Domestic suspense about a couple who flees England to set up a bed and breakfast sort of place in southern France. Things don't go quite the way they'd imagined.
Aura and Nick Dorian are renovating the dilapidated Chateau Ricane while the Happy Helper they've engaged takes care of their children, Sorrel and Bay. A film crew representing "French Fancy" is staying at the chateau to record all of the activities while the expats settle and do the renovations. They've met some of the locals and are getting along fairly well after everything that had gone on in London. Then, while at a neighbor's Halloween party, one of their new friends is found murdered. Although sad and rattled by the death, things deteriorate quickly and it's clearAura and Nick can't escape the things they did and the decisions they made. No spoilers.
Told in alternating viewpoints and with some time shifting, the narrative involves quite a few of the main characters. I couldn't imagine a more unlikable set of people, none who seemed to have any redeeming values. In fact, several times, I was tempted to quit reading because of how they are portrayed (and I hate reading about hideous people). There was a twist, and while not completely unexpected, the story was brought to a somewhat satisfying conclusion. The main issue I had was that far too much time was spent with the teenagers and that whole part could have been reduced to a couple of paragraphs not needing several chapters here and there.
I enjoyed the previous book, "the Chalet", more than this one but it was a quick read. I'll look for another by this author in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for this e-book ARC to read and review.
This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre - domestic suspense, thriller, expat in France
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