BOOK SYNOPSIS
Nat lives a picture-perfect life, but it wasn’t always this way. A victim of horrific bullying when she was a teenager, Nat will do anything to keep distance between the girl she was before and the woman she is now.
But when her best friend is murdered and people begin to point their finger at her, Nat’s new life quickly begins to unravel. To Nat , it’s no surprise that the crime happened at the same time as the return of her biggest tormentor, Chrissy Summers. A woman with a violent streak who destroyed lives when she was younger and isn’t afraid to do it again.
Face to face with the past she so firmly keeps behind her, Nat’s sanity wavers as her determination to reveal Chrissy as the monster she knows her as rises to dangerous heights.
The question is, can Nat prove Chrissy is a killer , or will Chrissy get to Nat and her family before she has the chance? You can't outrun the past...
This gripping tale of obsession, judgement, bullying and the modern day quest for perfection is voiced from the perspective of Natalie (Nat) who is a artist and social media influencer. With her lavish home, handsome husband Lucas, adorable baby daughter Esme and group of best friends Hallie, Melissa, Becca, Bree and Amira, Nat had done everything that was feasibly possible to become the complete opposite of the lonely, tormented young girl that she was in her school days. When she was younger Nat was the victim of a relentless campaign of bullying and intimidation perpetrated rather ironically by the younger versions of the women that she now viewed as her best friends and their leader Chrissy Summers. Nat couldn't can get any respite from the bullying when she was at home due to her man who was her mother's boyfriend being also being a vicious bully. I felt a lot of empathy towards young Nat during the times that the story slipped back in time and she took us through the terror that she was subjected to on a daily basis through no fault of her own. I wasn't a victim of bullying myself but I wasn't one of the popular kids either, that said, I enjoyed school a lot more than I liked being at home. My home-life was nowhere near as bad a Nat's was but I can definitely contest to the fact that events from your past can have a everlasting and detrimental effect on your mental health in the future. Of course, when I was younger there was no such thing as mobile phones and social media so there was no way that the bullies could torment you once you were safely behind closed doors. Whereas nowadays it's not so easy to escape from people who are intent on tormenting and abusing the people they view as different and easy targets. The question was, why in the hell would Nat want to be best friends in the present day with the women who had made her life so unbearable in the past? Could she really trust them or were they just using her due to her local celebrity status?
Due to their past history, I could fully understand Nat's obsession with Chrissy and why she was so convinced that the orchestrator of her suffering in the past was behind the campaign to destroy her apparently perfect life in the present day. I would have liked to have felt a bit of sympathy for Nat as her life started to fall apart and she found herself being constantly interrogated by obnoxious and highly irritating Detective Baldur (A person who I don't think could have solved a crime even if the killer was stood right if front of him holding a bloodied knife in one hand and a large sign saying it was me in the other) But there was certain aspects to Nat's present day character that made her difficult to like and care about. Were Nat's suspicions about Chrissy correct or were they all pawns in the twisted games of a unknown enemy who was hiding in plain sight?
I found it difficult to believe that this extremely well written, cleverly plotted, addictive story is this author's debut thriller. She hooks the reader in with a edge of your seat incident between two cars, holds you captivated and keeps you guessing as she expertly pulls together the various strands of her enthralling story. A story that has a shocking, unexpected and chilling conclusion and stars a cast of vivid, realistic and relatable and mostly not very unlikeable individuals. I really really enjoyed this gripping thriller and look forward to reading many many more of this author's books in the future.
AUTHOR BIO
Author Bio –Jess Kitching is an avid reader, writer and binge-watcher. Originally from Bradford, England, she currently lives in Sydney with her fiancé Jack. Her two goals in life were to move to Australia and have a book published. To be able to say she has done both is something she still can’t wrap her head around.
Social Media Links –
AUTHOR:
Facebook: Jess Kitching Writes
Instagram: @jesskitchingwrites
Twitter: https:// twitter.com/ kitching_jess
PUBLISHER:
Facebook: Kingsley Publishers
Instagram: @kingsleypublishers
Twitter: @Kingsleypublis1
PUBLICATION DATE: 31st October 2021
PURCHASE LINK....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-She-Was-Before-ebook/dp/B0981BSBTD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3DAARQYCB7T6V&dchild=1&keywords=the+girl+she+was+before+by+jess+kitching&qid=1635880560&s=books&sprefix=The+girl+she+%2Cstripbooks%2C249&sr=1-1
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