The Chateau: the twisty new thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Chalet

This was bought as a gift to go either the other 2 in the trilogy. Cant say anything else

I did enjoy this book which had a great twist at the end, although I cannot believe how stupid some of the characters are. I felt that a couple of the minor characters could have played a bigger part.I didn’t enjoy this as much as The Chalet or The Cruise but it was ok.

Rating: 3.8/5I was mightily impressed by Catherine Cooper's debut novel, "The Chalet", so there was never any doubt that I was going to read her next book too. In my review of her first novel I made the observation that it should appeal to keen readers of Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley and Cally Taylor. That is equally true of "The Chateau". At various points I sensed echoes of Cally Taylor's "Sleep", Ruth Ware's "Turn of the Key" and Lucy Foley's "The Guest List". However, even though you can discern some of the influences on her work, Catherine Cooper is still very much her own writer who has produced another captivating mystery.Married couple, Aura and Nick, have left England behind and invested in a new life in France with their two young sons. They have purchased a run-down chateau, for which they have ambitious plans, and they are broadly welcomed by the local expat community - but there are ongoing tensions beneath the surface.As in "The Chalet" the story operates across dual timelines: Initially around the time of the move to France, but then also to a point a few months earlier, when Aura & Nick were still in England. The author uses various protagonists to provide the narrative and again succeeds in giving each one a distinct and credible voice. As she showed in her first novel, Catherine Cooper is quite adept at incorporating some misdirection into the plot, but on this occasion I felt the final outcome was a bit over-engineered. It isn't awful by any means, but the quality of the build-up to that point deserved a more compelling alternative.Overall, I don't think this is as strong an offering as "The Chalet", but it is, nonetheless, a creditworthy follow-up to that impressive debut and a delight to read. There are times as a reader when you come across a writer whose style just resonates with you and, as a result, the reading process becomes effortlessly enjoyable. Based on her first two novels Catherine Cooper may well be falling into that category for me and I will certainly be coming back for book three.

Catherine Cooper has written another brilliant, utterly chilling thriller. The Chateau opens with an intriguing paragraph that made me want to know what was going on here. Someone is out for revenge. But who is this person? What has made them want to pursue this course of action?Catherine Cooper then takes us to France, where at a party, someone ends up dead. This makes for such a gripping opening. I had to know who this person was who was killed. Following on from this we meet Aura and Nick who have recently relocated to France from the UK with their two sons, Bay and Sorrel. They are doing up a chateau with a film crew present who are filming for a documentary. It is clear that they have come here to try and forget something which happened to them.As we get to know Aura and Nick Catherine Cooper takes us back in time. It is here that we get to see the events play out which led to them seeking a new life in France. There were some gripping scenes here as I wondered just what exactly had happened and I began to see events in the present in a new light. As Aura and Nick get to know the expat community out in France, I couldn’t believe some of the scenes I was reading, particularly when they attend their friend Thea’s party. Aura’s frustration comes through very clearly in her character here. It made me wonder how things were going to pan out for them in France.Catherine Cooper throws in a lot of red herrings which keeps your attention focused elsewhere and I thought she did this very well. There was a twist which came towards the end of the book which completely surprised me. I had no idea that this was the direction that Catherine was going to take. It made it all the more chilling and those last few lines in the final chapter gave me shivers.Psychological thriller fans, Catherine Cooper’s novels are a must read if you haven’t read them already. I was utterly gripped by The Chateau and I can’t wait to see what Catherine Cooper writes next.

‘The Chateau’ is Catherine Cooper’s second novel following last year’s highly successful ‘The Chalet’.The Prologue kicks off with a lavish Halloween party held at the fairytale-like Chateau Amaryllis. Suddenly there is a body and we then flash back to September.Aura and Nick Dorian have left their old lives behind and moved from London to Mozène, France with their two young children. They have purchased a run down chateau and have plans to renovate it and open a chambres d’hôtes. A film crew is with them shooting for ‘French Fancy’, a show about Brits undertaking renovation projects in France.Nick and Aura are in a rocky place with respect to their marriage. They are not the most likeable characters: Aura is a New Age flake and Nick moans about everything.They meet helpful members of the local ex-pat community though a few unsettling things occur at the chateau. So what happened back in London to make them leave? In Part 2 the story moves back to London ten months earlier and this is revealed. There are a few other point of view chapters including some ominous fragments. Of course, there is also the mystery of the Halloween party body and others.While some aspects of the plot were a bit bonkers, there was no doubt that ‘The Chateau’ was extremely entertaining. I also felt that Catherine Cooper did well in creating the atmosphere of rural France and the insular British ex-Pat community.In addition, she took the plot in unexpected directions. All domestic noirs/psychological thrillers have twists but I have to admit that ‘The Chateau’ left me stunned.So, well done! I look forward to more thrillers from the bold pen of Catherine Cooper.