The Chateau by Catherine Cooper

I really enjoyed Catherine’s novel The Chalet as a great escapist read and this novel is in a similar style. We’re in France, following Aura and Nick as they make a new start in life, leaving behind some unfortunate events in the UK. When they first saw the chateau Aura thought they could establish a long held dream of creating and running their own Bed and Breakfast. However, problems have a habit of following you, especially when they’re unresolved. Testing their already fraught relationship by renovating an historic building is brave, especially when they have a film crew following their every move. This is for a renovation series called French Fancy. As they work and meet helpful members of the ex-pat community we start to wonder exactly what happened in England. At a large Halloween Party thrown by the couple, a body turned up.

Part two of the novel takes us back in time to find out what lead up to the suspicious death. Of course it’s not surprising that they took the leap! This is a gripping story, but a few things didn’t work for me and I didn’t like Nick or Aura. In fact, I couldn’t work out how they’d stayed married so long. There were surprising twists and turns and I felt like the author did a great job of portraying the ex-pat community. This is one of those thrillers that’s a great summer read, you know what to expect and there are thrills as well as short chapters that keep you wanting more.

⭐️3.5⭐️

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Well written, with an interesting plot. The characters are well developed, but I must say I disliked them all.

A twisty, well-paced read that held my interest; shame about the awful characters.

Another creepy Cooper that will keep you guessing! I absolutely adored this title, it had all off the key ingredients to an enthralling read - great pace, realistic characters and twists and turns for DAYS. Loved it.

Another great and twisty thriller from Catherine Cooper! I didn;t guess the twist which is always the sign of a good thriller for me!

This is a page Turner. The characters are all very unlikable. It is filled with twists and turns. This works really well. I did guess the final twist, but this didn’t spoil my enjoyment

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

This is the first novel I've read by Catherine Cooper and I found it to be a page turning and pacy read.
Aura and Nick leave England with their two young sons due to a scandal that is gradually revealed to the reader and buy a chateau in France to renovate. There are soon creepy things happening at the chateau; loud music in the middle of the night, lights going on and off and then a neighbour is found murdered at a Halloween party.
There is also a dual storyline set 10 months previously when Nick and Aura lived in London.
The author writes well and I was immediately drawn into the narrative and intrigued by what had happened to them in London. Both Nick and Aura are unlikeable characters but I did find them fascinating. I liked the chateau setting which is atmospheric and creepy.
I did find the ending disappointing and felt that the author tried to bring in too many issues and characters when resolving the plot. I was also frustrated with the idea that Aura could have become a qualified counsellor after a year of training- this would not be possible!
Overall however this was an enjoyable read and I'll look out for more from this author.
3.5 stars
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

The tag line and the opening scenes of this book set the bar much too high. I think without either I would have enjoyed the book much more as my expectations would have been different.

The first Chateau we meet is Thea's and Thea has very little to do with the story. It took me a while to realise that as obviously she was important in the opening scenes....but nope no character development for Thea and we rarely saw her.

I absolutely hated Aura. She was a vapid selfish woman who had absolutely no redeeming qualities that I could see at all. She manipulated and used people. She thought she knew best when she very rarely did. She spends all her time punishing people and complaining about people when she is the one that is always wrong. I don't think there was a single decision she made that I agreed with. From manipulating her husband to move to France, to having a documentary team follow them around, to chiding him like a child whenever she felt like it. She was just vile.

Nick obviously doesn't fare much better based on his past but was clearly a very unhappy man. It was hard to ever sympathise fully with him because of his stupid actions in general. Once someone makes a mistake of that magnitude can you ever really move forward? Probably not.

The ending chapters did descend into too many coincidences for me. That there was so much going on and so many things just fell into place to make it all happened just made me exasperated. One or two could have been quite a neat little thriller but all of them together was just too much.

I did read it quite quickly to get to the end but just wish it hadn't over stretched the thriller and surprise element so much.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this book.

I felt the writing was done well in this book but there was just something missing for me and I couldn't get into it and enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.

The Chateau - Catherine Cooper

A quick page turner with interesting characters. I did think that there were a few characters that were perhaps not needed for the story, as I am someone who can easily get confused with too many names. I thought the author did a great job building suspense and the eeriness of the events that were happening in Aura and Nick's home only added to this. There were plenty of twists and turns along the way, it was a very enjoyable read. Thank you very much NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the e-ARC I can only apologise for the delay in my thoughts.

The second book from Catherine Cooper and the second book I have read from her, the first being The Chalet.

As a dual timeline we see the chapters of the family settling in France and the cracks in the relationship of Nick and Aura from Aura's point of view. We also travel back to their time in London and learn of the reason for their move and their fractured and fragile relationship.

Both Nick and Aura are written incredibly well, and are despicable and flawed characters you can't help but dislike. The children Sorrel and Bay do appear sweet though, being of such young ages.

Tragic events unfold, curious goings on take place in the chateau the couple bought to renovate and you know there is far more to this story than meets the eye.

I read this in the first week of November, a little late for the Halloween themed party that takes place in the book, however it was still atmospheric with the holiday having only just taken place.

'The Chateau' by Catherine Cooper is her second novel. The first being The Chalet which was a very impressive debut. When I was invited to the tour for this book too I was curious to see if this book was as good as her first.
Aura and Nick are a married couple with two children, who have moved from England and settled in France. They have bought a Chateau that needs renovating and they have great ideas for the future. They have a film crew with them, shooting a show about British people buying property and fixing them up in France.The ex-pat community seem to be welcoming but their seems an undercurrent and a few unsettling things happen at the chateau too.
A story told with a dual timeline. We begin as they arrive in France initially then we slip back to a few months before they moved to France. The story is narrated by Aura in the present day in France then we have Nick narrating the chapters from their life in England before they moved. We discover the reason for their move and the state of their marriage which is rocky at best.
These two character's aren't the most likeable. Catherine Cooper has written them so well. Their flaws make them so deliciously horrible and so easy to dislike. As this dark story unfolded I relished in the idea that they may get what they deserve. A book that kept me up with it's perfectly timed revelations that kept the suspense going so well. The intrigue of what would happen next for them created an almost nail-biting tension and a need to keep reading too.
A book with a story worthy to be put next to The Chalet on the shelf. Catherine Cooper made me feel like I was in France with these two almost unsavoury characters and her ability to build the suspense and bring the twists has not diminished. The ending was perfect for me too! A dark, twisty and addictive page turner which I can highly recommend.
Thanks to Netgalley.

My first novel by this author.
I actually started this book in the summer but shelved it due to the setting being around Halloween and had a wintery feel so decided to postpone it and read as a seasonal book. I love reading novels at same time of year they are set as it adds ambience for me. I’m really glad I did this as straight away I was pulled into a story that really felt fitting and atmospheric.

Set as a duel timeline in Mozène, France and London, England it had a perfect mix of scandal, love and a couple of characters you can’t help but like.

The ambience of the settings was beautiful and I could really imagine vividly the setting that was portrayed.

As the chapters progressed all I kept thinking was ‘What happened in England?’ and it was this snippet in the blurb that made me want to read it. That pull was strong so it kept me interested in Aura and Nick’s journey in France and their lives in London before their move.

Once you start Part two it soon becomes clear what the London incident is and it was told well despite its theme.

Overall a great book with plenty of pace a twists which you’d expect to see in a thriller as this one.

Great plot to get yourself lost in. This book has everything. A real fast paced thriller. Will get your heart racing on more than one occasion. Very well written. Highly recommend this book

I honestly thought shortly before the finale section that I had predicted things correctly, only to discover once again that I was partially right with part of one outcome but absolutely nothing else.

I love it when that happens I love being shocked, or surprised at how a thriller plays out.

I also loved so much of the descriptions, even if the main characters grated on me a lot. I just couldn't fully take to them, but still cared about them and was interested to see just how everything would unfold.

I really loved the descriptions of Thea's parties, both of them, so so different but equally fun sounding

The Chateau itself certainly has a starring role in the book, but possibly for me the most gripping and interesting section for me was part two and what had happened to cause Aura and Nick to move to France. That had me hooked.

It's another really good book from Catherine Cooper, and I'll be curious to see what she comes up with next.

Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This was an ok read, it did not totally draw me in and I struggled to get to the end. The ending was also rather disappointing and felt a bit rushed.

I loved the Chalet, so I was really looking forward to The Chateau and it delivered!

Cooper writes such brilliantly unlikeable characters that it's hard to know who to root for, but they all have their reasons so they're not irritating just for the sake of it! Gorgeous setting, gripping plot, and drip feed reveals make The Chateau a fantastic read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

Really good thriller with a great motive - one that is sure to divide readers!

Would highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙪 𝙗𝙮 𝘾𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧

This was my first of Cooper’s reads but definitely won’t be my last! Creepy and atmospheric, this was a cleverly plotted book split into three parts— the UK, France and the way they link together in the present, all told through multiple POV’s.

The characters felt genuine and real (albeit loathsome but this only added to the palpable tension felt throughout) and the twists had you constantly questioning who to trust. Even the chateau itself appeared to have a human presence and became a character of its own. I really liked the aspect of their hired help Helen, which reminded me of my own au pair experience abroad and how scary it must be for families to put all their trust in a new stranger to look after their children.

I did guess one major part of the plot almost as soon as the character was introduced, but this didn’t take away from the narrative— I still would never have guessed the reasoning behind the motive! I felt the amount of a certain thing happening (no spoilers, sorry for the mystery) was slightly unbelievable and at points the plot felt far fetched but overall this was such an intriguing, engrossing, super quick read that I flew through within a day and would highly recommend picking up if you enjoy multiple POV thrillers with slowly revealed pasts.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4/5)

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 + 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂!

The Chateau in one word: engrossing.
Full of twists and told from different point of views which give it way more depth then other books in this genre. Fantastic read.