Review: The Girl Before by J.P.Delaney

The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

No,no and no again,I would never ever move into a house that had a no book rule,I might be ok with some rules but no books forget it mate.

This book is about three people,Emma,Jane and a house at One Folgate Street.I know it might sound strange making a house sound like a character in a book but this is no normal house,it has a personality all of its own and it is designed to change the people that live in it.To live in this house you have to be prepared to give up most of your worldly possessions and live by a long list of rules and be prepared to suffer the consequences if you break any of them.

Emma and Simon have moved into One Folgate Street because they are looking for a cheap place to live after their previous address was burgled and Emma was allegedly assaulted by one of the burglars.

Jane wants a fresh start after the still birth of her baby daughter,she is still devastated and hopes that moving into One Folgate Street and living by the strict rules will give her the strength to overcome her grief.

Emma's story is set in the past and Jane's in the present.the story is told in chapters that alternate between then and now until eventually the time frames converge towards the end of the book.

After a slow start the story picks up once the two women move into One Folgate Street and their two stories begin to unfold.There are elements of the story that happen in exactly the same way in both time frames and at times I was unsure which of the two women I was reading about at that moment.Once the story gets going it is a intreguing mystery that holds the readers attention,the chapters are quite short and the two time frames flow together fluently so the story never feels disjointed.The characters are multi layered and many of them are not who they seem,as the story unfolds the layers are removed and their true selves are revealed.

It is a strangely addictive story that I did enjoy reading although I can't honestly say why.I do think that because of some of the issues that are raised throughout the book that it would cause some interesting discussions if it was read as part of a book group.

Many thanks to Quercus books for an arc of this book via netgalley in exchange for a honest review.