BLOG TOUR: The Chalet - Catherine Cooper

 

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.

My rating:

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UK Bookshop.org

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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BLOG TOUR: Never Again - Nicky Clifford

Mountains, Mystery, Romance: Can you run from your past?

Harriet Anderson’s life is spiralling out of control. Unused to such mayhem, she ditches her high-powered job to take refuge in the Swiss Alps where she meets Philippe Smith, a crime writer with a dark and shadowy past. Thrown together by chance, is their fate intertwined?

Will the karma and romance of the mountains and the quaintness of the Alps soothe their troubled souls?

Or will their rocky paths create avalanches that cannot be avoided...

What did I think?

I wasn't sure what to expect from Nicky Clifford's debut, Never Again, but whatever expectations I did have were greatly exceeded. Harriet is so troubled that you can't help but like her immediately and from that moment on, the book is impossible to put down.

Harriet left her job and her past behind to travel to the Swiss Alps to work as a waitress at a hotel.  What or who is she running from? Harriet arrives with brash American, Becky, who is so materialistic that you can almost hear the boo/hiss every time she appears.  Also waitressing at the hotel is Jo and she and Harriet hit it off straight away.  Guests at the hotel include author, Philippe Smith and elderly ice-cream addict Elspeth.  Both play a massive part in the story, Philippe as the love interest and Elspeth as the confidante.

When Harriet first meets Philippe they don't have the best of starts.  She almost destroys his laptop by spilling his coffee but his anger disappears the minute he looks into her lovely green eyes.  Love at first sight, perhaps?  As they spend more time together they develop a friendship that could be more...but then their exes turn up to throw a spanner in the works.

This book is so addictive!  Harriet has been portrayed brilliantly, just like any normal person with her insecurities and life ups and downs.  There are so many misunderstandings between Harriet and Philippe but they are drawn to each other like magnets.  I could feel Harriet's turmoil when her ex, Greg, turned up.  She had the new buds of a relationship with Philippe but Greg has something she can't resist.

The stunning Swiss location is described brilliantly and I felt like I was there; dining in the hotel restaurant and sipping hot chocolate in the cafe.  There are so many well-rounded characters to complete the story, from Becky the Bitch to Jo and her Welsh farmer brothers - I loved every single one of them.  Harriet, who has two men to choose from but only one really loves her for who she is not what she can do for him.  Will she make the right decision?  Maybe...with a little help from her new friends.

Never Again is an amazing debut; it is real life romance without the fluff.  If this is her debut, I can't wait to read what comes next from Nicky Clifford.  It's an outstanding story which allows the reader to step into the shoes of the main character and experience her turmoil and conflicting emotions - will you be on Team Greg or Team Philippe?

Many thanks to Nicky for sending me an e-book copy for review and I am delighted to release my review as part of the Never Again blog tour.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

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