Thank you Netgallery for the opportunity to read The Girl Before. The plot sounded good and I think this book started with the right ingredients, however, I did find it a bit absurd in some regards and didn't fully buy into the story line. It is readable and those fans of ...A Girl....may like it. ok for me.

A little bit 50 Shades of Grey and a smattering of 6 1/2 Weeks, with a sprinkle of creepy and you have a great read. Really enjoyed this one - thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

this was the first novel ive read by this author. I liked the style.
the description of this novel gave away nothing which was interesting and the novel was a lot different than I thought it would be. Gripping from cover to cover, I had a hard time putting it down

Can't say that I honestly enjoyed this book. I was intrigued to read it at first from the description, but it fell short by a long shot. The outcome was not much of a thriller in my opinion.

To be fair, at certain points in the story it pointed towards this deep, mind boggling mystery to be sorted out bit by bit by dealing with the emotions and thoughts of the characters. I mean, you had this interesting odd house built by an architect who seemed to have a troubled past and manipulative tendency. It hinted at a bit of a psychotic individual that wanted to control anything and everything about the structure he built, including those that lived in it. With the fact that he only approved certain individuals, certainly women, to live in his house that had a resemblance to his deceased wife had you wondering if this was indeed a psychological madman recreating his ideal life and when that ideal was shattered in some way, he took certain steps to start over. Throw in some other characters with issues and questionable pasts and futures and you got this mix of possibly mentally and emotional characters to keep you intrigued.

But as the story wound down to the end, I was disappointed with how it turned out. I guess I was expecting more of a "wow" moment to happen...more of a I didn't think of that type ending, but it ended up being prim, prat and boring. I believe the story had potential and to some might be a good read, but for me...not so much.

***I received a digital ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity.***

I enjoyed this book more than I was expecting to. It was a page turner and kept my interest throughout. I liked the way it interweaved between the two main characters and it was easy to follow. The twist was unexpected but made sense. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick, engaging read.
Thanks to #netgalley for the advanced copy.

Update: I just read that Ron Howard is going to direct the movie adaptation of this book. I can't wait!

First, to the people who say the book isn't believable because any sane person wouldn't agree to the living restrictions to rent One Folgate...no kidding! I think that's the whole point. You'd expect there to be something slightly off with the women too, if they not only are willing to enter into that type of agreement, but they also choose to stay.

This book is told in alternating chapters, of Emma's story (before) and Jane's story (now). Yes, there is overlap between the two women's experiences, but again, that's the whole point. That Jane is somehow walking down the same path as Emma, who met a tragic end in the apartment. I actually enjoyed how the story unfolded as continued to reveal different layers and character perspectives. It was an interesting display of Japanese minimalism, which has gained popularity as of late, and the psychological belief that you can change your mood, health, and well-being by altering your surroundings. This was a creepy psychological drama that was entertaining until the end.

Overall, the book was entertaining and I look forward to seeing how it translates to the big screen.

I received a copy of this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Realizing this book is getting positive reviews, I'm forging ahead with a negative one. Being an avid reader all my life, I realize pretty quickly if a book is going to click with me. If I can't connect with what the author is trying to do or with the characters by over 200 pages in, I move on to another book. There are too many great books out there to waste my time forcing myself through a mediocre one.

Loved it! It really made me think how I would answer the questions. I know I could never live in a place that prohibited books!

I became bored with the characters even though at the end they did display an inner strength that appeared to be lacking early on in their journeys through this bizarre tale.

Unfortunately I was unable to finish this title, therefore I will not be leaving an online review.

Great read! The author tells a great story. I look forward to more from this author.

What I really loved about this book is how it kept me on my toes the entire time. Whether I was reading Emma's story or Jane's there were pieces that I thought would help me figure out what was really going on...but the truth is, I had no idea. I love how Delaney built in twists to the story - and to the characters themselves. I was shocked a few times when a new character trait revealed itself, and all those revelations kept me guessing until the end. I would definitely recommend.

This is England, past and present. Emma's home has been burglarized while she's there. Jane’s child is stillborn. Moving offers them fresh starts.
Moving from past to present can make a story exciting; that doesn't happen here. First part of book is slow. Dialog drags. The action begins a little too late to catch my interest. The book is good, not great.
Voluntarily read ARC for an honest review.

The premise was as fascinating as the book was: you could rent the gorgeous house but only if you complied with a list of rules which, honestly, seem either completely freeing or unimaginably impossible. The dual storylines built suspense even as it steadily reflected the different personalities of the characters - which in turn revealed twist after twist. True psychological suspense at its best! I'll be looking for more books from JP Delaney!

The Girl Before is a fast read. The plot moves quickly and kept me interested. The characters were shallow, perhaps by design, but I still wanted to know what happened and why. A fun read.

I didn't realize it when I requested it, but there is a lot of hype about this book. Ron Howard has apparently bought the film rights. It makes sense, because I can definitely see it as a movie. The story switches between two different characters' viewpoints, and it took me a while to remember which was which (one is "then" and one is "now"), but I was fine once I got into it. If you like suspenseful books with interesting/crazy set-up's (I can never step away from a good set-up), you would probably like this.

I really enjoyed this book! The Girl Before kept me curious and intrigued the entire time, and I really didn't see some of the end reveals coming! Two absolutely took me by surprise! I'll mention that I don't read very many of these types of books, so perhaps that's part of why the twists and turns surprised me when they haven't surprised others, but regardless, I thought the mystery was handled very well!

I found both women to be fascinating--the devastations they were trying to overcome, the personalities that emerged, their interactions with the home and its infamous architect. The parallel story structure worked extremely well for me and I loved that technique. Not all of their actions were entirely believable, but I was so sucked into the world of the story I didn't really care and I didn't find it distracting!

If you want to read a fun, easy mystery that reminded me of Fifty Shades meets Gone Girl, then definitely give this one a chance!

Emma and Jane are drawn into a web of deception when they both end up as tenants at One Folgate Street. Emma was there before Jane, and both stories unfold through the course of the book. What they have in common, in addition to being tenants, is their relationship with its designer.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. But, it was hard to care about the main characters. In fact, more than once I had to skip back to the beginning of each chapter to remind myself which character was narrating? Jane or Emma? Nothing about their voices registered to me as individuals.

Even after they both expressed a desire to give up their freedom to the "housekeeper" (and to the mysterious Edward Monkford) they weren't terribly interesting. They both have their reasons for surrendering, and those reasons made me less sympathetic to them. Unfortunately, I only kept reading to see if my theories about the resolution would be correct. They weren't. So, I can honestly say the book wasn't predictable. But I still didn't like the characters and didn't feel invested in them.

The concept of a house that is programmed (and also conditions its inhabitants to behave in a certain way) is compelling. But that turns out to be just a backdrop for the lies and deceptions of everyone involved.

I think comparisons to Gone Girl and 50 Shades are apt since this book does come across like a mash-up of the two. I just wish there had been more to make me really enjoy it.

This review originally ran on Brightly:
One Folgate Street is a modern architectural masterpiece. Designed by an award-winning, enigmatic architect, Edward Monkford, it is all clean lines with no clutter and state-of-the-art technology (its built-in computer system is aptly named “Housekeeper”). With a well-below market value rent, the trade-off to living there is the rigorous application process and the contract’s looooooong list of rules. But for the two women who take center stage in JP Delaney’s psychological thriller, it is worth it.

The Girl Before follows the women’s experiences with the house in parallel. Both women come to the house after experiencing tragedy. Jane, the current resident, discovers that the previous resident, Emma, died in the house. The chapters alternate between Jane’s story and Emma’s story as Jane tries to figure out what happened to Emma. The house itself is also a character, central to the plot. It creates a sense of tranquility and safety at points, but also elicits fear and claustrophobia along the way. There were moments in the book that brought thoughts of Stephen King’s Christine to mind: Is the house itself somehow involved?

The Girl Before features one of fiction’s current trends: the unreliable narrator (see: Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train). As the women’s stories unfold, we begin to question their truth. Delaney also does something interesting to pull readers into the book — interspersed between chapters are questions from the arduous questionnaire that the applicants have to fill out. The questions are related to what follows in the story, but they also cause the reader to pause and reflect. How would you answer? How do you think the two women would answer? Why would Monkford ask that question? It is an interesting device that would also make for great book club discussions.

With enough doubt and twists to make the reader constantly question their assumptions — some obvious red herrings, some true possibilities — The Girl Before is hard to put down once you start it.