“People like to talk about clean slates. But the only truly clean slate is a new one. The rest are gray from whatever’s been written on them before.”
They say moving homes is the most stressful experience in life. We’re not qualified to answer whether that’s true or not, however, our opinion would certainly be swayed if we ever found ourselves paying rent to the likes of Edward Monkford from JP Delaney’s The Girl Before. Originally published back in 2017, this domestic thriller is very much in the same blend as mysteries like The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window and Gone Girl that were doing the rounds at the time. How does this sleek and sexy story of obsession and perfection stack up? Join us at What We Reading for our The Girl Before book review!
Date Published: 2017
Author: JP Delaney
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Pages: 341
Goodreads Rating: 3.70
Premise
The Girl Before centres on an ultra-minimalist and techno-modern apartment at One Folgate Street. Whilst the building is undeniably beautiful, there is almost no furniture, everything is digitalised and the architect and landlord, Edward Monkford, insists that tenants follow a series of strict rules whilst living there. Two women, Emma and Jane, soon find themselves losing themselves within the mysteries of the building and its owner, with devastating and tragic consequences.
The story is told through alternating perspectives. Emma is the girl ‘Before’, and Jane the occupant in the present. As Jane moves in following the untimely death of its previous resident, she finds herself following the same patterns, making the same choices, encountering the same people and, eventually, sharing the same terror as Emma.
What Worked
Off the bat, the best thing about The Girl Before, for us, was the characters. Especially Emma. JP Delaney weaves unreliable narrators expertly throughout the story so that readers never know whether what they’re being told is a lie, truthful or just a portion of the story. That isn’t something radical in the world of thrillers, but the way in which certain revelations are pulled out from under you worked extremely well for you reconsidering everything you thought you knew up to that point, and how you judge the characters going forward.
As we mentioned, Emma is the best example of this. She’s one of the best examples of having a flawed, occasionally deceitful, protagonist who ultimately a reader is still rooting for. Jane is a little more on the straight and narrow, but more was agreeable enough to follow.
The Girl Before is ridiculously addictive. It is one of those books where a reader will devour it within just a handful of sittings. The mystery part of the story isn’t so much what makes it so gripping. Rather, it is the combination of short, snappy chapters, a rapid pace, and an increasing sense of intensity that really pulls the reader along.
Check Out Every Single J.P. Delaney Book In Order
What Didn’t
One of the things that held the mystery elements of the book back was the lack of suspects. A long list of suspects can feel like padding if they’re not developed the right way; however, on the flip side, when there are only really two names on the list (and the book is screaming at you to focus on one over the other), there isn’t a whole lot of suspense to be had. For the Jane portions especially, the book ended up becoming a sort of tour through people Emma and Edward had known, explaining things about them. These don’t add much in terms of building on the mystery, and few of them build much on the characters either.
We mentioned above that this was a fast-paced and addictive read. Which is why the ending falling so flat was so disappointing. Most seasoned thriller readers will be able to guess where things are going by the final third or so and, for an author who demonstrated such deft skill at writing unreliable narrators, we were expecting more of a sucker punch finale.
Verdict
Overall, The Girl Before undoubtedly suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. Is it trying to be a commentary on the cycle of trauma? An observation on perfection and control? A kinky whodunnit? A story of a haunted house and the ghosts of its former tenants? In the end, it’s all of these things. And, also, none of them.
Replacing a few of Jane’s investigative scenes with more interactions focused on Edward’s obsessive, controlling nature would have given the story so much more depth and demonstrated a much more succinct understanding of what its central themes are. The final third of the book really hammers the brakes on, which culminates in an ending that doesn’t leave much of an impression.
Nevertheless, this is still a seriously addictive domestic thriller that any reader looking for a quick and easy read should have fun with. The premise itself is original enough to be memorable, though we’re not sure how many people in real life would take Edward up on it, and the fast-paced couples well alongside it keep you hooked throughout.
Our Rating: 3.5/5
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
