Admittedly when I initially requested this novel I didn't realise it was by the author of The Not So Perfect Mother, which I absolutely loved. Kerry Fisher is a wonderfully talented writer, and it shows with this book too.
The Woman I Was Before focuses on three women, all neighbours on the safe, idyllic Parkview Road. There's single mum Kate with her teenage daughter Daisy, who have moved into Parkview after an incident in the past that has caused them to change their names and go into hiding.

Then there's Sally, child-free and happy with husband Chris...or so it seems. Whilst Sally's constant, smug Facebook updates display a life of wealth and serene bliss, Sally's heart holds a deeper longing.

Meanwhile, happy couple Jack and Gisela seem to have it all; the nice house, the perfect family; student Ollie and teenage daughter Hannah. But their life isn't as wonderful as their social media timelines make out, either. In fact, each of Parkview's new neighbours is concealing a secret, but they're too proud to let others in. Until, of course, there's no choice...

This is a brilliantly paced, gripping domestic drama full of secrets, which I couldn't put down. It explores the hold social media can have over us; that mask of filtered selfies and false lives that many seem to hide behind. This book had me hooked from the start but it gets even more tense in the later half. I'm so happy Kerry is back with another novel, and I already can't wait for more.

Great book - a bit slow to start and a few unanswered questions, but overall a very enjoyable book. I liked the 3 main characters and how their characters, their stories and the people around them evolved. I found the book was quite relatable because although social media might look like life is rosy, in reality that's not always the case. As previously mentioned, the beginning was pretty slow and I had to keep going back to it before it got interesting - probably due to the author doing a in-depth job of setting the characters and stories up. I have read the authors other work and I think this book is a must read - just like her other books. I'd give this book a solid 4/5.

I finished this book in one weekend, I couldn’t put it down....the writing is great and the story is so part of today’s Facebook society. I was sad it was over, I wanted to see more of life on that street. I love all of Kerry Fisher’s books❤️ She has a great writing style.

The Woman I Was Before is a intriguing story. It had plenty of plot twists that kept me reading long past my bedtime. The characters are well developed and the writing style is up to par. I will look forward to more books by Ms Fisher.

EXCERPT: The shouting, the people crowding around my door, the cameras in my face, pushed into Daisy's pram, grabbing at me as I walked out to the car, calling my name, Oskar's name, the headlines - always Polish immigrant/Eastern European/immigrant family - even though I was born here and had never been to Poland, our family's history, her family's history, comments from 'friends' and 'neighbors', photographs of me buying a bottle of wine in Tesco (as if that was at all relevant) and, of course, the worst thing of all: her side of the story, vicious and raw as though our friendship had been nothing. When to me it had been everything, a mainstay of my whole life, since we met in primary school. I still missed her. Still felt that Becky-shaped gap in my life, where I took for granted that ability to bounce from one topic to the next without the need to fill in what went before. Still occasionally caught myself smiling at a memory much further back than 2000.

And now I'd had sex with someone who could, with a few keystrokes, a quick Google, and the tiniest amount of luck, find out stuff about me that he'd never want to know.

That I'd never want him to know.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: A new home can be a happy ending. Or a fresh start. Or a hiding place...

Kate Jones is running away. She has left her old life behind, changing both her own name and her daughter’s. No-one must ever connect Kate with the mistake that destroyed her life.

Starting afresh on Parkview Road – a brand new street full of newly built houses – Kate looks at the other women on the street with envy. They seem to have it all: Gisela with her busy life, full house and successful children, Sally with her exciting spontaneous marriage, her glamorous holidays, her high-flying career. The pictures that Kate's new friends post online confirm their seemingly perfect existence, whilst Kate hides from the world at all costs.

Until one day, everything changes. Kate is called to the scene of a devastating accident, which is about to test everything the women thought they knew about each other, and themselves.

MY THOUGHTS: What is it with us humans that feel the need to lie to ourselves and to others in an effort to convince ourselves that we have the perfect life, a life to be aspired to and envied, while all the time we are papering over the cracks and bunging up the holes. We devour other people's lives on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram, never for one moment doubting that what we see is the truth, while frantically posing pictures of our wonderful family lives, fabulous food, perfect homes, and exotic holidays to perpetuate the myth, to keep up.

Kerry Fisher uses this need to portray the perfect life, along with our capacity for guilt and the desire for secrecy (no one must ever know. . .) to great advantage in this engaging novel of secrets and unravelling lives. Duplicity, betrayal, secrets and lies abound. As does perseverance, loyalty and forgiveness.

Fisher's characters are your neighbors, people you know; complex and reserved, outgoing and friendly, and every mix in between. But can Kate trust any of them?

If this book doesn't make you reassess your priorities, I don't know what will! An excellent read.

😍😍😍😍

THE AUTHOR: Kerry Fisher is an internationally bestselling author of six novels, including The Woman I Was Before, The Silent Wife and The Secret Child. She was born in Peterborough, studied French and Italian at the University of Bath and spent several years living in Spain, Italy and Corsica.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Woman I Was Before by Kerry Fisher for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my webpage sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

For a preview of The Woman I Was Before go to https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

Thanks to Bookouture and Kerry Fisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. The Woman I was before will keep you guessing till the end. The book based around a nice housing estate selves into the real lives of each houses occupants. A far cry from the social media posts each put up
Why are we all hiding behind this false facade. Really interesting read that will get you thinking that grass is not always greener on the other side.

A wonderful domestic drama filled with interesting characters.

This book is similar to others that I have read but it is still a compelling read

The Woman I Was Before is the first book I read by Kerry Fisher and I enjoyed it a lot. The book cover drew me in and I was not disappointed. Well developed characters and great story about friendship and how things aren't how they seem.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early release of this book.

Hard to put down, this thriller by Fisher was my first book by her but it won't be my last. Told from the POV of three different women, the story had twist 9and lies to wade through to figure out the truth. I did get off to a slow start reading this one but the action picked up after the first 1/4. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m not sure what I expected going into this but I was pleasantly surprised. For some reason I was anticipating more of a thriller- suspense type read, but after a few chapters I got a completely different vibe. While the mystery component is definitely there, this story is also about friendship, secrets, relationships and trust. I enjoyed watching the friendships form between Gisela, Sally and Kate. And while the hashtags at the end of every chapter were a little annoying, I also found that it was an interesting way to show how the things we see on social media are not always what they seem. Overall an entertaining and quick read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

With thanks to. Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC, which I have thoroughly enjoyed reading.
This book, The Woman I was Before by Kerry Fisher, is a fascinating insight into the way we all nowadays use social media and along the way perhaps embellish or make our lives seem so much more interesting than it really is. The storyline was very interesting, about three woman who move into new homes on a new housing estate and how the reality of each woman’s lives are not quite what they want the world and social media thinks. One by one their real lives start unraveling and all three women are there for each other to pick up the pieces for each other.. it was a really good read.
Highly recommended.

Parkview Road is an upmarket estate of newly built houses. This book deals with three of its inhabitants.

Kate Jones is running away- again! She & teenage daughter Daisy have had to move before due to an event in Kate's past. Kate would like to keep herself to herself. Social Media Is an anathema to her although she reluctantly joins Facebook on the urging of her new neighbourhood friends

Unlike Kate, Gisela's seems to have an enviable, busy life.Her two children, successful husband & beautiful home are constantly appearing in pictures & hashtags! What an exciting, charmed life she leads!

Sally, another neighbour has an fascinating job as a wine buyer with regular overseas travel (more photo & hashtag opportunities!) She & Chris, her husband seem to have an exciting marriage, enhanced by their frequent solo trips.

But life is not how it appears on those posts! Sally's marriage is not all it seems- something Kate discovers in her job as a paramedic. Gisela's life is not all roses either. Circumstances throw these women together & they come to rely on each other.

This was an engaging book. I found Sally quite hard to warm to & Gisela's constant #Lifeis wonderful# posts were irritating (as that sort of thing can be in the real world!) Kate on the other hand I found quite intriguing. This was a good read. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It is the first book I have read by this author. I was hooked from the beginning and loved all of the twists and turns. I will be ordering this book for the library for sure.

Having read and enjoyed all of Kerry Fisher's previous books, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one and I certainly wasn't disappointed.
I love this book!
It is a very modern, up to date story about three woman who become neighbours after moving into a new housing development. It soon becomes clear that the photos they share on social media are a far cry from what is happening in real life.
It is a well written compelling read with likeable characters, and I recommend it to everyone who likes this genre.

Fantastic read. Sitting on the edge of my chair wondering which way the story was going to go. Was easy to read and very exciting

Amazing book! Makes you realize nothing is ever as it seems. This is my first book by Regis author and I will definitely read more!

Thank you so much to the publisher and Kerry Fisher for allowing me the early access to read this book. This book is unforgettable and is the true meaning of 'the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence'. Truly, what comes to be in this read, is that these friends actually have secrets that none of the others would ever guess or realize, however the end result is that you find friends where you least expect them.

The issues that Kerry Fisher brings up in this book, are issues that people actually go through daily, and it's nice for an author to bring these to the forefront, and to let us feel how these families actually feel throughout the book.

Once again, Kerry Fisher brings families, love, hurt and friendship to an amazing novel, and I couldn't put this down. If I could give it 10 stars, I definitely would. Another great author to add to my To Be Read list.

Gripping, emotional, and heart-warming!!!

I’m beyond thrilled to help kick off this blog tour! My first experience reading Kerry Fisher made me so happy—I could barely put down her latest novel The Woman I was Before! I found this books to be a mix of thought-provoking, feel-good, and suspenseful. Basically, my perfect type of book to pick up and get lost in after a long day!

Reflection

Kate, Sally, and Grisela all seem to have enviable lives from the outside, but this is truly a book about the contrast between the life we present to the world on social media or even through our stories, and the life we truly live. Each of these women have messy, imperfect lives, filled with ups and downs, smiles and heartaches.
But what they allow others to see is quite a different story! Kate seems strong and able to handle anything with ease. Grisela has a perfect family and is the ultimate hostess. And Sally lives a glamorous life, jet-setting around for work and coming home to her gorgeous husband.

But of course, the others don’t see the cracks. The worries that she’ll never have a baby. The difficulty accepting her son’s life choices. The dark secret that she ran away from…

I’d put this in the domestic drama category, right alongside many of my favorite authors such as Sally Hepworth, Liane Moriarty, and Sarah Pekkanen. My blogging friend Carrie calls these types of books “popcorn books” because she feels like she is sitting back eating popcorn and watching the drama unfold. I sometimes call them neighborhood noir because they make me think about how little we truly know about what goes on behind closed doors!

I loved the way Fisher wrote this novel. The stories of these women instantly drew me in, and I loved the juxtaposition of their real lives with the social media posts Fisher would punctuate each chapter with. It felt so timely and authentic. How much do we let ourselves be effected by the need to compete with others? Who can’t point to a friend on social media who seems to have the perfect life, captured through photos and witty captions?

I don’t want to spoil any of the stories, so I’ll say how surprising and powerful I found the conclusions of these three intertwined narratives to be. I wouldn’t have guessed many of the twists if you’d given me 100 guesses, but that’s life, right? We can’t always tell what will come our way. Suspenseful, emotional, and utterly addictive—I’m so excited for readers to experience this one!

Thank you to the awesome team at Bookouture for my spot on the blog tour!

A well written and engrossing storyline that kept me hooked. I really enjoyed this one. Thank you for the chance to review it.

This was such an amazing book. A truly powerful read. This author has been on my list of authors to read for a long time and I am so glad that I finally read one of her books. This book gave you a little bit of a mystery while Tapping into your emotional side by talking on your heartstrings. I am now going to go back and read every single book this author has written because it was that good.

I am so humbled and appreciative to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.