This was a dark read, lots of secrets and small dramas. It kept me turning the pages because I wanted to know the secrets and see where it was going. The characters weren’t likeable but I don’t think they were meant to be and it worked. However the ending felt rushed. As though time had run out so quickly wrap it up. It was such a disappointing ending with too many unanswered questions which spoilt the book for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

What a premise! I just had to bump this one up my TBR list (and there are many on there!) as I’d heard an author reading of the prologue and just couldn’t wait to read it.

An exclusive gated community just screams a tense, insidious thriller and I was hooked from the start. I read this over a weekend and, for me, a good indicator of a fantastic novel is one you can’t put down and/or wait to pick back up again!

Brilliantly paced, very-well written and full of twists and turns. I loved the way the story was told from a dual point of view and I enjoyed getting into the minds of both Jodie and Norah.

The supporting cast also created a high level of tension and it was obvious that this was a very well-researched novel in terms of the themes covered and character profiles.

Becca is a wonderful writer and I really can’t wait to read more of her work. This is a phenomenal debut!

Count down to the murder!!!!

Absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down as each chapter explored the main characters you started to ask who was murdered!!! You know that people are hiding things but what are they, and how do they connect with the murder. And then we get to the end and even then you think who is right.

Feel I need to read it again, so good, brilliant build up of characters and dropping in pockets of information just at the right time.

If there is one book you read this year it has to be this one....

Welcome to Kensington Grove, the safest place to call home...
Jodie Madison can't think of a better place for a fresh start than the exclusive, gated community of The Grove. But from the moment she passes through the wrought iron gates, she starts to suspect she's made a mistake.
Despite her vow to keep apart from the other residents, Jodie can't help but feel drawn to her unnerving neighbour, Norah Williams, and terminally ill daughter, Lacey. Jodie knows she should stay away, but something draws her in.
When a murder shocks The Grove, Jodie vows to do everything in her power to save Lacey from her mother. But as more secrets emerge from Norah's shadowy past, Jodie is faced with the unthinkable - Norah's not so different to herself, and neither woman is innocent.
The past won't stay hidden forever. And The Grove will be an unforgiving witness.

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own hone\st voluntary review.

Intriguing book with twists and turns, interesting characters and domestic situation. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

★★★ 2.5 stars (rounded up)

Welcome to Kensington Grove, the safest place to call home...

Jodie Madison moves into the exclusive gated community lookin for a fresh start after her own personal tragedy but from the moment she enters through the gates she begins to wonder if she hasn't made a huge mistake moving in here. As soon as she arrives, her furniture and boxes having arrived before her (I wish moving was that easy), she is greeted by the manager of the estate who hands her her key card - which she just knows she will lose and have to ring up between the hours of 7am and 7pm to gain admittance - and a huge spiralised volume she is informed is the handbook. On a quick perusal Jodie sees big bold red print outlining the fines for non-compliance. What is this? A secure community or a prison?

Then she steps into her new home. When she inspected it, with loads of renovating going on at the time, she didn't see that whoever built these outbuildings of the former asylum thought it a great idea to put windows on every wall therefore eliminating Jodie's need for privacy and anonymity. She makes a mental note to buy curtains to shut her away from the world outside and from her nosy neighbours. And nosy some of them are. No sooner had she arrived to put her feet up and open a bottle of wine that she sees a note attached to the handbook informing her of the resident's meeting that afternoon which was more like an instruction rather than an invitation. As if that wasn't enough, she then finds herself landed with helping out at a fundraiser for her closest neighbour's daughter, Lacey, a terminally ill child with cystic fibrosis, among other ailments. When her boss discovers this, he sees it as a perfect opportunity for Jodie to snare an interview with Norah and Lacey as a human interest story.

Soon after the event, Jodie becomes involved with Lacey but Norah is extremely protective of her daughter. Understandable given her condition but also a little bit creepy. Norah certainly doesn't appear to be overly happy about Jodie's presence in Lacey's life but her daughter has formed an attachment to their neighbour she seems inable to break. Norah is fearful her control over Lacey may be in jeopardy and continues to try and isolate her daughter, suspicious of Lacey and Jodie's friendship.

Then when one of the residents turns up dead, Jodie finds herself trying to protect Lacey from her own mother. But who is telling the truth and who is lying? The narrative of both women - Jodie and Norah - is so ambiguous the reader doesn't know who to believe. And then there is the gossip between the neighbours and WhatsApp conversations, even I had to wonder what kind of place was the Grove to live in. You are supposed to be safe there, secure even, but the pecking order between some of the women and their bitchy comments makes one wonder if it is actually worth it. And then to have one of the residents murdered in a gated community that is meant to keep you safe...of course that means only one thing. That one of them must be the killer. So what have they got to hide? What have they all got to hide? And the very place that was billed as "the safest community" suddenly becomes very dangerous indeed.

Honestly, I didn't really like Jodie nor Norah...or even any of the characters, which made reading this story a bit of a chore in fact. I wanted to like it more than I did but in the end I just found myself wondering what it was all for?

THE GIRL BEYOND THE GATE is an interesting debut, examining the lives of a community behind locked gates and their secrets. But the ending felt like there were too many loose ends and I wasn't sure how it was actually supposed to come together. I gather I am not the only one to feel like this.

Not a bad read but not a great one either. 2.5 to 3 stars tops.

I would like to thank #BeccaDay, #Netgalley, #EmblemBooks for an ARC of #TheGirlBeyondTheGate in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

Not for me

I tried three times over several weeks to get into this book, but I could never get past half way. The characters just didn’t interest me. The plot might have gotten better, but it was way too slow.

<b>Note:</b> I received an advanced copy of this book from Embla Books via NetGalley.

Jodie Madison can't think of a better place for a fresh start than the exclusive, gated community of The Grove. But from the moment she passes through the wrought iron gates, she starts to suspect she's made a mistake.

Despite her vow to keep apart from the other residents, Jodie can't help but feel drawn to her unnerving neighbour Norah Williams and terminally ill daughter, Lacey. Jodie knows she should stay away, but something draws her in.

When a murder shocks The Grove, Jodie vows to do everything in her power to save Lacey from her mother. But as more secrets emerge from Norah's shadowy past, Jodie is faced with the unthinkable - Norah's not so different to herself, and neither woman is innocent.

I was originally intrigued by the concept of this book and the potential meaning behind what goes on behind closed doors. Jodie was strange. Running from her past but then throwing herself into the life of someone else. The ending of this book confused me, I was not sure really how to take it.

The Girl Beyond the Gate
Becca Day
Thriller

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley + Embla Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book had so much potential - I loved the gated community setting, the fast pacing, and the multiple POVs. I was so excited to see how everything came together in the end. Unfortunately, in my opinion, not only did the ending falling incredibly flat, but it didn’t even really make much sense? There were several major discrepancies that just completely ruined the whole story. I am all for a crazy/twisty ending, but the twists have to make sense within the reality of the story, and I just did not feel like this book lived up to that.

🔒 Neighborhood thriller
🔒 Multiple POV
🔒 Gated community setting
🔒 Fast-paced
🔒 Short chapters
🔒 Unreliable narrator
🔒 Sick child storyline
🔒 Explores mother/child relationships, impact of terminal illnesses
🔒 Twisty ending

#caitsquietplace #caitsquietplacereviews #cqpthrillers #emblabooks

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read The Girl Beyond The Gate!
This was a really gripping read and got me out of a reading slump!

The dedication was so sweet! And the prologue really got you hooked and wanting to read on.

Everyone on this estate has secrets.. it’s working out who’s hiding what and who’s going to be the really bad one in the end.
Makes you wary of everyone and what they’re up to.

I enjoyed the different perspectives and found myself of the edge of my seat for most of the book! Speed reading to find out what’s coming.

I thought I knew exactly how it was going to end but I was wrong.
Is there a potential for a sequel here?!

Jodie Madison moved into a gated community called Kensington Grove looking for a fresh start in her life. Her new neighbors, Norah, and her daughter Lacey are a bit off.

Norah is a wound-up mom who tends to Lacey who is ill, but Jodie soon begins to believe that things might not seem as they appear in her neighbor's house. As people start showing up dead in Kensington Grove, the truth behind them comes out.

This book was so good! I thought it would be kinda predictable, and it was in some ways, but it other ways it was so not predictable! I really enjoyed it.

This book was incredible. I'm still not even sure how it ended, there is so much mystery to be had. I won't give spoilers but I will highly recommend this title if you are a fan of thrillers that are equal parts suspenseful and leave you curious for more. A classic 'who's lying & who's telling the truth' scenario with a few twists that will keep you reading page after page. SO good!

Thriller

People at The Grove have secrets. The protection of those secrets may result in murder.

This was a glorious debut novel by Becca Day. Jodie Madison is trying to start her life over. She is escaping from some horrible event in her past. She moves into the gated community of The Groves. It used to be an asylum but the outbuildings have been turned into single family homes with the central building used for a variety of other things. Jodie's new neighbors are Lacey and Norah Williams. Lacey is 14 and has cystic fibrosis and Norah, her mother, is very protective of her.

Something besides overprotectiveness seems to be wrong with Norah and as Jodie grows closer to Lacey more and more red flags appear. Lacey confides in Jodie and Jodie cannot help but be drawn into their family dynamic. Norah's shielding of Lacey doesn't completely add up and Jodie's journalistic instincts take over. She stumbles onto a variety of secrets and then dangerous events start happening. Is someone trying to scare Jodie away?

The story is told in alternating POV's between Jodie and Norah. We also start with a murder and then skip back in time to a few months prior when Jodie moves to The Groves. It was a little bit reminiscent of Big Little Lies. I really liked this story and felt that it was very successful. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this novel.

Kensington Grove is a gated high-end community. Just the perfect place to lead a quiet life. Jodie Madison moves in next door to Norah Williams and her daughter Lacey. 14-year-old Lacey has cystic fibrosis and is in a wheelchair. Jodie bonds with Lacey and soon realizes there is something off about the situation. Is Noah the loving mother she claims to be? Is Lacey in grave danger?

The cast of characters are well-written and compelling; the plot is suspenseful and tense, full of unpredictable twists. The story switches between alternating POVs giving us insight into each character's backgrounds, motivations and actions.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

What an amazing book. This immediately draws you in from the first page and keeps you wanting more until you look at the clock and realize you should probably go to sleep but still decide against it. It had everything I love about mysteries in it from murder to cliques to pretentious neighbors and the secrets they have. I will definitely be reading whatever comes next from Becca Day. This book will stay with me for a long time to come.

Thanks to NetGalley, Becca Day and Embla Books.

This was a very atmospheric book right from the start that made my heart beat fast many times throughout this read. I was hooked right from the start and wanted to really know what was going on. I think this is a book that is better read the less you know about the synopsis because you are able to see it through the eyes off the Jodie more intensively.

Thanks for this read. It was a good one.

Read this if you like: Small creepy communities, secrets

Thoughts 💭
Jodie Madison needs a fresh start and thinks the exclusive gated community of The Grove is perfect for her. Not much time goes by and she starts to suspect she's made a mistake.

She tries to keep her distance from the other residents but she's drawn to her teenage neighbor. Lacey is terminally ill and in a wheelchair. Lacey's mom, Norah, is incredibly controlling and a little scary.

When a resident of The Grove is found dead Jodie vows to do everything in her power to save Lacey from her mother. More secrets emerge from Norah's troubled past, even some from Jodie's.

This book is a dual POV with both Jodie and Norah. Both POVs leave little hints as we are lead up to the murder of someone in the gated community. It's super twisty, just a tad bit unbelievable. Regardless, I really liked it. I was shocked to find out this is a debut. It's so well written. Definitely recommend and excited to read Becca's future work.

Thank you to NetGalley, The author Becca Day, and the publisher Embla Books for the ARC!

I really enjoyed The Girl Beyond the Gate and when I discovered it was a debut novel I was even more impressed. It had enough twists and turns to keep me hooked and I did not want to put it down. I highly recommend it and look forward to reading future books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for my ARC.

This book had me hooked! It was full of twists and turns and was very suspenseful, and I couldn't put it down! However, I felt that some parts were predictable. But the twist right at the end of the novel?? I did not see that coming! Despite this, I felt that it ended rather abruptly. It left me with so many questions.

Overall, a great debut novel from Becca Day! I would definitely recommend this for someone looking for a suspenseful read that will have them wondering what's going to happen!

THE GIRL BEYOND THE GATE - BECCA DAY

⭐⭐⭐.5 /5

Thank you to @netgalley, @emblabooks & Becca Day for this ARC. HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY! This book is available from TODAY!

This was a great debut novel by Becca Day. I had seen plenty of recommendations from a reading group I am in and knew I needed to read this!

"Welcome to Kensington Grove, the safest place to call home....
Jodie Madison can't think of a better place for a fresh start than the exclusive, gated community of The Grove. But from the moment she passes through the wrought iron gates, she starts to suspect she's made a mistake..."

I found the start of the novel a bit slow but from the second half it had my hooked and I couldn't stop til I finished it. It is told in multiple POV which is entertaining throughout and adds to the element of mystery. Everyone in "The Grove" seems to have secrets and it's not until the very end that all is revealed!

The ending was a crazy one and had me thinking about it afterwards and questioning what I had just read.

This is 100% worth the read! It is an easy read filled with mystery, secrets and two unreliable narrators 🙌

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