Reviews for The Girl Before

by J P Delaney

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Jane was looking for a fresh start, which included a new place to live. She finds an interesting rental home at One Folgate Street, which is an extraordinary work of modern art and comes with extreme rules for occupancy. The home's mysterious creator and owner is as austere as his house and promises Jane that the space will transform her. Jane had no idea how her life would change, nor did she realize that she wasn't the first woman to occupy the space whose tenancy changed her forever. At some point in the past, Emma had lived there and experienced a similar "transformation" and terror. Delaney's narrative flows well, with the story alternating between Jane and Emma, pointing out the parallel nature of their lives and simultaneously building suspense. Performers Emilia Fox and Finty Williams do excellent work in their tandem storytelling. VERDICT Readers who enjoy the work of Paula Hawkins and Ruth Ware will want this title. ["Will consume psychological thriller enthusiasts and keep them thinking long after the final page": LJ Xpress Reviews 12/16/16 starred review of the Ballantine hc.]-Nicole A. Cooke, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A high-tech town house is leased by its control-freak architect to a series of women who look just like his dead wife."Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life." "A person close to you confesses in confidence that they ran someone over while drunk. As a result they have given up drinking for good. Would you feel obliged to report it to the police?" Agree or disagree: "I try to do things well even when others are not around to notice." These questions are part of the rental application for the house at 1 Folgate St., an ultramodern property that comes with "about two hundred stipulations": no books or magazines, no pets, no rugs, no cushions, no children, nothing on the floor at any time, and so on. Compliance is monitored by sensors and cameras, by a cleaning service, and by regular inspections. The entire environment is automated, with an application called "Housekeeper" controlling everything from shower pressure to internet access. Who in their right mind would want to live here? Emma and Jane, that's who. And if they were ever in their right minds, they certainly aren't after Edward Monkford, the architect and owner, gets hold of them. The two report their experiences in alternating chapters. Emma is "the girl before" of the title: she's moving in with a boyfriend named Simon after a burglary at their old apartment. Jane is solo, attempting to rebuild her life after a stillbirth. Little more can be said without destroying what little suspense Delaney has managed. About a third of the way in, it all seems so obvious. But waitthere's a twist! With hopelessly fake characters and far too many red herrings and reversals, 1 Folgate St. is a house with no load-bearing walls, collapsing under the weight of its own materials. Prediction: the Ron Howard movie, already in the works, will be much better than the book. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.


Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In the pseudonymous Delaney's riveting psychological thriller, first Emma Matthews and then Jane Cavendish take up residence at One Folgate Street in London. The house, a masterpiece of minimalist architecture designed by the enigmatic Edward Monkford, is let only to tenants willing to abide by his stringent rules, which reduce life to its basics. This setup appeals to people looking for order, like Emma, who's trying to recover from a brutal attack that's hastening the end of her relationship with a man who adores her. Later, it is Jane, grief-stricken by the stillbirth of her daughter, who seeks asylum within One Folgate's walls. Both find themselves drawn to the house's creator and its tragic history. Were the deaths of Edward's family members accidental? Or were they murdered for not conforming to Edward's obsessive need for order? Writing with precision and grace, Delaney strips away the characters' secrets until the raw truth of each is revealed. That Emma and Jane act in often foolhardy ways hasn't prevented rights sales in more than 30 markets and movie rights to Universal with Ron Howard directing. Agent: Caradoc King, United Artists (U.K.). (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.


Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

What if you could rent an architectural showplace, a futuristic house with state-of-the-art amenities, for the same price as a moderate apartment? As with many deals that seem too good to be true, the house at One Folgate Street had many strings attached in its rental contract, including a forced minimalist lifestyle and a stark lack of privacy. This psychological thriller by a best-selling pseudonymous author alternates between the stories of Jane, the current tenant, and Emma, the previous tenant, during the time that they inhabited the house. Both women began their residences in a vulnerable state, after each had faced a life-altering experience. The uncanny parallels between Jane and Emma and their obsessive architect-landlord's late wife are quickly discovered and hardly seem coincidental. As each woman draws closer to the eccentric architect, the lines are blurred and it becomes increasingly difficult to discern whether the house offers sanctuary or imminent danger. Verdict This haunting Big Brother-esque novel will consume psychological thriller enthusiasts and keep them thinking long after the final page. Fans of Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train should add it to their winter reading lists. [See Prepub Alert, 7/18/16; January 2017 top LibraryReads pick.]-Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Emma and Jane have a lot in common; they even look alike. Each has been through a traumatic experience and needs to move into a new London apartment, but neither has much money. They both see a gorgeous, glamorous (but minimalist) flat on Folgate Street that is, miraculously, within budget-assuming that the renter meets the owner/architect's strict requirements: no alterations, no rugs or carpets, no pictures, no potted plants, no throw pillows, and about 200 other stipulations. The flat should be experienced as is and, in fact, is meant to transform the occupant rather than the other way around. But there's something very compelling about the apartment. When Jane moves in, she learns that Emma was the previous resident-and that she died there. Told in chapters that alternate between Emma's and Jane's stories, the book ratchets up the tension page by page as Jane can't resist looking into Emma's life and death. By the end, readers will have no idea whom to believe or how far any of the characters will go to get what they want. VERDICT Teens who gobbled up Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train and Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl will be clamoring for this page-turning psychological thriller, which is already being made into a movie by Ron Howard.-Sarah Flowers, formerly at Santa Clara County Public Library, CA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

*Starred Review* There's a new girl in town. And if you think that Girl-titled thrillers have exhausted themselves, think again. The Girl Before is a masterfully crafted spellbinder that bringsa whole new dimension to the premise. There are actually two girls, Emma and Jane. Emma is relocating after a traumatic assault, and the only place that makes her feel safe is the amazing house at One Folgate Street, a minimalist-design masterpiece that comes at a price she can afford. The only catch is that the architect and landlord has an extensive list of rules that forbid any personalization. The enigmatic Edward Monkford's vision is of a space designed to transform the tenant rather than the space itself being transformed. And transformative, it is, indeed. Next comes Jane, with her own trauma. After moving in, she learns about Emma's untimely death and is told she strongly resembles Emma in age and appearance. Her curiosity gets the better of her, and she investigates, all the time following the same path to terror as the girl before. The tables turn, and turn again, and the ending is guaranteed to both astonish and satisfy the reader. JP Delaney is the pseudonym of a best-selling fiction writer. The book is being published in 35 countries, and a film version is in the hands of Ron Howard. A must.--Murphy, Jane Copyright 2016 Booklist