Book Review for The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis

 The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Publication May 23, 2023

Genre:  Thriller, Mystery

 

Taken from Goodreads:  A dream girls trip to a luxurious French chateau devolves into a deadly nightmare of secrets and murder in this stylish, twisty thriller for fans of Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, and Lisa Jewell.

Welcome to picturesque Provence, where the Lady of the Chateau, Séraphine Demargelasse, has opened its elegant doors to her granddaughter Darcy and three friends. Twenty years earlier, the four girlfriends studied abroad together in France and visited the old woman on the weekends, creating the group’s deep bond. But why this sudden invitation?

Amid winery tours, market visits, and fancy dinners overlooking olive groves and lavender fields, it becomes clear that each woman has a hidden reason for accepting the invitation. Then, after a wild evening’s celebration, Séraphine is found brutally murdered.

As the women search for answers to this shocking crime, fingers begin pointing and a sinister Instagram account pops up, exposing snapshots from the friends’ intimate moments at the chateau, while threatening to reveal more.

As they race to uncover who murdered Séraphine and is now stalking them, they learn the chateau houses many secrets…several worth killing for.

 

My Thoughts:  Four women are asked to return to Provence by Séraphine so that she can share her secrets with them.  The four women are best friends and excited to be back together.   As they get back together, they learn things about each other and about themselves that can change the dynamic of their friendships.

 

Séraphine is the main character of the book, she owns the chateau where the friends are invited to and she has the biggest secrets to share.  I could feel her love for the women and knew from the beginning of the book that her secret, whatever it was, would be huge and change all their lives.    I was right!  Her secrets blew me away.  I love how they were shared and glad that Séraphine was able to tell her truths to those that really matter to her. 

 

The Chateau is a wonderful thriller.   There is murder, there is mystery, and there is friendship.   The secrets threaten the friendships, but these women show that some friendships can with stand almost anything.  

Thank you Atria Books for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Meet Jaclyn Goldis (taken from her website):  I have a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and a JD from NYU School of Law. I practiced estate planning law at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago for seven years before leaving my job to travel the world and write novels. After culling my possessions into only what would fit in a backpack, I traveled for over a year until settling near the beach, where I can often be found writing from cafés. 

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My debut novel, WHEN WE WERE YOUNG, historical women's fiction, was published in 2021 by Hachette/Grand Central. My next novel, THE CHATEAU, a mystery/thriller, is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster/Atria/Emily Bestler Books on May 23, 2023. I am represented by Rachel Ekstrom Courage of Courage Literary Management.