The Girl Before

My final hardbook bargain of my trilogy, and luckily it didn’t disappoint.

We meet two young women: Emma and Jane, who have both lived at One Folgate Street. Emma’s story is set in the past whilst Jane’s is set in the present and, both have fallen under the spell of the owner, Edward.

After a traumatic robbery, Emma falls for the tranquility and security the house offers, and this also attracts Jane after a tragic stillbirth. What they don’t realise is why Edward is so attracted to letting the property to them. Both women look incredibly similar… that’s not a coincidence.

Emma moves into the property with a long term boyfriend, Simon – but she soon dumps him in favour of the stronger and more controlling, Edward, after such a tragic event she wants a man that will look after her.

In the present, Jane finds out that Emma was murdered in the house and becomes fixated on finding out the truth. It turns out Emma was quite a good liar…

This book was edgy and addictive. For the majority of the book the chapters flip back and forth between Emma and Jane, so you’re given a snippet of information and before you have time to process it, you’re thrown into the other timeline and given another snippet. It was a beautifully crafted puzzle of a plot with pieces that you thought fitted, having to be replaced when you find another piece slots into the same place.

The plot has multiple twists, although the final few twists didn’t register any shock for me – perhaps I’d got used to the rollercoaster and no longer needed to grip the handle, I just went with the flow!

I loved the concept of One Folgate Street, it’s a box styled property with no doors and a practically white colour scheme throughout. It was full of ‘mod cons’ such as apps which unlocked the front door, a shower that remembered your favourite temperature and pressure and, mood lighting which boosted your mood even in the winter months. I love hearing about new technology and this made the book even more interesting than the thriller plot alone! JP Delaney definitely set a perfect scene for the crime to be carried out in!

This is a good’un (although I still think Her Every Fear has been my favourite psychological thriller this month), Delaney has produced a jumpy and complex plot with minimal characters.

I read that it’s to be turned into a film, I’ll definitely be going the cinema to see it – this will be a fantastic plot for a movie… much better than The Girl On The Train!

If you’re reading this, head over to amazon and grab it for £4.99, it’s a bargain!

Until next time, Chloé x