agendas and histories are revealed. There’s something of Alfred Hitchcock here in how Harding teases out hidden depths, as she sets up distrust and denial, justifications and rationalizations on all four sides of the equation. There’s no question that violence and bloodshed are coming, but even that awareness doesn’t prepare the reader for the book’s late developments. The final third of the book is a white-knuckle read as Harding shifts – effortlessly – from character to character, as secrets and lies come into the light. I don’t advise starting Strangers in the Villa if you have anything on your schedule for the rest of the day. Book Review by Robert Wiersema by Robyn Harding Who hasn’t dreamed of chucking their responsibilities and starting a new life in a new place? From the outside, Curtis and Sydney Lowe seem to be living that dream. The married couple at the centre of Vancouver writer Robyn Harding’s new novel Strangers in the Villa have shucked off their New York City jobs and moved to Spain. They’ve bought a villa in Costa Brava – which they are working to restore – and are planning to start a small winery on the remote property. But all is, of course, not what it seems. The Lowes’ move to Spain isn’t an early retirement fantasy; it’s a last-ditch attempt to save their marriage after Curtis revealed an incident of infidelity to his wife. He insists that it meant nothing. “He seems to think that makes it better, but I think that it makes it worse,” Sydney tells their marriage counsellor, prior to their departure for Spain. “If he had real feelings for Collette, maybe I could understand why he’d betray me. But this was just careless. And cruel.” They spend their days largely avoiding the subject, pretending that they are living a normal, happy life. Curtis cooks – another gesture toward reconciliation – and Sydney eats, but there is no intimacy between them; Sydney can barely tolerate the most casual of his touches. When two Australian tourists arrive at the villa, asking for help with their broken-down van, Sydney and Curtis invite them to stay, primarily as a distraction from their ongoing turmoil. As Sydney says, “‘Curtis and I have been cooped up alone for months. If we don’t have some outside stimulation soon, we’re going to murder each other.’ It’s a joke, but she sees Curtis smart from her words. She feels guilty for a second, and then she remembers.” We’ve all seen this before, right? Strangers at the door in a thriller are never what they seem, and their presence always ends up in some sort of upheaval, if not outright violence. “Don’t let them in the house!” is a rule broken by characters almost as often as, “Don’t split up in the haunted house!” Strangers in the Villa is no exception. Long before they hit the point in the novel at which the actual identity of the Australian visitors is revealed, readers will have already figured out the twist; it’s pretty much inevitable. Harding, however, is too good a writer to leave it at that, and she has a couple of more twists up her sleeve. I can honestly say that I had no inkling of what the second half of Strangers in the Villa had in store, and I loved the experience of having the rug repeatedly pulled out from under me. Harding develops all four characters with considerable depth and at a restrained pace, often causing the reader to step back and reconsider previously held opinions and judgments. Her depiction of marital disharmony is sharp and uncomfortable, feeding naturally into the steadily escalating tension and suspense as Strangers in the Villa 42 | www.snowbirds.org
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