“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?”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of The Villa by Ruth Kelly. The Villa was published by Pan on 22nd June 2023 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats. I chose to read a free ARC of The Villa but that has in no way influenced my review. My grateful thanks to Chloe at Pan for sending me a proof copy.

When reporter, Laura Peters, is asked by her boss to go undercover on the hottest new reality TV series, she can’t think of anything worse. But she’s struggling at work, her boss, Ben, who she’s having a secret affair with refuses to commit to her, and to be honest, there’s not a lot else to do. So she reluctantly applies, hoping the producers see through the ruse and her application is declined without another thought. It isn’t and before long, Laura is being whisked to a secret location in the Balearic Islands for what promises to be a week full of cocktails and topping up her tan (or so she hopes). But when Laura arrives and meets her housemates it soon becomes clear that, unlike her, they’ll do anything to win. Because this is a reality show that’s different to the rest, there are no boundaries. No regulatory body to stop things before they go too far and streamed live on the internet to an anonymous baying audience who are prepared to push the housemates to their utmost limits. The viewing public are in charge and they want blood. It’s a prize worth fighting for, but would anyone kill for it…?

The Villa is a thoroughly entertaining read which delivers on all counts. The characters are self-obsessed, vain creatures driven by their own private agenda. There aren’t many likeable characters to be seen but I did very much enjoy watching these strong personalities fight for supremacy. The story is told from multiple POVs and also uses a dual timeline. Each voice was strong and independent of the others, expanding the story for the reader with each new piece of information or revelation. We hear from ‘The Producer’, ‘The Reporter’ (who then morphs into ‘The Contestant’ when Laura is on the show) and also ‘The Viewers’. I thought Michelle, the Producer was a despicable individual but I loved how much I grew to despise her over the course of the novel. Laura very slowly grew on me. Initially I found her quite insecure and weak but I did become strangely fond of her as the story progressed. The other POV, ‘The Viewers’ was a real eye opener. How cruel and inconsiderate some of us become when we’re acting anonymously. It was shocking to see the decisions the ‘anonymous’ public made knowing full well that any repercussions would not come back to bite them.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Villa is a fun, thrilling and entertaining slice of psychological fiction that I very much enjoyed losing myself in. Had I not read the book I would have been the first to put my hand up and volunteer to visit the secret fictional island (minus the cameras, of course!). But now I know how many bodies have graced the grounds of the exquisite villa, I may take a rain check! The setting was gorgeous and had me looking forward to my summer holiday. I found myself believing in the characters, whilst also hoping that our paths never ever cross. I thought the way the producer manipulated certain situations was highly unnerving but, from what I’ve heard about reality TV, this is par for the course. Scary stuff! I thought the plot was nicely paced and kept me turning the pages. I reached what I thought was the beginning of the end, only to discover there was a lot more to come. I do enjoy it when an author is able to spin their story out a little bit more and take a slightly different angle. All in all, I thought The Villa was a very suspenseful, highly intriguing read with lots of surprises along the way, a stunning setting and a cast of interesting, if unlikeable characters. A great debut thriller and I look forward to seeing what Ruth Kelly has in store for us readers next! Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free ARC of The Villa. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Villa by Ruth Kelly was published in the UK by Pan on 22nd June 2023 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Foyles | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Ruth Kelly is an award-winning journalist who has ghosted a string of Sunday Times top ten bestsellers – most recently The Prison Doctor, which sold over 250,000 copies, and The Governor, which went straight in at number one on the Amazon charts and number five in the Sunday Times bestseller list. The Villa is Ruth’s debut thriller. She’s drawn inspiration from her years working as a reporter for national newspapers as well as her experience writing for TV shows, most notably with Endemol, the creators of the original reality show – Big Brother.