Book Review Wednesday: The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis

I've been on a French kick lately; I want French everything and want to immerse myself in French culture. That's been reflected in my reading and when you combine thrillers with the chic, French country side you get the thrilling story of The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis.

The Chateau is being released on May 23rd, 2023 but I had an ARC from Netgalley and read it last month. It was riveting, surprising, and maddening in all the best ways.

Publisher's Summary

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 returning to the estate after all these years. Then, following a wild evening’s celebration, Séraphine is found brutally murdered.

In the midst of this shocking crime, 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—the friends begin to suspect each other. Because the chateau houses many secrets…several worth killing for.

My Thoughts

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. 

xoxo
B