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The Villa cover art

The Villa

By: Ruth Kelly
Narrated by: Clare Corbett, Evie Hargreaves, Laura Aikman
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Summary

Death and mayhem erupt on an exclusive island as it plays host to a reality television show like no other . . . From bestselling author Ruth Kelly, The Villa is an electrifying summer listen, perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Catherine Cooper.

A Villa in Paradise

It’s destined to be the ultimate reality TV show. Ten contestants. A luxurious villa on a private island. Every moment streamed live to a global audience who have total control over those competing for the cash prize.

A Journalist Undercover

Reporter Laura is told to get the inside scoop on her fellow contestants. But once the games begin, she soon finds herself at the mercy of a ruthless producer willing to do anything to increase viewer numbers.

A Reality Show to Die For

There is more to every contestant than meets the eye, including Laura. They all have secrets they’d like to keep buried, and the pressure in paradise quickly reaches boiling point. How far will the contestants go to secure audience votes? And would somebody really kill to win?

©2023 Ruth Kelly (P)2023 Macmillan Publishers International Limited

Critic reviews

‘A deliciously addictive thriller that will hook you in like the best – and scariest – reality TV show you’ve ever seen’ (TM Logan, bestselling author of The Holiday and The Mother)
Set to be the hottest read of 2023, The Villa is a scorching, smouldering, turbo-charged cocktail of sun, sex and secrets. Ruth Kelly has redefined the airport thriller for our times. Fantastic! (Veronica Henry, the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Impulse Purchase)
A 'Love Island' type setting, an undercover journalist and a cast of characters who can't be trusted - what could possibly go wrong? A glamorous backdrop and some unexpected twists - great fun (Catherine Cooper, author of The Chalet)

What listeners say about The Villa

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A stark warning about the future

This book is a perfect example of how reality TV and social media enables the worst to shine through and how minds can be very easily manipulated by what you see on screen. A great book and well narrated

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4 people found this helpful

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Implausible, idiotic and toxic…

Implausible, idiotic and toxic characters and story…everything you would expect from a ‘love island’ theme except even the show that portrayed doesn’t sound very compelling. Was really hoping it would be ‘reality TV meets lord of the flies’ but ultimately was entirely vacuous.

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3 people found this helpful

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Thought provoking

Clever and thought provoking. I enjoyed listening to this book - excellently narrated.
Cleverly looked at how social media is controlling how we think. A little scary actually because you can see how this could actually happen……..

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2 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Disappointed

Really struggled to finish this...Great idea..poorly executed. much of it unbelievable. very disappointed, sorry

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1 person found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Absolute drivel

Got stuck with this on a long drive. The narrator did her best with a dreadfully written storyline.

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1 person found this helpful

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An enjoyable listen

I enjoyed this book - it was well narrated and very easy to listen to. It didn’t drag and I was quickly enthralled. Scary concept but very believable!

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Gripped!

I was gripped. it was tense and held my attention throughout. I stayed up all night to finish it. A great listen!

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What TOTAL rubbish

The story it would appear to be for a 12 year old with not much between the ears it being a reality/big brother type story, gave up at chapter 13,badly read and I was waiting for Claire Corbett to read who reads well but sadly didn’t hear her, never get back the time lost on this tosh

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  • Overall
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Had it's moments

I enjoyed most of this book. The performance was spot on. But I struggled to like the main character. She was top weak and needy.

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