Enjoyed this book. It was a bit of a slow burn but soon got very pacy.
I thought the ending was very well written.

I thoroughly enjoyed this - a fun thriller beach read with good pacing and interesting plot twists. I particularly enjoyed the ending.

Bride-to-be Aoife is murdered on her hen weekend in an isolated villa in Marbella. A few years later, to mark the anniversary of her death, her best friend, Dani, persuades the other 'hens' to go back to the villa. She'd blacked out when the murder took place and she is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and find closure.
The multiple viewpoints and timelines make for an interesting, multi-layered read but, for me, gave the novel a disjointed feel, lacking in flow. I didn't like any of the characters - they all seemed self-absorbed and shallow - but I did want to know who had killed Aoife and why.
The first half was slower than the second half, when all sorts of motives were thrown up, confusing the reader into identifying the killer. I didn't see the ending coming but when it came, the big reveal felt a bit of an anti-climax, with lots of information dumping.
The Villa is an easy, read, ideal for the beach or a plane/train journey.
As an aside, I have nieces with Irish names but I had to look up the pronunciation of Aoife and keep repeating it aloud when her name came up in the text. That's my problem, not the author's, but a difficult-to-pronounce name for a major character doesn't make for the easiest of reading, sorry!
Thanks to NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book.

This book started off quite slowly but it soon picked up about halfway through.

It was a good read, but some of it felt slightly disjointed for me and didn't flow as well as I would have liked.

Dani and three friends return to the Marbella at the same villa that they spent a hen weekend three years previously where the bride Aoife died. She hasn’t told them that it is the same Villa to Tiff, Celine, and Beth to celebrate the anniversary or they wouldn’t have come. Dani has a vague recollection of that time, as she had passed out after too many drinks. She hasn’t moved on and she wants to find out what happened, so she can put it all behind her and start her life again.
But the 4 remaining friends are not close and when they find out where they are staying, they want to book the first flight home. But without Wi-Fi they can’t do that, and they try and make the best of it. But it is not all plain sailing.
This story which is a slow burn of a story is set in two timelines and different to what I was expecting. The incidents that happened that fateful day and present are slowly revealed and kept me turning the pages. But for me I didn’t find the characters very likeable in anyway. They were both bad as each other in a self-absorbed way. It is an intriguing story and my first book from the author I have read. After reading this it won’t be my last. 4 stars from me.

I devoured this book and found it completely unputdownable!

This cleverly written story is about five friends; Aoife, Dani, Beth, Tiff and Celine, who, three years ago, went on a hen weekend to Marbella where tragically Aoife lost her life.

Haunted by her disturbing memories of that fateful trip, Dani persuades the other hens to return to the villa where
it all happened. But is someone willing to do anything to keep the truth hidden?

The book is divided into 'then' and 'now' chapters, narrated by the different girls, which really helped re-create the past and slowly, ominously, lead up to the moment we discover what really happened. Each of the girl's personalities are expertly captured and the tension bubbles along, all the while revealing snippets of the past, underlying wounds and unresolved issues.

The atmosphere of the Spanish villa and the character of the area was brilliantly drawn, as was the interactions between the girls. I've been on several hen dos and the arguments, petty squabbles and alcohol fuled celebrations were only too familiar!

Highly recommended and the perfect chilling beach read this summer.

Thanks to author Jess Ryder, publishers Random House UK, Cornerstone and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Whilst initially quite formulaic, this is actually quite a compelling addition to the two time periods / domestic thriller oeuvre. A good beach read. Recommended

'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'.

I enjoyed the multiple POVs within this novel and the premise, however I think that the mystery was not deep enough and the ending was slightly rushed. However, if you're looking for a fast-paced thriller set in sunny Marbella, this is the book for you.

I have never read anything by Jess Ryder before but this book was fantastic and I was hooked from the first page.
It’s all about a group of girls who are on Aiofe’s hen do in Marbella in a luxury villa and the awful things that happen to them.
The book is fast paced and the Spanish setting was excellent and really added to the story.
I thought the characters were brilliant and all had great motives. I didn’t know who to trust and did not guess the ending at all.
Thanks to Netgalley, Jess Ryder and Random House UK, Cornerstone in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

While there was a lot I liked about this, such as the Villa setting and descriptions., I found it hard to believe a group of friends would return to a place where such tragedy had occurred. The story flowed well enough and it was a fairly easy read overall.

A psychological thriller. The plot is set in two different time periods in Marbella in Spain. One is Aofie's hen weekend, the other 3 years later when her friends return to Marbella to commemorate her death . The book is written from different viewpoints, but mostly the narrator in Dani, she shared a room with Aofie and desparately wants to remember what actually happened in the weekend away.
I liked the writing in this one, it was realistic and the tension built up in both time periods gradually. Lots of leads about what happened and a couple of twists in the plot along the way. The author captures the atmosphere of a girls' weekend away well and you get to know the women well, experiencing the different friendships and spats along the way. There are doubts about the location and the group dynamics from early on in the book and the location is well described . One slight niggle is perhaps an overkill of "Hen activities" but I suppose there are groups who do these and end up spending a lot of money . One of the group does suggest that she could have had a week in Greece for less !
The length of the book is about right, a build up of suspense without dragging on too much . Enough information to allow you to try and solve what had happened.
A good read, thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I received an ebook ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so fast-paced and easy to read, I flew through it in about two days. I loved the villa setting and I really enjoyed the context of the hen do and seeing all of the different dynamics and backstories between the women. Maybe it's just the stage I'm at in my life now where my friends are getting engaged and planning hen dos but I really related to the complex dynamics between hens. The lifelong best friend, the fun uni friend, the husband's co-worker's wife who no one really knows, I could relate to all of them. I really liked seeing all of these relationships and hearing the women's feelings on each other from their povs. It was reminding me a bit of 'Everything I Know About Love' by Dolly Alderton in the way it touched on how female friendships grow, change and may ultimately end as we grow older.

I will say though the mystery overall is a bit forgettable and that's why I've given it a 3*. The character development really isn't great, even for a thriller; I really didn't understand characters' motivations for certain things other than to move the plot forward and to create drama and outside of the main five women the other characters felt completely one-dimensional and devoid of any individuality. Also, while I thought the reveal of who killed Aoife was well-done, the execution felt a bit rushed and there was a lot of information dumping at the end with little space to really explore what it all meant.

Overall a good, fun, easy reading thiller in the vein of Lucy Foley or Lucy Clarke. This would be the perfect book to pick up at the airport, binge by the pool on holiday, and then probably leave behind in the hotel and never think about again.

1 bride, 4 hens, a villa in Marbs but not everyone leaves alive!
A bit of a slow burner for me but the flashbacks made it interesting and kept me wanting to turn those pages and see what happened! None of the characters were particularly likeable but they were all very relatable in their flaws. Nice descriptive writing of the surroundings, didn’t guess the ending which is a bonus!
3 stars from me 😊

Interesting storyline keeps you guessing going from things in the past to the present. Good plot as to a girls hen weekend with the usual mischief a group of friends get up to. Good twist. Overall good read.

Jess Ryder perfectly sets the scene of her latest book. Three years previously, a group of friends had spent a hen party in a remote villa in Marbella, ending up with Aiofe (the bride) having died mysteriously. Several years later the women return to the scene hoping to understand what happened.

Parts of the book are set in the present, but also looking back at what happened in the past, written by various characters giving their own perspective. They are a diverse set of characters, each with their own secrets to explore, with several twists and turns as the story unfolds. Nathan, the prospective groom also seems controlling and aggressive, and I found it difficult to like or empathise with any of the characters. They all seemed flawed in different ways.

Although well written with beautiful descriptions of the area, with the story being told from so many points of view and different timeframes, it seemed difficult at times to keep up with the plot, which spoiled It a little for me.

Thanks Cornerstone Press for approving this read on NetGalley 😊

This was a bit of a slow burner at first but the storyline was so good that it was worth the wait for the twist! I personally didn’t find any of the characters likeable, Dani had her moments where she was okay but overall I would never have wanted any of them on my hen do including the bride herself!😂 enjoyed overall and would recommend for a quick ‘whodunnit’

Secrets Will Out..
Or will they? A former hen party makes a possibly ill fated return to the villa where a hen party turned deadly. Amidst the sun and the luxury of the villa, it soon becomes clear that every one of them has a very different recollection of that ill fated weekend away. With a deftly drawn cast of mostly unlikeable characters, a rising tide of tension and swiftly moving narrative this is a one sit, engaging and immersive read in a well imagined setting.

Bride to be Aoife celebrated her hen do in a remote villa in Marbella with four friends, Dani, Tiff, Beth. But, very soon one of the hens are dead. Dani cannot remember the circumstances leading up to the murder and desperately wants to get her memory back. She persuades the others to return to Marbella in the hope that her memory will return but things start to go badly wrong. Through a series of flashbacks told from the points of view of different characters' we learn about the rifts that developed over jealous rivalry and mutual antagonism causing tensions to rise leading up to the time of the murder. As Dani's memory starts to return, she finds herself in danger from an unknown source but, is the murderer a local or one of the hens themselves? I enjoyed the tension created in this story and found the conclusion satisfying as all the clues were there along with a number of red-herrings. Hardly any of the main characters are likeable and none of them are perfect but this adds to the sinister undertones. I would certainly like to read more by this author.

Very pleased to say that this turned out a little differently than I was expecting. Once you've read so many thrillers and mysteries, you sort of start to predict where a lot stories are going, but The Villa was hard to pin down.

I was a little unsettled trying to follow the timelines between three years ago and present day, but it was quite well done and easy to distinguish each character. The twists and turns got a little too intense and hard to keep everything straight in my head, but that's probably on me.

Although I think the psychological thriller genre is a bit oversaturated at the moment, I think The Villa has enough strength to stand tall in the crowd.

Great summer read. I can see this book on the top shelf in the airport waiting to be snapped up, as it’s the perfect escapism beach read. Cleverly written with various points of view, which I found easy to follow as all the girls were so different, and two timelines featuring the same characters. The book is well paced and finishes with everything being revealed, which I didn’t guess! Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the advance review copy.