Last Night at Villa Lucia by Simon McCleave

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 Last Night at Villa Lucia by Simon McCleave-psychological thriller

Zoe, her husband Harry and son Charlie have just arrived at Villa Lucia for a holiday, hoping that for once they can all get on with each other. Set in Tuscany, the villa is aimed at the wealthy and is surrounded by beautiful countryside. Cerys owns the villa and currently has her daughter Lowrie staying with her, on the proviso that Cerys doesn't drink, otherwise Nick her ex husband will be taking Lowrie back pronto. Harry has an explosive personality and Zoe suspects that he is having an affair. Nothing is ever right or good enough for him and as a director of a record company he appears to think everything should be done to please him and nothing less. Lucia and her husband Lorenzo are housekeepers, the villa previously having been owned by Lucia’s family. Lorenzo has a past and they are constantly on look out in case someone comes after them- we know not who or why to begin with. Occasional chapters take us back in time with varying ones of the main characters. When Harry's body is found in the pool, there are numerous suspects. Who has killed him and why?

This is a new author to me and one I will most certainly look out for in the future. The premise grabbed me from the start and didn't let go. Each of the main characters has something about them to put them in the frame one way or another and it's a very clever, well executed concept, almost a locked room one. Most of the story centres around Cerys, her drinking and why this came about from her past. A read where I was “ just another chapter” - to me a huge pointer to a great read. A stunning, brilliant read. Look forward to the next one from this author.

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LAST NIGHT AT VILLA LUCIA SIMON McCLEAVE Paperback | £8.99 eBook | £2.99 Available on Audible Coming 1 August 2024, from Storm Publishing
A body is floating face down in the middle of the infinity pool. For a second I think I’m imagining it. My head is throbbing as I pull my sunglasses down over my eyes. It’s not even 8 a.m. and the blazing Tuscan sunshine is already stifling. Flashes of last night play over in my mind. The spiteful words hurled across the table. The ruined meal. The endless glasses of crisp white wine. My daughter watching my every move. Tears choke my throat. This beautiful villa was the only good thing that came out of my painful divorce. I fix my eyes on the gently swaying cypress trees as I try to calm my breathing. A police siren pierces the tranquillity and I collapse onto a wicker chair. I must get my story straight fast. But one question plays over in my mind without an answer. What really happened last night?

SIMON McCLEAVE is a multimillion-selling crime novelist and award-winning screenwriter. His first book, The Snowdonia Killings, was a #1 Amazon Bestseller, and all his other novels have ranked in the Top 10 since then with many more hitting the top of the charts. The Snowdonia books are now set to be filmed as a major television series. Simon is originally from South London and now lives in North Wales with his wife and children. Read on to find out more about Simon and the personal experiences that inspired his new novel. ‘[A] dark, whodunnit, captivating in every way. It effortlessly weaves the perspectives of four generations of women, and lives pierced by addiction, toxic men, and the violence that ensues.’ - Abi Morgan, award-winning writer of Eric (Netflix), The Split (BBC), Iron Lady and Suffragette The First Standalone Thriller from the Multimillion Bestseller. Simon McCleave is the author of the bestselling Snowdonia, Anglesey and Ruth Hunter crime novels which have collectively sold over 2.5 million copies. He worked for more than two decades in the film and television industry, writing for many acclaimed and much-loved series including The Bill, Silent Witness, Midsomer Murders and Murder in Suburbia.
Last Night at Villa Lucia is Simon’s first standalone thriller and moves from the familiar settings in majestic North Wales of his Snowdonia and Anglesey series, to the breath-taking beauty of the Tuscan Hills, where two families are drawn into dark events that culminate in murder.
SIMON McCLEAVE – THE STATS  Over 2.5 million sales of Simon McCleave’s crime novels since 2020  Multiple Amazon #1 bestsellers  Every McCleave book has hit the Amazon top ten  The Dark Tide was Waterstones’ fastest ever selling Welsh Book of the Month  Wrote over forty episodes of the much-loved TV series The Bill  Aged only nineteen when his play Nine Bells for Bentley won a Guardian Drama Award
 Filming on the TV adaptation of the Snowdonia series begins in 2025  Produced the Oscar-nominated and Cannes prize-winning film The Short Walk

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