United States Publication Date: February 14, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Recently widowed Emily is joining some fellow colleagues from Oxford at a retreat at the Chalet des Anglais and until she walked into her house with an intruder in it, she was feeling pretty good about going. But now she's feeling uneasy, especially after she gets word that her office at Oxford has been broken into as well. What could or would anyone want with her? Then she arrives at the chalet to tension among the guests. Something is not right and Emily is feeling unsafe. Someone tries to break into Emily's laptop at the chalet and suddenly she realizes it's not her information or work someone is after, it's her recently deceased husband's. Now she's even more confused and feeling more unsafe. Meanwhile, the odd history of the chalet and the grandfather clock that has survived fire and years is starting to affect the residents of the chalet. Everyone is feeling off and tensions are running even higher than before. Then things really start unraveling.

This was a really interesting story that combined a few different storylines and suspects, one of them being an inanimate object. How Elliott brought together different suspicious people and events and merged them into one ending was satisfying. And I can't stop thinking about the grandfather clock as a main character, it was a subtle but really effective part of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early read of Bright and Deadly Things by Lexie Elliott.

Emily is a recent widow and Oxford professor. She is slowly emerging from the first months of grief, and decides to go on a retreat to the French Alps, where Oxford owns a chalet for just that purpose. It is a mix of faculty and graduate students, people she knows and strangers. She is unsettled, though, by recent break-ins at both her house and her office. When her room is searched at the chalet, she knows these incidents are not just a coincidence...and that it is someone she knows doing the searching. What are they looking for? When a student goes missing, the questions only increase. How is it all connected?

One of the things I liked best about this book was that it incorporated elements from several thriller genres that I enjoy - the locked room mystery, campus lit (or is it now called dark academia?), and the outdoor thriller. The author weaves these three together to very good effect. If you are looking for a fast-paced read, this might not be your pick. But if you are looking for a book with a good mystery (or two), good characters, and a hint of the supernatural, then Bright and Deadly Things might be just the ticket.

This book captured me from the beginning. I love a moody, academia thriller! I couldn’t put it down and read well into the night. Highly recommend!

I'm very conflicted by this one! On the one hand, I continue to enjoy this author's writing and I found the atmosphere/setting to be wonderful - exactly my thing. The characters were also pretty strong. But pacing wise, this just felt too long and I also did not feel like we got the isolation mystery that the back copy suggested. I guess strictly speaking it is, but there wasn't the same kind of menace or impending doom suspenseful build up that I would normally expect from this kind of trope.
So while I think this is solid, it would have benefited from tighter pacing and more tension IMO

#BrightandDeadlyThings #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out!

This was an okay thriller. None of the characters were very likable, they each did questionable things and made poor choices. There were too many unnecessary details and little side stories that distracted away from the real happenings or were just repetitive information. It was a little boring and slow at times, probably because of that. A lot could have been cut from the story or compacted to make it a more interesting plot. I guessed the killer early on, so there wasn't really any mystery or suspense from there. It could have been edited down some , remove 100 pages and it would have a been a quicker, more enjoyable story.

I found this forgettable compared to The French Girl, which I enjoyed more. The element of the clock didn't quite work for me, but if you like "trapped in a remote place" thrillers with a touch of the supernatural, you may love this one!

I’ve been a huge Lexie Elliott fan ever since I read The French Girl and it became one of the books I constantly recommend to other people. This book was another great one from her!

I loved the setting, and I think it provided the perfect stage for interesting and offbeat characters in the academic world. She deftly wove in professional ambition, class distinctions, me too elements and a creepy supernatural side story. I was hooked from the first page.

I loved how Emily’s character was crafted. You see her emerging from her grief slowly, and I appreciated how she was intelligent and analytical in her choices and actions. She had a strength and fortitude that made her admirable and someone to root for.

I did guess the identity of the murderer, but that did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. It was a well-plotted mystery with interesting characters and a perfect setting for the plot to unfold. Lexie Elliott remains one of my auto-read authors.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my complimentary digital copy. All opinions are my own.

Bright and Deadly Things sees a recently widowed woman, Emily, escape to a very basic French chalet. Literally no running water, no electricity - none of the "comforts" of home."

She is an Oxford professor and scholar and some of her colleagues as well as grad students join her. A very erudite crowd. Things become very strained amongst the group - and downright mean. They are all seeking the same job.

Emily has a sense that there is a malevolent presence in the chalet that may be responsible for much of the troubles the group is displaying.

A student disappears and Emily realizes that a member of the group has to be the killer.

To survive the trip Emily must separate herself from the crowd and solve the murder.

I skimmed some of the book as it is slow at times. Parts could be cut without impacting the story.

Which isn't to say the book isn't enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley, and Lexie Elliot for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. The plot summary of this book sucked me in. I was got "One by One" by Ruth Ware vibes. Overall, I found this book enjoyable but quite boring at times. It was riddled with many unnecessary details which I found did not contribute to the plot. I also guessed "whodunit" somewhat early on, so this took away some of the suspense. I did not find any of the character particularly likeable. I enjoyed the strong imagery for the beautiful backdrop and landscape. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if it was more concise.

Lexie Elliot is the queen of suspense. I would expect nothing less from this author, but this book is absolute perfection.

First off, thank you so much to #Netgalley, the publisher and especially the author for this ARC!

I got this book and ripped through it in one sitting! I loved the atmosphere, the characters and the twists this book had….. I had never read a book by this author but I am now going to check out her other books!

Lexie Elliott writes these thrillers where everyone is so similar it is impossible to keep anyone straight. It's all "Tom" and :John" ... like why can't one person be named "Avrash" or "Teg"? This is the third Lexie Elliott book I have had this complaint about. Otherwise, it's a good-enough mystery in a great setting.