#BlogTour ‘The Chalet’ by Catherine Cooper

HUGE thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the tour invite and publishers Harper Collins for my gifted paperback review copy of ‘The Chalet’ by Catherine Cooper

This novel is published in paperback, and ebook formats on the 12th November, perfect for curling up with on a cold winter’s night…

It’s a tour de force of characterisation as each of the multiple narrators tells of their part in the Apls of 2020, and of their role in the disappearance of skier in 1998. They are all mutlifaceted and not immediately likeable-Ria, the opportunist, Hugo, Ria’s husband and desperate businessman, Simon, the lech who Hugo is schmoozing for financial support and his wife Cass, a waif of a woman struggling after the birth of her baby Inigo. Add in the chalet staff, Millie and Matt, lodge owner Cameron and nanny, Sarah, and you have a perfectly toxic mix of people whose confined, close quarters become a pressure cooker set on high.

Catherine takes risks with her characters, making them flawed makes them interesting and keeps us readers, armchair detectives, on our toes.

Each of these people have a link back to the late 90’s where 2 brothers went skiing one day, but only one returned. In a twisting storytelling arc, it is nearly half way through the book before you find out which brother, and begin to piece together these seemingly disparate people and their secret connections. And even then, when you think you know where Catherine is taking you, she makes a sudden swerve and suddenly you are off the nursery slopes and barrelling off piste,, straight into a blizzard.

The environment of the ski lodges is beautifully rendered , you can almost taste the hot chocolate and feel the steam off the hot tub-make no mistake, this is a vacation for the super rich who enjoy a life a luxury. But being affluent does not excuse you from the trajectory of a killer who has been waiting a very long time to wield a brutal justice.

Thrilling, breathtaking and wholly immersive, this is a stand out debut novel and I cannot wait to see what Cathering Cooper does next!