This is a fun, quick read suspense thriller... I loved the setting and found the plot fun and intriguing, it’s not particularly chilling and it’s very similar to a lot of other similar plot lines within its genre but it’s still entertaining and enjoyable and I found myself looking forward to being able to continue the story and find out what happens...
I would highly recommend this for people who like a mystery/ well written story who aren’t particularly interested in the heavier, scarier and more complex thrillers on the market.
Lovers of contemporary fiction / light murder mystery/ suspense novels I feel would enjoy the style of read . All in all compelling, intriguing and fun

I’ve found this to be a really difficult book to rate! It started out very slowly, and the style of writing felt slightly stiff for my tastes. It then seemed to pick up pace and get going, and the middle of the book was dramatic and attention-grabbing. Then the ending seemed almost too neat and tidy, all tied off with a bow extremely quickly. Most of the main characters were not particularly likeable, so I didn’t have huge amounts of empathy for them. While there were plenty of twists (particularly in the last few chapters), I didn’t expect or guess most of them, but didn’t find myself particularly surprised by them either.

That said, after wondering if it was the book for me during the first couple of chapters, I ended up finishing it in less than 24 hours, so something must have been right! This is an easy read, with short chapters which keep the reader turning the pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.

A rather light, suspense read. A couple leave the UK, after a tragedy, and settle in France with the intention of starting over. They buy a chateau, in an expat community in the South of France. But we know that a few months someone will be dead...
This was a fine read. I found the characters okay, but not particularly engaging. They felt exchangeable, and not fleshed out. Nonetheless it was pacy. A light popcorn 🍿 read.

A brilliant read about an expat couple buying a gorgeous French chateau, only to discover that secrets can rarely remain hidden... A great murder mystery all around!

A light, fun suspense read. Nothing new or anything innovative here. Just your regular run of the mill.
A couple escaping their past settle into the south of France to restart their life, but tensions simmer and months later someone will be dead...
A foreign setting ✅ A couple escaping the past ✅ Murder ✅ domestic drama ✅ if you like these things you’ll like this one.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this arc. I’ve heard lots of good stuff about The Chalet, so was keen to try the author’s second read. Unfortunately this book didn’t quite work for me. It felt rushed and the characters felt interchangeable.
We open with a Halloween party at an expat community of chateaus in France, when a dead body is discovered...Then we go back in time to follow our white, whiny, middle class, protagonist as she puts her life in London behind to start anew business of doing up a chateau and renting it. A crew is there to film them, and her marriage starts to crack...
Overall there wasn’t much suspense, I didn’t find the characters engaging and prose didn’t grip me. Not for me, but maybe you might like it.

The Chateau
by Catherine Cooper

Right away we know two dreadful things have happened – one during a Halloween party at a glamorous French Chateau and the other references the tragic loss of a young loved one.

Set in la belle France and featuring not one but two Chateaux, one being a lot more Ab Fab than the other, the Chateau is as multi layered as a fine Bordeaux. It’s a slow burner, that develops into an intricate plot twister of an exhilarating fairground ride, with a new revelation around each corner.

The plot moves around various time periods in the lives of the main characters and is written in the first person of both Aura and Nick. who have relocated to France, with their 2 young children, to restore a long neglected Chateau. They’ve left London under mysterious circumstances. Something obviously went badly wrong, but we only get subtle hints about what this could be, revealed slowly as the plot develops

They are being filmed for a fly on the wall documentary and their every word and gestures captured by Seb and Chloe, the young film makers, who seem to relish in the increasing tensions developing between the young married couple as their new life throws them curve balls left right and centre. Added into the mix we have a “Happy Help” Helen, who doesn’t seem your average child minder.

They meet an eclectic group of friends in Mozene, including the glamorous Thea, owner of the posh Chateau Amaryllis, famous or infamous more correctly, for her soirees and dinner parties ! Ooh la la – if I had a fan, I would be fanning it rapidly !!

What’s Frank's background and why is he so very very helpful and should Aura be letting him into her life quite so much?....

Gradually the past and its secrets are revealed but not all the pieces of this jigsaw are easy to find and put in place. The finished picture is only revealed with the last page turns and it's a slam dunk of an ending that I didn't seeing coming at all!

I really enjoyed this novel and found it improved with reading, turning into a book that I couldn’t put down! The storyline is very good and well written by Catherine Cooper. My sympathies certainly swayed more to certain characters (no spoilers!) than others.

There are lots of twists and turns to the plot, some I worked out but some came out of the blue of the Mediterranean !

I would recommend this as a perfect beach or back garden read, maybe with a glass of something sparkling to get you into the atmosphere! It’s more than just a tale of married bliss or otherwise, it turns into a tense thriller that keeps you guessing till the very end ! Enjoy !

I was delighted to be given an ARC of this book to review by the publisher, especially as I had really enjoyed The Chalet, Catherine Cooper's debut novel

Fantastic read- couldnt put it down! Aura and Nick, a middle class couple from London, move to a ruined chateau in France to start afresh after a much hinted at 'incident' in their past. They quickly become part of the ex-pat community, and the book starts at the end, with a fancy Halloween party with, unfortunately, a real life dead body. The story is told first from Aura's perspective, and then we find out more about what happened in London and why they had to leave.
Twists and turns a plenty, I really enjoyed it ( especially as I didnt much like any of the characters so I was didnt mind what happened to them!)
Well worth a read - and think twice before you think that ex-pat life is a bed of roses

I loved this book, as much as I loved the chalet! It was fast paced, I engaged with all the characters and finished it in one sitting.
I loved how the story ended and had no idea who the killer was and it didn't even dawn on me the possibilities.
Thank you Netgalley, Harper Collins and Catherine Cooper for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to reading more from Catherine Cooper in the future.

Aura and Nick relocate from England to France, buy an old chateau and start to renovate it on a budget. They meet other expats, try to raise small sons, their renovation is filmed as a documentary, but their marriage is obviously in trouble, their past is a taboo theme, strange things happen in an old chateu and people are just not what they seem to be.

They are on a brink of collapse. And then, the murder happens.

Full of adrenaline, peculiar characters, possible ghosts, danger and twist ending.

Great read, but I liked The Chalet more.

This is a good book overall. It was a little confusing and jumped around quite a bit. I was struggling to stick with it to start with but I’m glad that I did as it definitely got better. The characters were well described.

As a fan of Catherine Coopers previous novel I was thrilled to receive and advanced copy of The Chateau. This book did not disappoint with even more twists and turns and surprises that I certainly did not see coming. Aura and Nick as a couple were rather unlikeable but this did not stop me turning the pages or wanting to find out what happened next.

I can’t wait to see what this author comes up with next.

The Chateau is a story of two parts. It reads this way too, although the strands are brought together at the end.

Aura and Nick have their faults and the author isn't afraid to reveal them. They are working on their marriage by pursuing a chateau dream.

Throughout there are dislikeable characters who could be responsible for the crimes committed. It keeps readers guessing.

This is a novel that will keep you guessing and possibly surprise you with an ending that isn't as simple as it seems.

The Chateau's title and cover make it look almost indistinguishable from Catherine Cooper's previous The Chalet (which I loved), but this is a quite different, if equally engaging, read.

After some unspecified unpleasantness back in London, Aura, Nick and their two young sons (Bay and Sorrel, yes really) have purchased a French chateau with money Aura inherited, the plan being to renovate it and rent rooms. It's a bigger job than they perhaps anticipated, though, and getting to know the local expat community also turns a bit weird. Then there's the film crew...

The narrative then takes an unexpected leap back to events in London prior to the move to France, from the point of view of Nick and one other, before picking up the story again in France, where the past starts to catch up with the present in a big way.

The Chateau was a great read which kept me fully engaged all the way through - there's a massive coincidence at its core which takes a bit of swallowing (and at least one almost incredibly stupid character), but you just have to go with it. While most of the characters aren't especially likeable, and make some seriously bad decisions at times, I was intrigued to know what was going on and how it would all turn out.

Many thanks for the opportunity to read an advance copy - I really enjoyed it.

I so much wanted to enjoy this novel, but by gum, did Aura stress me out. The opening chapter was so, so promising but to be completely honest, by chapter three, I was completely sick to my back teeth, of how she was starting a hotel, but she called it by its French name the entire time and it was SO grating. She then allowed a total stranger, without references, to come and care for her children before then questioning why she was doing so WHILE STILL ALLOWING THE PERSON TO LOOK AFTER HER KIDS. I just couldn't go on any further, because it was just so pretentiously fake.

Really enjoyed this read.

It follows ex pats Aura and Nick who have relocated their young family to France

Part one had me thinking the book was about stalkers and swinging parties

Part two took it into a totally different direction that I hadn't anticipated.

Part three took it to another level!

My over riding feeling, although Nick and Aura weren't very likeable I'm not sure they deserved what happened to them...

Roller-coaster of a read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion

Telling the tale of a young family who are renovating a chateau in France, this book has fantastic descriptions. I particularly loved the details of the lavish parties. There is a varied cast of characters. Unfortunately I didn’t empathise with either of the main characters or even particularly like them. We then get more details of the events that made them decide to leave London. At this point I liked them even less, and didn’t really care what happened to them. Other readers may enjoy the book more than I did, it could make a great holiday novel, as it is an easy read and moves at a fast pace.

A strange novel this one. Good but it started out as one book and then changed tone and feel quite suddenly to the point where I had to check I was reading the book I had started. It starts off in France at a big castle type house by two British expats. They are having lots of problems with the house (which are described in detail) and the people around them, the fellow expats are coming to a party. Something happened in London and that is why this family escaped to France. The novel then goes back in time to see just what that thing was...

When I'd finished it, I thought it was good and I had enjoyed it with those twisty ways and red herrings but it's a bit of a confusing maze getting there.

‘The Chateau 🏚🍷’ by Catherine Cooper
🌟🌟🌟 3/5.

I was so happy to be able to read this one before publication. I seen SO many good reviews for The Chalet and I had been wanting to read it for a while.

I did enjoy this book but I wouldn’t call it a thriller. It was quite fast paced and full of drama, however I didn’t find it creepy in the slightest.

Part 1 I found pretty boring and not much had happened at all, I had to actually check that I was reading the right book! Part 2 onwards the book was definitely better in the sense that I couldn’t put it down and wanted to find out what had happened. The ending was rushed too and I felt this could have been done a lot better!

Overall the writing style wasn’t particularly strong and there’s were parts of the book that I thought feel could have been left out as they really didn’t add any value. A bit disappointed but won’t stop me from picking up The Chalet at some point!
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Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollins for the advanced copy! Publication date 2nd September 2021 📖

Having read and absolutely loved The Chalet, which I read in under 24 hours I was excited to read The Chateau.

Short sharp chapters keep the story moving quickly, and I liked reading the different characters POV.

Lots of twists and turns, along with some real surprises.

The ending was a real surprise for me, but ties the story in well together leaving no loose ends.

If you loved The Chalet you’ll love this.

Thank you Net Galley, Harper Collins and of course Catherine Cooper.