The Girl Before by JP Delaney – a Review

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

The request seems odd, even intrusive—and for the two women who answer, the consequences are devastating.

Emma
Reeling from a traumatic break-in, Emma wants a new place to live. But none of the apartments she sees are affordable or feel safe. Until One Folgate Street. The house is an architectural masterpiece: a minimalist design of pale stone, plate glass, and soaring ceilings. But there are rules. The enigmatic architect who designed the house retains full control: no books, no throw pillows, no photos or clutter or personal effects of any kind. The space is intended to transform its occupant—and it does.

Jane
After a personal tragedy, Jane needs a fresh start. When she finds One Folgate Street she is instantly drawn to the space—and to its aloof but seductive creator. Moving in, Jane soon learns about the untimely death of the home’s previous tenant, a woman similar to Jane in age and appearance. As Jane tries to untangle truth from lies, she unwittingly follows the same patterns, makes the same choices, crosses paths with the same people, and experiences the same terror, as the girl before.

Review:

The Girl Before by JP Delaney is a standalone psychological suspense thriller.  The story alternates between two female two POV’s;  Then: Emma, and Now: Jane.  There is a two year period between Emma and Jane.  The common bond between both girls is the house they lived in One Folgate Street, as well as the architect, who build it. Edward Monkford, is the architect, and he only allows someone who meets his criteria to live there.  Each person who wants to move into this residence must first pass a huge series of strange questions, which includes many stipulations required in living there.  I personally found the stipulations totally weird & creepy; that alone would make me pass on moving to this place.  However, this is fiction.  Then they would have to have an interview with Monkford. Needless to say, not many are accepted. 

Both Emma and Jane prior to moving to One Folgate Street, had tragedies that affected them badly, making this residence seem like a fresh start, even with these restrictions.  The residence is also a beautiful different design, with high tech systems within.  Normally only the very rich could afford the rent, but these women were allowed to live at a cheaper rate.  This alone was a red flag right away. Emma was a victim of a burglary and sexual assault.  Jane, when she moved in, was suffering from the loss of her stillborn child.

 Edward Monkford himself was a hunk, but he also had his own issues having lost his wife and son years before.   As Emma’s and Jane’s story unfolds, we also learn they they both bear a resemblance to each other, as well as Edward’s wife.

Each chapter goes back and forth between both ladies narrating their time of residence, and fairly quickly we learn that Emma died in what could have been an accident or a possible murder. There is also Emma’s boyfriend, who resided for a bit in One Folgate Street, until Emma broke up with him, and entered an affair with Edward.  To this day, Emma’s death is unsolved. Jane finds herself obsessed with finding out more about Emma, and she too is in an affair with Edward. 

To tell too much more, and there is so much to tell, would be spoilers.  Will Jane be able to resolve how Emma died?  Will Jane get out of One Folgate Street or suffer the same fate as Emma.  What follows is an exciting thriller, as we watch Emma come closer to her final days; and watch Jane reach out to those who knew Emma to find the truth, putting her own life in danger. 

I will say that there were a few things I did not care for.  One being Emma, who was a strange and not very likable character.  I was also not crazy about the flipping around each chapter on the two main characters, which at times was confusing, causing me to go back to see who was talking.  Overall, this was a suspenseful exciting psychological thriller, which keeps you in suspense to the very end.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher