Advent Day Twenty, The Chateau by Catherine Cooper

Winter at the Chateau de Javarzay

Advent Day Twenty

Yesterday afternoon we took a walk around the grounds of the Château de Javarzay, just checking all was well. It seems funny not being there, now it is all quiet and closed for winter, although in the grounds there was still a bit of autumn colour clinging to some of the trees.

I had a plan earlier in the year to read and review as many books on a French château theme as I could this year, however, working at the château took up more time than I was expecting, and I didn’t get very far. Today, I’m going to share my review of Catherine Cooper’s second novel, The Chateau.

 

The Chateau by Catherine Cooper

The Chateau by Catherine Cooper

 

A couple on the brink. A body on the lawn. Welcome to the Chateau.

 

This is the second thriller from southwest France based author Catherine Cooper, and having enjoyed The Chalet, I was looking forward to reading The Chateau – and it was immediately one of those books that I knew I was going to love.

 

The story follows Aura and Nick as their family make a fresh start in France. Nick needs an escape from events that happened before they left the UK, Aura has found her dream, and she is positive that turning a run-down chateau in France into a B&B is the answer to all their problems. But the thing about problems is that they have a habit of following you, no matter how much you try to distance yourself from the past.

 

As Nick and Aura’s uncomfortable relationship is tested to its limits by a huge renovation project, adjusting to life in a foreign country and their every move and cross word caught on camera by a TV film crew, I was hooked. In this book, Catherine has created an absolute gem of a read. There is no shortage of bodies and mysterious events to piece together, and a great cast of characters too. From Aura, who I instantly loved-to-hate, with her wishy-washy ways of organic parenting, to the hilarious expat misfits they find themselves living amongst, I wasn’t expecting to laugh so much in a thriller. 

 

I loved the mystery in this book and slowly discovering who had done what, and why. I’m sure that anyone who has spent any time living in France and joining in the murky world of the online forum, will love it too.

 

I’m also delighted to have recently added Catherine’s third novel The Cruise to my kindle – happy Christmas to me. If you are looking for something to treat yourself with, why not add these three books to your wish list.