I began and finished Up at the Villa in one day. It's quite a short book, therefore, it was a quick read.
It's more of a crime and suspense story than any of the other Maugham books I've read.
I don't like to give the meat of the book away, I will say that it's about a recently widowed woman, Mary, who is staying at the villa of a friend in Florence.
She is caught between three men; her older suitor, a swaggering ne'er-do-well confidante and a very unlikely one night stand.

There is something so comforting and satisfying about W. Somerset Maugham. I can spend a whole day, buried in anything he writes.
Although, I'd have to say The Razor's Edge is my favorite so far, The Painted Veil and Of Human Bondage really haunted me for days after putting them down.