This book definitely felt ominous from the beginning. A giant Chateau in France, 3 friends that haven’t been there in 20 years, an out of the nowhere invitation from one of the girl’s very old grandmother.

Upon arrival everything seems fine. That is until an Instagram account starts posting picture of the girls & telling them that they know their secrets. As things begin to unravel the unthinkable happens & the grandmother is brutally murdered. Knife right through the heart. Crazy right?! & as usual— everyone is a suspect.

This book had a backstory that I was not expecting. It made me really emotional & I felt like I had to race to the end to see how everything was going to play out. I do feel like this left us on a bit of a cliffhanger? Maybe there will be a sequel? Either way I definitely enjoyed this one!

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The Chateau
Author: Jaclyn Goldis
Source: NetGalley and Atria Books
Pub. Date: May 23, 2023

Seraphina, the owner of a grand estate/chateau in France, has invited her granddaughter, Darcy, and life-long three best friends to her home in France. All four girls are familiar with the Chateau, having spent years there when studying abroad. However, the invite is unexpected, and all of the forty-ish-year-old women are intrigued by the reason they were summoned. Seraphina tells them that they should enjoy their big night in town because she has some secrets to share with all of them the next day. Only…that day never comes when Seraphina is found by the girls bludgeoned to death. Everyone is a suspect, someone is sending threatening Instagram messages, and there are enough secrets between the entire household to sink the Titanic again. The author writes: “I think we only see what we want to see, one hundred percent of the time.” I didn't see a great thriller. The ending was uninspired, red flags were written to throw the reader off track, and it was just okay and not what I expected. The secret was not a great secret. I’ll be very interested to read your reviews. #secrets #TheChateau #bestfriends #moresecrets #deadGrandmere #france #thriller #mystery @netgalley @atriabooks #jacklyngoldis
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I received a complimentary copy of this ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to Atria Books and the author for the opportunity to read this novel. Pub. Date: May 23, 2023.
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Four best friends of over two decades meet up for a week of fun. Of course, things don't go as planned and we are faced with a mystery set in a beautiful chateau - very much à-la Agatha Christie. Told from all four POV, this was a twisty mystery that I greatly enjoyed. I highly recommend it and will be looking out for this author's future work.

Whew!! What a twisty, fun, mystery of a ride!!! Told from mainly four best friend’s perspectives that are called back to the Chateaux by Darcy’s grandmother, Seraphine to reveal
a secret to them but she is brutally murdered before the secret is revealed. As the ladies come to grips with the fact that one of them is the murderer several secrets unfold along the way! Really enjoyed the thriller and the ending was great!! Always love an ending that leaves no unanswered questions!!

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for my electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review!!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the opportunity to read The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis. I love this book. Loads of twists, lots of surprises, with well drawn characters and setting. I was drawn to the chateau, its surroundings, its art and decor, the markets and the food; the author did a lovely job of describing things to bring them to life which was, for me, a bonus.

RUN, don't walk, to pick up this new thriller from Jaclyn Goldis! "The Chateau" has mystery, historical fiction, friendship & emotion all packed into 300 pages of goodness. I could not put this book down & when I had to, I couldn't wait to pick it up again! Perfect for the beach or curling up on a rainy summer night. One of my top five favorites so far of 2023! Bravo!

Twenty years ago four young women were studying abroad in Provence, France and spent time at the chateau belonging to Darcy's grandmother, Seraphine Demaargelasse. Now they have been invited back to the chateau and the question is why? Why were they invited, why did each woman, now into middle age, accept? They still want answers but instead find Seraphine murdered in her bed.
It isn't long before the four of them start to suspect each other. If one of them isn't the killer then they are al in danger. There is somebody out there they need to worry about, somebody wh is watching them.
The story is revealed through various points of view, something that I usually avoid. I set that aside when I read the book blurb and found Provence - one of my all time favorite places - was the setting, the locked room aspect of the mystery and the art connection and WWII history, well, I was hooked. Long buried secrets are being protected. Who resorted to murder to keep a secret? I won't say more for fear of spoilers. Be prepared to be surprised as the mystery reveals its twist, turns and red herrings and leaves you saying wow at the conclusion.
My thanks to the publisher Atria/Emily Bestler Books and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the setting and thought the pacing was good. It was enjoyable to try to guess who had committed the murder, as well as what secrets each character was hiding. I did NOT see the end twist coming and look forward to reading any sequel!

When Darcy and her friends arrive at her grandmother's Chateau in France, they don't have any idea what they are in for, her grandmother has dropped some major hints that some secrets are about to be revealed.

When the grandmother is murdered, everyone is considered a suspect by the police and each other. Who would want Darcy's grandma dead and why?

As the police investigate, and each of the women begin suspecting each other all the secrets will be revealed and there are some doozies. With each surprising reveal the person I suspected of the murder changed, there were so many red herrings and twist that I had no idea what was going to happen next. I really enjoyed this murder mystery, I love Jaclyn Goldis did a great job of keeping me on the edge of my seat, and keeping me guessing.

I will definitely be reading more by this author

invitation from Seraphine, Darcy’s grandmother, to return to her palatial chateau, they all accept. But then Seraphine is murdered, and everything and everyone they thought they knew falls under suspicion.

This book was so good! The characters are all well delineated, complex, and captivating, and the setting is its own character. The suspense builds and builds to where you can’t put the book down. And the twists! The twists are absolutely amazing, literally up until the very last page. I definitely recommend this book.

Anything France + locked door mystery is a combination that automatically draws me in. This was the perfect blend of intriguing, spooky, and jump scare-y. I absolutely flew through this--it was perfectly paced and driving the whole time!

I struggled to enjoy this one; I found the characters’ voices to be too similar, save for a victim killed early on in the novel. I really struggle when characters are not unlikeable but uninteresting, and these characters fell flat for me. I wasn’t invested in their problems, and their personalities and relationship dynamics weren’t entertaining enough to hook me, either. However, plot-centric fans are in for a treat. The mystery nails several twists and if you’re down for a good, juicy plot and wham line ending, then this is definitely the book for you.

A little slow to get started but once you get the characters sorted, you won’t be rushing to do anything else but read -to discover Séraphine’s reason for calling the four friends together. I was up into the wee hours reading …..so worth it!
Thank You to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Jaclyn Goldis for the opportunity to devour this ARC

I think I’ve said this a million times, but I love a locked room mystery! If you tell me there are people in an isolated location and a murder has happened and everyone is a suspect…I’m in!

The Chateau is a fun twist on the locked room mystery genre that features a reunion of four friends who are seemingly invited to come out to France out of the blue. But is it actually sudden or does someone know more than they’re willing to tell? That’s the fun!

Goldis lets her story unfold through alternating narrators, which include each of the friends and some additional guest stars sprinkled in. These different viewpoints give the reader an intimate opportunity to get to know each friend, which for me really shaped this story into something very well-rounded. The reader can feel that the narrators are holding back the truth at points, but you’re never quite sure about what or why until Goldis wraps things up at the end. And speaking of the end…that final chapter has me wanting more pages!

I loved the family secrets, the rich people's problems, the drama…oh so much drama! The dynamic between the characters is incredibly vibrant and truly drives this book toward an ending that I didn’t see coming. I will absolutely be keeping an eye out for more from Goldis in the future!

A huge thank you to Atria Books for my gifted copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books/Simon & Schuster for the e-arc of this book.

I had super high hopes for this book, it was good and enjoyed it, but just did not wow me as I hoped it would. There are multiple povs, which did lose me at some points. I enjoyed the setting I read thriller and historical fiction, so this book hit that mark. I think just a point it did drag. Give it a chance, if you get through the first 20% it gets better from there. 3 star

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Let me begin my saying that I’ve always loved the French culture and I dream in losing myself in a chateau in the countryside, stroll lavender fields and look at some incredible art. In my early college years I studied French and majored in art history and love stories that have all of these elements, add that to a twisty murder plot with high stakes, rich (literally) history and some pivotal moments in history and I was hooked.

This trapped in a house while a murderer is in the midst of it all and watching the story unfold I was such a thrill! This books premise is a group of college friends reconvening at the request of Darcy, one of the friends, grandmother. Through vague allusions the friends join Seraphine, each with their sordid histories and baggage, and while celebrating a birthday, Seraphine meets a grizzly demise.

As the story unfolds we learn their connections to each other, the chateau and to their now deceased hostess. With layered chapters in multi POV, THE CHATEAU got me out of my reading slump and had me turning pages- finishing this in one day! If you like twisty murder mysteries set in historic locations, you’ll love this! Out 5/23/23!

I had high hopes for this book because the plot of a murder within a group is usually one that I really enjoy. This writing was very difficult for me to follow and I was finding it hard to focus. At about 20% in I realized I really didn’t care about any of the characters they almost all seemed too guilty before the murder even took place.

The book had similar vibes to The Guest List. A few POVs to keep track of and enough mystery to keep things interesting. I wish it moved a little quicker but it was still entertaining. I loved the location.

This book was amazing!! I loved it!! I couldn’t put the book down!! I read the whole thing in one sitting!! It has easily become one of my favorites

This book felt slow to start and I had a hard time connecting at first, but as it went on it picked up and even with the set up where you have a limited suspect pool in a whodunnit, the twist surprised me! The characters were generally likeable and the ending was satisfying. I appreciated the setting, and the work the author did in trying to transport the reader to the French countryside. Overall a solid read that makes me look forward to more work by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books/Simon & Schuster for my advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.