This was my first book by Nicola Rayner, and I found the story and mystery to be very entertaining.

The book tells the story of the last few months before Ruth was missing, and present, when Alice, wife of one of Ruth's former boyfriends, think she sees Ruth on a train.

I though Ms. Rayner did an excellent job weaving the story back and forth between the past and today, and a pretty good job of weaving in several perspectives: the missing girl's best friend, her sister and Alice, although I would sometimes have to check who was speaking. The woman all had distinct voices, but I did get a little jumbled at times.

The book has the distinct feeling of a college party where people have drifted in and out all night, picking up part of the plot, putting it down, and becoming distracted by their own action, which later joins seamlessly back to the main plot. I thought this pacing showed the deft talent of Ms. Rayner.

I found the book to be a fast, entertaining read, and I look forward to more books by this author.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley.com for my advance copy.

This book does not live up to the hype it’s blurb created. It’s a slow read and way more verbose than needed. It tried to be enticing but just ends up being a tad boring. It has twists and turns and the premise is interesting but the writing style made this one hard for me to finish. There are too many plot holes that don’t add up and while it’s an emotional story it takes a lot of time to feel any connection to the characters.

This novel will be of a theme you may have read before ,it may have similar time flips between past and present ,it may have different points of view and I was I admit doubtful of following a silmilar novel to oh so many Before it .
I did though
I am glad I did too
I was caught up in the characters lives takes concentration for the beginning to j derstand the various characters and their links to one another ,about 20% in u will be clear ,I ,felt the impending threat ,was saddened by the devestation that these threats created and mourned the young lives that were abused
Though it is dark subject it never felt overtly graphic ,was well written and I was moved at times
You recall your own early crushes ,the flutter of first love ,the unrequited attachments
I thought she wrote of this well and how can effect friendships and our own souls as we are swept along by charm and swagger .
It also speaks movingly of love that has power imbalances and the uncertainty of it all
I loved the ending as all along we hope
For me this isn’t about who as you sort of know really
It’s about the effect others have on our lives,the fierceness of protecting those we love and the diffirent layers of love we can feel
It’s a novel really of the trauma of adolescence ,the huge highs the devastating lows and I did enjoy it
It’s a three from me as though liked it and was moved not quite a four for me asisnt an original theme but it still for me is one of the better ones of these types of stories
The only thing I question is comparisons to girl on a train ,it’s no where near like that ,
Itsba story of the college years and the effect they have on you throughout your life
Thanks netgalley and publishers for this advanced copy

Average - in a sea of exceptional books I have read this year! The girl ...... series are getting slightly over done - missing girl, lots of twists, a meadeocre finish and far too much uni life for me! I love stories that are told by several different people, but unless I am really gripped - like I was with cross her heart, which I read before this and loved, I tend to get a bit lost. My issue more than the writers! Worth a read if you want an ok thriller.

I liked this book from the start-Ruth had gone missing quite a while back and you get a few people from her past reminisce about their relationships from when they were at Uni with her. One point of view is from Ruth's sister-Naomi. (yes, like the Bible story) We see how they are dealing or not dealing with her disappearance so many years later. All of their stories seem unrelated but the author manages to intertwine them just enough so you know beyond a doubt that eventually it will be confirmed that they are very related. There were some unbelievable moments but not enough to me to downgrade the writing. Of course, this is all my opinion and others could be more critical but I still feel the story was unique enough to warrant the 4 stars. (Yes, they did drink alot, had sex in public bathrooms -ugh, and there was the #metoo movement featured but I still think the author kept you engaged in finding out what really happened to Ruth.)
I definitely recommend this book as a unique thriller.The author, Nicola Raynor, definitely builds up the suspense bit by bit. I eagerly await her next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.
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This book was a slow burn for me, and unfortunately, it did not live up to the hype I had created for myself after reading the blurb.

The story is told from the viewpoint of 3 characters,

Alice, who is married to George
Naomi, who's sister Ruth used to date George at Uni. Ruth went missing at Uni after a ball, Her clothes and shoes were found neatly folded on the beach
And Kat, who was Ruth's best friend while at University.

The characters are all somehow involved into Ruth's life. When Alice sees a girl on the train who looks a lot like Ruth, she becomes suspicious as to what might have happened to her. She starts trying to solve Ruth's disappearance which rubs George the wrong way.
Naomi has never gotten over the loss of her sister, so when Alice contacts her, the two reluctantly join forces. Most of Kat's chapters are flashbacks to their time at University, and how her relationship with Ruth started and slowly also unfolded.

I was kind of hoping the story would lean more towards a thriller, but unfortunately it did not. It is not a bad story in any way, I was just expecting more from it.

I could. It out this book down! I read it in two sittings and loved it, would definitely recommended!

While The Girl Before You is a good thriller, it's also centered around a fairly typical premise. A naive woman turns out to have a playboy husband. He has a previous fling who may or may not be dead. She is now pregnant and knows she can't trust him. It's reminiscent of the Girl On The Train genre that has become so popular. It's a good read but not remarkable. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

It seems like I've read this story before. I even guessed the ending correctly. I feel the story was slow to developed. The characters lives, present and past, was not that interesting. There was too much description of each event and yet it lack a hook for me. Half way into the book and I didn't care too much about any of the characters. It was a nice read, but the story was very much forgettable.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was slow to start but eventually I got into it enough to keep reading. The ending was a bit over the top - forced and unrealistic. This one was just okay in my opinion.

Loved this book and read it almost all in one sitting! I'm a sucker for any book where the characters reflect back on time spent at university and this book didn't disappoint.

The twists keep you guessing until the end!

What an amazing thriller! Absolutely loved it; every roller coaster moment of it. This book was full of surprises, and there was no boring moment. I highly recommend it.

I found this book to be very slow and difficult to follow. Ruth's death still haunts Alice whose husband dated Ruth for a while. She tries to figure out what happened. I am usually intrigued by stories such as this but this one just didn't hold my attention.

3 stars. This book was definitely full of twists, but at times, I found the intricacies a bit difficult to keep straight. While the overall plot was intriguing, the varying layers of plot line through different character interpretations felt convoluted. Without spoiling the ending, I would also say that it was a bit fantastical and the converging of story lines at the end felt a little forced for me.

A bit of a slow burn for me but I did enjoy it. Just feel it could have been better as it left me with u answered questions that could have been tied up better.

This book is a slow burn. If you don’t like a slow suspense then I don’t suggest reading it but if you get sort of obsessive with figuring out the mystery quicker than the clues then check this out! An obsessive wife usually makes an excellent narrator!

This had a slow start, but I gradually got really into it and as the story went on, was completely gripped and couldn't wait to find out what happened.
The reason, however, that I'm only giving two stars, is because the ending _completely_ let the rest of the story down. We never actually hear if Ruth is found, there's no kind of decent wrapping up of the ending. It all leads up to this turning point and then suddenly it ends. I understand the point of cliffhangers and leaving readers in suspense, but this was a very untidy, unsatisfying ending and as a reader, I feel cheated by it.

This is a fun switch-off read but it pretty much just re-jigs all the tropes of other books with 'The Girl...' in the title: switching narrators/PoV, a then-and-now storyline, privileged men, #metoo women, the wife who suddenly realises she doesn't know her husband, the devious best friend, girl-on-girl competition for men, a double helping of pregnancy, the dead sister trope... cue mysterious cards and a soft toy in the post, respectable wife on a mission to solve the mystery.

Do be aware that much of the body of the story takes place at university so if you don't want to read about students drinking excessively/doing lines of coke/having casual sex and bonking in the toilets, then maybe give this one a miss.

I absolutely loved The Gurl Before You its the kind of thriller / mystery that appeals to me the most and once I started reading I couldn't put it down until I'd finished! Nicola dealt with difficult subjects in a respectful way and although I prefer a story with a clear ending the openness of this ending was so well done.
5/5

Alice has always been haunted by the women from her husband’s past. As an MP and now a TV personality, George Bell’s reputation as a ladies’ man precedes him. But when Alice falls pregnant, her unease becomes an obsession.

And there’s one ex in particular she can’t get out of her head: a beautiful student George dated in his first year, who went missing before they finished university. Ruth.

When Alice sees a woman who looks just like Ruth, she can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to her disappearance than George has been telling her. But does she really want to know what her husband has been getting up to behind her back all these years?

This was a really good read with a lot of suspense. I thought this story went at a great pace and the building of the plot was excellent. I liked the characters a lot! All around great book!!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of The Girl Before You by Nicola Rayner
Pub Date: 06 May 2019