I love The Chalet and The Chateau didn’t disappoint. Love the fact they love to France and try and do up an old chateau! Things happen and don’t go to plan and then the murder happens. Loved all the mystery in it.

Aura and Nick don’t talk about what happened in England. They’ve bought a chateau in France to make a fresh start, and their kids need them to stay together – whatever it costs. The expat community is welcoming, but when a neighbour is murdered at a lavish party, Aura and Nick don’t know who to trust. Someone knows exactly why they really came to the chateau. And someone is going to give them what they deserve.

For the most part I found this to be an enjoyable read. Cooper has split this into different parts with different focuses, I will not be specific so no spoilers, but I did prefer some of the parts more than others and maybe it would have been a stronger read had that been a larger focus. Cooper sets this in a beautiful yet in desperate need of renovating chateau which provided the perfect backdrop for this thriller of a read. As events get weirder at the chateau, the remoteness and stark beauty perfectly blends with the eerie atmosphere. Cooper is becoming known for setting books in beautiful, dramatic locations and long may it continue I say.

I did find this to be an intense read but it does taper off towards the end and I found myself getting bored. Bizarrely it is towards the end that the action and danger ramps up, maybe there was too much hype before getting to it so it had lost its edge by the time I was reading about it.

The characters in this are good, they are developed enough to read a book set around them but not anymore. I did not find any of them to be likeable but I did think they were interesting characters which provided a connection to them.

'The Chateau' has a stunning location and is full of secrets and a dramatic atmosphere. However the drama burns out towards the end and I found the second half to be lacklustre.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advance copy.

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.

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

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.

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.

Wow!!! Another brilliantly written book by the fabulous #CatherineCooper.

Thank you to #NetGalley #HarperCollins and #HarperFiction for an ARC of this book!

I honestly couldn't put it down!
It was so fast paced, the short chapters just kept me wanting more!
I don't want to give too much away as I don't want to spoil it, but it was just spectacular, loved all the characters and how they entwined with each other.

I would highly recommend this thriller!!