally remember what happened, and get justice for her friend. But almost as soon as the group arrives, things go awry and they find themselves in danger.

This is an entertaining thriller with a solid mystery at its heart. The reader is given the viewpoints of Dani and the three other hens, Celine, Beth and Tiffany in dual timelines, during the original hen weekend and the present one. Slowly, it's revealed that all the hens have secrets from each other. Petty jealousies reveal themselves while friendships fracture.

This is a typical popcorn thriller that you can gobble up in one sitting quite easily. There was enough intrigue to keep me reading and the author does a good job of building the tension to a climax. I feel like the reveal wasn't very shocking and there isn't really a twist. Though I wasn't sure which of the suspects killed Aoife, I also didn't exactly feel myself gasp when it was revealed. A fun but ultimately forgettable read.

Set in two time zones, 3 years apart, we find ourselves a story about a group of ladies out in Marbella. Three years ago they were there as 5 for the hen weekend for Aoife. An odd collection of ladies, the two lifelong friends, the new best friend who’s a party girl that no one likes and the work colleague who didn’t want to go, all put together in one villa, what can possibly go wrong… The death of the bride to be was certainly the last thing they ever imagined.
Moving on 3 years and the 4 hens return to Villa Floriana for a memorial celebration to Aoife, Dani wants to relive the weekend in the hope of shaking some memories loose as the tragic night is a blank to her and all she wants is the truth.

I found this book to be well written, seamlessly moving between then and now. The characters were developed well and I felt like we knew most of them inside out by the end. With many twists to the story I was gripped, constantly wanting to know what was going to happen next. It was a great chick flick style whodunnit.

I would recommend The Villa to anyone wanting an easy summer holiday read.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.

First time reading #JessRyder and #TheVilla didn’t disappoint. I loved it! I couldn’t put it down.
Three years ago bride to be Aoife dies at her hen party in Marbella.
Now the hens, Dani, Tiff, Beth and Celine return to the villa where everything happened. Some want closure, others don’t want to be there and secrets are being kept….
The story is told through multiple POV’s and alternating timelines from then and now. It’s easy to follow. Set in a beautiful Spanish villa and surrounding area. It’s cleverly written, fast paced and lots of twists and red herrings. A story full of lies, deception, betrayal and secrets with lots of drama. The writing style is gripping and detailed. Keeps you turning the pages and guessing until the end, which you don’t see coming. Just brilliant.
The characters have strong personalities, each with their own secrets. They are not particularly likeable, with jealously, envy, selfishness and hurt leading to clashes and spats among them but this just makes them more real and relatable and adds to the tension.
Overall, a gripping entertaining psychological mystery thriller. Definitely recommend if you enjoy this gene.
I look forward to reading more from this author.
With thanks to #NetGallery #RandomHouseUK #Cornerstone for an arc of #TheVilla in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 18 July 2024.

I rated this one 4⭐️. It’s a brilliant thriller with well placed red herrings and shocking twists and turns that leave you on the edge of your seat.

First of all, I love that this story is told from multiple perspectives. We get to see the events of the weekend through different perspectives, get to be privy to secrets that the other characters don’t yet know, and we get to know and understand the characters better. I really like that everyone’s perspective was in first person, other than Dani’s, whose was told from third person. As the character who couldn’t recall much of the events of the dreaded weekend, it really feels like we are walking alongside her as she watches her memories come back to life before her.

I like that the chapters alternate between then and now. Instead of just being in the present day and being told what happened all those years ago, we get to go back in time and see events unravel in real time.

I did semi-predict the ending - but that doesn’t mean it’s a predictable story, I just think some motives stood out more to me. How the ending played out did catch me off guard though, it was very well thought out. We definitely get thrown a few curve balls to throw us off the scent, and these are seamlessly threaded into the story to give us a few surprises and unexpected twists.

This is a perfect thriller/beach read. It definitely keeps you hooked and isn’t hard to follow, nothing is over complicated.

"The Villa" is the latest psychological thriller by Jess Ryder, whose work I have previously read and enjoyed. The writing style is gripping and absorbing; this new release does not disappoint.

Full of secrets, lies and deception, there is a lot to keep readers engaged in this storyline. The fast-paced narrative, set over a dual timeline and with multiple points of view, is a masterclass in suspense and drama. Ryder's masterful creativity is on full display, keeping readers on the edge of their seats.

It's a little predictable in places, yet it's still a great read for fans of this author and genre. It would also make a great summer read!

I really wanted to love this book - I normally enjoy thrillers in holiday locations and there is no doubt that this is an entertaining read, but it was just missing that spark for me.

I think the main issue I had is the lack of connection between Aiofe’s hen group of friends. We have her childhood friends Tiff and Beth, her friend from university, Dani, and a friend she has met recently at a yoga class, Celine. While I understand that they all come from different times and places in Aiofe’s life, the vibes between them are just prickly and awkward and at times made for unenjoyable reading.

Three years after Aiofe’s death, the other hens reunite in the same villa in Marbella to honour her memory, and it makes sense that the atmosphere between them would be uncomfortable at that time, but even the initial hen party sounded dire! None of these girls are people I would like to be friends with 😆

With the alternating timeline between past and present, details surrounding Aiofe’s death come to light and it was definitely an interesting revelation and not something I predicted beforehand. This story had all the makings for a decent thriller, and it was in some places, but I think the characters were what let it down a little for me.

Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone & Netgalley for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This reminded me of a 3 part ITV drama, and I could see it being made into one!

I love books where chapters are done by different characters and there's multiple timelines, so this really delivered.

It was full of twists and although it dragged a little in the middle I was invested enough to keep going.

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