The Chalet

Catherine Cooper

Oct 2020 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

**The Sunday Times Top 5 bestseller**

Longlisted for the CWA New Blood Award

Four friends. One luxury getaway. The perfect murder.

‘Pure adrenaline’ ERIN KELLY

‘An intense thriller’ HEAT

‘Agatha Christie meets the glamour of après-ski’ SUNDAY TIMES

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.

An exciting new debut for anyone who loves Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley, and C.L. Taylor

‘An intense, claustrophobic thriller’ Heat magazine
‘A brilliant book with a twist you won’t see coming’ Bella magazine
‘A great, pacy read fans of Lucy Foley will love’ Fabulous magaazine
‘Atmospheric and suspenseful’ Woman’s Weekly
‘A fast-paced and easy-to-read thriller, with a gorgeously escapist setting’ Best magazine
‘I was gripped from start to finish’ Cass Green
‘Chilling and atmospheric’ Roz Watkins
‘Thrilling – I could feel the icy chill blowing through the pages’ Michelle Frances
‘Cleverly plotted’ Allie Reynolds
‘The perfect book to take a stay-cation with!’ Suzy K Quinn

Ratings and reviews

Now, here's a novel to get your teeth into - it's full of surprises! In 1998, to young men went skiing in the French Alps, but only one came back. Twenty years later, a house party stay in a chalet in the same place. There are no obvious connections between the two but, like stains, it all comes out in the wash. Absolutely delicious! This is a book which starts off with two stories, twenty years apart but in the same location; as I got to know the characters my interest piqued and before I knew where I was I was speeding up my reading, desperate to find out where it was heading but even in my wildest imagination, I couldn't have predicted that! A well-paced novel which reels in the reader and it is a very good read! Catherine Cooper is definitely an author to watch out for, and I'm happy to give this one 4.5*.

As a debut full length novel, Catherine Cooper has done a really great job with The Chalet. Combing her love her skiing and thriller books, she has produced a very entertaining story that will have you completely immersed and caught up in its drama! I mean how could you not be intrigued with a tagline Four Guests. One luxury getaway. And one perfect MURDER…This alone had me immediately under its spell without even reading what it was about and I couldn’t wait to get stuck into it! The plot has everything that I love in this genre, lies, deceit, revenge, murder, which is all played out in a beautiful but deadly setting. Catherine Cooper has done a good job in its execution and the mystery plays out well giving the reader insight into past events and how they correlate with the present one. The characters are a diverse bunch that have been well developed, written and with a mix of both likeable and unlikeable, balances the story out well. I did find that a couple of them were just fillers to have as suspects as they really played no other part, but it was easy to overlook this. Although I did find that at the start the story moved at a slightly slower pace to begin with, it does ramp up for a more thrilling second half as the tension and suspense starts to boil over. The outcome was well done and even though it does have an open ending, which I normally don’t like, in this case it works well. All up The Chalet is a thrilling read that has been well plotted and written and I look forward to seeing what Catherine Cooper comes up with for her readers next. Congratulations on a great debut Catherine! It was a pleasure to read and review The Chalet, which I recommend.

I found it really hard to believe that The Chalet was Catherine Cooper's first novel, but it is! I was gripped from first to last, it is jam packed with suspense and is one of those rare books where you are torn between wanting to read at mach 8 because you are desperate to know who the killer is and wanting to slow down because it's so good! I settled for the middle road but it was hard! In 1998 two men skied into a blizzard but only one returned. In 2018 four people connected to the missing man find themselves at the same ski resort. Each has a secret, two may have blood on their hands and one is a killer in waiting. The fact is, when reading the book, you don't know who to trust...if anyone! Catherine Cooper has written THE fast paced thriller of 2020 and may she write many, many more - excellent!

About the author

Catherine Cooper is a freelance journalist writing for many national newspapers and magazines, specialising in travel. Most recently she has written several ski pieces for the Guardian and is currently compiling a 50 best family holidays round up for the Telegraph. She also makes regular appearances as a talking head on daytime TV. She lives in France with her husband and two teenage children, and is a keen skier.