not for me I'm afraid 😕

I just couldn't get into it. I tried 3 times, but I didn't like the storyline, the characters, the narrator etc. Sorry, I really dislike writing negative reviews because someone has poured their heart and soul into writing and publishing this book. Definitely not for me xoxo

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Family drama about illness and kids not a thriller

After devouring the beyond excellent "Hot Water" by Christopher Fowler, I was looking forward to a another vicarious holiday in the sunny South of France with mystery, menace and tricky twists and turns to intrigue, excite and delight. In other words ...a destination thriller.

However although "The Villa" is listed and promoted as a "thriller" I found it very far from that.

There are books in which there are families and then there books where it seems to be all about the business of being a family, parents mithering over children, loads of details of everyday school pick ups, packed lunches and general grind of parenting which are the meat of the book rather than part of a plot. "The Villa" seems to lean firmly towards the latter with much immersion in the day to day dynamics of a multi generational family and I got so bored with family drama I never got to see even the hint of the promised thriller.

Full disclosure, I put it on, liked the narration, endured the pre holiday description of a tea-obsessed character who turned down the offer of a seemingly fabulous trip to Costa Rica and bitter post divorce mum and daughters moving into a grim house they think is not good enough for them and are depressed about.

Then there was a depressing blow by blow account of what it is like to go to an airport with three children, a sister and a mum. It is so long since I have been in an airport but I did not need a refresher course on how stressful and unpleasant it can be especially as by this time there was family fighting .............. YAWN.

Yes you guessed it ... I fell asleep . Then when I woke up it was all about someone breaking the news that they have cancer.

That is enough for me so I am returning this audiobook asap
There is enough real illness and sadness in the world without reading about made up grinding awfulness.

I was looking for a bit of escapism, skulduggery in the sun and this is more depressing and hard work than my own life in the rain and bitter cold. I am sure some people love domestic drama and hearing about families dealing with illness but perhaps it might have been better not to call the book a thriller or set it in a potentially glamorous location as this has just been such a disappointment for a whodunnit fan looking for something to cheer them up.

This sadly is the third in a run of disappointing books "The Curfew" by TM Logan (more how to raise a teenager than thriller) and "The Club" by Ellery Lloyd which while it does have murder, glamorous celebs and luxurious location, took a turn for the cartoonishly far-fetched fairly early on.

Oh dear ... for those people who love thrillers and the idea of immersing yourself in a luxurious villa in the South of France wheer tension crackles and the plot roils and boils like a cauldron of vipers then I suggest you give "The Villa" a miss and immediately grab the fabulous "Hot Water" by Christopher Fowler, which I so wish I was still reading or at least could find one even half as good.

Audible - could you please have a think about re-categorising this book as, although I gave up quite early on, it really seems devoid of any thrills at all and certainly no suspense or mystery I could detect.

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6 people found this helpful

Thoroughly enjoyed this! Karen Cass was OUTSTANDING as always 👏🏽💯

The title and picture of this book drew me in straight away, and then to see my favourite narrator Karen Cass reading it was the reason i went ahead and got this book😊 it’s definitely not a thriller which it was under that category, but i loved every second of it and couldn’t stop listening! Nearly done it in 1 day! Karen was utterly utterly absolutely OUTSTANDING, as she always is👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 and the story was so good! Thank you Clare Boyd for a brilliant story! I’m gutted it’s finished 😩😊thank you Karen Cass, you have an AMAZING talent, you made this book what it was for sure!🥰👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 thank you audible for another BRILLIANT book!!! 10/10 from me. Also, the negative reviews are not justified…. It’s FICTION and you don’t have to like ALL the character’s in a story 🙄. I absolutely loved it and yes maybe some character’s done things that weren't nice but again…. It’s fiction and there should be a baddy to add some excitement to a story! There’s also a nicer way of saying negative reviews too. Which really annoys me because it must really upset the author who has spent SOOOO long on writing a novel and then to have negative reviews said not so nicely, it must be really upsetting ☹️ They can’t please us all, which i don’t leave a review if i don’t enjoy a book, it’s my taste and not the book and someone else will think it’s brilliant, so i would rather say nothing if it’s not to my taste. Same with narrator’s, they have a REALLY hard job and i couldn’t imagine even managing 1 sentence!! So I ALWAYS like to praise them when they have done well, it’s definitely not an easy job!!! Just no need to be mean i think☹️ Well i LOVED this story and im actually REALLY REALLY fussy!!!🤔 so well done clare, I THOROUGHLY enjoyed your book💯💯💯💯💯🤗👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽♥️♥️♥️xxxx

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No Excitement

I spent the whole time waiting for something good to happen. It seemed as though it was building up to something but I was disappointed

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The worst listen ever

I can honestly say I hated this book. The story is horrible and is definitely not a thriller.
I didn’t like any of the characters especially the grandmother. The grandmother’s crime is unforgivable.

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