This review is written with thanks to Quercus books for my copy of The Girl Before.
Emma and her boyfriend, Simon have recently been burgled. Jane has recently suffered a stillbirth. In a bid to make a fresh start, they move into One Folgate Street - Emma in the past, and Jane in the present day. One Folgate Street is a house controlled by technology with very strict conditions laid out by the owner, Edward Monkford. As Jane becomes accustomed to the strange rules of her tenancy, she discovers that Emma died whilst living at One Folgate Street. Concerned that history may repeat itself, Jane resolves to find out what happened to Emma.
I was first drawn to The Girl Before in November, when I read and reviewed a sample of the novel via Netgalley. In the opening chapters I read, I was enthralled as Delaney built up the tension, switching between the past and the present and creating a mysterious feel to One Folgate Street, and this continues as the novel develops, particularly as it becomes clear that several of the characters have secrets.
To live in One Folgate Street, not only must the tenants abide by strict terms and conditions, but they must also undergo a rigorous application process and complete regular assessments whilst living there. The reader is given some insight into what questions the tenants are asked, most of which present moral dilemmas. This made me question how I would respond to the application process, and whether I would be able to live there. As such, I was able to lose myself in the world of One Folgate Street, which made the tension in the novel unbearable at times, and I was desperate to find out what happened.
Other reviews I have read have compared elements of The Girl Before to Fifty Shades, and this made me rather apprehensive. Although The Girl Before never quite reaches the same level of debauchery, I did feel that some of the sexual scenes were gratuitous in a way that detracted from the tension and intrigue in the novel.
Overall, I enjoyed The Girl Before, and felt that Delaney raised important themes in an unusual context.

"Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life."

One Folgate Street is a minimalist house built by the mysterious, controlling and handsome Edward Monkford. To be granted lease, you must fill in a laborious questionnaire and attend a face-to-face meeting with Edward himself, and even then, you’re unlikely to be approved. There are a large number of rules you have to abide by when you live in the house, such as, no books (?!?!?!), no rugs, no curtains, and no leaving things out, such as clothes, toiletries etc, to name a few. You must also open your home for tours every so often and complete various questionnaires/assessments throughout your stay.

So, I know what you’re thinking, you’re thinking “who the hell would agree to that?” but as it happens, two women choose to live at One Folgate Street. Thanks to its low rent and dishy architect, both Jane and Emma are happy putting up with all the rules. Jane is the girl from now, and Emma is the girl before. Both women are troubled and both begin a relationship with architect Edward.

What follows is a novel full of mystery and sex, a lot of sex. If you’re not into unnecessary filler sex in books then this won’t be for you, if you’re also not into the whole “daddy” thing… then again, this won’t be for you.

Starting off this book, I was very worried I was going to hate it, because I’d seen a lot of people say the focus on kinky sex as a bit left field and overpowering to the plot. But, I managed to get over that when it started to appear in the story. In my opinion, it wasn’t as bad as many people had made it out to be and in any case, you can always skip over it. I thought it was going to go full 50 Shades at some moments, but it managed to avoid any of the scenes becoming too tactless.

The mystery of “the girl before” is certainly intriguing and kept me hooked (for the first half, at least). I liked the way this was set out as Emma (before) and Jane (now) and how the chapters often mirrored each other so we could see the similarities in each of the tenants lives and relationships with Edward.

What I didn’t like about this book was the characters, which I’m kind of assuming was the goal by Delaney? If not, then he/she (does anyone know and can inform me on their gender?) is pretty terrible at creating characters. Although Edward is set up to be our “villain”, I found Emma to be the most dislikable character, even after all was said and done. She was manipulative, unnecessarily forward, obnoxious and total putty in Edward’s hands. Women who can’t act on their own accord because of a man infuriate me, which is probably why I didn’t get on with this novel that well, as it’s kind of what the whole plot is about. I like my women strong and independent!

The ending of this novel, no word of a lie, infuriated me. What a total cop out. People are comparing this to Gone Girl, LOL. The conclusion to this novel is the most overused and uninspired “twist” you can ever imagine. What a way to ruin a perfectly OK novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Then: Emma desperately wants a new start. Having been a victim of an armed robbery she no longer feels safe in the flat she shares with her boyfriend Simon. Convinced a new house would help with her new start Emma & Simon go house hunting but nothing in their price range seems right or, more importantly, safe enough. That is until they visit One Colgate street, a beautiful minimalist house designed by the mysterious (and handsome) Edward Monkton. The only problem iis that to live there you have to agree tiotio follow 200 very strict and bizarre rules, fill in a lengthy questionnaire anbd be interviewed by the architect himself. Despite all this, and her boyfriend's reservations, Emma iis determined to live there. She is therefore thrilled when their application gets approved as she is sure the house will help make her a better person and help aid her recovery from the roibbery.

Now: Jane us another lady who really wants to leave her past behind her with a move to a new house. Having recently suffered a still birth Jane can't bear to stay in the house she expected to brinbg her baby daughter home to. Like Emma, she immediately falls in love with One Folgate Street and is convinced that iit will be the new start she needs. Whilst meeting with the architect she finds herself a little attracted to him, so when flowers start arriving she flatters herself thinking they are from him. However a chance meeting with the man leaving the flowers leads to her discovering they are meant for Emma, the lady that used to live there and sadly died in the house. The man leaves before Jane can discover moire leaving her confused and a little uneasy.

I've unfortunately had to stop reading this book as I was finding Jane's story quite upsetting. I lost my son, Christopher, at 24 weeks and Jane's experiences were too like my own and bought back a load of really bad memories. I don't know if the author has experienced something similar but it his description bought a lump to my throat, particularly the attitude of the hospital to it all.

There were parts of the book I was enjoying up to that part. The dual story line was interesting and the lives of Emma and Jane echoing each other helped to build the tension and made for a interesting read. I wasn't too sure where the story was going as it seemed to deviate off into fifty shades of gray territory at times which was a little confusing. Despite her story being a hard read I liked Jane as a character and found her to be quite sensible. I also understood her more as I knew exactly how she was feeling. I wasn't so sure I liked Emma as she seemed a little silly and out of control and I found her a little annoying to be honest.

This book has had a lot of great reviews and hype on social media and I would encourage anyone to read it for themselves and make up their own minds. If you have suffered the loss of a child I would say you should avoid this book as it does make for painful reading.

Thank you to Quercus publishers for giving me a copy of this book to review. I'm glad I tried it as I would have always wondered about it but it was just ok hard for me to finish. I wish there had been a warning regarding the child loss story as I wouldn't have read it.

Emma was looking for a flat. Jane is now looking for a flat. Both have gone through traumatic experiences and decided that a change of scene would do them good. Both are shown this unbelievable place designed by a famous architect: beautiful, modern, in a great neighbourhood and within budget. Who cares about the 200 conditions one has to fullfill in order to be able to rent it?

After reading the sampler of this novel, I waited eagerly for the whole book and, unfortunately, ended up having very mixed feelings about it.

I absolutely loved the premise, as unlikely as it was. There are so many people in this world that there must be at least one or two who would accept the deal proposed by Edward Monkford, awarded architect. And I find that scary.

[book:The Girl Before|31673811] was a page-turner. I read it compulsively, very interested in learning what had happened and on watching Jane's actions and reactions.

However, I really did not like the ending. I didn't see it coming and I don't mean it in a nice way. For me, it felt too unexpected and made much of the story completely pointless. <spoiler> If Simon's main gripe was being dumped for Edward, what was the point of Emma's backstory? Her cheating on him with a mutual friend doesn't seem to have had that much effect.</spoiler>

So, I really enjoyed the first 90% of the novel but felt extremely frustrated by the final pages. Maybe a case of high expectations?

(Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy!)

A good mystery is intriguing enough to make you want to turn the page to find out what happened next, but not so confusing that it becomes difficult to follow the storyline. The book has two main voices. The story is told by Jane, the current tenant of One Folgate Street, and Emma, a previous tenant. Their voices are so distinctively different there is never any problem in recognising whose story is being told even when similar events happen to each woman.

The story resolves itself nicely, with no big cliff-hanger designed to make you buy another book to find out what happened next but there is a little teaser that indicates that Jane's story might not be the last story the house has to tell.

Each short chapter adds a layer to the multi-layered enigma that is life at One Folgate Street. It twists and turns and wraps itself into your imagination until you cannot put it down until finished. The clues are all there but like any good magician JP Delaney has us looking in the wrong direction while he performs sleight of hand and we gasp at the big reveal.

Despite admiring the writing and enjoying the story at the end of the day this book lacked that certain something would make it really special. Somehow I just couldn't find any sympathy for the characters and this meant I didn't care about their fate.

Absolutely un-putdownable. I could not wait to get into bed at night to continue reading this. Fabulous descriptions of the concepts used at Folgate Street. I felt it must have been written by an architect or designer. I was gripped until the very end and will be recommending this to all of my friends.

Highly entertaining and creepy. 3.5/5 stars.

This book will do very well. The premise is great, if rather batty (who would honestly agree to live in a house with so many restrictive rules. You’re not allowed books! Come on!). The story is entertaining with an impressive number of twists to keep you guessing. When it comes to uncovering who was responsible for Emma’s death, there are enough plausible suspects to keep you intrigued.

On the whole it’s easy to read, although the dialogue in Emma’s chapters isn’t marked off by inverted commas, which can slow the pace down as you try to separate speech from thought.

And, if you like creepy, this book delivers it in spades. As the story alternates between “Emma chapters” in the past and “Jane chapters” in the present, the parallels between the women’s experiences are gradually revealed and the similarities at times, particularly in their relationships with Edward, made me shudder.

However, I have issues with the sexual politics of a story in which the two main characters are largely ok with having a narcissist trying to control them. I can’t really say more than that because it could be giving away some major plot points (sorry!).

I also felt things started to go haywire in the last quarter of the book as the twisting and turning went too far, pushing the plot from far-fetched to ridiculous. So while I wasn’t bored for a single second while reading The Girl Before, I have to confess to a fair bit of tutting and eye-rolling.

Overall: fans of creepy psychological thrillers will love The Girl Before. I’m sure it will be very successful and I look forward to seeing how closely the upcoming film adaptation sticks to the book.

Thank you to Quercus Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.

I had high hopes for this one from the blurb, unfortunately I found it a bit 50 Shades of Landlord. Said Landlord, Edward, appears to be Christian Grey in a not-very-good disguise. Controlling, manipulating, a penchant for kinky sex with women... oh and of course, insanely rude but good-looking.

The story is split in two, 'Then', with Emma, and 'Now', with Jane. Both are women who have had problems and are ripe for having their heads turned. I found myself getting confused between the two timelines - Edward would have almost word-for-word conversations with both women. Lazy man, spieling out the same lines!

It may be a fabulous house, but it is not a home. Cold, clinical, and heaven help you if you don't stick to the rules and keep it immaculate. Who'd want to live in a house like this...? No thanks, and you can keep your creepy saddo land lord - however 'hot' he is.

I know a lot of people will love this book, I just found it a bit too obvious.

I read this really quickly, it captured my attention but I didn't feel it was a standout. I wouldn't necessarily rush out to recommend to others. I read another review recently that compared it to Fifty Shades and Girl on the Train - easy comparisons to make and I'm not sure they're entirely valid but I mention it because I did feel there were elements of the storyline that felt gratuitous and weren't dealt with in the way they perhaps should be.

A little slow, and unfortunately the climax to the story was a little obvious from about half way through the title. Still worth a read!

Well what can I say about this book?

Ridiculous? Bland? Laughable? Weird?

I'm really trying to find something positive to say about it and the only thing I can think of is some of the technology that will potentially take over our lives in the not-so-distant future was quite cool.

I quite enjoyed the first quarter of this book although I had to keep skipping back to see if I was reading about Jane (Present) or Emma (Past). It was quite fast and intriguing. Then... it just became stupid, creepy (not in a good way) and predictable. Then there's the random, poorly written Christian Grey-esque references that lack any substance and seem pointless to me.

And apparently it's being turned into a film? REALLY?!?!

Obviously this is only my opinion but I won't be recommending this book nor the film.

Thanks to Quercus books for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was sent the first few chapters of this book by NetGalley as a taster in an exchange for a review. A clever marketing ploy. I was intrigued by the opening and needed to know what was going to happen to the two lead characters. It promised to be a very different story to any I had previously read, telling, in alternating chapters, of two young women, Emma and Jane, who have both been through life changing traumas. They both need to live somewhere completely different that doesn’t hold memories of what happened. These character tell their own story in the first person. They each, in turn, have the opportunity to be tenants of an extremely minimalist architect designed house, 1 Folgate Street, which comes with a very low rental and a huge list of seriously bizarre clauses in the tenancy agreement. Emma, firstly, is recovering from a traumatic burglary and moves in with her boyfriend Simon, to be followed much later by Jane, recovering from the still birth of her daughter.

Later I had the opportunity to acquire the full book, again from NetGalley, so I went for it. Sadly I was disappointed. The story just seemed to get dafter and dafter and I ended up thoroughly disliking both Emma and Jane. A third primary character becomes obvious, equally unlikable, as was a fourth member of this cast. And that one could end up with so many severely physiologically damaged people stretches the bounds of credulity. The writing too left much to be desired. I cringe whenever I hear someone say, ”she goes”, instead of “she says”, but to write it down over and over again in a published work and expect readers to pay for it, should be regarded as a crime against the English language. I ended up feeling that these unpleasant characters, who seemed to be constantly indulging in casual sex for instant personal gratification, got what they deserved.

I dislike offering negative criticism of an author’s debut novel, particularly as I understand from the Acknowledgements at the end that it had been ten years in the making and that she has had personal experience of Jane’s maternal problems. But I’m afraid that I stand by what I’ve written and am only glad that this was a free digital copy and so did not waste my money as well as my time.

This was a very clever book, well paced and thought out. I didn't want to put it down. From the blurb I wasn't 100% sure I was going to like it, but I am really pleased that I requested it. I almost missed out on brilliance

The Girl Before opens on a situation (one past, the other happening in the present) most of us will have experienced: a letting agent is showing a woman (and in the past version, a woman and her partner) around flats within their budget in London. It’s a disheartening, and often demoralising, experience. And then, as letting agents often do, they save the best property to last: one within budget which is architect-designed and uses state-of-the-art technology to adapt and respond to the homeowner(s). Would they like to see it?

Naturally both women jump at the opportunity and while one sees it for the security it can offer her and the other admires its clean lines and beauty, both view it as a chance to wipe the slate clean and start anew. It feels as if it’s a house of second chances. But even if the rent is within their budgets, they first have to pass the rigorous vetting procedure and interview with the owner/architect before making One Folgate Street their home. And once installed in this admittedly beautiful but austere minimalism, they’ll have an extensive set of rules to adhere to, together with regular check ups to complete which affect the availability of some of the amenities. I’m pretty certain that even if I had passed the initial vetting process by some miracle, I would have fallen foul of only being allowed to have one stack of books kept in perfect alignment at all times! The opening question is one to ponder though: Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.

Told in dual narrative by Jane in the present and Emma in the past, I was quickly drawn into their lives in this strange new home that is One Folgate Street. I was as much intrigued as they were by the architect behind the design and continually asked myself who would want a house like this, not only striving for perfection in his vision but also in its realisation by deliberate and careful selection of the person to live within it. I confess to finding it amusing that a man called Monkford built a modern-day cell and lived a disciplined but far from monastic life himself. I found the reliance on technology in such a build concerning and a portend of where problems may arise.

As I read further, I became aware of where the vulnerabilities were, the places where cracks might appear, and reminded of how perfection is rarely attainable or maintained, once achieved. This not only applies to the house or the technology but more especially to the people within this story: human beings are flawed creatures and the characters in The Girl Before are no exception, and its this which gives the book its real edge and ultimately drives the story. That’s not to say I didn’t have to suspend my disbelief at times, either that or lose my faith in humanity, given the scheming and manipulation that’s rife in The Girl Before. But to balance that, there’s a good dollop of unreliable narrator and misdirection, both of which I enjoyed enormously. I felt as if I was getting a reading workout, trying to sift through everyone’s versions and wonder what was true and what was simply their take, or twist, on the truth. And where at first I worried that this was going to be a novel where women were the vulnerable and its victims, The Girl Before chooses to go beyond this.

The Girl Before is a scarily addictive illustration of how we might long for perfection but can’t help but cheat and cut corners and keep repeating our mistakes. It makes you question your reliance on the technology in your own life, and how vulnerable to attack or manipulation it leaves you. It’s also a chilling novel of obsession and compulsion: about the stories people tell themselves and each other, the truths they construct and come to believe, the relationships they form and our innate ability to self destruct, the manipulative games they play, games of power and control, energy and vulnerability, discipline and distortion, deceit and charm, and truth and lies in all their many shades from white through grey to black. The only clean lines are those in the architecture of One Folgate Street. Everything else here blurs as The Girl Before plays with your mind. Which makes it a book I can’t help but recommend you read.

I'm conflicted with The Girl Before and not sure how to rate it. On one hand, I appreciate the twistiness of the story - absolutely nothing is as it seems, which is fab thriller material! It took more than a fair bit of thought and skill to pull off the seamless back and forth between Jane and Emma's stories. The overarching theme of life in this amazing techno house speaks a great deal to Edward, the architect who designed and overseeing residence within the house. His story is told between the lines of the two women. The plot, the premise of stringent control as a qualification to live in One Folgate Street was all very good and interesting.

The major draw back, I felt, was the excessive Fifty Shades of Grey elements. I can see why it was done - it does make sense, to a certain degree - but it was just over the top and...well...excessive. I'm not saying it ruins the book but I'm looking for a thriller, not titillation. But, if you are after something in that vein, you should be very happy with The Girl Before. :-)

The most talked about thriller at the moment, but will have to swim against the tide with this one. Grand Designs meets Fifty Shades, and ludicrously badly written. Not my bag I'm afraid.....

I read the first few chapters as a sample a few months ago and really wanted to read the full book. Due to the time delay I did start back at the beginning and I was pretty well gripped throughout it. I'm not sure about it being described at Hitchcockian but I did find it rather Orwellian. I'm sure the technology for a house like One Folgate Street already exists and you only have to look at reality tv to realise that folk would be lining up for a chance to live there regardless of the strict conditions. I enjoyed the switch back and forth between Now: Jane and Then: Emma and the mirroring of their experience in the house. I did find the author's use of 'He goes' 'She goes' jarred a bit with me and didn't seem to fit with the rest of the narrative. When you are reading a book that you know is going to be made as a movie it's hard not to be visualising that as you read. I would have preferred a different ending but it was a really good read and I will definitely go see the movie.

I was really intrigued by the synopsis to this book and simply had to request it as soon as I spotted it on NetGalley. The initial sentence of the synopsis about making a list of all the possessions you consider essential to your life just made me want to read more!

This is such a fast-paced read, I flew through the first half of the book when I’d only intended to read a couple of chapters to decide whether this would be my next read. I love how the book is told in a dual timeline – the girl before Emma in the past and then Jane in the present day. It’s really well put together that we see Emma view the house and then we see Jane doing the same thing but each time we switch character the story advances a bit more and it really hooks you in. You want to know what happens to Emma and whether Jane will suffer the same fate.

The house in this book is a character in its own right, which was really interesting. I could picture the house so clearly and even though it sounded very cold and sterile the way Jane and Emma felt safe there made me intrigued. I’m not sure that I would have felt safe having every aspect of my home controlled by an app… having said that it did make me think about how much of my own home is wifi dependent.

A lot of the premise of this book is down to control. The house is controlled by the owner, and therefore whoever lives there is at his mercy. There was elements of control in some of the romantic relationships the women were involved in. That was all great and I love the way the story hinged on control. The downside for me was the sex scenes; it all just felt a bit unnecessary. It actually seemed like Edward was written the way he was in a deliberate attempt to gain comparisons to Fifty Shades of Grey and it felt a bit gimmicky.

On the whole though this was a really good read. It did keep me hooked; you can’t beat a twisty thriller with unreliable narrators! I worked out what was going on before the characters did but I still wanted to keep reading to see exactly how it all panned out. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves a fast-paced thriller.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the way we saw both Emma (then) and Jane's (now) stories unfold at the same time, despite there being a three year gap between them. Seeing how they both interact and adapt to their new house and watching them both begin a relationship with the architect Edward, realising how similar not only the relationships were but how similar the women are you cant help but feel like perhaps someone is being manipulated here. It took me until the end of the book to realise that I was the one being manipulated.

We essentially have 4 main characters in this book, Emma, Jane, Edward and the House (which is this amazing state of the art digital masterpiece, lights, showers, internet, even mood enhancing, it's all controlled by the Housekeeper) someone isn't being 100% truthful, and Delaney keeps the truth from the reader for as long as possible. However, this means that in the beginning it's a little slow. At one point I thought I was going to put it down and never pick it up again, but they story was intriguing. I needed to know what had happened to Emma, what was going to happen to Jane and I definitely needed to know who was responsible.

The suspense and pace of the story really builds towards the end, however I felt like the climax was rushed, it definitely didn't feel as fleshed out, it wasn't as believable as the rest of the book.

I'm giving this book three stars as something about it kept me wanting to find out how it was concluded. It was sort of compelling in a creepy, nasty way but I found the whole premise pretty unbelievable. Why anyone would subject themselves to such strange living conditions is beyond my comprehension.
The two main characters come across as very shallow and the owner and architect of the property is repulsive, so why would two intelligent and supposedly beautiful women fall at his feet? I found myself getting more and more irritated and annoyed by their willingness to submit to his bizarre demands and this took away from my enjoyment of the book overall.
My thanks to Netgalley for this arc.