The Chateau is a thriller set in Saint Remy de Provence, a perfect location for a novel where past and present collide. Three friends (Darcy, Jade, and Vix) had become friends twenty years prior while in a study abroad program in Avignon, where they spent weekends in a chateau owned by Darcy’s grandmother, Seraphine Demargelasse. Seraphine invites the three women, along with her housekeeper’s daughter Arabelle, to return to the Chateau for unknown reasons, although Darcy knows Seraphine would like to discuss her will with her. However, Seraphine is murdered the evening before this meeting can take place. Everyone has secrets which may or may not have anything to do with Serafine’s death. And to what extent are a missing necklace, and a Van Gogh painting involved, along with French collaboration with the Nazis in sending Jews to concentration camps?

The book keeps you guessing, which is unfortunate in this case as the main clues you need to solve the mystery are only divulged towards the end when the killer tells the reader what happened. Nonetheless, I give the book 4.0 out of 5.0 stars for the location and historical facts alone.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary advanced readers copy of this book.

Darcy, Arabelle, Vix, and Jade met decades ago while studying abroad in France and spending time at Darcy’s grandmother’s chateau. Out of nowhere, they are all invited back to the chateau for one final trip. The trip is already tense and full of secrets and that is before Darcy’s grandmother is found murdered! Have the secrets of their past caught up to them?

What I loved:
-complicated relationships between the women
-the setting/descriptions of France
-forced proximity
-lots of twists and turns!

This was an elaborately written book full of surprises! The multiple POVs kept me on my toes and engaged in the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the advanced reading copy!

When Jade turned 40, the last of the group to do so, all four women went back to where it all began for them, to Darcy’s grandmother’s house in Provence to regroup and celebrate. They had stayed close since that summer in their 20s, when they spent time together in France. Darcy and Jade and Vix all live in New York, and Arabelle visits often, usually to meet with her publisher or to promote her cookbooks. They are best friends.

And they all have secrets from one another.

Darcy has a husband she adores and two adorable children who came to her after many years of struggling with infertility. While she loves her family with all her heart, it came with a price. And that price is a debilitating amount of debt that means the life she constructed so carefully with Oliver is about to come crashing down. But her secret is small compared to the secrets of those around her.

Vix is struggling after a very difficult battle with breast cancer and the breakdown of her relationship. She is broken physically and emotionally, but when Seraphine called and invited her to France, Vix knew she had to go. She had to do whatever Darcy’s grandmother asked, no matter how strange it seemed. Vix feels obligated, since Seraphine had been supporting her and her art for 20 years.

Jade went to France with a purpose all those years ago. Yes, she was studying at Avignon, and when she met Darcy, she made her a friend. But she also had an agenda. Her Jewish grandparents were betrayed horribly by a family in the region, and Jade went to France on a fact-finding mission. But when she found more than just facts, when she located the family, she started thinking about revenge.

Arabelle grew up in France, spending her summers with her grandmother Sylvie. Sylvie was a chef back then, and later a caregiver, for Darcy’s grandmother Seraphine. Arabelle met Darcy when they spent summers together at the house. And later, when Darcy came back to France to study at Avignon, she introduced Arabelle to her new friends from school, Jade and Vix. Arabelle also became a chef, and she worked hard, sometimes several jobs at a time, to become a successful businesswoman and social media darling. And while she is happy to spend time with her grandmother and Seraphine again, she has her own secret that could devastate one of her best friends.

Everything is picture perfect at first, the women enjoying the beauty of Provence and the luxury of Seraphine’s grand home. But then a creepy Instagram account tags them with captions that feel almost like threats, and the women can’t understand who would be photographing them in the house and posting it online. But things get so much worse, when Seraphine is murdered.

As the women grieve and try to figure out who could have killed Darcy’s grandmother, they realize that while they all have secrets—including Seraphine, as it turns out—one of them has a secret they’re willing to kill for.

The Chateau is a chilling slow burn thriller about the secrets we carry and how they eat away at us, set in the opulent mansion of a French grandmother in the beautiful region of Provence, France. The relationships that define these women encourage them, define them, hurt them, enrage them, heal them, and break them. As the secrets slowly emerge, and the women find out just who knew what about whom, the knife twists as they wait for a killer to be unmasked.

I thought that The Chateau was a fun summer book. All the descriptions of France, the sunsets and the food and the fields of lavender felt a little like a vacation. I liked the premise of the book a lot, but I did think it was a little slow. The chapters are told from the perspectives of several different characters, which added some tension as I realized how the stories all came together. The characters were intriguing, the story was strong, the setting was gorgeous. I just wished it had moved at a faster pace.

Egalleys for The Chateau were provided by Atria Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Told from each of the character's perspective, Darcy and her friends are asked to return to her grandmother's chateau in France. It's been twenty years since they last were all together at the chateau. Everyone comes with their own secrets and agendas. But before she can explain why she summoned them, Séraphine is murdered. But who did it? And why?

Encompassing multiple generations of secrets and betrayals, the story was weaved together masterfully, and almost everything was tied up in a neat bow.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

Four string stars! I love a friends on vacation mystery/drama! This book is the best popcorn mystery and if you’re like me will finish it in a day. I loved getting to know these four friends and all the juicy secrets that were planted along the way. The ending though! Juicy, unexpected and crying emoji. I need more than that!

⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙡𝙪𝙭𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙁𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙝 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙪 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝, 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧.

📍 Read if you like:
• Locked Room Thrillers
• Slow Burns
• Isolated Locations
• Agatha Christie

I had such high expectations for this book, but unfortunately, I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. The premise sounded so interesting with it being set in a luxurious chateau in France.

It was compared to three favorite thriller authors: Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, and Lisa Jewell. I’m so upset I didn’t love this book in the way I was expecting to.

The story starts off so slow and I didn’t care at all for the characters or their backstories. Nothing really happens until the middle of the book. While the ending was so much better, there wasn’t much I took away from this thriller.

The plot was far-fetched and over the top. It was the complete opposite of satisfying. Also, some of the twists were way too predictable.

I have seen a few people really enjoy this book, but unfortunately, it wasn’t for me. It sounded like such a fun thriller, but I didn’t really love where the story went. You’ll definitely need to suspend belief at times, but there’s definitely an audience out there for it.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Atria Books for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

Another great thriller for 2023! I had my suspicions, most of them partially right but not fully right. Jaclyn Goldie did a wonderful job weaving in details that seemed realistic but that also blew the story out of the water. The last chapter held a twist I somehow didn’t guess and has me BEGGING for more.

I had a slightly hard time getting into this book before the "action" started. Getting to know the characters was a little boring, but I understand why they all had to have their histories told.

Once the plot really started moving though, I had a hard time putting the book down. My suspicions of a certain character came true, but it was really great seeing how it all unfolded.

I ended up really enjoying this one, so I'd recommend it!

The Chateau is a story of four friends invited to spend week at a grand Chateau in France, owned by one of their grandmother's. The women all forty somethings are best friends and spent time together at the Chateau 20 years prior. All of the friends have secrets and all have come to the Chateau with their own motivations. Things quickly go bad when their host is brutally murdered.

This story is touted to be a twisty thriller, but other than the murder early on, the thriller aspect didn't really pick up until about 80% into the book.

I found the book to be largely character driven for the first half, as we learn more about our four friends and start to discover their secrets. The dynamic between the friends and their backstories were very interesting so I found the story to be very intriguing.

There was one particular plot line throughout the story that was particularly compelling, involving betrayals going back generations.

Once things started to unravel, things got really interesting as others end up in peril and we discover who the killer is.

Personally, I really need a book to wrap everything up. I don't like loose ends or cliffhangers (unless I know there is going to be a sequel), so the ending of this book did not leave me satisfied unfortunately. Otherwise, I enjoyed this book, it kept me invested and had an engrossing storyline.

Murder, betrayal, adultery, this book has so much going on it's like literary alphabet soup and it's fantastic. Moments of nostalgia love, friendship, and even terror filled the pages and my mind.

Darcy, Vix, Arabella, and Jade go to France at the request of Seraphine, Darcy's grandmother for a trip of a lifetime, each of them had a reason to want to get away, and each of them had secrets they'd do anything to keep safe.

Through a story that takes us from secret rooms, childhood trauma, diamonds, and a long-lost Van Gough we learn that these women's lives and their families are more connected than any of them could have imagined and it will have dire consequences.

I found myself reading this and thinking about friendship, what it means, what I would do, and how far I would go to protect mine.

The visual storytelling in this book is phenomenal, I could picture every scene as it was described, and in the end, the Chateau almost became its character, it had seen so much and kept so many secrets.

I have to say our twist at the end surprised me, I honestly didn't see it coming, and part of me wants more, will Oliver do Arabelles bidding? What will happen to Sylvie? Will Darcy pursue something with .... well I won't be giving that away but if it were up to me she would. So many questions have me hoping there will be another book to answer them.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing a copy of this E-Book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The book starts out with the murder of Séraphine so you spend most of the first quarter of the book trying to figure out who did it. Everyone has a motive, everyone had the opportunity and Goldis gives no inkling to who exactly it is.

Within the plot of the murder mystery are subplots that are just as intriguing as Séraphine's murder, all having to do with Darcy and her friends as well as the groundskeeper and the supposed mystery behind Darcy's grandfather's death years ago. Was everything connected? What was the underlying link between everything going on within the Chateau walls?

I cannot reveal too much more of the plot without giving major twists away but once you get a feeling for what is going on, it becomes a little easier to figure out who the murderer is, and why it happened.

There are multiple twists and turns along the way, major reveals that are incredibly moving and sad, and the overall plot of the book was insanely good. The ending threw me for a major loop, more than anything else and it left a huge gaping hole in the plot, in a good way.

With thrillers, you usually are left feeling satisfied with the reveal but with The Chateau, the ending was satisfying in a very different way. It was jaw dropping, mind blowing and one of the better endings I've read in a while.

The entire book was beautifully written; it was poetic, creepy, and thrilling. It had great descriptive language, wonderful character development and the best hidden gems when you read between the lines.

If you like thrillers and mysteries, combined with a great story about secrets, family and friendship, you will love The Chateau.

Seraphine Demargelasse, 94, is the lady of the Chateau in Saint Remy, Provence. She lives alone with just her long-time housekeeper, Sylvie, and a groundskeeper, Raph. Her granddaughter, Darcy, used to spend summers with her when she was a little girl and then would spend the rest of the year with her mother in New York.
when Darcy was in college, she spent a year studying in Provence and met two other girls which whom she has maintained a lifetime friendship. In addition, Arabelle, is the granddaughter of Sylvie and the girls played together during their summers at the chateau.

Seraphine has invited the 4 ladies - now 40 years old - to spend a week at the chateau. They are excited to be together again in this lovely place. They are:

Darcy who is married to Oliver and mother to 2 children.
Jade who is married to Seb and mother to 2 children.
Victoria is single and a lesbian whose girlfriend has recently left her.
Arabelle is married, owns an Inn in the Provence, is a superb chef, and writer of numerous cookbooks.

They are eagerly waiting for Seraphine to tell them why they have all been called together. But before they can find out, the woman is brutally stabbed to death in her bed. Who could have killed her and why? When more secrets among the women begin to come out friendships are put on the line. What is going on here?

Wow! It seems like every page reveals more and more secrets and we wonder who of all the friends could be a murderer and why?. Or maybe it wasn’t one of them. This book will keep you on your toes so do pay attention. I loved the descriptions and so enjoyed revisiting the French language that I learned from living for years in Paris. Such a gorgeous county and such a compelling book. Don’t miss it!

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

This book has a lot going for it, it has a sumptuous setting, and a cast of well developed characters. And who doesn’t love a lot through mystery? Unfortunately I DNF this book after 20%, I just wasn’t feeling invested in it. While marketed as a thriller, this is more of a family drama. It’s not poorly written, if you like drama and scandal, then you will enjoy this book. But I was in the mood for a thriller, and this one was just not moving along fast enough for me.

It i shard to believe this was a debut by this author! I couldn’t put it down! It was a tad slow in the beginning but quickly picked up. The mystery was told in different POVs which made it much more interesting. The ending was a so good, so unexpected, I didn’t realize how strongly I was gripping my kindle until i finished it. I definitely recommend you pick this up. Thank you @netgalley for the ARC.

I struggled quite a bit to get into this one. The writing prose was stunning and you could visualize the scenery so beautifully, but the thriller and mystery elements were lackluster. It read as more of a chick-lit drama at times rather than a true thriller like it was marketed as.

The representation, for both queer characters and Jewish characters, was what kept me reading this. I don’t see many books that feature both minorities with such intricacy and I deeply appreciated that.

The unreliable narration made sense for the sake of the plot but it felt like too much of a bait and switch when the plot twists were revealed. Overall, 2.5 stars rounded to 3. I’ll still be recommending this to friends and bookstagram followers who are in search of a good drama or contemporary fiction.

not sure if i’m just in a reading slump but none of these new thrillers im reading are hitting at all for me. the premise is something I typically enjoy and the setting was exquisitely written, but for some reason i really just did not CARE about these characters or their backstories, it was all just very cookie cutter.

I love the idea and premise of this plot line but I just got bogged down in the details of each character’s backstory and it failed to hold my interest. I wanted more thrills and suspense, less friends hiding secrets from each other. Many of the characters were just unlikeable so I felt there wasn’t someone for me to even root for; After 58% and still not connecting to the read, I decided to set it aside unfinished. I appreciate the opportunity to read this copy and am sure it will still be a smashing success for thriller/mystery lovers.

This is the game of Clue in novel form! Seraphine has invited her granddaughter, Darcy, along with her three friends to revisit the Chateau as they had when they formed friendships during their college years in France. She let them know she would be revealing secrets when she sent the invitation as well as when they all arrived.the story is told from many points of view, which I have to admit was daunting at first trying to keep them straight.
The meeting was rescheduled and then cancelled due to an unforeseen murder. Who was killed, why were they killed, and how did the murderer escape are all answered in a timely fashion.
The girls, Seraphine, and Seraphine’s friend and employee of many years, Sylvie, each have secrets that begin to unravel. Much was predictable but there were a few surprises along the way. The characters were somewhat cookie cutter like and I never really felt a connection with any of them. I found myself liking Sylvie the best and so loved her connection to Seraphine.
The result is an intriguing whodunnit… a satisfying entertaining read. Many thanks to Jaclyn Goldin, Atria books, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this recently published book.

I loved the idea of this book. A group of friends reunite at a beautiful French chateau and something tragic happens. Seems good, right? But there wasn't much thrilling about this and the mystery part seemed to be an afterthought.

This book was bogged down with details. WAY TOO MANY DETAILS. There are entire paragraphs dedicated to why one character bought this particular item instead of another, with neither item necessary to the story. There are even a couple of sentences about how one of the characters clears her throat. Don't get me wrong, I love details. They really help me get to know a character, but all the details just seemed to mix the characters up for me.

This book is listed as a thriller and the last handful of chapters were really exciting, but overall this was more of a family drama. Each character had her own secret she wanted to share with the others but didn't know how. I actually have some unanswered questions about some of the characters.

Overall, this was a bit of a mess and a disappointment for me. I considered not finishing this book, but I just had to find out what happened to Séraphine. I give this book a solid three stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books, and Jaclyn Goldis for the advanced copy of The Chateau in exchange for my honest review.

I admittedly requested this book because of the gorgeous cover, and wouldn't you know I ended up loving it! It's a great locked room-type mystery with multiple points of view. Additionally, I never felt like I was fully confident whodunnit, which is always a huge plus for me when it comes to mysteries and thrillers!

The twists and turns along the way were definitely impressive. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future!