I was expecting so much more from this one but unfortunately Iit did not live up to my expectations. The story started okay but I felt that it quickly fell flat. Not for me.

Having read The Chalet, I was excited to read this new book by Catherine Cooper, The Chateau. Set in both France and London, this is a fast paced psychological thriller which had some excellent twists and featured lots of deaths!
With grateful thanks to Netgalley, HarperCollins and Catherine Cooper for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good read but I enjoyed the back story more than the main story. It was an easy read with some twists and turns especially at the end. Definitely worth a read especially if you have read her previous book, The Chalet.

Thank you Harper Collins and Netgalley.

This is most definitely a 50/50 book and review for me. Part of me loved it, part of me didn't.

Whilst it was completely implausible it was also completely gripping.

There were a whole host of unlikeable, unrelatable characters that at times made me cringe inwardly and whilst usually having characters that unrelatable totally puts me off for some reason it made it all the more readable and interesting.

I loved the background feeling of creepiness, the unsettling aura just added to the unease of the story and the setting in France was just the perfect backdrop for the whole storyline.

As expected after reading The Chalet, the whole execution of the characters and plot were amazing. The twists were superb and mostly unexpected and the pace was spot on.

I'll admit if it wasn't for the truly unlikeable characters it would have been a 4* but I've promised to review with honesty so it's going to have to be a 3*

Many thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

I just admit I was originally out off by the cover I thought it would not grip me but I couldn’t have been more wrong! Great story set in a French skiing resort. Everyone has secrets and a great twist!!

I had heard great things about this book and was not disappointed when I read it.
It certainly was a page turner for me and I thoroughly recommend it.

The Chateau centres around Aura and Nick making their new life in France renovating a chateau. There's a lot going on in the book that's been split into three parts. Nick and Aura don't have the perfect marriage by any means and their two small children are parented very differently by each parent.
The book focuses on a lot of different characters and at points I wasn't sure why those characters were there. The ending did tie up nicely, with a good twist, but I felt that perhaps the middle section of the book was fluffed a bit too much and taken away from the storyline.

This was a really fun read and I finished it in a couple of sitting. The characters were not very likeable, but in an entertaining way.. The twist at the end was perhaps a bit of a stretch, but the author made it work.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK Fiction for the arc of The chateau by Catherine Cooper.

4 stars- Follows Aura and Nick who buys a gorgeous Chateau in France for a fresh start away from England in which they dont seem to like talking about? what really happened...? The community has welcomed them but then a neighbour gets murdered.. they then have trust issues and dont know who they can or can not trust., They are hiding something but will someone find out what and will someone give them what they deserve....

utterly sensational, thrilling and hooking...

What a way to start the year!!! The Chateau has everything I love in a thriller! First person perspective from multiple characters, a nonlinear timeline, and so many twists and turns that I’m left with my head totally spinning!!! I loved Cooper’s last novel, The Chalet, but this one beyond surpassed all of my expectations and hopes for her new thriller!

This was a book that kept me guessing right until the end. There was a serious feeling foreboding throughout - Readers were under no illusion that everything in France was perfect. We were fed titbits of why the family had emigrated to France in the first place and this story unfolded alongside the France side.

The story of Nick and Ella was actually rather refreshing - there were not the usual stereotypes involved.

I cannot say I liked any of the characters, but then again, I don't think we were supposed to. The character of Thea felt like she should have been featured more. Frank could have been involved more too.

The ending was a great twist - Really clever and didn't see it coming (Let's face it, I hardly ever see the endings coming!)

Ria and Hugo have booked to go away but all doesn't go as planned.

Fantastic read and couldn't put it down.

This was a fairly ok read and it kept my interest throughout. I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

3.5 stars

Aura and Nick have moved with their 2 young kids to the French countryside to renovate a chateau, quite a big project, but they needed to get away from London to get a fresh start.

They soon have a support network of expats they can rely on for support, especially Frank who has been helping them setting things up before they made the move, and Helen, who has come to help with the kids in exchange of accommodation and food.

Soon though, they realise they have a massive project ahead and Aura also gets tired of being filmed most of the time by a tv crew for a documentary. It is not long that Frank, a very much loved community member, is murdered at a party. But was he really the designated victim?

A book easy to binge read, with an interesting storyline told from different point of views. I found some things hard to believe, such as how a mom very attached to her kids would leave them with a stranger for the evening and felt some part of the story not really fully developed and could not really understand the point- such the first party held by Thea, not sure the point of it, or Frank being a perv..... Overall an enjoyable read though.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC copy.

After reading The Chalet by Catherine Cooper I knew I would be in for a full ride of secrets, lies, twists and turns with The Chateau.

Aura and Nick move to a chateau in rural France with their two small sons for their fresh start. Accompanied by a film crew they settle in well and start making new friends. The longer they stay the the more strange things happen. It seems someone is playing games with them. Could it be one of their new friends or has their past from London caught up with them?

Told from the present with the backstory dripped in I was hooked. I guessed where it was going but not who it was. Brilliant read.

For me, the characters were not engaging and I just couldn't care about them. I also found the writing a bit laboured, with one character telling another something the second character already knew, etc. I found it quite tedious.

I didn't finish this one - in fact, I only got a few chapters in. Maybe it improved after that.

It's quite difficult to review psychological thrillers as there are so many and it becomes hard to say anything different. They all have similar story arcs and other than saying there was an unexpected twist, I don't find there is much else to say.

The Chateau is not a bad thriller. There are twists, and turns and perhaps an added layer that we find out late in the story. But I didn't really connect with the characters or care what happened to them. I don't think this is necessarily because it wasn't written well, I think I have just become a little jaded after reading so many thrillers.

For those who are not saturated with twisty tales, I'd recommend it. But sadly, no real surprises for me.

this book keeps you guessing until nearly the end when every thing starts to falls in to place just when you thought things could not get any worse it does.i enjoyed reading this book and will keep my eye out for some more books from Catherine.

Thanks netgalley for giving me a copy of this book to read.
Aura and Nick left England to buy a chateau in France, the reasons they left were a secret from their friends .
The chateau was in bad condition, they also had two photographers with them in the house for a tv programme which Aura hoped would bring in some money.
Aura was not coping very well, until Helen came to them as a nanny to help with the two boys.
Things got creepy in the house with lights going on and off, and a voice in the boys bedroom.
I never guessed the ending of this book, but on reflection I realised it all goes back to the reason they left England.

Aura and Nick live in London with their two sons, Sorrel and Bay. After an incident at the school where Nick works they move to France to renovate a Chateau. Once there things go from bad to worse for Aura and Nick. Neither of them are likeable characters, but this is a very exciting book which i enjoyed very much.