Ordering this one was a no brainer. I’ve always loved Rachel Hawkins’ books (she has such a great range and I especially love her thrillers!) AND it was the Bad on Paper pick and Becca (my friend/BoP co-host) told me she thought I would really love it, alluding to a narcissistic self-help influencer type. She was right – I loved it! It was the perfect treat book and a great way to start 2022 given that the last two books I’d read were of a more serious nature. This surrounds two best friends/frienemies. There is Chess (formerly Jessica), the influencer/self-help guru, for whom everything always seems to go right. And then there is Emily, a writer who is going through a horrible divorce after struggling with chronic illness, struggling to write her next book. When Chess offers to take Emily to Italy for six weeks (where they’ll both get some writing done), Emily accepts. The only thing is that the villa has a bit of a sordid past. A horrible murder took place back in the seventies. Alternating between past and present, this one was super fun. You have beautiful Italy, frienemy drama, the sex/drug/rock’n’roll of the seventies, and a mystery. I loved it and couldn’t put it down. The ending didn’t quite do it for me which is why it gets an A- and not an A!
Author: Rachel Hawkins