Title: The Villa
Author: M. Warnasuriya
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-7960-8087-2
Pages: 314
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Jason Lulos

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The past is inextricably woven into the present. This cliché serves to illustrate the way time and history work, and in this novel, this notion is even more applicable. In The Villa, the past exercises a vengeful and commanding grasp on the present. It is this entangling link between the old and the new that gives the story its most compelling angle.

The Villa is a great, old story. Sure, the characters have cell phones and other modern allusions abound. This novel is an homage to the classic namely Victorian style of the haunted house tale. A young couple, Susan and Jason, and their cat, Penny, move to the idyllic house of their dreams in the country. However, the majestic villa and dreamy seascape are soon overshadowed by an evil presence in the house: one that is determined to drive the new couple away.

Having just been promoted as the head of cardiology, Jason is often away from their new home. This leaves Susan alone all day apart from Norton, the peculiar caretaker of the villa. Norton is the third generation of his family to work and live in the villa, so his past is inextricably linked with that of the estate. Susan deals with Norton as best she can but his behavior becomes more unpredictable as strange events in the villa increasingly occur. From swaying chandeliers to foreboding figures in the dark, these otherworldly phenomena coincide directly with bewildering and, later, tragic events that unfold.

Trying desperately to understand what is happening to the house of her dreams, Susan happens upon some books in the attic. They are the journals of Eleanor Mortimer, a woman who lived in the villa in the mid-19th century. Through these books, Susan learns of Eleanor’s struggles and life, tragically cut short. Susan supposes that her best bet is to somehow give Eleanor’s restless spirit some peace. This epistolary facet of the novel is the “story within the story.” It is crucial in connecting the troubled past with the chaotic present.

Warnasuriya builds suspense in all the right places. The rise and fall of the plot keep you guessing but the story is not too convoluted. This story is propelling, and the characters are well developed, likeable, and stubborn (as they must be to continue to stay in an obviously haunted house). In short, this is fun and interesting page-turner. It is the “story within the story” that gives the novel proper context and keeps the reader’s attention.