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There are currently 22 member reviews
for The Girl Before
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Sharon P. (San Diego, CA)
Intriguing concept and a good read
I love the alternating POV of Emma and Jane! The concept of the house as a part in the mystery was intriguing and delightfully creepy. The male character, Edward, was a bit thin and as persona I am tired of in my reading, however, if enjoyed the other characters and their paths. I recommend!
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Elizabeth L. (Salem, OR)
Good Fast Read
This is a well written addition to the unreliable narrator, "girl" in the title genre.
I really enjoyed the way this book combined the idea of how our environment influences mood and behavior with the connected house. I can see how the latter could make you feel spied upon and vulnerable even in what should be your place of refuge. Luckily One Folgate Street wasn't quite to the level of Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey!
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Nanette S. (San Pierre, IN)
The Girl Before
Could you? Would you?
Could you decide to rent a place where you needed to answer forms and agree to abide by the rules of the "house"? Would you agree to live there if you passed inspection? Are the happenings a result of yourself or the "house"? This is a real suspense builder filled with intrigue and mystery.If you like books that keep you turning pages faster and faster, you will enjoy reading this one.
The film rights have already been purchased by Ron Howard and I can't wait to see it!
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Ann B. (Bethlehem, PA)
Another Girl Gone Awry
I must admit I was drawn to all the "Girl" books that have preceded this one. Yes, I was gone with Gone Girl, rode the Train , and rented Cabin 10, so it was natural for me to elect this First Impressions selection; The Girl Before. The story interestingly moved between, Then and Now as Emma and Jane took us on a similar path through their tormented histories, a unique twist on style and presentation. The draw back to this thriller was the explicit sex scenes , that in my opinion, added little to the dynamics of the story. Remember the old movies that faded to music or pictured a moon and then a sunrise and elicited our own fantasies without details. Like many others who reviewed this book, I too stayed up late to finish the mystery within. I am not sure about the fate of this new Girl genre, but perhaps a suggestion; Girl in the Whitehouse, or is this too futuristic.
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Carol N. (Indian Springs Village, AL)
The Girl Before
I read this book in one sitting it was so intriguing that I kept telling myself 'just a little more' and before I knew it, I was done. I enjoyed this book and the twists and turns had me guessing wrong until the very end which is what a good mystery should do. I felt like the switching back and forth between the two points of view was a good way to tell this story and it added to the intensity of the book. I'm still not sure that that the problem with Toby was necessary to this story but it seemed personal to the writer so I'm sure that is why it was included. I would recommend this for a book club as it was interesting and a fast read for me and kept me guessing till the end. I don't think comparing this novel to "Gone Girl" is performing a good service to this book as I thought it was a better one.
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Nikki M. (Fort Wayne, IN)
Another thriller with "girl" in the title!
I have to say that I didn't care for this thriller very much. The characters were not likeable, and some of the scenes were quite disturbing. I almost felt claustrophobic during most of the novel. Unfortunately, I would not recommend.
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Corrie S. (Verona, WI)
The Girl Before
So I've never read Fifty Shades of Grey, but from what I can tell, this book has much more in common with that than Gone Girl. It started off decently enough, with the chapters alternating between Emma and Jane, two women who at different times are occupying the same house. Emma's chapters, however, had absolutely no quotation marks, so you couldn't easily determine what was spoken aloud versus what were just thoughts. I've seen this before in other books and I have no idea why any author thinks this is a good idea. It's irritating. Though in this case, it helped to remember whose story I was reading -- because as the book wore on, Emma and Jane became indistinguishable. Both were annoying, insipid, and clichéd.
Then, about two-thirds of the way through, the book took a left turn into the absurd and from that point on I failed to recognize anyone as even remotely human. This is not how people in the real world behave. I just wanted it to end after that, not really caring about what happened to anyone. Except maybe Slob the kitten.
