Wednesday 3 June 2020

The Secret of the Chateau by Kathleen McGurl (2020)


Everything is about to change…
1789. Pierre and Catherine Aubert, the Comte and Comtesse de Verais, have fled the palace of Versailles for their château, deep in the French Alps. But as revolution spreads through the country, even hidden away the Auberts will not be safe forever. Soon they must make a terrible decision in order to protect themselves, and their children, from harm.
Present-day. When Lu’s mother dies leaving her heartbroken, the chance to move to a château in the south of France with her husband and best friends seems an opportunity for a new beginning. But Lu can’t resist digging into their new home’s history, and when she stumbles across the unexplained disappearance of Catherine Aubert, the château begins to reveal its secrets – and a mystery unsolved for centuries is uncovered…
Unlock the secret of the château today. Perfect for fans of Kate Morton, Fiona Valpy and The Forgotten Village!

I love the dual timeline in this novel. Both stories are equally good and absorbing.
The French Revolution and the Reign of Terror is an excellent backdrop for dramatic scenes.  From the outset, I was expecting things to not go too well for the Auberts. But, I found myself not having too much sympathy for Catherine Aubert as she is the archetypical spoilt aristocrat of the era for most of her story. 
In the present day, a group of friends find themselves in a position to retire relatively young and buy a chateau together, which seems idyllic and a great adventure. I was expecting there to be some tensions as they settle in together but everything is harmonious. However, the chateau has the reputation of being haunted which leads to one of the new owners to start researching its history. The story is mysterious, tragic and light at the same time.
I just loved how the two storylines came together and mystery of the chateau became revealed. 


            The Secret of the Chateau is out now  Amazon

4 comments:

  1. This sounds like fun. (And who can resist a French chateau!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for visiting my blog. :-)

      Delete
  2. First time I hear about this book. Although, I am not a big fan of novels, the plot of this books seems to be very interesting. I will definitely read it.

    ReplyDelete