Thursday, January 26, 2017

The Girl Before by JP Delaney


Summary from Good Reads:

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 Thoughts:

     Wow, I don’t know where to start or what to say about this one!  This is most definitely a psychological thriller with some many twists and turns that you will never know what is about to happen.  Just about the time that I thought I knew what was going on with these characters and the plot-BAM!-a new twist that totally changed things in my brain.  I am a little undecided about how I feel about this one, but I am still thinking about it which usually means that the writing is very good and something in the story was unique.   
     The characters are strange, some are disturbed and even the house itself is so integral to the story that you will feel that it is a character in this thriller as well as the actual people.  I never really liked Emma because she seemed very unreliable and Jane stirred only feelings of sympathy in me. As for Edward…I could never get a grasp of him.  He has some issues but where they enough that he could be a murderer or was he just obsessive? You’ll have to read The Girl Before to find out….

If you like a good psychological thriller where you never know who you can trust then you will enjoy this story.  3/5 stars

*Slight Spoiler Alert*


 I don’t normally like to give any spoilers but I feel a warning is necessary for this book.  If talk of miscarriage, abortion or rape (none overly graphic but still quite a bit of talk) bothers you, you might want to stay away from this one.


2 comments:

  1. This isn't the type of book that I normally read, but for some reason I keep seeing this one and I'm intrigued. Hmmm ...

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was definitely interesting! While I didn't love it, the interesting story line is still swirling around in my head. To me, that means it was a pretty good book. :)

      Delete