The Secret of the ChâteauEverything 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…
A group of five friends, who went to University together whilst chatting decide now that they’ve paid off their respective mortgages and their children have grown up, it might be the perfect time to move into a mansion in France. Crazy as it is, it just makes sense. After finding the perfect chateau, they up sticks and move to a their new property, which has more history that even history teacher Lu could possibly imagine!
This is a gorgeous contemporary book with a dual timeline. I loved the historical elements in the story being interspersed throughout. There’s a great deal of history relating to the French Revolution with plenty of mystery to slowly unravel throughout the book.
The book seemed to be perfectly paced and the two narratives ran seamlessly alongside one another. Both sets of characters from each timeline were likeable and realistic. It felt like a real mix of a read with very vivid imagery of both narratives. I found myself excited to swap timelines each chapter and felt like it was brilliant escapism.
A lovely easy read perfect for being stuck inside during lockdown but it would be even more enjoyable to read on holiday!
Purchase Links
UK – https://amzn.to/3buGVik
US – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083PNG675
Author Bio –
Kathleen McGurl lives in Bournemouth with her husband. She has two sons who have both now left home. She always wanted to write, and for many years was waiting until she had the time. Eventually she came to the bitter realisation that no one would pay her for a year off work to write a book, so she sat down and started to write one anyway. Since then she has published several novels with HQ and self-published another. She has also sold dozens of short stories to women’s magazines, and written three How To books for writers. After a long career in the IT industry she became a full time writer in 2019. When she’s not writing, she’s often out running, slowly.
Social Media Links –
Website: https://kathleenmcgurl.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathleenMcGurl/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KathMcGurl
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Thank you so much for this review and being part of the blog tour!
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Great review- I enjoyed reading this book, too!
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