Strangers in the Villa

Overall, I enjoyed this book. They hinted and kept you in the dark with a lot of the secrets, so it kept me enticed ot keep reading.

I think the editor and author need to do a better job though. There was a conversation that happens in the hardcover on page 182 and again on 222, not the same words but the same gist. I was like, wait, I thought I already read this! Super weird. It probably happens more often than I realize but this one really stood out to me.

Sydney Lowe's life in New York falls apart when her husband Curtis confesses to an affair with a client. He's desperate to prove his remorse and win her back, so he suggests something dramatic — the couple has just purchased a rundown villa on Spain's Costa Brava, high above the show more Mediterranean. They'll move there, gut-renovate it, start a vineyard, rebuild themselves. Sydney agrees, partly because she has nowhere else to go — her mother just died, and she's adrift. The Spanish sunshine and hard physical work feel like exactly what they need. Then one evening a young Australian couple shows up at the gate — Bianca and Damian, their van broken down, stranded and in need of help. Sydney, starved of company and charmed by Bianca's easy warmth, invites them to stay. Damian offers to help Curtis with the renovation; Bianca becomes the friend Sydney didn't know she needed. It seems like a lucky coincidence. It is not.
Told in alternating perspectives across all four characters, the novel slowly reveals that Curtis has been making furtive calls on a burner phone and disappearing at odd hours, growing increasingly paranoid about the Aussies' true intentions. Strange things begin appearing on the property — cigarette butts, gloves, a machete — as if someone has been watching. And Bianca and Damian are hiding something, though Harding takes her time revealing exactly what, and how it connects to Curtis's buried secret.

[May contain spoilers]
Curtis's secret is far darker than a simple affair — it's connected to Bianca and Damian's past in ways nobody sees coming, involving pedophilia, trafficking, and a child death that Curtis is responsible for. The Australians didn't stumble upon the villa by accident — they sought it out deliberately. The ending delivers what's described as a ripped-from-the-headlines final twist and a deeply satisfying sense of justice for each character, though the content warnings are significant. The Spanish isolation and language barrier tighten the noose around everyone as the truth surfaces.
What I think: This is Harding at her sun-drenched, morally murky best — four characters nobody fully trusts, a gorgeous atmosphere that turns claustrophobic, and a twist so dark it recalibrates everything. The slow build pays off hard in the back half. show less

Strangers in the Villa by Robyn Harding is a highly recommended psychological thriller focusing on a couple who are trying to rebuild trust in their relationship when they befriend a couple of tourists.

Curtis, Sydney Lowe’s husband, has admitted to having an affair which sends them to couples counseling. The two decide to leave NYC and move to Spain to repair their marriage while while also renovating a remote hilltop villa in Spain’s Costa Brava. One day they have a young Australian couple, Bianca and Damian, show up at their door with car problems. Sydney, craving companionship, invites them inside and eventually encourages them to stay, saying they could help them work on the villa. Curtis isn't as thrilled with her decision. show more Soon it becomes clear that everyone has secrets and the Aussie's have their own agenda.

After I the jumped the enormous hurdle of setting aside disbelief and accepted that anyone would be foolish and naive enough to invite strangers to stay in their home, and this took great effort, the novel quickly became tension packed and compelling. Everyone has some secret agenda going and clearly there is more to everyone's story than they are admitting. The setting serves to isolates all the characters while slowly releasing clues to increase the trepidation that something is very wrong and there are many secrets left unspoken.

The well-written, fast-paced narrative follows the point-of-view of the various characters and also includes notes from the marriage counselor the Lowe's were seeing before they moved. Some of the secrets are slowly revealed, but they are not always what it is assumed. Sydney is obsessed with the woman Curtis said he was with for only one night. Curtis has a bigger concealed problem. Damien and Bianca have even more hidden objectives. Once everything begins to come out, the novel becomes un-put-downable.

Strangers in the Villa is a good choice for those who enjoy destination psychological thrillers and can set disbelief aside. Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2026/02/strangers-in-villa.html show less

This was a good thriller with some surprising twists. But Curtis and Sydney were just so annoying. Sydney was just too defeated and down and Curtis was so unlikable. But the story itself was decent and held my attention. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.