The French Girl by Lexie Elliott

The French Girl

by Lexie Elliott

"An exhilarating psychological suspense debut that will propel readers into the darkest edges of friendship, for fans of Fiona Barton, Clare Mackintosh, and Ruth Ware. 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 will find herself buried under layers of deception with no one to set her free.."--

"Memories from her trip to France still haunt Kate Channing almost a decade after the fateful vacation. The image of her French neighbor, Severine, is as clear as if she had seen her yesterday--despite the fact that Severine went missing just as the vacation ended. And when the case is reopened, bringing with it resurfaced secrets, rekindled affections, and dangerous enemies, Kate wonders if she will ever be able to rid herself of the ghost of the haunting and silent young woman. As the investigation speeds forward and alliances can no longer be trusted, she begins to understand that the stakes of this game are her own survival"--

Reviewed by dpfaef on

4 of 5 stars

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The French Girl is one of those books that immerses you. A well written tale of six English students who spend a week in the French countryside only to have a French girl who was staying across the way go missing. Fast forward ten years and five of the six students are now settled into their lives in London when they are notified that the remains of the French girl have been found in an old well on the property where they were staying.

Thus begins the cat and mouse game between the old friends, who knows what, each person carefully searching to see what the others know. This is not a sit on the edge of your seat thriller but a nuanced study of how friends react to news that most likely one of the is a murderer. I throughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

This review was originally posted on The Pfaeffle Journal

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 20 September, 2017: Finished reading
  • 20 September, 2017: Reviewed