Four friends. One luxury getaway. The perfect murder.
French Alps, 1998
Two young men ski into a blizzard… but only one returns.
20 years later
Four people connected to the missing man find themselves in that same resort. Each has a secret. Two may have blood on their hands. One is a killer-in-waiting.
Someone knows what really happened that day.
And somebody will pay.
What did I think?
I saw a lot of excitement on Twitter about Catherine Cooper's thriller debut, The Chalet, and having read it at breakneck speed I can confirm that the hype was right. Set in a ski resort in the French Alps with a dual timeline, I was as riveted by the story of the skiing accident in 1998 as I was by the relationships of the two couples inhabiting a luxury chalet 20 years later.
With more hooks than a fisherman's tackle box, The Chalet grabbed me in its chilly vice-like grip from the very start and I simply couldn't put it down, devouring every single word over a period of 24 hours. There are so many secrets to be revealed in this brilliant thriller and Catherine Cooper's suspenseful writing allows the reader to gradually peel back the layers of every single character until only their true self is displayed.
I've never been skiing nor have I had any desire to, having fallen on ice and broken my coccyx when I was a teenager, but Catherine Cooper's beautiful words paint a picture of the ski resort that is positively breathtaking. It sounds so picturesque that I found it easy to imagine and I marvelled at the way Catherine Cooper's vivid descriptions can make something as conventional as snow sound both serene and deadly.
I don't really want to talk about the characters for fear of inadvertently spoiling the story but they're all very intriguing and as the blurb says, each has a secret. It's not just the snow that is chilling in The Chalet as somebody isn't who they seem and there is more about to surface than long buried secrets.
A fast-paced, intensely gripping and wonderfully chilling novel, The Chalet is absolutely brilliant and a definite must read this winter. So wrap up warm, pour a glass (or cup) of your favourite tipple, and pick up a copy of The Chalet; you will not be disappointed. A superb read and one I most definitely recommend.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
Amazon UK
About the author:
I am a freelance journalist living in the South of France with my husband and two teenage children. We moved from London in 2009 so that the children could grow up bilingual and we could all ski more, and to enjoy a more relaxed pace of life.
I learned to ski on a school trip when I was 14 and have loved it ever since.
I'm an avid thriller reader and have been since I discovered Agatha Christie as a child.
The Chalet is my first published full-length novel, though I have also written several (unpublished) thrillers for teens and a (what used to be called) chick lit novel set in TV production.
Other than skiing and reading I love travel, rollercoaster, and I spend far too much time on social media. Some of my other favourite things include Alan Partridge, sparkly flip flops and salt and vinegar crisps.
You can follow me on Twitter @catherinecooper, Instagram @catherinecooperjournalist or Facebook @catherinecooperauthor
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Thanks for the blog tour support x
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