Highly entertaining and creepy. 3.5/5 stars.
Thank you to Quercus Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC.
The blurb: “Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.”
The request seems odd, even intrusive—and for the two women who answer, the consequences are devastating.
Emma
Reeling from a traumatic break-in, Emma wants a new place to live. But none of the apartments she sees are affordable or feel safe. Until One Folgate Street. The house is an architectural masterpiece: a minimalist design of pale stone, plate glass, and soaring ceilings. But there are rules. The enigmatic architect who designed the house retains full control: no books, no throw pillows, no photos or clutter or personal effects of any kind. The space is intended to transform its occupant—and it does.
Jane
After a personal tragedy, Jane needs a fresh start. When she finds One Folgate Street she is instantly drawn to the space—and to its aloof but seductive creator. Moving in, Jane soon learns about the untimely death of the home’s previous tenant, a woman similar to Jane in age and appearance. As Jane tries to untangle truth from lies, she unwittingly follows the same patterns, makes the same choices, crosses paths with the same people, and experiences the same terror, as the girl before.
My take:
This book will do very well. The premise is great, if rather batty (who would honestly agree to live in a house with so many restrictive rules. You’re not allowed books! Come on!). The story is entertaining with an impressive number of twists to keep you guessing. When it comes to uncovering who was responsible for Emma’s death, there are enough plausible suspects to keep you intrigued.
On the whole it’s easy to read, although the dialogue in Emma’s chapters isn’t marked off by inverted commas, which can slow the pace down as you try to separate speech from thought.
And, if you like creepy, this book delivers it in spades. As the story alternates between “Emma chapters” in the past and “Jane chapters” in the present, the parallels between the women’s experiences are gradually revealed and the similarities at times, particularly in their relationships with Edward, made me shudder.
However, I have issues with the sexual politics of a story in which the two main characters are largely ok with having a narcissist trying to control them. I can’t really say more than that because it could be giving away some major plot points (sorry!).
I also felt things started to go haywire in the last quarter of the book as the twisting and turning went too far, pushing the plot from far-fetched to ridiculous. So while I wasn’t bored for a single second while reading The Girl Before, I have to confess to a fair bit of tutting and eye-rolling.
Overall: fans of creepy psychological thrillers will love The Girl Before. I’m sure it will be very successful and I look forward to seeing how closely the upcoming film adaptation sticks to the book.
Claire Huston / Art and Soul
Art and Soul 
Great review! I had issues with the sexual politics of the story as well; I’m glad you pointed that out in your review. 🙂
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Thank you!
I just can’t give the full thumbs up to any book which puts about the idea that there are lots of women out there who are longing for a man to control them… But then I suppose the book did address that with Jane being a stronger character than Emma… I don’t know, it just left me with a bad feeling!
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Excellently pitched review!
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Thank you!
It’s such a tricky one because it is a great bit of entertainment. If it were a film it would be a forgettable popcorn fest. On the other hand there are things about the main male character which were too Christian Grey…
I’m still sure it’ll sell millions of copies!
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Great review Claire! I had the same issues with the relationships. IThey were a little too Fifty Shades of Gray for me, especially the one between Emma and Edward. I did enjoy the mystery though.😊
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Thank you 🙂
I’m surprised (and pleased) to see I’m not the only one who had very mixed feelings about the book. It’ll be interesting to see if the film adaptation does anything to address some of the issues I had with it (by giving Edward an actual personality, perhaps?).
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Fingers crossed!
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I very much agree with your review and gave this the same rating. I turned the pages quickly but in the end I had a lot of issues with it. Yes, lots of eye rolling:)
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It’s a shame there are such clear downsides because it’s a cracking page-turner in other respects!
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I couldn’t imagine young women agreeing to these oppressive conditions, either…and I got frustrated with them. But it was definitely a story I couldn’t put down. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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It was a tough one to review because, as you say, it was a compulsive read… but at the same time there are some things that are rather worrying!
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After all the hype around this one, it was great reading your review! I still have to get a copy of it, but at least now I know not to set my expectations too high. Great review!
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Thank you 🙂
It’s tricky, because it’s very involving and entertaining. There’s a pretty decent twist as well… So enjoyable, but problemmatic!
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I hated the relationship in the book too. I definitely don’t understand the appeal – I need a two-way emotional connection to be happy. Great review 🙂
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Thank you! Exactly!
And I could see they were trying to say “ah, but are the women really being controlled or are they controlling him?” but it doesn’t matter – either way it’s still an unbalanced, bordering-on-abusive relationship!
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Yeah, no. They can try to spin it, but it wasn’t healthy. To each their own, of course lol
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Creepy is my thing but the more I read about this book, the less I am sure I want to read it!
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If you’re ever stuck for a quick read which will be very entertaining, then I’d pick up this one. As long as you don’t think too much about anything that’s going on, it’s ok 🙂
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I’m listening to the audio book now. I agree about the “no books” rule…that would have been the deal breaker for me! 😀
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Exactly! I’d be ok with not having a lot of stuff, but I have books on almost every surface in my house!! 🙂
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Great review! I started this book, got midway, and sort of lost interest. But I’m still in two minds about it. I’m very curious to know how it all ends, but not sure I want to spend more time on it. The more reviews I read, though, the more I think I might have been too quick to judge…
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It does have quite an impressive twist at about the 75% mark. From then in things accelerate, although they also become increasingly daft. Entertaining though! 🙂
And thank you!
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LOL. Narcissist trying to control them? I like creepy though. I might have to check it out.
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If you like creepy then you should give it a try 🙂 It’s very entertaining, even though I still can’t believe anyone would agree to live in a house where you’re basically not allowed any possessions or to make a mess at any time!
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Sounds like it started off strong and lost its luster a little bit. Great review!
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Thank you!
That’s pretty much it. Although there is a great reveal at about the 70-75% mark. It’s just a shame the author felt the need to pack in a final twist in the last few pages… too much can be a bad thing!
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wow the sexual politics does sound weird. Great review though!
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Thank you!
They start out odd and creepy then progressively get more bizarre as the book goes on. Which I suppose might be what some people are looking for!
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You’re welcome! Ahh well that’s strange!! haha yes, true!
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