Not particularly nice characters,a few twists. The desire to solve the mystery is all that kept me reading.

Full of twists and turns, brilliantly written and has you guessing until the last page! Highly recommend!

This is a duel storyline about an accident on the ski slopes in France in 1998 and another incident in 2018 at the same resort.
The story is told in two time frames and by multiple characters.
I found this story slow and the characters unlikable.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publisher for inviting me to this this e-copy.

I remember watching a film once about 2 people who got stuck on a ski slope and I had the same feelings reading this book. It made me feel cold, scared and wary. A wonderful debut novel from Catherine Cooper, this book delves into a 20 year old tragedy, where one of two men did not return from a ski trip. Fast forward and is this dead body recently covered connected to the same story?

You will devour this book!

The chalet is a great example of dual timelines done well. The story moves backwards and forwards to present time and tells the story of two brothers Will and Adam who are on a skiing holiday with their girlfriends in 1998 and Hugo and Ria in 2020; Hugo and Ria have a travel company and are on a business trip.

Two men go skiing and a blizzard hits the French resort and only one returns.

20 years later we have four people who are all connected to the missing man. One is the killer.

Who knows what happened?

I am impressed with this debut by author Catherine Cooper and I’m sure we will be hearing from her in the future.
Overall an interesting story although I didn’t connect, or particularly like most of the characters and I felt like I was waiting for a big twist that didn’t happen. This isn’t a normal mystery, it’s more of a vengeance, pay back story,
a quick read that is out in November making for a cosy under the blanket, glass of red wine kind of a day.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Harpercollins UK and of course Catherine Cooper.

My thanks to Netgalley.

The Chalet starts with four narratives which could have been confusing but wasn't. These come together in present time quite smoothly with characters you mostly like to hate.

It's not obvious at first that a murder has been committed in the past but as it does become apparent it's also obvious that the characters we are introduced to in present time have something to do with Will's fate all those years ago and it's good fun trying to guess who is who.

My only problem was reconciling Louisa's character with her working class roots as being someone who would be addressed as Mama by her child but that was a small price to pay for an easy yet entertaining read.

Really enjoyed this book. Kept me guessing all the way through as to how people where connected. Really enjoyed the plot great writing

It is January 2020 when a body is discovered in a French ski resort.
The story then begins in flashback to the events that led up to the death in 1998.The story move between the two times and is told by the current visitors to one of the chalets at the resort. They are all there for their own agendas and some have a link to the body discovered in some way. Your sympathy moves from one to the other as their roles in the tragedy become clear.
This is an exciting mystery that becomes sadder as the plot moves on. Brotherly rivals, class divides and a fixated woman all have roles to play. There is even a cliff-hanger ending as there is one more person to be punished but will that ever happen?
This is an entertaining mystery told with an atmospheric setting and some sympathy. It is an excellent first novel by a writer to watch out for.

Really enjoyable thriller with just the right amount of tension and a plot that had me thinking 'Which one of these has a hidden agenda?' all the way through.
Not my usual type but I read it in two sittings and found myself recommending it afterwards.
I gather it's a debut too , so huge congratulations as well as the usual thanks to the author.

This is a great debut novel from Catherine Cooper and one that is sure to keep you on your toes. I liked the different character perspectives and also the way the two timelines intertwined. There were some parts that I saw coming and others that I definitely did not!

If you are a fan of Lucy Foley or have enjoyed One by One by Ruth Ware then I think you would definitely enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an early copy of The Chalet.


Locking people into an isolated place and talking about murder really has become a trend, hasn't it?
Sometimes it's an island, sometimes a manor in the middle of nowhere.

In The Chalet, it's – you guessed it – a chalet! But not any chalet, oh no. This one is a really luxurious chalet, the kind that people who've only went skiing in a tiny, sweat-smelling chalet, could only ever dream of.
And of course, at some point, the chalet gets snowed in, because what's a good thriller without characters unable to flee?

So, yes, The Chalet is up to the current trend. Sadly, to my eyes, it did not fully deliver.

I think where it fails is in setting an atmosphere of suspense, of a chilling feeling that will keep you reading and fearing for its characters. In The Chalet, you figure out the plot pretty early on, which (obviously) takes a lot of suspense away.

Not only that, but what might well be the most important quality of a good thriller is its set of characters. It's important to show people that you'll love (or hate), want to see live – or die.
In The Chalet, sadly, you're indifferent to most of them. At best, you want to see them die sooner rather than later, because ugh, those RICH PEOPLE.
There's just not one character you feel for, and so it becomes hard to really feel invested in what's happening.

I gotta say, though, the setting is really cool, and it's a very promising debut!

The Chalet by Catherine Cooper is set in a luxury ski resort. Hugo and his wife Ria have booked a holiday in a luxury ski resort to impress Simon and his wife Cass. Hugo wants Simon to invest in his business. This book is a crime thriller and opens with a report of the death of a skier at the resort. The death happened twenty years ago and was all but forgotten except by three of the characters whose take on the "accident" differs considerably. The tension builds with each paragraph and flashback making the book hard to put down. It is a gripping story made more so as the link between the characters is revealed and the significance to the identity of the deceased skier. I recommend the book for the suspense element.

This was a great book. The story line was interesting with enough red herrings to keep me guessing for quite a while. The main characters were fairly believable and there was very little "fluff" padding the story out. The neat little twist at the end was good too!

Never read this author before but this is a really good read . I would recommend reading this book it was so good .

What can I say? This is a great read instantly grabbing my attention from the start with the story of two brothers getting lost in the Alps in stormy weather. I can totally picture the ski bore types who claim to be better skiers than they are, the not so professional ski-guides, the chalet hosts baking cakes and pouring champagne whilst secretly rolling their eyes (and more) at their arrogant guests ...
The writing may not be the most sophisticated or poetic at first but it is wholly suited to this genre, perfectly paced and easy to read.
Catherine Cooper keeps the reader hooked and the characters are brilliantly portrayed by subtle observations and in their own voices as the chapters move between different POVs and timelines. Some of the characters' pasts are intertwined and we have to wait to discover the lies and the truth.
A fantastic debut novel absorbing me until the closing lines. I look forward to more!

Thanks to netGalley and Harper Collins for the arc

I was very impressed with this debut novel from Catherine Cooper. I have read so many thrillers now that I am becoming a tough customer but this really stands head and shoulders above the rest.

We begin by revisiting a skiiing holiday taking place in 1998. Two competitive brothers are staying in the Alps with their girlfriends in between terms at university. We flit between the perspectives of Will, his girlfriend Louisa, and the ski instructor Cameron. Each tell their story of how the two brothers became lost in a snowstorm, and only one brother returns.

Twenty years later, another group of skiiers arrive at the same resort, staying in a beautiful luxury chalet. Their holiday is blissful until a body is found, and another snowstorm begins. Here, we meet the sweet businessman Hugo, his mysterious new wife Ria, the rich and irritating investor Simon, his quiet wife Cass, and the very professional chambermaid Millie.

The book is very fast-paced, switching from 1998 to 2020, from one person's perspective to another. It is immediately engrossing and intriguing. How will the two time periods and the characters connect? Is anyone really who they say they are?

As the story unfolds, and we meet a new, very mysterious character in the past, The Chalet becomes ever more difficult to put down. I genuinely laid awake at night thinking back over what I'd read, trying to work out who the new character could be and what might be going on. The story is very cleverly told. It did get a little sillier towards the end, but that can't take away how captivated I was during the second half of this book.

An excellent first novel - one that I can definitely imagine being turned into a film. I'm looking forward to reading more from Catherine Cooper!

I read this one very quickly, which is always a sure sign of it being a gripping book! It kept me reading as I wanted to find out what happened and how the two sets of seemingly superset characters were going to relate.

The Chalet is a fabulous example of split timelines done well. The story moves backwards and forwards from the two time periods. You learn just enough from each one, whilst still maintaining the suspense. There’s also the inclusion of a diary-style entry which was a nice touch and one that I didn’t expect.

I was fairly impartial to the characters in this book. I didn’t feel any particular way about any of them. This meant I could read through more neutrally but meant that when a situation arose that needed me to feel empathy with a character, I only felt it for the situation.

Personally, I felt I was always waiting for something more with this one. Sadly that something never arrived! This may have been because it was a story of vengeance rather than one of ‘whodunnit’.

Overall, I think The Chalet was a good read and one to watch out for. I feel it would be a great read for a cosy winter’s day, making it’s October release date perfect.

This story moved from past to present as we unravel the events and make connections between the characters. The snowy location is very atmospheric and is integral to the unfolding of events. Although gripping all the way through, the story gains momentum towards the end. A tense thriller.

The Chalet by Catherine Cooper is a brilliant debut murder mystery, including lots of my favourites: snowbound intrigue, a lurking killer and plenty of suspects and red herrings. (Honestly, you wait ages for a murderer-in-a-ski-resort book and then three come along at once! See also: Ruth Ware‘s One by One and Shiver by Allie Reynolds).

I loved the structure of The Chalet‘s multiple narrations and the flashbacks and I did not work out where it was all heading. Catherine Cooper demonstrates great skill in both her clever plotting and her writing that moved me to tears during some of the flashbacks and made me laugh out loud sometimes at characters’ witty thoughts or dialogue. I highly recommend The Chalet and hope to read more from Catherine Cooper.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy of the book.

Chalet is a fabulous debut novel that brought to mind Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley due to the inaccessible setting and a cast of suspects, although to begin with we aren’t really sure what crime has taken place or why. The snowy setting gave it an added atmosphere which was perfect for this crime chiller!
There is a cast of quite unlikeable characters and often I couldn’t really care about any of them but then a child’s voice found its way to the front of the storyline and my heart broke. It’s a very clever device to play around with and worked well here.
Chalet is a creepy, disturbing novel that has all the twists and turns you need to keep you guessing until the very last page. I really liked it!