Title: The French Girl
Author: Lexie Elliott
Genre: Thriller, mystery
Published on: February 20, 2018 by Berkley
I Know What You Did Last Summer meets the French countryside in this exhilarating psychological suspense novel about a woman trapped by the bonds of friendship—perfect for fans of The Widow and The Woman in Cabin 10.
One of RealSimple's and Cosmopolitan's Best Books of the Month
Everyone has a secret...
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.
But after a huge altercation on the last night of the holiday, Kate Channing 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.
A decade later, the case is reopened when Severine's body is found behind the farmhouse. Questioned along with her friends, Kate stands to lose everything she's worked so hard to achieve as suspicion mounts all around her. Desperate to resolve her unreliable memories and fearful she will be forever bound to the memory of the woman who still haunts her, Kate finds herself entangled within layers of deception with no one to set her free...
This book caught my eye while I was browsing the mystery section of the Kindle store. After reading the synopsis, I thought I would like to read it.
The French Girl is a part thriller, part mystery whodunit. It has five main characters, all of them old friends. The novel is written from the point of view of the main protagonist, Kate Channing. She is a headhunting attorney in London. The story begins ten years ago, when Kate and her friends were on a summer holiday in France.
The group were staying at a farmhouse during their trip. While there, a beguiling and enigmatic neighbor made their acquaintance. The girl is Severine, the titular French girl. Kate didn’t like her very much. As the reader, you learn more about Severine as you progress through the book. In the present day, a French detective informs Kate that they found Severine’s body. The girl went missing the very summer that Kate and her friends were on vacation. Since the six of them (one has died since) were the last to see Severine alive, the police have to question them.
An intriguing part of the book is that Kate sees Severine everywhere. The French girl is dead, of course, there’s no doubt. Kate just sees a vision of Severine, who pops up randomly throughout the former’s life. I found this curious. Kate wasn’t too fond of Severine, and there was definitely no romance between them. Why Kate would see Severine is a huge question. And the vision Severine never speaks, she only minds her own business and sometimes watches Kate. I wondered if the book would explain this strange aspect of the plot.
While the investigation takes course, you learn more about the important characters. Kate has a history with one of them, Sebastian. They were deeply in love during their summer holiday. Now, Sebastian is married to someone else and Kate hasn’t seen him in years. She does maintain a strong friendship with one of the others, Laura. Kate is also close with Tom, Sebastian’s cousin. It seems that there may be more between those two than friendship. What’ll happen, given the falling out with Sebastian, is any reader’s guess. There’s also Caro, a very ambitious attorney from a prestigious firm. Kate’s company (which she opened recently) does business with Caro’s firm throughout the book.
Although the mystery takes center stage, there’s also plenty of romance in The French Girl. One of the more important subplots is Alain Modan’s. He’s the detective questioning Kate and her friends about Severine. Alain speaks English remarkably well and seems determined to bring Severine’s killer to justice. He’s not overzealous about it, though, meaning Alain’s not the type to zero in on any one suspect just to close the case. Alain and Laura also fall hard for each other. The investigation complicates things, of course. Overall, The French Girl was a solid read. It felt a bit like One of Us is Lying, but way more mature, British, and with older characters. This novel didn’t wow me, but it wasn’t a disappointment either.
My rating: ★★★ 1/2
3.5 stars - It's pretty good!
No comments:
Post a Comment