How do you solve a deadly mystery when this group of friends have their secrets chained up in blood?

I adore a pallette cleanser between fantasy series and books, and thrillers help to clear the pallette extraordinary well. And this thriller was an enjoyable maze of mystery and a holiday escape I won’t be forgetting any time soon.

The writing style was easy and flowed really well. It kept the reader engaged and led you through questions upon questions. The author knew how to take you on a manhunt for the answers. It also transitions really well between the past and present event, almost seamlessly.

The story starts in the French Alps, at a ski resort, La Madiere, where in 1998, the two Cassiobury brothers have vacationed with their girlfriends. Though neithers vacation is a breeze and only one brother makes it home.

Jump to modern times, 2020 to be exact, where we are taken back to the same resort amidst a snowstorm and the only road blocked, a group of people trying to take advantage of their holiday, though none of them actually get on and each with their own link to the missing brother.

The characters, felt real and brought a new level of life to the pages. The story was laced with thrills, paving the way to a nearly impossible investigation. It was a joy to read and extremely hard to put down. It is definitely one to put on your TBR list.

Often in publishing you find books with a similar theme being published around the same time. Having recently reviewed One by One by Ruth Ware on the blog, also set in a ski chalet, one might wonder whether it is also worth reading The Chalet. However, the two books are quite different in plot and style and, as a reader, I took something quite different from each.

This is a story with multiple timelines, split in to three different parts. Firstly are the events of 1998, in the ski resort of La Madiere, France, where a young man goes missing on a ski run in a blizzard. We then return to La Madiere in the present day when four people find themselves caught up in events from the past that they thought were long buried. In the middle of the book is a section of unconnected happenings that might eventually connect the two timelines. The author does a skilful job of weaving the two timelines together, revealing little pieces of information throughout the plot, and keeping us straight as to who is narrating, as the book switched between characters – this is no mean feat.

It has to be said that there are a lot of very unlikeable characters in this book. Some so much so, that you are actually willing awful things to happen to them. The author was very clever at throwing the reader off the scent very early on, so that for at least half of the book I had no idea how the people in the two separate timelines were related to one another or the mystery of the skier’s disappearance at the beginning. In the final third, I had my suspicions about who was behind the mystery, but there were still other revelations that came as a shock, and one further red herring that made sure I was not one hundred per cent sure who had done what until towards the end. Overall, the book kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

The wintery setting of the ski resort and the luxury chalet was well set up, it really transported me to the Alps and the whole skiing experience. I thought the way the author threw one of the characters into a ‘fish out of water’ scenario was interesting and very believable, she was one of only two characters I had much sympathy for by the end. The fact that I remained interested in a book where so many of the characters were deeply unpleasant is testament to the author’s writing and skill in plotting. This is a very strong debut and I greatly look forward to reading more by this exciting new author.

This book is highly recommended for anyone who loves a book set in an exotic locale, with tales of violence, loss and revenge and a twisty, turny mystery at its heart.

I thought this was a bit of a slow burner but once it got going I was hooked. Interesting storyline, intriguing characters and a great ending.

Apologies for a late review.

The Chalet is an intriguing read. There are three strands of narration although the third one appears later in the book. In 1998, two brothers go out to ski but only one returns. I found this part of the story really gripping as events leading up to the fateful moment unfurled. In January 2020, Ria and Hugo are entertaining Simon and Cass at the same resort. I was unsure how these two stories were going to link and I certainly enjoyed the twist. I don't want to say too much about the third strand but I really hadn't a clue how it fitted in until nearly the end.

My only quibble was, apart from a couple of characters in the 1998 sections, I didn't like any of the rest. Which begs the question - do you have to write likeable characters for a book to work? I liked the book so I guess not but I think I would have enjoyed it more if there had been another redeeming character. Hugo was close to that but I pitied him rather than liked him.

Overall, I thought this was a strong debut with an intriguing plot..

An enjoyable thriller with some twists and turns. The rich don't always have it easy do they? Betrayal and revenge lurking in the Alps.

I enjoyed this book and it kept me interested. Written between two timelines it tells the story of two brothers and their girlfriends on a ski holiday. Whilst doing a black run one brother disappears never to be seen again. The book tells the story from then and also the present twenty years lateral the same luxury lodge where four people each have their own secret.
This was a good read and I enjoyed how gradually everyone’s story and secret is revealed. I look forward to reading the next book by this author.
Thanks to HarperCollins Uk and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

In the French Alps in 1998, two young brothers, Adam and Will, ski into a blizzard, but only one returns.

Twenty years later, Hugo and his wife are at the same resort, trying to sign up a new business client, who is accompanied by his wife. Whilst they are there, a body is uncovered. More than one person has blood on their hands, everyone is hiding secrets, true identities are to be revealed, and someone wants payback!

Flipping between 1998 and 2020, and told by numerous character perspectives, the book is full of unexpected twists and turns and is an extremely well-written debut by Catherine Cooper. I read it in two days, staying up late to read more; I could not put it down! I love the fact another character was not introduced until two-thirds into the book, revealing someone's true identity.

The pace flowed well, and I loved the descriptive, stylish French Alps ski resort setting. Great characters: they were like marmite, you either loved them or hated them.

Highly recommended, and definitely an author to watch!

Twenty years ago two brothers went ski-ing. The path they took was risky, one survived & one was never found. Present day & in an extremely luxurious chalet in the same resort, a mix of characters are staying. A blizzard maroons them there & the storm uncovers the body from twenty years ago. How are these two events connected? The story is told from different points of view across different timelines. The author keeps the reader guessing as to the connections. This book is full of really dislikeable characters. I think if I had been more invested in someone, it would have been a five star read.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

I actually really enjoyed this book, even though there wasn’t as much suspense as I thought there would be. I also read it in one sitting so very easy to follow and good writing style. Will definitely pick up more of Catherine Cooper’s books!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Catherine Cooper for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This is the first book by Catherine Cooper that I have read. I enjoyed this book and the snowy setting. The plot is good and keeps you guessing throughout. However, I did find this book hard to follow at some points and trying to figure out who was who.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but felt more could have happened.

This was a very well written story that kept me guessing till the very end!

Twists and turns, the story bleeds with suspense and unlikeable characters, which might be a turn off for some readers.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read that I will definitely recommend.

I would like to thank the Publishers, NetGalley, and the Author for sending me a copy of this book.

I liked the idea of spending some time in the French Alps with British characters. As a French woman, I am always interested in how authors describe the country and its bits and bobs. As some time passed between my getting the book and actually reading it, I went into the story pretty much blind. It’s how I prefer things to be!
Unfortunately, with each new chapter, I found myself feeling confused. The back and forth between narrative voices and times had me struggling to follow what was happening to whom and when. I can blame part of this on me being on a reading frenzy and not giving my brain enough rest, but I believe it might have been easier to keep track of everything had the different point of views had very different voices. Being too similar, I lost my way several times. When a new voice, different, emerged, I was quick to suspect who was behind it. If at first it brought a new light on the slow pace and unravelling of the story, the excitement didn’t last.
I could not feel anything for any of the characters, therefore I couldn’t manage to care about the death and the consequences on other characters’s lives.
The Chalet couldn’t convince me, but it had a lot of potential.

Having read two very similar books recently, One By One and Shiver respectively, I have to compare The Chalet to these two and out of the three of them, sadly this was the weakest for me.
Much like the other two books that I mentioned earlier, there are a significant amount of characters, which I did now almost expect, given the other two and the story/genre.
But, again, it was quite difficult to keep track of who is who and this makes it harder to truly get into the story because I had to keep checking back to see who this person or that person was.
The characters on the whole were really unlikeable, which made it difficult to root for or even care about most of them.
The pacing was also a bit too slow for me.
Maybe if I hadn't read the other two books I would have enjoyed this more. But I just couldn't stop myself from comparing the three.
Overall, it was just underwhelming for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK. I thoroughly enjoyed this tense, gripping psychological thriller. Fast paced and a real page turner. Well written too. A brilliant winter read. Recommended.

This was a very messy book, nothing was ever really at stake. The characters often made weird explanatory proclamations like 'as you well know, my plan is to...' `Lots of pointless characters - 11 characters introduced in the first chapter. A lot of quite dull skiing content. Very bad.

Great thriller. Not strictly a Christmas read but perfectly seasonal. Brilliant plotter , full of twists and turns. A killer ending,

It was a clever, if slightly confusing juxtaposition of the two, fairly similar couples in the ski resort. Unfortunately I didn’t feel any great sympathy with any of them, to the extent of thinking “will you hurry up and just die!”
I say ‘confusing’, and I suppose this was the aim of the story...but even by the time I’d almost finished, I kept having to sit back and think...”now..which one were they, again?”

At a ski resort, while a rich businessman is trying to impress a potential new client, a body is discovered on the mountain of a skier who went missing 20 years previously. The story switches between the past and present to uncover the identity of the missing skier as well as the unexpected connection to those now staying in this same resort.

The story is told from the point of view of different characters and this does well to demonstrate the miscommunication and misinterpretations that different people have of the same situation. There is not really much to like about the characters in the story, which is a shame, but the plot is interesting enough.

I was gifted my copy for the blog tour.

This was so so good! Even more so than i expected it to be. In 1998 two men go skiing in a blizzard and only one is ever found. 20 years later, four people who are somehow connected to the missing man end up on holiday in the resort, and two of those have blood on their hands and someone is after revenge.

Told over a timeline of the past, present and then from a third perspective we start to discover what happened on that fateful day in 1998. I really enjoy a past and present timeline where we discover what happened at first sight but over time we start to see there really is more than the initial narrative suggests.

I really enjoyed discovering the characters and their hidden secrets, why they behaved the way they did and i especially enjoyed discovering how they were all connected thats the one piece of the puzzle that took me the longest and was well worth the wait.

Overall this was a thrilling exciting debut that is the perfect winter thriller. Its tense, dramatic and so in depth. It was carefully weaved together over a long timeline that gave the reader a really enjoyable experience.

#thecharlet by Catherine Cooper has been on my tbr pile for a little while now. A perfect cosy Christmas murder mystery read. It had me gripped from the first page.

An easy page turner The Chalet follows a group of people who all return to a French skiing resort, the same one where a murder happend years ago. However, they are all linked to this murder but how and what truly happened that day?

Catherine Cooper creates an intense atmosphere with her descriptions of the characters and the setting. As having been skiing myself I could picture the mountains, the skiing and the lodges quite easily. Each chapter is relatively small and you are drip fed a little but more each time, which I love and keeps you reading untill suddenly the book closes and you learn who did!

An intense and gripping and murder mystery perfect for a cosy winters night!

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