The concept of the book was just great. A group of six friends take a vacation during their years in university and the mysterious neighbor goes missing. Ten years later her body is found and the death is ruled murder and they are all under investigation and was they have parted ways since university they are brought together and old drama is brought up and rehashed.

I always love a book that brings characters back together and they have to wrestle with the people they were and are now. And the wonder is if they are the same or different and if you learn more about the person will your opinion on them change. I loved that throughout the book Kate's suredness of everyone's innocence breaks down and you see her start easily pointing the finger of blame amongst her former friends.

Although there were some definite points where the book was dragging because I didn't feel as though any new clues or tips were being given and there was just the wonderment of who killed her. I would say that this book didn't have the usual breakneck speed that a mystery usually has and I wanted there to be less lulls and more speed in the story.

I sit on the fence for this book. In concept I loved it, but in complete execution it was just ok by me. I would hesitate completely passing this off to my fans of the genre. If you are a reader who primarily reads women's fiction, then this may be the perfect mystery for you to dip your toes in with. Little gore and slow unveiling, you may just like it!

I was intrigued by the description of "The French Girl." I love murder mysteries and classic who done its. I thought this book would be right up my alley but unfortunately it was not. The plot line is nothing original and quite frankly is over played. I was able to figure out the ending a quarter of the way through the book. I wish the book had more intrigue and originality.

We all have our secrets...
It was supposed to be the perfect summer getaway , until they met Severine, the gorgeous French girl next door. Six university students from Oxford - with very blurry lines about what is and isn't friendship come together at a french farmhouse for one week in THE FRENCH GIRL (Berkley) by Lexie Elliott.

On the last night of the week-long holiday, things go terribly wrong. Severine has been an unwelcome intruder to their close-knit group, but her incredible beauty seems to permeate into the group. Simmering tensions erupt into a huge fight that night between members of the group ... and Severine, who is never seen again.

Now a decade later, Severine's body is found at the bottom of a well behind the farmhouse. The case is reopened and a French investigator is sent to London to interview all parties.

Kate Channing starts having visions of Severine in the most unlikely places. Stories and memories among the friends start blurring and Kate stands to lose everything she's worked so hard to achieve as suspicion mounts around her. Kate finds herself buried under layers of deception with no one to support her.

THE FRENCH GIRL's plot doesn't seem solidly focused. The storyline seems to shift between Kate's career, her friends and the investigation. Considering the amount of alcohol these characters drink, I'm amazed anyone remembers anything. One aspect of the novel I enjoyed was getting to know these characters even though a couple were deporable individuals. My takeaway from THE FRENCH GIRL is who can you really trust and who do you really know, including yourself?

I look forward to reading what Lexie Elliott's second novel.

*****


Lexie Elliott was born in 1976 and grew up in Scotland, at the foot of the Highlands. Her first attempt at a book came in primary school, and featured a horse; sadly, that manuscript has been lost. She attended a local state high school, Dunblane High School, and spent much of her teenaged years reading and swimming. In 1994 she began a Physics degree at University College, Oxford, where she obtained a first; she subsequently obtained a doctorate in Theoretical Physics, also from Oxford University. A keen sportwoman, she represented Oxford University every one of her seven years there in either Swimming or Waterpolo, and usually both. However, she never lost her longheld desire to become a writer and always had a drawer full of private scribblings.

​After university, Lexie succumbed to the need to climb out of debt and find a job and began work for an investment bank in London, where she remained for 8 years. During that time she also took up triathlon, met her husband (in a swimming pool at 5.30am, but that is another story...), got married and had two gorgeous boys, swam the English Channel solo, ran a few marathons and ultramarathons and tried in vain to carve out enough time to write. After losing her banking job during the Global Financial Crisis, she began work part-time in fund management in the City of London, where she still works now; the rest of her time is spent writing, or thinking about writing, and juggling family life and sport. Her debut novel, The French Girl, will be published in February 2018 and is available for pre-order now; Lexie is currently working on her second novel.

Promos call it “I Know What You Did Last Summer meets the French countryside.” For me, it was more like…maybe The Big Chill meets Ghost Story? (showing my age here). In any case, it sounded intriguing and potentially a good story, so I was pleased to have the opportunity to read Lexie Elliott’s The French Girl, thanks to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley.

The narrator, Kate Channing, is a young woman who rose from her less-than-aristocratic background to attend Oxford, where she met a group of completely aristocratic friends. On a vacation together, they stayed at a farmhouse in the French countryside where they met a young Frenchwoman who disappeared, apparently on the last day they were in France. Ten years later, a body has been found on the property and an investigation into the disappearance is underway, complete with dashing French police detective, a guessing game as to who was responsible, and lots of interpersonal connections among the group (except, alas, for poor Theo, killed in Afghanistan, which might make him a convenient person on whom to pin blame). The group gathers together after a decade, and there have been enough changes that it seems likely someone will get thrown under the bus…but who?

I loved Kate’s dark humor and her strength and loyalty. The mystery is partly who did the deed, but also how well do you know your friends? I like musteries and interpersonal relationships involving strong female characters. I’m not a big fan of supernatural/ghost/whatever you call it stories, and I didn’t really care strongly about any of the characters. I also prefer seeing justice done…but that’s another story. It seemed unlikely that Kate’s business could survive her seemingly lax work ethic/hectic social life, but maybe I just didn’t relate to London millenials, living the life…

Overall, it was entertaining, well written, and a good “beach read.” Not sure I will remember it in six months, but I would definitely read more by Lexie Elliott. Four stars.

I found this book to be highly uninteresting, by no means a mystery/thriller. The entangled friendships gave characters a tiresome feeling as well as a never ending monotonous revisiting of past and present interactions of 'what was' or 'could be.' I felt Severine's 'presence' more a nuisance than a sensible addition. I kept waiting for momentum which never appeared. Bread crumbs early on led me to the villain.

Fast paced read albeit humdrum.

For SIX (6) University friends, and Idyllic week in a French farmhouse was the perfect getaway, until they met Severine. Her unexpected appearance unraveled them and changed everything – and then she was NEVER seen again.

Now, a decade later, Severine’s body is found in the well behind the farmhouse, and the case is reopened. Questioned along with her friends in the invasive murder investigation, Kate Channing stands to lose everything she’s worked to achieve. 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…

This is a whodunit thriller. Kate, being one of the six friends, narrates for us as she takes us back in time when Severine disappeared without a trace. An investigation had been held and the friends have each been questioned, without a body – the case was closed.

Fast forward 10 years later and Severine’s body is found in the well behind the farmhouse and we quickly come to realize that it is one of the six friends that murdered her - but WHO and WHY?? So many secrets. And lies. And deceit. And jealousy. And KARMA! This is a slow- burning lighter mystery that I enjoyed.

Dark and twisty, thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended.

Ten years ago, a group of college friends spent a few vacation days in a farmhouse in France. When they returned back to Oxford they learned that Severine, the girl next door from the place they stayed, had disappeared. Ten years later, Severine body is found and the investigation is reopened.

The book is narrated from the point of view of Kate, she was one of the college friends that went to the farmhouse vacation. I found the story to be slow-paced. The novel focused on the friendship and relationship dynamics of the group of young professionals being investigated.

My favorite character was Modan, the detective from France. I would've love to have the novel narrated from his point of view.

Overall, I liked the novel and recommend it to readers of mysteries and contemporary fiction.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via Netgalley

'The French Girl' is a fantastic debut that will certainly put the author on the map. I love thrillers and have read so many that not much surprises me anymore. This novel was a breath of fresh air for me as a reader. I loved how the story jumped back and forth in time - the present, when the woman's body has been found, and the summer a decade before when they met her during a vacation in France. I enjoyed seeing how things lined up during the story line for both along as how well their memories of that time actually were. And the obvious - figuring out what exactly happened to Severine. The author did a wonderful job bringing both time frames to life for the reader and easily pulls us into the investigation and mystery they find themselves in. I found the plot to be really interesting and not as cookie-cutter as most out there, which was a wonderful surprise.

One big aspect for me personally is always the writing style. I place a lot of emphasis on this and it literally can make or break a book for me. Luckily, the author chose my favorite - first person - and had Kate as the narrator. I liked getting to know Kate on a deep level. We get to see both the past and the present through her eyes. We also get an inside peek into her mind - her memories, her hopes and fears, suspicions, and everything in between. I'm so glad that the author chose to use this writing style - I think it's perfect for the novel. Definitely recommended for fans of mystery, thrillers and suspense.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

The French Girl is the first book by Lexie Elliott. As a psychological thriller, I found the pace VERY slow. At one point I thought of giving up, but it really is not in my nature to do that. In the end, I am glad I persevered as the pace picked up. Though truth be told, quite early on I figured out who “the killer” was – or at least I had my suspicions, which proved to be correct.

The French Girl is about six university friends (Kate, Tom, Lara, Caro, Theo and Seb) vacationing in France for one week and the events that happened that week ten years ago, particularly the disappearance of Severine, the girl from next door. Fast forward ten years and the body of Severine is discovered in the well on the property where the friends had stayed. The entire story is told from Kate Channing’s point of view.

I did enjoy the progression (albeit a painfully slow progression) of the relationship between Kate and Tom. In fact, the relationship of each friend with each other in the group was what made this an interesting read. And of course the introduction of the French inspector, Monsieur Alain Modan certainly added some spice and intrigue. I found the way he thought out the who and how the murder interesting. Like I stated earlier, the inter-relationships between all of the friends was definitely what kept me reading.

In fairness, the deceased, Severine, also really kept my interest. Why was she hanging around Kate? What was she trying to convey? Severine’s role not just as the deceased, but as a ghost hanging around Kate was also another big factor why I continued reading the book until the end. Figuring out Severine’s motivation for “being around” was captivating.

If you are looking for a fast action psychological thriller, then this is not the book for you. However, if you enjoy a slow and methodical character study of a group of friends, then by all means, pick up this debut novel by author Lexie Elliott.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

It's been awhile since I read a thriller and the last one I read I was kind of meh about so I was a bit nervous. This one however was far from meh - in fact it kept me up late turning pages trying to figure out what had happened!

One of things I don't like about the unreliable narrator type thrillers is when they give you nothing about whatever it is that happened in the past. Elliott, however, gave me just enough. I had the general idea of the setup and I knew the outcome which gave me just enough to keep me guessing and theorizing on just what had happened all those years ago in France. As well all the characters with the exception of 1 are back in London and old grudges and desires are rising to the surface.

The story is through Kate's POV and I actually liked her which is unusual in this kind of psychological thriller. She's intelligent with a bit of a chip on her should but not so much that it annoyed me. She's struggling to get her business going and having to deal with all sorts of emotions that she had spent a decade shoving out of her thoughts.

This was a really compelling read. The pacing was good and I never felt like it was dragging or murky. The ending wasn't entirely a surprise though it did have me holding my breath a time or two while I read on to see how it all played out.

This book is similar to others in this genre lately, but with a lovely twist. A contemporary fiction mystery that binds together six old friends and a dead girl from 10 years ago.

The story is slow to start, or so you think, but the wind up is always there slowly burning in the background. You think you know what is going to happen and yet when you get to the last quarter of the book, it all starts to unravel and change.

With lovely twists you don’t expect and even a blossoming romance or two along the way, this story shows you that you really only think you know your friends…. until something drastic happens. Then it is a free for all to save yourself – or so you think.

The author did a great job with this unique story by offering a great back drop to the story with high interest, well developed characters, and a plot that takes you from France to England and points in-between. Not a lot of heart pounding drama, but that sneak up surprise that is oh so good!

If you enjoy a good mystery with a bit of suspense, this is a fabulous choice! I will definitely read more from this author!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair review.

Kate is working on keeping her business afloat, and be bitter about her life when the past suddenly comes back with a vengeance. Ten years ago, she went on a holiday with six friends to a farmhouse in France. It was a wonderful week except at the end, and right after they left the neighbor disappeared. At the time she thought nothing of it, and she believed that none of her friends could have anything to do with it.

Or could they have? Suddenly Caro is acting like they are great friends and acting like they have something to hide about that trip. It doesn't help that a french detective is back investigating it and everyone seems to think things point to Kate. But Kate knows she was drunk and passed out, and for the most part she really believes that none of her friends had anything to do with it until she confronted by the evidence and she is caught up in trying to figure it out before it is too late.

If you are looking for a thrill ride, this isn't it, but that aside I loved this book. Not so much for the mystery aspect. It was so character driven and so rich in the story that even though I had a pretty good idea of what was going to be happen and who the culprit was I still couldn't put it down. I mean I loved Kate, telling this story from her perspective was the right thing to do. She is so no nonsense, and such a straight shooter that even when you entertain the idea that she is guilty you dismiss it right away.

I also have to say that I love Lara and Kate, their friendship is like a friendship we should all have. I would read another book with just them in it. I did like Tom and the romance, even though at times I really wanted to bash his head in, but still he came through in the end. Caro, and to some degree Seb really kind of deserve each other. No spoilers there, just my thoughts on those two in general. I am just frankly surprised that some of the people thought decent things about either of them.

The mystery was a bit predictable, and isn't something that keeps you on the edge of your seat guessing who and what happened, but it was an interesting and compelling story. In a way I liked it because it wasn't like all the other books out currently that try to make you think every one did it before revealing something shocking. There were characters that you just knew shortly into the story were not capable of it at all, and sometimes it is just rewarding to know that you weren't wrong on your judgement.

2018 has been a great year for debut novels. A.J. Finn and C.J. Tudor are just two of the outstanding debuts of 2018. When I read the synopsis for Lexie Elliott’s debut novel The French Girl I was instantly curious and knew The French Girl was a book I should add to my list of must reads.
10 years ago six friends embarked on vacation to a beautiful farmhouse in France. The arrival of Severine causes tension and raises issues among the six friends. Then as quickly as she arrives Severine disappears. Ten years later the six friends have moved on with their lives and are now back in London. Once again Severine appears but now she is dead. Kate Channing and her friends find themselves drawn back to their time in France and memories they would rather remain buried.
Elliot’s writing is clear and concise but contains hints of menace and suspense which are simmering right beneath the surface. There is a very obvious villain, but then Elliot casts doubts on their role in Severine’s death, and then throws suspension back onto the obvious villain. I enjoyed this “see-saw” effect which lasted until the very end.
While Severine is at the center of the story, very little is known about her. I may be wrong but I can only remember one situation in the story where she actually spoke. The mystery surrounding her death pales in comparison to the mystery surrounding her life and background. The six friends know very little about her and some do not even mention her by name. The people, who may have been the last to see her before she died, know almost nothing about her. I found it ironic that the death of a person they hardly knew or even cared about could change their lives forever.
The main character Kate is accompanied by the ghost of Severine throughout the story. Kate sees Severine everywhere. What’s interesting is Kate’s reactions to Severine’s appearances. She does not seem concerned and over time even finds comfort in Severine’s presence. Elliot uses this aspect to portray Kate as an unreliable narrator. I absolutely loved reading the story with this added element. By all standards, Kate is hard working, smart, and driven. Her visions of Severine clash with the image she portrays to her friends and colleagues. While reading the story I pictured Kate leading this stressful yet normal life, but I am also thinking about the possibility that she is having some sort of break with reality. The central mystery is the death of Severine but finding out if Kate is mentally stable was just as compelling.
The French Girl moves at a slower pace than most of the crime fiction stories I read. It lacks gore and grisly details but the layered suspense and underlying menace will leave readers just as entertained as any fast paced, action packed crime novel.



Murder and Moore Rating:
4 out of 5 Stars

I really enjoyed this book, especially the fact that it's told in the first person, by only one person. The main character Kate brings in the other characters with memories and present actions, and her thoughts and emotions are very well-written.
I will be acquiring this book for our library and will be highly recommending it to our patrons.

How well can you trust your own memory after ten years? That’s the question at the heart of this book and when I think back to a decade earlier I can’t remember all that much. I was pregnant with my first kiddo so I definitely have vivid memories of that time, but the rest of everyday life type stuff? Forget it. Kate can’t forget the week she spent in France with her five closest university friends, there was drama, turmoil and a neighbor went missing. But now her body has been discovered and the investigation has been reopened forcing Kate to recall painful memories that she would rather be left in the past. How well can she trust herself, they were drinking and again, it’s been ten years! I loved the unreliability this provided as everyone’s perception of that week didn’t quite fit together making it tricky to piece together the truth.

This is a slower paced novel, you should definitely be in the mood for a lighter mystery that doesn’t rely on crazy plot twists when you pick this up and I do recommend picking it up! Despite the leisurely pace I was hooked almost instantly, there were fantastic moments of doubt and plenty of evasion from the core group of friends that kept me entertained. What sets this apart is the deep characterization coupled with a strong writing style that gave me shades of Ruth Ware. I’ll definitely be eagerly awaiting her next book!

The French Girl in three words: Perceptive, Enigmatic and Dubious.

Thank you to Berkley Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Six young college students took a holiday to France. While there a local girl goes missing. Ten years later the friends learn the girl’s body is found. Was one of them responsible for her death? This book was a slow burn that needed a little more action for me to completely enjoy it.

The six friends are brought back together after a decade of becoming adults. The group dynamic is fragile. A lot of this story focused on how this group of old friends gets along – who slept with whom, both then and now? Who can get along long enough to get through dinner, and who can’t? Through all of the relationship dynamics there is a mystery at the forefront in everyone’s minds. What happened to Severine?

The pacing was too slow for me. There was a little action within the last couple of chapters but it was too little, too late. I needed more to happen early on. I was fairly please with the ending, and the writing was engaging enough. The story line seemed to have potential but was just a miss for me.

Stevie‘s review of The French Girl by Lexie Elliott
Women’s Crime Fiction published by Berkley 20 Feb 18

There’s a great public fascination with unsolved mysteries, which generally peaks whenever a new piece of evidence is uncovered, particularly if that evidence changes the investigation from one involving a missing person to a murder enquiry. While such news provokes excitement in uninvolved spectators, it can create far more ravaging emotions in those involved in the original case, no matter how innocent they might be. Any such crime has a victim and a perpetrator, and when both are part of the same social group, the repercussions are bound to affect all of their friends and families. So it is for Kate Channing and her erstwhile university friends ten years after they last went on holiday together – and ten years after the girl holidaying next door disappeared.


Despite the less than auspicious ending to the holiday, as well as the mysterious departure of Severine, the French girl of the novel’s title, Kate and her friends fell out over more personal matters as well – the friends have stayed in contact to a greater or lesser extent. The friend whose parents’ holiday home provided accommodation for the group is now deceased, but the others all find themselves back in London a decade on from their university graduation: just in time for the announcement that French police are investigating the discovery of a body believed to be that of Severine.

Kate, already under a great deal of stress due to starting up a new business, finds herself under pressure to reveal long-concealed secrets about why the group argued on the last day of their holiday. She imagines that Severine is following her to meetings with friends and business associates, and worries that one of her friends from the holiday is hiding a far greater secret: the details of how Severine died and why her death was concealed so completely.

I warmed to Kate quite easily; she’s a bit of an outsider, and was mainly part of the holiday group by virtue of her socially superior boyfriend at the time. Of the others, Kate’s two closest friends are also easy to like, while her ex-boyfriend, along with the other woman out of the group, are possibly the two I most wanted to see get their comeuppance. Kate’s a fighter. Even as it becomes apparent that certain of her former friends will do anything to prevent her revealing her secrets, she still does everything in her power to find justice for Severine and protect those who have stood by her. She also has integrity, refusing to transfer blame for past events onto the one member of the group unable to defend himself against false accusations – though also beyond the reach of the law – even if that means other group members may have to face the consequences of their youthful indiscretions.

An excellent first novel, and I’m very excited about what this author might have in store for us in the future.

Grade: A

Six college friends spending a holiday together in a French farmhouse should be idyllic....a lovely break from everything. But cracks have already started forming in their solid friendships....they have dallied in sexual relationships with each other, some have secrets, others are starting to look towards careers and "real'' life outside university. And then....Severine. The beautiful French girl staying in the house next door comes in and shatters them all apart. The cracks explode into fragments. Severine disappears. And is never seen again.

......until her body is found in the well behind the farmhouse 10 years after that fateful holiday in France.

That week in France, what it did to their lives, and what happened to the beautiful French girl all comes rushing in to their adult lives to tear things up all over again.

I found this story to be much more psychological than thriller. Human relationships, emotions, memories and long kept grudges and secrets can be quite complex. I think we all have one person in our young adult past that we would like to forget....or wish we could go back and make one different decision. One night. One bad decision. Lasting repercussions. Or maybe, like for main character Kate Channing, it's a string of bad decisions that she never really got over. Bad relationship choices, bad emotional responses....the last tantrum of childhood before really growing up.

But did any of them murder Severine and throw her body down a well??

I have mixed emotions about the ending of this story. I"m both satisfied and dissatisfied....possibly because it's entirely realistic. Nothing ever wraps itself up perfectly -- all wrongs righted, all mistakes atoned for, all problems solved -- by the last actions in a story. But some things can be fixed.....some things are brought out into the light.....and some things are best forgotten. It doesn't make realism any easier to take.....just take a swig of your drink after and wash it down with a sweet swish of adulthood and understanding. Sometimes you take what you can get......and walk away from the rest. Perfect.

The story is well-written. It moves a little slowly, but that's what makes the psychological power of this tale work its magic on readers. It gives each person time to think on their own past as they see Kate Channing's past and present come crashing together. It takes time for rumors to get started, time for old emotions to come bubbling to the surface, and it takes time for her to figure out what happened on a fateful night 10 years before.....who killed Severine? And why? And do you ever really know anybody? Really KNOW them.....or do you just get to see the parts of themselves they choose to share?

I loved the fact that Kate Channing sees the dead French girl nearly everywhere while she is trying to piece the facts together in her mind. She sees her as she was in life, and also sees her dead, white grinning skull. The vision never interacts with her, never speaks, never touches her....but she's always there. Dead Severine.In both her beauty and her ghastly final silence. Seeing the dead girl really added something to the story, and kept Kate focused on the fact that this was really about a girl that was murdered, and not entirely about her emotions about that week in France that broke up their friendships

All in all, a great book! Very enjoyable. More psych than thriller/suspense for me.....but to others it might feel differently. Just the fact that it pulled up old emotions in me from my own college days means that it's quite an effective story. No dead bodies in my college past.....but a lot of little barbs remain in the recesses of my brain. Lost friendships. Lies that destroyed relationships. The first "real'' breakup. And those I said goodbye to at graduation and never saw again. Bad decisions. Regrets. What ifs. Everyone has them. Kate Channing's just happen to blossom into a murder investigation.

Great story!! Loved it!

**I voluntarily read ad advanced readers copy of this book from Berkley Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

It‘s been ten years since their legendary summer holidays in France. Now, the six friends reunite in London. They have all pursued their careers, found new partners and almost forgot what happened on their last day in France that summer. The French girl who spent a lot of time with them went missing, already back then a murder investigation was set up by the French authorities, yet, without success. But now, her body has been found, buried in a well on the premises and she obviously did not fall into it by accident. Kate does not have a clue what might have happened, she only remembers her quarrel with her then boyfriend Seb. But now things are different and soon, Kate finds herself prime suspect in a murder case.

Lexie Elliott tells the strange murder case only from one point of view, Kate’s, which adds a lot to the suspense of the novel. Kate is telling her story, we, as the reader, only know what she knows, we only get her thoughts and thus are limited in getting the whole picture. Additionally, during the course of the story, you start doubting your narrator - is Kate reliable or is she lying to us and leading us to false clues? I liked this play with uncertainty and the fact that only bits and pieces of the whole story are revealed.

The strongest aspect of the novel are the characters. First of all, Kate who is quite lively drawn, second and even more interesting is Caro whom you cannot trust which is obvious right from the start. But also the other characters are suspicious, Kate’s friend Lara and her affair with the French investigator or Tony who is making advances towards Kate. The story itself, however, does not advance at a high pace, at times you wait impatiently for something to happen. The fact of only giving one perspective, on the one hand, adds to the suspense, on the other, it temps to skip pages you to learn what actually happened because the information you get is quite limited. The end and the solution was not really convincing for me, for me, the motive was too weak to justify such an act.