Imperfect strangers

Vancouver writer Robyn Harding’s eighth novel is a remarkable page-turner, a thriller made up of 60 fast-paced chapters, most of which feature cliffhanger endings. Called Strangers in the Villa, the novel takes place entirely on the east coast of Spain, north of Barcelona, close to where the artist Salvador Dali once lived.

Particularly intriguing is the way in which Harding chooses to tell the story. The narration is in the third person, but it is not omniscient. In any chapter from Curtis Wade’s point of view, the reader learns some of what he thinks and says, but only select bits about his background. What the other three main characters believe about him may not be true.

The first section, Sydney and Curtis, offers 24 chapters, with those from Sydney Cleary’s point of view alternating with those from Curtis’s.

Sydney is a 40-year-old woman who had been a public defender in New York City, Curtis an entrepreneur. The two had been together for 15 years and married for 12. When Sydney discovered Curtis had had an affair with a woman named Collette, she was jolted, but she agreed to their seeing a therapist named Ellen Dwyer.

There are many flashbacks to Ellen’s sessions. One example:

“Ellen: Was it an emotional affair?

“Curtis: God, no, I felt nothing for her.

“Sydney: He seems to think that makes it better, but I think it makes it worse. If he had any real feelings for Collette, maybe I could understand why he’d betray me. But this was just careless and cruel… I don’t know if I can ever forgive him.”

Nevertheless, they eventually agreed to stay together, leaving their lucrative positions in New York to start a new life in a Spanish villa. As much as they like the change, they still find it difficult to become intimate again.

One day while having brunch, there is a knock at their door. It is a young, good-looking couple, Bianca and Damian, who speak English with Australian accents and are experiencing car trouble. Sydney craves company and invites them in. She asks them to stay for a meal, and eventually the night. Curtis decides it’s best to agree. The newcomers stay, but sleep in their van.

Next day, Curtis and Damian go into town and discover there will be a 10-day wait for the part needed for the van. Curtis eventually agrees to let their guests sleep in the house.

Over the next few days, there is much interaction between the four, with Damian helping Curtis do some repairs and Sydney and Bianca spending time in the pool. One night they all go dancing, and Damian and Bianca’s behaviour begins to negatively affect Curtis, who tells Damian that he and Bianca should leave:

“A slow smile takes over Damian’s face, and his eyes narrow.

“‘We’re not going anywhere, buddy.’

“There’s no trace of an Australian accent.”

A new section begins with Chapter 25, with the following 16 chapters told from the points of view of Bianca and Damian.

At last, Harding begins to reveal details about the visitors and why they are there. They’d lived in Indiana for years, wanting to go to Europe but staying put until Bianca’s little sister had grown up. Something terrible happened that caused Bianca and Damian to head for Spain to track down Curtis, whom they believed was responsible. To help hide their identity, they adopted Australian accents.

Damian accuses Curtis of a hideous crime, and wants $5 million from him, or he’ll tell Sydney what Curtis has done. Bianca thinks Curtis deserves pain and torture, but Damian wants Curtis’s money before he destroys him.

Many other plot threads keep changing the reader’s view of the four main characters. Are both Damian and Bianca attracted to Sydney? Will Bianca continue to be Damian’s partner? How much will Sydney learn about what has been going on — not only in Spain, but all those years ago in New York with Curtis?

Harding nicely wraps up a contemporary thriller that will enhance her reputation as an author who can brilliantly divert the reader’s attention from the mundane.

Dave Williamson is the Winnipeg author of 10 books and the founder of Red River College’s creative communications program.