This was a fast and compulsive read! Aura, Nick and their 2 young children have moved from the UK to France where they bought a run down chateau and have agreed to be part of a reality show to film the improvements to the property as well as their new life as expats. But it’s all fun and games until someone ends up dead at one of their parties, oops! Told in multiple POVs, drama abounds with unexpected twists and turns until it all comes to an explosive ending. Thank you Netgalley, HarperCollins Publishing and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. Available now

This book was ok. There are a few interesting scenes but overall I felt something was missing. Aura and Nick never seemed to connect as a real couple. They were both unlikable. I needed more info or clues about what was going on but they were held back.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A good mystery thriller novel. Love the cover.

Great read, I really enjoyed the author's previous novel and this one did not disappoint either! Loved the suspense and the way the story unfolded.

Thanks, NetGalley for an ARC copy in return for an honest review.
This is a very readable book that pulled me in from the start. This starts in current day with references to the "events" that brought us to where we are today. Then you jump back a few years to said events. I found the pacing to be perfect, each section drawing you up to a climax before jumping to the other timeline.
I really enjoyed all the plot lines however the combination of ALL the plot lines did seem a bit over the top. Regardless, it was a great read and I was totally here for it!

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to read this one because I changed my kindle email address and forgot to update it on Netgalley, so it never arrived to my device. *facepalm*

I read "The Chalet" by Catherine Cooper last year and loved it, so as soon as I saw that she was releasing a new book, I knew I wanted to read it. While her first book was a solid five stars, "The Chateau" was more difficult for me to get into.

One issue I had was that every character, except Aura and Nick's sons, was extremely unlikeable. I wasn't rooting for any of the characters and really didn't care about what happened to them because they were all terrible people.

Another issue was how slow the book was. I kept waiting for something to happen. The deaths didn't occur until much later in the book and they aren't explained until the last few chapters.

The last issue I had was with the plot twists at the end of the book. One of them made sense when I looked back at the events and tried to make sense of it, but the other plot twist felt like it was thrown in for shock value and didn't add up.

Side note: If you're an anti-vaxxer, I would recommend not reading this book because I swear it was brought up a dozen times and heavily judged. Despite being all for vaccines, it was annoying how much of the book focused on Aura's ridiculous beliefs.

However, I was intrigued enough with the mysterious things happening in the chateau, the dual timeline, and wondering why Aura and Nick moved to France. Cooper's writing style flows well and is easy to read and she does keep the reader intrigued. These aspects of the book made me want to keep reading, so for that it was a three star book for me.

If you don't mind a slow-burn mystery (it's definitely not a thriller; there was little suspense and all the build-up fell somewhat flat), then this might be the right book for you.

*Thank you to the publisher, Catherine Cooper, and NetGalley for the free eBook in exchange for writing an honest review.

I really struggled with this book. So much of the writing was confusing and the fact it was split into three totally separate parts didn't help. I wanted to like this so much more . . .

Bizarre, creepy, gripping are all great ways to describe this book. The Chateau is a well written psychological thriller. The character development is strong, but there are some elements of the story that will have the reader befuddled, scratching their head trying to understand the probability of such happenings. Overall, I do recommend reading it.

Wow! What an incredible thrill ride. Written in 3 parts and neatly tied together. Lots of twist. I was spellbound, Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

Aura, her husband, Nick, and their two sons, Bay and Sorrel have become expats in France where they bought a chateau. They plan to open it to paying guests once they finish with the many repairs that need to be done first. A film crew will be filming and documenting the repairs and changes they make to the chateau. Aura has hired Helen, an au pair to help with the boys. There was yet another incident that happened with Nick in his job as a teacher that necessitated their move.

They meet other expats in the area which makes it nice to have new friends. When they are invited to a lavish dinner at Chateau Amaryllis, they are taken by the beauty of the place. The dinner is sumptuous and champagne flows. But shocking things occur that night that make Aura realize that these are people she does not want to know or be with.

Before long, some distasteful things are found in the house and gardens that frighten the boys. Aura becomes concerned and wonders if these things have been planted by someone and if so, who?

The book is rather long and goes back and forth in time as we slowly learn more about Aura and Nick, their personalities and history. It’s well written with the ending very surprising. Having read the author’s other book, “The Chalet,” I knew I was in for a good read. Looking forward to reading more by her.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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!

Thanks to Harper 360, I was provided an ARC of The Chateau by Catherine Cooper via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

****Coming Out January 4, 2022****
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Thea and her husband host an extravagant Halloween Party at their Chateau in France. Everything is going perfectly as planned until someone ends up dead…

Aura and Nick recently bought a Chateau in the South of France, in order to start a new life. With the death at Thea’s party and the unexpected things that has been happening to them at their own Chateau , are they second guessing themselves on their decision to moving to France? With Aura dealing with Nicks past bad behavior in London, she is hopeful they can start over in France, especially for their kids.

Aura had signed them up to be part of tv show where they capture the moments of a family from England to the South of France. A show Aura has watched for years and dreamed about being apart of. But is it as it seems?

This fast paced book will have you on the edge of your seats as the secrets are unraveled. Are people whom they seem to be? This book will keep you guessing until the end with all the twist and turns! A great book club pick!

The Chateau is the latest novel by freelance journalist, Catherine Cooper who lives with her husband and two children in the South of France. I was initially intrigued by the idea of reading a novel about a young married couple who buy a chateau in need of some serious repair. Having interviewed quite a few chateau owners that are renovating their own chateaux in France, I was interested in how the author would share about the renovation process, getting to know the locals, etc. 

Each chapter is told from a different character's perspective (and spoiler warning... my opinion that the husband is a complete tool didn't change even when we are shown events through his POV). There were also events that should have been dealt with earlier in the novel. There is, however, one character whose ending I didn't agree with.

The novel definitely had all the elements of a mystery, including some revelations that I never saw coming and will definitely keep you on your toes, but I will warn you that this book does have some scenes that could be triggering for some.

I ended up liking this book much more than I originally expected. The book is divided into three parts. Each part felt like a separate book, but then the author tied everything together with a surprise ending that I didn't see coming. Very well written story with twists and turns at the end!

I wasn’t convinced this book would be great until the third part, so keep reading, it gets amazing.

I can’t lie, at the beginning of the book, Aura was almost insufferable. I found myself getting more and more annoyed with her the more the story went on. She seemed a little prudish and juvenile for my taste in characters, and I was siding with Nick the whole time.

Until the jump backwards in time to explain the incident in London. Throughout all of part two, I found myself on edge learning about why Nick and Aura needed to leave London. As more details came out, I found myself more engaged and excited to learn about each detail, especially once the end of part two came. Honestly, until the end, I couldn’t fully understand the need to uproot lives and move to another country since, without giving too much away, compared to other similar literary situations, this felt much tamer.

Cut forward again back to the new life in France, a series of unfortunate events unfolds. In a way reminiscent of Agatha Christie, everything pieces together about every event that has transcended. Cooper beautifully keeps you on your toes about a number of unrelated events that leave you feeling conflicted about if justice prevailed.

"The Chateau" fails to deliver a satisfying thriller read.

A couple trying to overcome past marital issues, decide to move to France and buy a chateaux. The plan being, renovate and open a bed and breakfast theme lodging for rental. Also in the plan, repair and renovate their marriage. As suspected, all does not go accordingly to plan. Especially with odd occurrences frequenting in the home at night. Random music blasting on in the middle of the night. All of this along with a murder!
Unfortunately, the murder, the strange occurrences and the endangered marriage, all these pieces never come together or connect within the plot. Perhaps a little by the very end. Overall, a disjointed read that provided little stimulation.

This is the second novel I've read, by Catherine Cooper. I previously read "The Chalet". While the premise for both books are quite intriguing, neither are successful in delivery.

*Thank you to Harper 360/HarperCollins via NetGalley for providing the digital reader copy.

Aura and Nick and their two young sons have purchased a Chateau in France that they are hoping to convert into a bed and breakfast. It is apparent that they are leaving London for dodgy reasons and those reasons become clearer the further you read.

Of course nothing goes as planned. Rather than renovating a house they are dealing with murder but of who and why?

This was a strange one for me.

In the beginning I almost gave up. First of all, swingers, I don't want to read about them. Period. It added nothing to this story. The only thing it succeeded at was making this reader cringe. Yuck!

A cast of unlikable characters.

Yep, except for the children everyone here seems despicable. Sure, some are less shady than others but lets just say these aren't people I'd want to be spending leisurely time with. Or any time with for that matter.

A tale of a twist too many. Or is it?

As we're nearing the end we are finally given the twist and I thought to myself "not bad". It didn't blow my mind but I definitely didn't see it coming either so kudo's for that. Then as we continue to read we're given yet another twist and one that is so implausible that I just can't wrap my brain around it. I don't know if the timeline I was keeping in my brain started to wobble but I just can't seem to connect all the dots bringing us to this conclusion. There doesn't seem to be enough time to create such an elaborate plan from start to finish. Yet, yet...it wasn't disappointing either. 🤷‍♀️

I can't even make heads or tails of this review and I'm the one writing it. What I mean is that for all the flaws I was still unable to put this down. It was a compelling page-turner that managed to keep me entertained through out (minus the swingers) and I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another book by this author. 3.5 stars!

TW - If you are anti-vax then this may not be a book for you. The author makes it abundantly clear where she stands on this issue.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360 for my complimentary copy.

The Chateau, was a fun and quick read! I really enjoyed Catherine Cooper's writing style and her natural story telling style. I will say that these are characters you are going to love to hate , with saying this, it was a bit hard to get attached to any of them. The story is told in two different settings, one in France, one in London, I really enjoyed both story lines. The plot twist was unexpected and really kept me going.

I chose this book because I read the previous book Chalet by this author and enjoyed it.
Honestly, I really don't know what to think about this one.

Nick, Aura and their two boys move into a fixer upper chateau in France. They have a secret that has caused them to move. There was lots of hope for the story when a person is killed at a Halloween party. But then it goes into long, drawn out chapters about the past. Yes, the back story is necessary but it seemed to take too long to get back to the here and now.

Parts of the ending made perfect sense and others seem quite random.

Thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins for the arc