I was excited for a locke door mystery but this felt more like a drama than a thriller. and the edning didn't really feel like a got a lot of closure.

This is a fun thriller and there are twists and turns that I did not expect. I think fans of Lucy Foley will really enjoy this book. The second half of the book sucked me in and I quickly finished it because I had to know the answers to all the secrets that were being kept!

The grand dame of the Chateau has invited her granddaughter along with her three friends to spend one last vacation together in Provence. Twenty years earlier the four were students and spent a magical season at the chateau forming lifelong friendships. But nothing is perfect. Each of the friends has problems, secrets, and there are cracks in their bonds. Then comes a shattering - the grand dame is murdered.

The Chateau written by Jaclyn Goldis is labeled as a thriller.

This novel starts out slowly as a simple story of four college friends coming together years later for a reunion. They became close friends during their year abroad and visited Darcy's grandmother's chateau a few times during that year. But now as they come together for a reunion requested by Darcy 's grandmother, each one finds out that even though they thought they all were close friends there are secrets that have never been revealed. Even Lady of the Chateau, Séraphine Demargelasse has secrets she wants to share with her granddaughter and her friends.

Wonderfully descriptive as the women travel through markets and the small towns of France. Perfect build up of each character's personality and the secret they are holding close to their chest. Suspense builds slowly in this thriller mystery novel.

This had been on my list for a while and I really, really loved it - yes, it’s a guilty pleasure #suspensethriller but it also does a really phenomenal job of combining the suspenseful aspects of the plot with other nuanced themes, including friendship, marriage, class, aging, generational trauma, romance, and family dynamics. It’s both suspenseful with several major, unexpected plot twists and also at times heartbreaking, tender, hopeful, and bittersweet.

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Darcy, Jade, Vic, and Arabelle became fast friends when studying abroad in their youth, spending time at Darcy’s wealthy and aristocratic grandmother’s pristine French chateau. Decades later the girls - now women - are struggling with everything from finances, to infidelity, to serious health issues, and everything in between, as they become acquainted with the way their lives have morphed from adventurous young women to women coming to terms with life in their forties.

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When they are unexpectedly invited by Darcy’s grandmother to return to the chateau for the first time in years, everyone has their own motives and suspicions. What they don’t expect, though, is for a gruesome and tragic murder to occur in their luxurious midst.

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When one does - it appears that everyone is a suspect. And the four girls begin to realize that maybe they don’t know each other at all.

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*** SPOILER ALERT BELOW ***

Annabelle is absolute trash and I cannot believe that Darcy and everyone in their friend group did not immediately - regardless of circumstances - tell her to exit the premises for a LONG TIME (if not forever) after discovering who she’s been fooling around with.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. A murder mystery in an interesting and intriguing location. Had me on the edge with every turn.

The cover is a bit misleading, but the story is very intriguing and going back and forth between the past and current keeps you guessing . Uncovering the mystery of a death in the chateau leads the characters on an unending discovery of each other and the reasons behind the mystery.

This book left me wondering and curious constantly which I love in a thriller/murder mystery! Sometimes the multiple points of view had me confused, but nonetheless still enjoyed it!

The Chateau had me interested in the beginning but lost me a little about half way through.
The setting was one aspect of the story that I really enjoyed and the backstories of the 4 friends that return to the Chateau. Multiple POV is always a favourite of mine as well. However, I did not find any of the characters particularly likeable and some of the story felt a little repetitive.

I give The Chateau a 3/5 rating.
Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

A dramatic setting and story for this thriller set in an old chateau in Provence. I was intrigued by the four women invited to the chateau by the 94 year old owner, Seraphine, grandmother of one of the women, Darcy. The suspense begins when Seraphine is found stabbed to death early in the book, and the women must figure out who, what, and why and wonder if they should suspect each other.

The ending came as a shocker with a twist that left me flabbergasted at the dedication to revenge by the murderer. I'm not sure I liked the book's ending as it left me shaking my head in dismay.

This story is about 4 best friends who are reunited in France, brought to a Chateau where they spent their weekends 20 years ago, owned by Seraphine, one of the girl's grandmother. But then Seraphine is found murdered! What secret was the killer trying to keep her from divulging? What secrets do they all have?

This was so twisty and fun! This is a great crossover of family drama and thriller and I ate it up! It did take a hot second to sort out in my brain who was who and how they connected to the other friends. But then we got rolling and I just want to eat popcorn and watch it all unfold! Delightfully twisty right up until the end (even in the epilogue!)!

Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for an advance digital copy! All opinions are mine. This is out now!

The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis is a thriller about a dream girls trip to a French chateau. While the girls are there, Seraphine, the grandmother to one of the girls, is murdered. This book is full of twists and extremely bad and frustrating decisions. It kept my attention, but I didn't really enjoy the story itself. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

As someone who enjoys this emerging genre of "some friends go away to a stunning yet creepy estate/villa/mansion in a foreign country," I devoured this book. I loved the characters, the mystery, and also the locations in it. Great mystery book club pick!

I really enjoyed this thriller! It kept me on my toes throughout the story and I was definitely not expecting the ending. The twists throughout I thought were very well done. I enjoyed the audio book with the cast of characters. This will be a great recommendation to patrons who enjoy thrillers and locked-room mysteries.

Four friends convene at a chateau owned by the grandmother that brought them all together, only for a murder to shock them all shortly after their reunion begins. One by one, secrets are uncovered as trust is broken, friends are turned against one another, and a murderer lurks among them. This one started off a little slow, but once it picked up, it was a great thriller and whodunnit wrapped into one.

2 stars!

Bad, bad, bad. The only positive I felt like was the French atmosphere (because I love France) but everything else was a severe let down. There was simply WAY too much going on and in the effort to do something, it really ended up doing nothing. Way too many subplots for an unsatisfactory ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really loved this one. It gets thrillery at the end but it’s mostly a drama between these four best friends set in the French countryside and I couldn’t get enough. Read it! I also think I smell a sequel…@jaclyngoldis??

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Atria Books and NetGalley for my copy!

Thank you to the publisher for a Netgalley of this book.

I enjoyed this book. Did not love it. But it was entertaining. To be honest, the characters were unlikable and I would not have cared who died in the book.

But I liked the setting-- I like locked door mysteries-- and like I said... the book was entertaining.

In this mystery/thriller, four friends who met twenty years before during a semester abroad in the south of France are invited to spend the weekend at the chateau owned by one of the women’s grandmother. But then the grandmother gets murdered while they are there! (Not a spoiler, it happens in the first chapter before going back to the beginning of their trip, as well as the aftermath.) The book is told from the alternating perspectives of all four women, as well as the groundskeeper, all of whom have their own secrets and issues.

This was a fun read that kept me guessing! Loved the setting and it had a great atmosphere, gave me some Ruth Ware/Lucy Foley type vibes. And I also enjoyed the Jewish representation and related plot. Look forward to reading more from Jaclyn Goldis!

I read this for my book club and it was fun guessing who was doing what and what we thought might happen next and what everyone's secrets might be. The setting was gorgeous and the author clearly loved it and described with great affection. We all had a difficult time telling everyone apart and keeping their stories straight, which detracted a bit from the overall plot.