I know I don't like domestic thrillers. I only requested this because it was set in Provence. Throwing in a French word here or there in italics doesn't make it French. Désolée. The thing I find most annoying about this genre is that privileged women never want to seem to want to hold themselves accountable for anything. There are four friends who reunite at one of their grandmother's chateaus twenty years after three of of them studied abroad in the area. I wouldn't consider these people friends, as so many of them betray each other. Jews are betrayed. Rape and abuse are mentioned. The killer comes out of left field, but not really. I know in this day and age we can't live without social media, obviously, but hearing about forty-something influencers makes me really sad.

I love this intense, climactic thriller. I was incredibly invested in the characters and plot. Readers are going to love this incredible novel.

I thought this was a compelling thriller. The characters could all be a bit awful, and there were definitely points that I really detested them all. I was a bit concerned that I had everything figured out too soon, but, boy, was I wrong. There were some great twists and turns that I did not see coming. I enjoyed the French setting, and I would absolutely read any future work by this author.
Thanks to Netgalley for the book to review.

Enjoyed this domestic thriller of a reunion of friends where secrets are coming out of the cracks! Great setting and backstory with historical aspects woven in the plot. A well crafted whodunit. #thechateau #jaclyngoldis #netgalley #goodreads

I plowed through this book - it’s so refreshing to have a new story that hasn’t been told before and I really enjoyed it. Will absolutely recommend to others!

The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis is an absolutely wonderful read! It takes you on an enthralling journey of family, love, and mystery. The characters are well-developed and the plot is captivating. The Chateau is a great escape that will leave you wanting more. The writing is beautiful and the story is compelling.

If you are a fan of Ruth Ware or Lucy Foley, you will enjoy The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis. The chateau in France was once a beloved place of bonding and respite for the owner's granddaughter and three of her best friends. The group of girls enjoyed staying at the chateau while studying abroad. Years later, Darcy and her friends have been invited back to the chateau. Darcy's grandmother ends up dead and the twists and turns reveal that each of the girls has their own reasons for accepting the invite. This was a very fast and entertaining read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-galley.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the copy of The Chateau. Sadly, the beginning of the book was really slow and nothing really happened until about 30% in. All POVs were written in the first person, and I had a hard time keeping the main characters straight and whose POV I was reading and what their stories were.
The last part of this book was great as we begin to find out what has been going on and I started to be able to differentiate between the characters, who though they were 40ish were written like they were much younger and not very interesting. I know some readers like stories that end with a wrap up of how the characters end up after the main story is resolved, but this one felt like it was just tacked on at the last minute, with the exception of the one POV that was one twist too many for me. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

A girls trip to the South of France turns deadly in this suspenseful whodunnit by Jaclyn Goldis.

Darcy, Jade, Arabelle, and Vix are four long time friends who have been invited to stay at a chateau for a reunion trip. When a grisly murder occurs at the chateau with motives and clues hard to find, each woman must grapple with her past, secrets, and desires, testing their friendships and loyalties to each other. The dark past of the chateau begins to haunt the women who are each implicated far more than they realize. Who to trust when everyone is a suspect?

Told from the point of view of several characters, this story has plenty of red herrings, twists and turns, surprises, and oh-my-gosh moments that juxtaposes nicely with the bucolic Provence setting. Each character's backstory and lives are on full display with each of them having their own alibis and motives which makes this murder mystery hard to solve. Themes involving revenge, justice, and survival are explored, which is balanced with the right amount of French luxury and culture. Feelings of guilt and regret are the common threads that link the four friends together and the cloistered setting of the chateau becomes the perfect location to commit a crime where there are endless places to hide...but nowhere to go.

I really enjoyed this story for its page turning quality and suspense. Everyone was a suspect and the psychological aspects of the story and characters created a creepy atmosphere, despite the gorgeous Provencal setting of the book. The author made me feel like I was a fly on one of the many stone walls in the chateau, observing each character whose descriptions and perspectives added to the suspiciousness of it all.

If you're a fan of glamorous whodunnits and intelligent women's fiction, you should definitely read The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis.

P.S. I had a thought...an interesting PR idea could be to email out a "fake" invitation to the chateau featured in this story when inviting readers to read this book. Just a thought...

Amazing thriller.. Did not see that ending coming. I truly enjoyed the setting of this novel as well as the relationships between the characters and the central mystery. Well done.

The Chateau is a stellar mystery by Jaclyn Goldis and centres around four longtime friends who are invited to a luxurious chateau in the heart of Provence, France by Darcy’s elderly grandmother Seraphine Demargelasse. Among the picturesque settings of lavender fields, market visits, long indulgent dinners, and celebrations, Seraphine is brutally murdered. What unfolds is hidden agendas and deceit, lies surface and everyone is under suspicion for the murder. The Chateau holds many secrets, some so shocking that they are worth killing for.

What I liked about the book:
-the unreliable narration
-interesting and unique characters
-the multiple POV with alternating chapters told by the various characters
-the luxurious setting of an old French Chateau in Provence as well as the surrounding villages
-the twists and turns throughout the story including the ending which was very satisfying
-the writing style and the turn of the phrase of Goldis
-the history of the Chateau and it’s story from WWII

What I didn’t like about the book:
-I loved everything about this book! Perhaps the villain because they were so devious but that enriched the story

My rating: 5 out of 5

My final takeaway: I loved this book and got immersed in the rich storylines that kept me intrigued the whole time. I loved the secrets being revealed and the numerous twists in the book. This book would appeal to fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

Trigger Warnings: rape, marital affairs, Holocaust

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for this eARC.

This is one of those books where you need to be in the right headspace to read it and I don’t think I was there for it. With that said, though, this IS a great book. The description is spot on. You’re getting exactly what you sign up for- a thriller in a gothic, French chateau. That vibe is normally everything to me, I just wish I had read this during spooky season and not my holiday rom-com spree 🤣 The setting is fantastic for a classic “who done it” tale and I was taken by surprise with the culprit.

Very suspenseful and twisty. Usually when I read these kind of books I can figure out who did it but it kept me guessing until the very end. Loved the characters and the setting and the layers to the story. Hope there’s a second one since the ending left it open.

Wow, what can I say? I started this book, fully prepared for a fun, simple mystery. This book, while yes a mystery, is anything from simple. Incredibly layered imagination of Women's friendship and how the past transgressions of our families haunt us. Asks readers to grapple with the question of just whom is responsible for historical atrocities, and what is their and their descendants responsibility of repair and reparation. Such a great book.

I enjoyed this book a lot. The setting was great and I liked the characters but it took some time to try to keep everyone straight when it kept switching points of view. I liked the twists at the end and it was overall a fun read.

A thriller set in a luxurious gothic French chateau, what could possibly go wrong? A LOT is the answer. Wow, what a wild ride! Absolutely devoured this one.

Darcy and her 3 friends are invited to her grandmother’s chateau in France for the first time since college. Each of them has their own unique tie to her grandmother and this beautiful estate. Still, they are all curious as to what the root cause of this invitation could be. Before they have the chance to find out, their host is shockingly murdered. Following the murder, everything seems to unfold rather quickly, with each woman holding their own secrets.

Overall, such a fantastic read!! I have learned that shut-in mysteries are my favorite genre and this hit the spot perfectly!!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date 5/6/23

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: Sometimes a book has to be read at the right time. This one was so much the exact headspace I wanted it was slightly uncanny. Also, and perhaps even more unusually, the description is bang on.

I really enjoyed reading this novel: it made the plane ride, ummm....fly! Well-crafted and chock full of interesting characters and situations, this is a wonderful read for lovers of mysteries, psychological fiction and twisty plots. I will highly recommend it to patrons and book clubs alike.

I very much enjoyed this book. It kept me guessing, the switch between perspectives flowed nicely and i continued to keep me guessing.

Talk a about a nightmare trip! This was the first book I've read by this author and it will not be my last. If you're looking for a great book to read late into the night you've found it!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.