The French Girl by Lexie Elliott

About the book:

(from the publisher) We all have our secrets…

They were six university students from Oxford–friends and sometimes more than friends–spending an idyllic week together in a French farmhouse. It was supposed to be the perfect summer getaway…until they met Severine, the girl next door. 

For Kate Channing, Severine was an unwelcome presence, her inscrutable beauty undermining the close-knit group’s loyalties amid the already simmering tensions. And after a huge altercation on the last night of the holiday, Kate knew nothing would ever be the same. There are some things you can’t forgive. And there are some people you can’t forget…like Severine, who was never seen again.

Now, a decade later, the case is reopened when Severine’s body is found in the well behind the farmhouse. Questioned along with her friends, Kate stands to lose everything she’s worked so hard to achieve as suspicion mounts around her. Desperate to resolve her own shifting memories and fearful she will be forever bound to the woman whose presence still haunts her, Kate finds herself buried under layers of deception with no one to set her free…

Genre: Fiction/Mystery/Suspense

If this were a movie, I’d rate it: R

(for profanity and mature situations)

About the author:

Lexie Elliott grew up in Scotland, at the foot of the Highlands. She graduated from Oxford University, where she obtained a doctorate in theoretical physics. A keen sportswoman, she works in fund management in London, where she lives with her husband and two sons. The rest of her time is spent writing, or thinking about writing, and juggling family life and sport.

Connect with the author: Website | Instagram

My take:

Almost always, I know. Within the first few pages of a book — most often, at page one — I know whether a book is going to hook me. And so it was with Lexie Elliott’s debut, The French Girl: hooked from its intriguing opening line.

For starters, The French Girl possessed just the right tone. Such an elusive quality. Is it taught or caught? So hard to say, but in any case, this one had it — though of course the way tone strikes any particular reader remains subjective. This one was just right for me, containing a delicious blend of gravitas, compelling characters, hints of romance, and mystery with a supernatural twist.

About the mystery: I liked this one especially because it wasn’t so much about the investigation — the tracking down of clues — as it was an exploration of the characters. In that way, it had a flavor more like a suspense or women’s fiction that focuses on relationships. For me, that’s always the most interesting part of a story.

I can’t say too much about how it all ends without spoiling it. I believe I can say that while it doesn’t wrap up with the tidy bow of a traditional mystery, it still managed to satisfy.

I raced through The French Girl, relishing every well-crafted page. Can hardly wait for more from the very talented Lexie Elliott.

Thanks to Berkley Publishers for providing me this book free of charge. All opinions are mine.

Buy it here. 

After words:

What mystery have you enjoyed lately?