Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and author Simon McCleave for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

Simon McCleave’s descriptions of this villa in a beautiful area of Tuscany will have everyone who reads this book wanting to find it and visit. It’s an extraordinary setting for a murder mystery.

Cerys owns a lovely home in Tuscany. She lives in an annex to the home and rents out the major part of it as a bed & breakfast. Her daughter, Lowri, is currently visiting. Cerys is divorced and an alcoholic in denial. Zoe, Harry, and their son Charlie arrive on a much-needed vacation from London. Cerys and Zoe bond, as do Charlie and Lowry a bit. Lowry is an aspiring musician and Harry happens to be the A&R man for a record company.

What could have been an enjoyable time for everyone takes a dark turn when Harry is found floating in the infinity pool one morning. The Italian police swoop in to investigate. What at first seemed to be a terrible accident was actually a murder and everyone seems to be a suspect.

I have to say this was a mystery that didn’t keep me guessing. I was sure I knew who did it – and I was completely wrong. The path to the identity of the murderer is fraught with secrets. Everyone seems to have a reason to have wanted Harry dead. Both women were abused by their husbands and stayed with them despite it until Cerys had enough and left, taking possession of the villa. Zoe knows some of her husband’s faults, including infidelity and abuse, and stays with him. Lowry knows her father’s overbearing and possessive nature and has come to stay with her mother to get away from all of that, yet he still is trying to keep tabs on her from London. When he shows up in Italy after the murder, his behavior also makes him a suspect. Charlie has been distancing himself from his father. He knows what Harry is like and doesn’t particularly like his father.

Finally, there are the two caretakers. The villa was built by Lucia’s father (who named it after her) and she has some resentment of another family living there. Her husband, Lorenzo, has a questionable background. They are afraid of his past coming back to haunt them.

This was a great thriller to read. The setting was so stunning and described very well. It was easy to picture everything that was happening. The characters are all caught up in toxicity that they can’t seem to shake. The police investigator was thorough but sympathetic. He has evidence that Harry was not a nice guy, but that still doesn’t excuse a murder.

I also loved the relationships formed out of this. Seeing Cerys and Zoe grow close to each other seemed like a natural thing. The reader knows they have common experiences, but the women do not for quite a while. Still, there’s something in them that draws them to each other. It also seemed obvious that something was going to happen between Charlie and Lowry, but the situation also gave them both the possibility of growing closer or falling apart. The setting and characters were so well-crafted and authentic.

If you like thriller mysteries in a beautiful setting, I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy Last Night at Villa Lucia. It’s also a great summer read. I found myself immersed in the setting so much that I’d like to go back to Tuscany.