This was a really enjoyable read. Great storyline with good strong characters. It was engaging and I was hooked from the beginning. Loved how it was a storyline that was a little different from the norm.

Highly recommended and deserves 5 stars.

Thank you Harper Collins and Netgalley.

I flew through the majority of The Chalet in almost a single sitting; it's a tightly written thriller that kept me mostly interested throughout. Told via split narratives, one set of events occurs in the past and the then flits forward to the present where someone is determined to hold those responsible accountable for their past. It's clearly marked as to what timeline you are in and which character you are following, which was good as Cooper splits the narrative further across at least three different characters. Along with the main two narrative threads, you also have brief forays into each of the different character's backgrounds. Some of these could probably be called padding, but I appreciated them regardless as a way to fill out the characters.

I loved the setting; having been on several ski trips with my father, I could relate to the narrative thread set in the past well. It even got a wry chuckle from me at the descriptions of the T-bar/Puma lifts, as I recall all too well the absolute hell my poor father had trying to get me on those back in the day. Cooper has clearly spent some time on the slopes as she creates a wonderfully vivid depiction of the mountains, the challenges to a new skier and how the weather conditions can completely change your experience on the slopes. There are plenty of little anecdotes that ring true to anyone who has struggled to find their ski legs.

My main complaint about the novel is that it is firstly fairly predictable; I saw the twists coming off from a mile off and that the finale relies far too heavily on coincidence and impossible timing. I was more engaged by the narrative threads set in the past, particularly that of the fateful accident in 1998 that set the entire mess of revenge and mayhem off twenty years later. The narrative set in the present was far less interesting, perhaps because it was largely concerned with marital issues and relationship squabbles, which never fail to bore me. I was tempted to skim read through some of those in order to get back to the more interesting events of the past. To my mind, this would have been a stronger novel therefore if the romance elements were removed or at least reduced and more time was spent building the mystery of what actually happened when the two brothers went up the mountain.

That said, I enjoyed this. It's a classic case where I wish I could give half stars, because 3.5/5 would be a perfect rating. It's readable and relatable - at least as far as the setting goes - but is marred by boring relationship squabbles, fairly unlikeable characters in the modern narrative, a predictable plot and a frankly unbelievable ending. The chances of all the pieces fitting together in the way they did would be a million to one... at best. With that in mind, I can't quite bring myself to round up to 4/5, despite the engaging writing and wonderful setting.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my free review copy of this title.

What a great book!
Fast paced, and very easy to read - definitely my sort of book that I read very quickly.
The story has a past and a present storyline running through it, which of course connect and mingle the further you get on.
Great book that I would recommend.

Another book that I read in a day. This book was very hard to put down.
The book is a dual storyline which tells the story of an accident at a French Ski Resort in 1998 and further incidents at the same resort in 2020. I was instantly absorbed in this book. The book is told from different viewpoints and I found that not many of the characters were likeable. The book was fast paced and each character was holding their own secrets. The book was suspenseful and had me guessing throughout. Overall, a great suspense thriller.

I enjoy this book. I was looking for something to read and this caught my eye and I'm glad I did read it.

This book left me guessing as was not sure where it was going and who would be found guilty. Great writing and will read more by this author.

I really enjoyed this, I would definately recommend giving it a read.i found the characters believable and the story was very good.

The Chalet by Catherine Cooper turned out to be an entertaining, fast-paced mystery. Told through alternating timelines and narrators, it is a story about a ski accident that occurred in 1998 and the effects that it had on a group of people 2 decades later. Will and his brother, Adam, went on a ski trip to the French Alps. Only 1 brother left the mountains. What happened to the other 1?

This was a clever mystery that kept me on my toes with so many questions running through my mind. With 1 timeline set in 1998 and another in 2020, I kept trying to guess the connection between the 2. The author went a step further and threw in an anonymous narrator with a complete different timeline. My mind was running wild with assumptions. I found myself thinking about the story and trying to guess the connections even when I was not reading the book. The reveal was brilliant!

The character development is this story was quite well done. I totally despised some of the characters, empathized with others and even liked some. They weren’t too many to get the story muddled up and the way they were crafted ensured that they all stood out in a way.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. I had to pause a couple of times to Google words such as Salopetes and spent quite a bit of time looking at images of luxurious chalets. Overall, my experience with this book was simply brilliant.

Thoroughly enjoyable and very readable novel. A whodunnit and why they dunnit set on a ski resort. There were some great twists and a fairly satisfying outcome.

The Chalet was a book I honestly approached with some trepidation - perhaps the cover design I was offered when my request to read the advance copy thanks to NetGalley was the cause. It seemed to have the potential to be yet another average, formulaic, churned out crime thriller....
But boy, was I wrong!
The story centres around a luxury chalet in an Alpine ski resort which corporate business pair Ria and Hugo have booked trying to hook some potential clients. (As I said - this seemed to have all the makings of formulaic and predictable mystery writing...). Yet this is not your usual who dunnit - arguably, it embraces the nuance of flashback and a backstory about which we do not initially know much about. The hook here rests on the event of a body being found and identified as someone who went missing twenty years prior. To follow, Cooper then embroils us in a world of ifs, buts and maybes, as the narrative shifts all four guests into the frame of guilt and out of it again. It's clever, at times subtle, and thoroughly engaging storytelling. Now, I am not stating here that this is not a novel which does not follow the tried and tested structures and conventions of the crime thriller genre, It very much does in many facets of the storytelling. Yet, it's the nuances, the three dimensional nature of characters and the unexpected outcomes that set this debut apart from others. In quick succession, I read both this and Foley's The Guest List, and where i found Foley's novel to be wanting in depth and over zealous in the use of sex or stereotype; Cooper succeeded with that little bit more nuance and care about believability or connection between reader and protagonist.

This then is what I would review to be well-written, accompanied by a disrupted narrative structure which neatly battles back and forth between the varying viewpoints of the characters. I was hooked from the first section I read. Cooper utlilises mystery, but also a brevity in description which has power in allowing us to make more instantaneous connections to the characters. Not knowing who to trust, who to revere or who to despise was an engaging point of the characterisation from start to finish. I moved from empathy, to distrust, to mild hatred or irritation, and often came back, full circle, to empathy again for a few of the protagonists who tell this tale. A well drawn thriller that won't disappoint if you're wanting something with readability alongside page turning engagement.

The Chalet is a dual timeline story set in the ski resort of La Madiere in France. The main characters were all quite unpleasant, but in spite of that I enjoyed reading it. There were plenty of twists and turns and red herrings. I thought the setting was very atmospheric and easy to visualise. The descriptions of the deteriorating weather, which meant the characters were confined to an increasingly claustrophobic chalet, worked well.

It's an ok book. A bit "meh" as it feels like domestic thrillers I have read before in the past.

The writing is good, the setting and the idea sounds intriguing. And yet... and yet, I had issues almost from the get-go, but thought I was being too harsh. No characters are likeable (not a big issue. I like reading books with flawed and complex characters), the tension was lacking and there's nothing in here that made me excited/eager to keep turning to pages to find out what's going to happen next and solve the mystery of what happened.

It is a while since I’ve read a twisty whodunnit, but the alpine setting of Catherine Cooper’s thrilling debut was so appealing that I couldn’t resist. Two, not particularly likeable, self-absorbed couples find themselves snow-bound in a luxury chalet. However, when a body is found, secrets are uncovered and cracks in their relationships appear.

This is a dual timeline novel that flips back and forth over twenty years. There are a number of unexpected turns but also one major one that spins everything the reader thinks they know on its head. It’s a quick, enjoyable read, although the plot relies fairly heavily on coincidence, but the descriptions of the mountain setting make up for any weakness in the storyline.

As someone who learned to ski as a challenge for my fortieth birthday, the description of how it feels to be an adult learner were spot on. The fear of everything – the cable cars, the tows, the mountains. How clumsy all the kit feels – the boots, the skis, the poles, the layers upon layers of clothing. The tears! Cooper writes this brilliantly. A solid debut, and fast-paced, escapist read.

I haven’t enjoyed. A book this good for ages

Different to what I normally read with a great twist keeps you guessing for quite a while

Excellent read on a cold chilly day

Will be looking out for this author again

Highly recommended

I quite enjoyed The Chalet as an easy, somewhat shallow read that didn't take a lot of brain power to get through. The pacing was okay, though it did lack any real conflict or shocking twist in my opinion, and the characterisation was pretty good, though I didn't really root for any of the characters apart from the child. A few of the characters seemed extraneous and several plotpoints didn't lead anywhere so the book could have been shortened without jeopardising the plot. Overall, I enjoyed the prose enough to finish it quickly and the ending was satisfying so I'd recommend it to others and read more by this author.

3.5* rounded up.

"The Chalet" is a story of an unfortunate holiday in a ski resort during which two people get lost in a snow. Then twenty years later, a group of people visits the same resort and from the very beginning the reader knows these two plots are somehow connected. There are unpleasant characters, characters who hide their secrets, and there is a growing tension in a luxurious chalet which (as we all know) can only finish badly. The book itself however lacked enough tension and a likeable character to rut for. It was a pleasant enough read but the story sadly did not deliver. However, I enjoy a setting of the story and its quick pace.

Skis, snow, and suspense make “The Chalet” a superb mystery thriller!

I loved this story! The author did an amazing job of writing the tale! The story shifts focus between multiple perspectives, timelines, and plots that keep the reader on their toes. Moreover, the author narrates one storyline from the perspective of an unknown person. This process made the story entertaining because the particular storyline feels disconnected from the plot. But the author nicely connects all the pieces perfectly towards the end in a satisfying manner.

Moreover, the author tells the story in such a compelling manner. The dialogues are simple, and the characters are intriguing. Similarly, there are quite a few twists and turns that truly shocked me and how they connected to the other timelines. At the same time, I also figured out who was plotting against the characters before the revel.

All the characters feel like they are hiding something, but we don’t know what that is. If I had to choose, I liked Hugo and Louisa the best. Their storylines and perspectives were interesting. Some characters are just there as red herrings but add nicely to the background.

I hope the author continues to write more books of this genre because I loved reading this book! Overall, read “The Chalet” if you are in the mood for a gripping mystery thriller.

I enjoy this book. I was looking for something to read and this caught my eye and I'm glad I did read it.

An ok read. I did not find the characters very likeable and so this book was hard going for me. The scenery and chalet sounded beautiful.

I have mixed feelings about this book, there were times when I enjoyed it and times when I felt I was going nowhere with it. There's little to like about any of the characters and this perhaps partly explains why I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to. I also felt that the story-line was a bit too far fetched, with too many coincidences. Overall I was disappointed.