Red headed Ruth captivated everyone she met. Her sister, Naomi. The boys at her school. Her friends. Until one day she disappeared, leaving everyone she loved behind. 

Years later, Alice spots a familiar redhead on a train. She remembers Ruth from school - the girl who was her husband’s girlfriend before. She quickly becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to Ruth. 

Naomi, now pregnant, is still missing her sister. When Alice contacts her claiming to have sited her sister, Naomi disregards it as another fake siting. That is - until her sister’s favorite childhood toy is sent to her in the mail. 

And then there’s Kay, Ruth’s best friend from school. The best friend who was also not so secretly in love with Ruth’s boyfriend. 

Told from both past and present perspectives, this is a thrilling, twisty story that never stops. It’s completey unpredictable. It moves a little slowly at first, but once it picks up steam it doesn’t stop!!

So chilling so multilayered had me on the edge oF my seat.An author to follow highly recommend make sure to luck your doors before you open this thriller. #netgalley #avonbooksuk.

The Girl Before You by Nicola Rayner........I was looking forward to read. However, I found it a slow burner, plus, I found it hard to get into.  This book is written from three narraters  and it goes back and forth between them. Sadly, I did get confused at times! about what time frame we were in and who was I reading about! I had to start to write things down! Hmmmmm.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK fro providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a mystery that initially didn't draw me in, but once I was 30-40 pages in, I was hooked and read 3/4 of it within two days!

This was a tale about a mystery surrounding Ruth, a woman in university who mysteriously went missing, presumed drowned. Years later, we hear from three perspectives: Alice, Naomi (Ruth's sister), and Kat (Ruth's best friend). Alice is now married to George, a former MP turned TV presenter. Alice initially thinks she sees Ruth on a train coming back from Edinburgh, which propels her into digging into the past and her husband's secrets. Naomi is always haunted by what happened to her sister and Kat is haunted by never getting what she wanted out of life, the way she sees it, thanks to Ruth. 

There was an element of the Me Too movement within this novel that was nicely laid out and made the readers ponder a lot of things regarding such behavior. A great discussion piece within the novel. 

Without giving anything away, this was a compelling mystery that left me wanting to know if Ruth was alive or not. The ending was satisfying and although there were some loose ends regarding Kat, Richard, and Alice, it wasn't too much where I was dissatisfied with the ending. The only reason I gave a reduction in stars is because I wasn't drawn in from the beginning, had I been, this would have been a solid five stars. What a great debut novel! Highly recommended for anyone interested in the mystery genre. 

Thank you to Netgalley/Avon Books UK for my copy and an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! The pace was very fast but, in my opinion, not at all confusing. I feel like Rayner did a great job switching between past and present in the storyline. There was good character development and the characters were believable. I was left guessing as to what really happened right up until the end, which is always a big thing for me! I would definitely recommend this book.

Hmmmm this book took me a while to get into picking it up and putting it down should of given it a chance as I really enjoyed it and recommended it to friends so we can discuss and get there thoughts on it good read thank you

I have a dilemma as to whether to give this book 1 or 2 stars and as I actually completed it I've given it 2.  While I liked the story I felt it was too drawn out.  There was too much going back to the past which I understand has to be done to tell the story but it was too long-winded and could have been much shorter.  There were parts of the book which were unnecessary.  Spoiler alert - okay Alice has decided to leave George but we didn't really need to know that as it didn't actually happen in the book.  I felt the book could have been much shorter.  To be completely honest I got bored half way through and had to force myself to finish the book just to find out what happened.  Would I recommend?  Sorry, but not really.
Thank you Netgalley for letting me ready for an honest view
Review posted on Amazon Stowv55

I just couldn't get into this book and abandoned it at 20%. i tried a couple of times and may try again later. Sorry!

This was a real page turner, which pulled me in quite quickly.  It took a lot of twists and turns, some of which I was expecting, and others which I was not.

I did enjoy this psychological thriller as this is my usual read. However it felt slow in parts and didn’t necessarily always grip me like similar books have.

Unfortunately, this premise is used a lot in psychological thrillers. I was hoping to love this book, however, there was nothing about it that made it stand out for me. I was also a little deflated by the ending.

While THE GIRL BEFORE YOU gets off to a slow start, it picks up speed about halfway through. From that point on, the narrative twists and turns, resulting in one startling revelation after another. 

The mystery behind a girl's disappearance is intriguing, yes. But the most interesting (and unsettling) aspect of the novel is George's complex character. In many ways, he's akin to someone we all know: charming on the surface, entitled and selfish at his core. 

In other ways, of course, he's unknowable. 

After him, Kat and Richard are the most intriguing characters. Their storylines kept me engaged and interested (as they had some angst to them), while Alice and Naomi's dragged a bit for me.

The novel's close is perfect: it provides closure in some areas, yet leaves enough open-ended that readers still contemplate and question the material long after its been consumed. 

For fans of psychological thrillers, THE GIRL BEFORE YOU is an entertaining and worthwhile read!

This book was confusing with all the different points of view...and I normally like a couple of different POV. It also kept skipping back and forth in time which didn't help. I thought the storyline had promise and was hoping it would hook me, especially as it's been compared other books I've enjoyed, but it didn't. I didn't particually like any of the characters and the ending was so meh, I'm not really sure what happened. Did I miss something? I'm not sure if it was just too mixed up and not straight forward enough for me to get stuck in to...or if it just wasn't good?

When I finished reading The Girl Before You, it left me in a hypnotic state. Brilliantly written with only a handful of characters and an amazing story. 
 
The story centered on Ruth who disappeared 15 years ago. Ruth’s disappearance tied Alice, Naomi, and Kat together. We hear (or read) the story from their perspective & it shuttles between past and present. 
 
Most of the setting is in the college (past) and in the present Alice is the one feels disturbed and has a nagging feeling about her husband George. 
 
Even though there are three unrelated women telling the story, each of the narrative’s merges with no gaps. All their retelling ends with a mystery after every chapter.
 
The writing was not just easy it was entrancing. The author candidly explored the feelings of teenagers and also how it changes as we grow up. In retrospect, as adults, we try to analyze why took certain decisions. 

Naomi and Ruth were sisters and there’s a passage (read below, it’s not entire passage) where Naomi describes her relationship, is so relatable for anyone who has a sibling. 

“How to put it? When I try to access my first memory without her, there isn’t one. There isn’t memory without Ruth. She was the one person to whom I could say: ‘You know that ballet teacher?’ And she would know whom I meant, or ‘Remember that boy on holiday in Crete, with the with the burnt skin?’……….”
 
The memories you create with your siblings, the secrets you share with your bestie or a roommate has been described aptly by the author. 
 
The author eloquently wrapped up the mystery and the parallel characters in the end.
 
For a debut novel, the author did an admirable job. 
 
I would recommend this book for all the mystery book fans. 

A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating for the book is 5 stars.

Brilliant story of love and loss and friendships that span the years. 

Secrets will always come out even if it takes what feels like forever. 

I really enjoyed this read.

This is billed as the next Girl On the Train, a rapid page turner. I don't see it, I struggled through a lot of this book. I am not a fan of the ending, it left a lot unsettled and for the reader to assume a lot. 

You also have some college age boys doing really disgusting behavior with seemingly no consequences, and a girl stupid enough to marry one of them trying to figure out why everyone hates him. Really?! Just had a hard time relating to most of these characters or understanding their actions.

I’ve finished this book today not quite knowing how I feel about it. I think I expected more; more drama, more suspense, more excitement. There are too many loose ends that haven’t been tied up as well which is disappointing. So many characters where I find myself asking, so what happened next? It was a quick and easy read but I would have liked a few more chapters to feel the story was properly finished.

Absolutely fantastic had me gripped!!! Loved it! Can't wait for more from.this author. Storyline was great, characters were easy to.connect with

Thank you for the advanced copy

If you are a fan of "Girl On The Train" by Paula Hawkins, then you might enjoy this debut psychological thriller from author Nicola Rayner.
A slow burner and a slow build to this story...
With its dual timeline, author Nicola switches between past and present to give you an insight into the disappearance of student Ruth Walker and those surrounding her. 
So you do need to have your wits about you to follow what is happening.
But what did happen to Ruth back then in the university days?
Her sister Naomi, her friend Kat and TV personality and MP George Bell, all with their own story to tell about what happened.
You have to wonder who has something to hide and why does George's wife Alice become so obsessed with finding out the truth about her husband.
A great price on amazon at the moment if you fancy nabbing a copy...

Thank you kindly to author Nicola Rayner and her publishers Avon Books UK for my copy of this book. Much appreciated.

I enjoyed reading this, it flowed quite well and had an interesting outlook on university life and family connections. Slow to start, it soon picked up pace and kept me entertained throughout.
Our main character Alice is married to a high profile individual, George and is pregnant. If I’m honest here, I had my problems with each. Not any fault of the authors, the characters were very well done, I just dislike the “people” they are. Yes, I referred to a Character as a person, and I had an instant dislike for both and I couldn’t tell you why.
The story is told from Alices view, and upon seeing someone she thinks looks like Georges Ex, she decides to investigate and see what happened. I have to say here, that is part of my dislike. I mean really, she saw someone who LOOKED like an ex and decide to drag up potentially painful memories for everyone? Issues much there Alice?
Anyway. So we see the story also from Ruths sister (who Alice contacts and investigated with) and follow a dual timeline throughout the story of Alice investigating and trying to find the truth, and A timeline through the characters (not Alice) through university, how they met Ruth and what happened leading up to her disappearance. At this point, I disliked George. Stereotypical male University student, thinks a lot of himself and expects anything female to fall at his feet.
However, despite my dislike of the two generally, I enjoyed the story. It was slow to start but built quickly and kept me entertained throughout. Despite my dislike of Alice and George, it didn’t put me off reading!
If you enjoy Psychological Thrillers then this is certainly worth reading! It’s an engaging read, and one that could be enjoyed on holiday or with a cuppa, although it does follow a popular theme at the moment of a woman investigating a partners ex having disappeared.