It was supposed to be a final celebration for six British graduates, a French getaway, until she arrived. As they leave Oxford five privileged graduates and one grammar school girl go to a French farmhouse owned by the family of one. Next door is a French girl who has a habit of using their swimming pool. Ten years later her body is found in the well of the farmhouse. The six were the last to see her alive. Naturally the French detective needs to interview them. So the drama unfolds as we are introduced to the five (one was killed in Afghanistan) their present lives, their relationships with each other and their pasts. Rivalry and jealousy erupt and as the investigation mounts and begins to effect their working lives so they begin to doubt one another's memories of that last night in France, a night when a huge row occurred. This is suspenseful stuff full of red herrings and different perceptions of one fateful night.
She appears, lithe and tanned, by the swimming pool one afternoon. Severine - the girl next door. It was supposed to be a final celebration for six British graduates, the perfect French getaway, until she arrived. Severine's beauty captivates each of them in turn. Under the heat of a summer sky, simmering tensions begin to boil over - years of jealousy and longing rising dangerously to the surface. And then Severine disappears. A decade later, Severine's body is found at the farmhouse. For Kate Channing, the discovery brings up more than just unwelcome memories. As police suspicion mounts against the friends, Kate becomes desperate to resolve her own shifting understanding of that time. But as the layers of deception reveal themselves, Kate must ask herself - does she really want to know what happened to the French girl?
You'll be well-served to carve out a lofty chunk of time for this tangled mystery, as The French Girl demands a one-sit read. - Mail Online
A gripping mystery that delves into the past and the darker side of friendships, this book will have you questioning everything you think you know. The French Girl is a fantastic debut about tangled relationships, shifting perceptions, and the memories--and people--that haunt us. I was completely captivated from beginning to end. - Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Stranger
A maelstrom of complicated friendships and shifting alliances. This addictive debut will keep you up late into the night! - Karen Dionne, author of The Marsh King's Daughter
Author
About Lexie Elliott
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. www.lexieelliott.com
