The French Girl Review

Synopsis from Penguin Publishing:

For readers of The Widow and The Woman in Cabin 10: One woman becomes trapped in the tangled bonds of friendship in an exhilarating debut novel of psychological suspense.

We all have our secrets…

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 finds herself buried under layers of deception with no one to set her free…

About: The French Girl is a mystery thriller written by Lexie Elliott. It will be published on 2/20/2018 by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 304 pages. The genres are crime, mystery, suspense, thriller, and fiction. This book is the author’s debut. According to Berkley’s website, “Our expertise in women’s fiction, romance, science fiction/fantasy, and mystery/suspense makes us uniquely suited to introduce a new generation of popular novelists and to reinvigorate the publishing programs for established bestselling authors.” Please see below for more information about the author and publisher.

My Experience: I started reading The French Girl on 12/11/17 and finished it on 1/2/18. This book is a great read! I like learning the characters’ professions, especially keeping afloat a new startup. I have always wondered about those who works on the trading floors, lawyers, and headhunters. The headhunter in this book focus on finding employees for companies of higher ranked jobs and it’s interesting to learn how businesses work. This book only suffer the length of time it takes me to read it because Christmas break and New Year’s break took my attention away from reading. Otherwise, I am always hooked on the mystery of what will come.

This book is told in the first person point of view, following Kate Channing, one among 6 friends who attended Oxford together years ago. The 6 friends (some more than friends and some less than friends) are Tom, Theo, Seb, Lara, and Caro. They all took a trip after they graduated from the university to the French farmhouse for a week of idyllic vacation. One person, Severine, the girl next door disappeared without a trace just as the six friends pack up to leave when their trip ended. Now, nearly a decade later, the police found Severine’s remains and the 6 friends are called in for questioning. Kate hasn’t seen the group for many years except Lara, whom she stayed in close contact. When the investigation heats up and each person realized his/her life could be ruined, they started to think whether their friends is capable of murder.

This book is well written. I enjoyed the mystery and suspense. I like the characters and their career. I like the friends and friends enemies and more than friends concept because it creates many opportunities to direct the blames and appear much harder to predict who the bad guy/girl is. This book is carefully crafted, though at times the pace is slow due to professions and being haunted by Severine. I enjoy the careful withholding of secrets when the characters communicate with each other trying to Nancy Drew themselves into who may have commit the heinous crime and are trying to get away with it. I like Kate’s analysis of everyone and whether they are who they appear to be. The suspense is worth the read and I do recommend everyone to read this book!

Pro: suspense, mystery, professional jobs,

Con: I’m also haunted by Severine. She’s excessively everywhere.

I rate it 4 stars!

Buy it here for free shipping: Book Depository or Penguin’s Website

About the Author:

Lexie Elliott grew up in Scotland, at the foot of the Highlands. She graduated from Oxford University, where she obtained a doctorate in theoretical physics. A keen sportswoman, she works in fund management in London, where she lives with her husband and two sons. The rest of her time is spent writing, or thinking about writing, and juggling family life and sport. (Photo obtained from Goodreads and Info obtained from Berkley Website).

More information about Berkley:

Website: http://www.penguin.com/publishers/berkley | Twitter: https://twitter.com/BerkleyPub | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BerkleyPub | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/BerkleyPub

***Disclaimer: Many thanks to Berkley for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.

xoxo,
Jasmine