Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and Atria Books #partner, for the advanced copy of The Chateau in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Atria Books/ Simon & Schuster ALC
Published: May 23, 2023
Summary:
A dream girls trip to a luxurious French chateau devolves into a deadly nightmare of secrets and murder in this stylish, twisty thriller for fans of Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, and Lisa Jewell.
Welcome to picturesque Provence, where the Lady of the Chateau, Séraphine Demargelasse, has opened its elegant doors to her granddaughter Darcy and three friends. Twenty years earlier, the four girlfriends studied abroad together in France and visited the old woman on the weekends, creating the group’s deep bond. But why this sudden invitation?
Amid winery tours, market visits, and fancy dinners overlooking olive groves and lavender fields, it becomes clear that each woman has a hidden reason for accepting the invitation. Then, after a wild evening’s celebration, Séraphine is found brutally murdered.
As the women search for answers to this shocking crime, fingers begin pointing and a sinister Instagram account pops up, exposing snapshots from the friends’ intimate moments at the chateau, while threatening to reveal more.
As they race to uncover who murdered Séraphine and is now stalking them, they learn the chateau houses many secrets…several worth killing for.
My thoughts:
When I see a book becoming compared to Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, and Lisa Jewell it definitely peaks my interest…and I’m so glad I ended up requesting this one because it totally delivered! This book is so much more than I thought it would be and I absolutely loved it!
I love locked-room mysteries. They are one of my favorite tropes within the thriller genre and this one is that and then some. Four girls called back to a chateau by one of the girl’s grandmothers…what could be more fun? Except there are secrets amongst the girls and that’s just the beginning.
I loved how this was told from multiple perspectives – it not only keeps things moving but also keeps you wondering just what is really going on. Plus, the setting. Between the story being told in France to the beautiful old chateau that has quite a few secrets of its own as we come to find out, to the history that is woven in – yes, this is not just a straight-forward thriller, but has shades of historical fiction blended in that totally blind-sided me. I cannot tell you how much I loved this aspect of the story…it really added such a unique depth of the book.
This book oozes atmosphere and suspense along with a whole lot of tension. This is definitely a great book to add to your summer reading list because once you start reading it, you are not going to want to put it down – it’s that addicting!
Audio thoughts:
This had a full-cast narration and I loved it! Full cast narrations can sometimes be hit or miss but it was definitely a hit here! I was totally immersed in this story and found myself listening to it in one day because I just couldn’t put it down. The narrators – Carlotta Brantan, Amanda Carlin, Graham Halstead, Elisabeth Lagelee, Emily Lawrence, Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Jackie Sanders – were all new-t0-me but I thought they all did a great job bringing the story to life.
