NetGalley Top Reviewer

NetGalley Top Reviewer
NetGalley Top Reviewer

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

The Chalet by Catherine Cooper

 Note to self: do not go on a ski trip in the French Alps. Bad things happen there...

Two brothers and their current girlfriends go for a holiday at La Madiere, France, in December of 1998. Unfortunately, the brothers, Adam and Will, don't get along very well and matters come to a head while they are out skiing off piste as a terrible winter storm comes in. Abandoned by their guides, one of them is found the next morning and the other is not.

Flash forward to 2020. A luxurious chalet and several well-heeled guests trying to work a business deal while enjoying the fabulous skiing, the delicious food, copious amounts of alcohol, and the attention of their own personal chalet girl making sure that every need is met. Hugo and Ria Redbush own a holiday booking company and are looking to partner with Simon as an investor so they really want to impress him and his young wife, Cass. The foursome is definitely not meshing but everyone is playing his or her part as the week goes by. Lots of little irritations start to cause cracks in relationships and it seems that everything comes to a head when another severe winter storm paralyzes the resort. Then, a news report reveals that the body of a skier has been found after an avalanche. NO SPOILERS.

The synopsis is a little misleading but I did enjoy this book despite its similarity to Ruth Ware's ONE BY ONE that I read earlier this year. This is a revenge story and, despite the fact that all of the characters are pretty much miserable, unlikable creatures, I did feel some empathy for a couple of them. The writing was excellent and I liked the way the story unfolded through the time shifts and points of view between 1998 and present day. It made for a great winter read and, though I guessed at most of what was coming, the revelations were tantalizing as they dropped.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Genre - mystery thriller, revenge

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