So it turns out that I must not really be a suspense reader. I get roped in with the publisher's descriptions, but always end up unsatisfied. This book was no exception. Must read books about people with feelings.

But if YOU like suspenseful books, this is a reasonably good mystery about a group of university friends and the mysterious disappearance of a french girl. Maybe you'll like it.

I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

I have had an ARC of The French Girl from both NetGalley and Penguin First to Read for a while now, and for some reason, I was never in the right reading mood for it. Once that mood hit, I had a hard time stopping and finished The French Girl in less than 24 hours.

The French Girl is narrated by a 31-year-old professional named Kate who has just started her own business and is living her best life in London when she receives news that turns her life upside down. Ten years earlier, Kate and five of her friends spent a week in the French countryside and met a mysterious young French girl named Severine. The friends turned out to be the last people to see Severine alive, and the investigation into her disappearance has been reopened upon the discovery of her body in a well on the property where they stayed. Only five of the friends remain, and when a French investigator arrives in London to begin questioning them all about the events of that week, Kate begins learning new details about that week that lead her to question what she thought happened on their last night there, all the while seeing Severine everywhere she goes.

From the very beginning of the book, I felt connected to Kate, the narrator, and empathized with the issues she faces. Before receiving the news of the discovery of Severine's body, Kate was already experiencing the pressure of running a new business in a competitive field. Instead of glossing over those issues as a minor feature of the plot, Lexie Elliot allows readers to fully grasp them. Kate spends a lot of time staring at the spreadsheet that shows the financial trouble her company faces, worrying over her star employee Paul and the likelihood of him leaving for a position elsewhere, and arranging meetings with potential clients whose contracts could save her company. These details contribute to the slow burn of the book and made me feel more invested in Kate's character and her outcome. Although most of those details are not connected to the primary plot, they still serve an important purpose by helping readers understand Kate's character and what is at stake for her, once the investigation begins turning a focused eye on her.

Kate is not the only character with a lot at stake, however. As readers are introduced to Lara, Tom, Caro, Seb, and Theo, they see them through Kate's eyes and begin to understand what they all stand to lose as a result of the investigation and the secrets it has the potential to uncover. What secret does Tom seem to be keeping? Why is Caro focusing so much attention on Seb, and why do she and Kate seem to harbor such negative feelings toward one another? What exactly happened with Seb and Severine on the last night in France? And is it possible that Theo could have had anything to do with Severine's death? As Kate begins to question each of their actions on their last night in France, readers do as well, and once Kate begins to understand that the things she always believed about what happened to Severine may not be the truth, The French Girl grabs readers in a firm grip and doesn't let go until the end.

Some other reviews of The French Girl focus on the slow-moving action throughout the beginning of the book and the anticlimactic ending; however, both of these elements were things that actually made me enjoy the book more. Instead of filling the book with tons of action and twists and turns, by choosing to focus more on Kate's character, Lexie Elliot allowed me to form the connection with her that made me genuinely concerned for her as her mental and physical state began to deteriorate from the stress of the investigation. As for the ending, there isn't much I can say without revealing spoilers, but I will say this--not all suspenseful novels have to end with a shocking twist or doom for the main characters. As much as I enjoy books like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, I also enjoy books that allow me to believe that sometimes people ARE exactly as they seem.

A sign of a good book is when you have trouble putting it down and this certainly applied with The French Girl. The characters became real and the story has three important components, crime, suspence and romance. Highly recommend.

When they graduated from college, they went on a vacation to celebrate. Celebrate they did and some of them hooked up in relationships, but it would come back to haunt them later in life. Finding a dead body in a well will do that for you...

Berkley and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published February 20th.

This was a very interesting read. It looks back at the personalities of the students, the things they wanted in the past, and how much they want to save what they have at the present time. They've changed. Some for the better, some for the worst. But if the French girl never left, who was on the video camera footage wearing her clothes? And if a stranger didn't kill her, it must have been one of the group.

There's a real chameleon in the batch. It is determined to get all it wants no matter who gets hurt on the way. It's hard to realize that someone would kill for that. It's even harder when you are looking at all your friends and trying to figure out who could have done it.

Add in the ghost of the dead girl who happens to be haunting Kate and it gets even more interesting.

I had no clue who it was until it was almost too late. What's worse is that the killer can't be convicted. There's not enough proof. But, not to worry. Karma comes around and justice prevails.

This story is haunting me a bit but at least I don't see ghosts...

I loved the premise of The French Girl., in a physiological thriller reunion, six characters must face the ramifications of their irresponsible college actions 10 years later. With a likable underdog protagonist, an interesting mystery is revealed if you're patient enough to stick with it. Sadly, some readers may find that his thriller just isn't thrilling enough to keep their attention.

3.5ish
I've been a in a reading slump for awhile, concentrating mostly on non-fiction to fill the void until something grabbed me.
This book did grab me and kept me reading. It's a well-written, cold case murder mystery with 6 suspects and no clear front runner for the guilty party.
The only place it fell down was at the end where I was expecting more of a bang up finish to match the quality of the writing and plotting throughout. Instead it ended with more of a soft thud, not sure what happened to have the author ease off the throttle.

Another book that is getting lots of praise and high ratings is The French Girl by Lexie Elliot. I’ll be reading this one soon but wanted to mention it so you can pick up and start reading! I cannot wait to sit and read this book, so much about the premise has me intrigued.

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.

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A real page turner - I couldn't stop until I knew what happened. I found myself drawn into the story and really getting angry at some of the characters and the way they tried to navigate this discovery.

This one was ok - pretty average in this genre. I thought it had a bit of a pat ending, but I did enjoy reading it. It moved quickly and would be a good vacation read.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC of this book.

It always puzzles me when I love a book that lots of others just hate. I understand varying degrees of liking or disliking a book and some books are such that many dislike them. This book was one where I just don't get it. It makes me wonder if somehow my perception is flawed; made me wait a day for further reflection. So here I am still not knowing. I was immediately grabbed by the book. I found it readable and never boring. The mystery took twists and turns....for indeed this is a mystery....and pretty much kept me guessing. Tracing relationships from 10 years ago into the present was interesting because they mainly did not change. The characters are not particularly likable but yet they drew me in. I found it worth a couple of nights of my time. I hope others give it a try.

Six friends from Oxford University spend a week at a French farmhouse ten years ago. Severine, the girl next door, disappears. When her body is found ten years later, the investigation is re-opened and Kate is suspected along with her friends. Secrets, lies and friendship. This novel keeps unfolding until the very last page, I couldn't put it down!

A decent murder mystery but nothing new. Several old friends are thrown together again regarding the discovery of the body of a neighboring French girl who disappeared 10 years ago. The police start to suspect them and they start to suspect one another. The characters are okay and the plot pretty basic. I did not find the French investigator’s romance very plausible or the ending very satisfying.

I loved the book even though I didn't find Kate, the main character, a believable suspect. I was hooked through the writer's development of her characters. Very well written novel. I highly recommend it.

I found the relationships with the characters to be fascinating and a reflection of the sad truth that we actually do not really know those we are closest to and the secrets we all keep.

This is one of the best books I have read in awhile I will be talking it up and posting about it on the library sites. It is a bit of a mystery mash up of Sixth Sense, Big Chill with a touch of Hercule Poriot.

I found the The French Girl to be dark, mysterious and intriguing. This author puts me in mind of Ruth Ware and Paula Hawkins, which in my opinion is an excellent comparison. A compliment for sure. I will follow Lexie Elliott and see what else she has up her sleeve. I'm hooked.

The French Girl by Lexie Elliot is an easy-going British mystery with a bit of a ghost story attached. Ten years ago a group of University friends from Oxford enjoyed a French country holiday that ended in disaster when the femme fatale living next door disappears under mysterious circumstances. Flash forward to present-day London, when our protagonist Kate and her friends are informed that a body has been discovered. Suddenly the case has been reopened and it becomes clear to all involved that someone in their small, tight-knit group is a killer. Kate, meanwhile, begins to be followed by the presence of the dead French girl. Most of this novel felt slowwww (it does pick up by the end!) but my main gripe was the characters. They never felt like fully fleshed out, believable human beings to me – a reading deal breaker in my opinion. That said, if you enjoy slower paced, borderline cozy mysteries and a focus on shifting friendship dynamics, then you might enjoy this. (From The Napanee Beaver, December 13, 2017)

The French Girl by Lexie Elliott is a debut novel, and I was very pleasantly surprised at the excellent writing, consistent pace, realistic dialogue and well-developed characters. Kate and a group of friends from an English college take a vacation in France and encounter the mysterious Severine, i.e. "The French Girl," during their trip. 10 years later, the group are living their lives when they find out that Severine's body has been discovered in a well on the property where they were staying. So begins a mystery that grabs your attention and is hard to put down. The narrative is told from the perspective of the main character, Kate, and through her we are given access to the other characters' lives; and with her we try to figure out what actually happened all those years ago among the friends. There are secrets to uncover, betrayals to overcome and ghosts to lay to rest. One of the best things I liked about this novel was the author's fantastic use of personification in describing the appearances of Severine at various times in Kate's life. So intriguing and well done!

The French Girl
I received an ARC from NetGalley to read and review. The below is my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you, Lexie Elliott, the Penguin Random House, and NetGalley, for allowing me to review.
The French Girl by Lexie Elliott is a slow unraveling of a mystery involving a stunning French girl-Severine. Though the pace is slower, it does allow you to "get to know" the 6 friends who will ultimately all become suspects in Severine's murder. 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 them is a murderer.

The French Girl at its core is a novel about friendship, secrets, manipulation, jealousy, obsession, and murder with a little paranormal twist. The plot uses a past/present, back-and-forth style to create suspense and tension as it subtly unravels all the actions, motivations, personalities, and relationships within it. Gossip and rumor threaten to hurt careers, businesses and friendships as the friends begin to suspect each other and emotions run high.
Even with the slow start and I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a good mystery.

“The French Girl” was an engrossing read that ratcheted up the tension as the story unfolded. Old college friends are drawn back into an old mystery that occurred when they were together in France. The body of a girl who had disappeared was discovered in a well and all of the former students are questioned again.
This book reminded me of “A Secret History” by Donna Tartt. The personal dynamics of a group of students are revealed and their subsequent acts are eye-opening. “The French Girl” also exposed the links between the students and secrets are revealed. We are never wholly who we think we are.