I really wanted to love this book because I have heard good things about the author. I do like to appreciate the writing. The author has gorgeous imagery and beautiful works-building. The mystery was also very intriguing. I also liked the supernatural aspect of this book and thought that it was very atmospheric and creepy! However, there were many loose ends that were never explained. I like novels in which everything is wrapped in a neat little bow, and this novel doesn’t have any answers. This lessened my enjoyment of the novel. If there were no loose ends, I would have given it a higher rating. Nevertheless, I recommend this for fans of Wendy Webb!

Why is this one not being talked about more??

This is the definition of a fast paced thriller! It literally makes you sweat and read as fast as you can to figure out what is going on!!

I devoured this in one sitting because once I started, I realized I literally didn't want to stop until I turned the last page!

I loved the atmosphere and felt like I was there right along with the main character!

BRIGHT AND DEADLY THINGS, though a quick read, wasn't what I was hoping for. Having loved the author's two previous books, I wanted to like this one too. However, the characters were difficult for me to invest in, and the story didn't deliver for me.

4/5 stars

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group for the advanced reading copy!

SYNOPSIS -- Grief-stricken Oxford fellow, Emily, is much looking forward to the remote retreat in the French Alps. A perfect place to get away and process her husband's death, The Chalet des Anglais will be home to Emily and other Oxford fellows and students for the next week. With a break-in at her home before leaving increases Emily's anxiety, she becomes immediately in tune with her companions' tension and odd behavior. As the chalet's creepy grandfather clock strikes -- at odd hours -- it's clear something dark is brewing under the supposedly benign retreat. With a student going missing and someone riffling through Emily's belongings, she needs to figure out the truth before there are consequences.

This book was what THE SANATORIUM wanted to be... a suspenseful, slow burn, chalet story set in the Alps... except this one was actually interesting! There were a ton of interesting complexities interwoven between the characters, and I enjoyed the build up of tension by trying make sense of all these connections. And how fun to read a main character who isn't whiney, or stupid, or petty, or impulsive! Emily actually thought things through in an extremely rational way and didn't make a big deal out of nothing, making it even more exciting when something did happen!

Biggest complaints were 1) this book was described as uncovering Emily's "late husband's dangerous secrets," and I don't think that's entirely accurate. Yes, things involved him but I was expecting something entirely different and had to reconcile my expectations with reality due to that description. And 2) this was a bit confusing on audio with all of the characters. I do, however, think the audio added a ton of depth to the story in the end and I'm really glad I listened to this one!

Locked room mysteries are hit or miss for me and this one landed in the middle. This has Ruth Ware and Alice Feeney vibes. Lots of drama, lots of suspense. But maybe too much going on?

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC

I've read and enjoyed several of this author's previous books, but this one didn't hit quite as well for me. The setting is atmospheric and plays an enormous role in the story, which I did enjoy, but there were a lot of long stretches where it felt like absolutely nothing happened, and despite being nearly 400 pages and said long stretches, it felt like there were some topics that needed more exploration. It wasn't enough to turn me away from this author, but it won't be the first book of hers that I will recommend.

This was a slow burn about Emily, who recently lost her husband and has been battling grief. An opportunity arises for her to go to a retreat in French Alps. This was an interesting read with a surprise ending. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

Bright and Deadly Things starts out with an interesting premise and readers will have to go into it with an open mind as it goes more from suspense thriller to a psychological thriller. The one thing it is for sure is a thriller; there are twists and turns all over the place and the plot plays out well. I had a little trouble connecting with the characters and wanting to make sure they all came out safe by the end. I just didn’t care that much which is never a good thing when reading a story and wanting/needing to connect with the characters and what they are going through. I would recommend this book to those that really enjoy psychological thrillers.

Talk about slow burn! The first third of the book was extremely slow and didn't really have anything going on. The rest of the book was picking up the pace just a tad, but it at least kept my interest. Emily was a great character, and I really enjoyed her perspective of the trip. I was not a fan of the "supernatural" aspect. I feel the novel would have held up without it. Overall it was just an ok read for me.

*Thank you @berkleypub for the #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon/Goodreads because less than 4 stars or DNF.*

This one definitely kept me guessing for a while and I liked the way it all played out. The piece about the clock was a little strange but the setting was perfect for this story. I liked the main character, she was was resilient and had a strong moral compass. I was a bit frustrated when it seemed like justice would not be served but the ending made me feel better about the progression of the story and hinted outcome.

I really wanted to love this one, but it was unfortunately too slow moving and not to my taste. I liked the author’s voice and would take a chance on another book of hers; this one just didn’t do it for me. I did not post to my social media or recommend in a TV segment.

I was so excited for this new release, which follows an Oxford fellow named Emily. She has recently lost her husband and is battling grief when she gets an offer to attend a retreat in the French Alps.

It was a slow burn, but a bit too slow for me in the end.

*many thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the gifted copy

If you’ve been following my reviews at all the last few years, you know I love a great isolated setting when I’m picking up a mystery/thriller read. Elliott transports readers to a rustic chalet in the Alps where transportation and interaction with locals is available only if you’re willing to walk to it. Mix that claustrophobic location with a group of friends and colleagues that have secrets to hide and you’ve got a formula for a great read!

From the start of this story, the reader is introduced to Emily, our main character, whose current life is anything but perfect. Coming on the heels of losing her husband in a tragic accident, Emily has become paranoid she is being stalked following multiple burglary attempts. When she gets to the chalet she’s expecting some time to relax, but is thrown into a web of secrets and deceit that is bound to turn deadly.

Elliott sets things up to slowly build in tension, while managing to keep the pacing moving forward at a medium rate. This isn’t a slow burn, but it’s also not an extremely fast-paced read. I loved the way small details were revealed to keep me guessing throughout my read of this book!

Highly recommend checking this one out for fans of locked room style mysteries!

A huge thank you to Berkley for my gifted copy!

A locked room mystery that had me intrigued from the beginning . It’s very atmospheric and I loved the full cast of characters and their development as the story progressed . I did figure it out early on though it didn’t make this any less enjoyable.

I picked this one up because it was academia-adjacent, and I do love a good dark academia thriller. It ended up being a bit different than most of the thrillers I read.

Emily is a recently widowed Oxford academic on retreat at a rustic (too rustic for me – it was without electricity or running water!) chateau in the French Alps. The day Emily is set to leave for her trip, she misses her flight and returns home to find a masked intruder, who flees. Emily is shaken (even more so after learning there was also a break-in at her office) but determined to make the journey. It’s an annual gathering of students and professors, though this is the first time she’s been invited. Once there Emily reconnects with friends and colleagues, among them Will, his partner Jana, and Peter, who worked closely with Emily’s late husband Nick. Emily also meets Mike, a Canadian colleague of Nick and Peter’s, and various students who’ve been invited to the retreat, including the vivacious Sofi, her closest friend, Julie, and James, who appears to be as total prick for no apparent reason.

The group settles in for the first night at the chateau but there’s an odd energy in the air. There’s a grandfather clock that ominously chimes at unexpected times. Emily is the recipient of an unexpected and unwelcome kiss. The next day, things get weirder; Emily realizes someone has searched her room. Glass fragments are found in her wineglass, luckily before she can drink from it. And then she stumbles on a shocking sexual liaison.

Eventually, one of the group goes missing and is found dead – murdered. I was a bit disappointed with the identity of the victim; it felt cliché and vaguely misogynistic (the sexy character always seems to be the first to go). As the group waits for clearance from the police to leave, suspicions are heightened and various people act out.

I say this felt a bit different than my usual thriller – it was a little less frenetic. There were twists, sure, but nothing too out of left field. There’s a mild paranormal element to Bright and Deadly Things that didn’t add much to the story for me. The chateau has suffered several fires over its long history, at strangely regular intervals. (It turns out that it’s due for the next one…right as the story takes place!) The grandfather clock looms over the house and the characters; there is a strong suggestion that it has an unhealthy influence towards reckless behavior, and the denizens of the chateau find that they all dream about the clock each night (which would be enough to weird me out). The weather and the isolation (the chateau can only be accessed by a tram up the mountain and then a walk down) also prey on the characters. Emily has to contend with 1) her suspicions that someone is searching for something related to her late husband’s research; 2) her fear that a killer is on the loose and 3) uncertainty about whether 1&2 are related or not.

I gave Bright and Deadly Things a B – I found the story and characterizations mundane, but the setting was interesting and the resolution to the mysteries was reasonably satisfying.

An enjoyable read, but nothing out of the ordinary. Emily is newly widowed and decides that a trip away from all might in order. She settles on the French Alps and winds up in a gorgeous place with very few conveniences - like electricity. Before she leaves she has an occurrence at home which makes her a day late and is an indication of things to come. There is a murder where she is a number of other circumstances to add to the mystery of the book.

I could just about spank myself for letting this book sit on my shelf for way too long.

Bright and Deadly Things easily slipped into my most favored book of 2023.

WOW!

This book was absolutely sensational!

This weekend in NJ we had some pretty awful weather but if you like to look at the glass half full as I aspire to do, I turned this dreary weekend into a non stop binge fest with books that completely consumed every minute of my day.

I had no clue what this book was going to be about when I had picked it up. I loved the cover, and to me, that can sometimes be enough.

Well, it was more than enough! I sure know how to pick.a winner when I go with my gut instincts (or bright and shiny covers)

There were SO many surprises within the pages of this book. I never once wanted to put this book down or even stop for a bathroom break. I could not get to the next chapter fast enough and the suspense had my brows sweating! I knew in my head I wanted to slow down and absorb every word but the storyline was so intense I just needed more more more!

I devoured this book in one sitting and I don't have one regret...

Teaser:

A remote back-to-basics mountaintop retreat in the French Alps turns deadly as an Oxford fellow finds herself in the crosshairs of her late husband’s dangerous secrets.

The Chalet des Anglais should be the ideal locale for recently-widowed Oxford don Emily to begin cutting through the fog of her grief. With no electricity, running water, or access by car, the rustic chalet nestled at the foot of the verdant, snow-topped Alps should afford Emily both time and space to heal. Joining her will be a collection of friends from the university, as well as other fellows, graduates, and undergraduates.

Something feels off, though—heightening Emily’s existing grief-induced anxiety. Before even making it to the airport, she’s unnerved by a break-in at her home. Once at the chalet, tension amongst the guests is palpable. Her friends and colleagues are behaving oddly, and competition for a newly opened position has introduced a streak of meanness into the otherwise relaxing getaway. As hostilities grow, Emily begins to wonder if the chalet’s dark history has cast a shadow over the retreat. In the salon, a curious grandfather clock looms, the only piece of furniture to survive a deadly blaze a century ago. As its discordant bell begins to invade everyone’s dreams, someone very real has been searching through Emily’s things and attempting to hack into her computer.

When a student disappears, Emily realizes that she’d better separate friend from foe, and real from imagined—or the next disappearance may be her own

Bright and Deadly Things by Lexie Elliott is a slow burn thriller novel. The story in Bright and Deadly Things is sort of a locked room mystery or in this case a remote and atmospheric mountaintop retreat in the French Alps mystery.

Emily Rivers is a recent widow who has been invited to the Chalet des Anglais, a remote retreat in the French Alps. The trip doesn’t begin well for Emily with dealing with an intruder making her arrival to the retreat delayed. Once arriving though Emily quickly finds the tension among the guests and needs to determine who is actually a friend.

For this reviews I must do a play on the title of Bright and Deadly Things by Lexie Elliott with telling my bright side to the story and what for me became deadly as a reader. The bright spot of the story that kept me going was the setting that swept me into the eeriness and kept the pages turning. The deadly side that lowered my rating would be the pacing of this one, it was simply too slow moving for my taste with the pacing even feeling a bit off with some extremely slow times. Those that do enjoy a slow burn should feel much differently so I’d suggest giving this one a try!

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This was an addicting locked room mystery!! I was all for it. I loved this book and can't wait to read more books by this author in the future. I loved the atmospheric vibe of the book. This one kept me guessing the whole time.

Book: Bright and Deadly Things
Author: Lexie Elliott
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Pub Date: February 14, 2023

I had to DNF it. I started it several times and just could never get more than a few chapters in. Way to slow for me and I just never made a connection to the characters to care about them.

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is February 14, 2023.