You’ve read the description, so you know the basic plot here. While there is some implication that this is about an old manor house mystery, it isn’t. Twenty years after the summer of the friends at the manor house, Andy (Andrea) tries to find out what has happened to one of the old friends, Peter, who seems to have dropped off the map. But it’s not really about Andy’s search, either. This is more of a character-driven study than a plot-driven story.

Andy’s quest is an opportunity for her to reflect on that summer and “the game” of searching for the necklace, but more so about her to think about their relationships and where she finds herself now.

In its best places, the book has a dreamlike quality. But often it seems nothing more than a lot of self-indulgent navel-gazing. The writing can be murky and confusing. I know I’m in the minority here, and that many find the book beautiful and meaningful, but to me the existential musings are banal. Maybe it’s a function of age. At my senior stage of life, Andy’s melancholy seems unearned and trivial.

I enjoyed this one for what it was. It's hard nowadays to write thrillers that are strong, unique, well paced, and keep the reader invested. I thought this was solid, if flawed.

Gosling is a successful writer. This story is well-written and well paced. I do find sometimes, and it is true here, that contemporary writers twist themselves and their narratives into obfuscation in an effort to manage the reveal(s) and control the tension. Sometimes this works, but sometimes it can frustrate the reader with multiple POVs and timelines that end up confusing the flow of the narrative. The telling of the story ends up feeling manufactured and obvious. Despite this, Before the Ruins is a satisfying read with an interesting plot and believable characters.

Much in. the vein of Ruth Ware, this book follows Andrea, as she tries to locate her friend Peter after he mysteriously disappears. We follow her story from childhood, intertwined with her adulthood and the tragedies that strike her throughout her life. There is also the mystery of the death of her friend Em which needs to be solved as well.
I loved the storyline and the characters and found myself picking up the book when I really should be doing other things (studying, working out, cooking...)
It had me guessing and engrossed from beginning to end - and I never felt that it was rushed or difficult to read. There was a dark, mysterious, brooding feeling that I really appreciated when going into the fall.
I would highly recommend this book!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for this e-galley.

After seeing the editor present this book at Buzz Books Presents, I had high expectations but it just did not deliver for me.

Before The Ruins follows Andrea—Andy—in two time periods. She gets a call, present day, from Peter’s mother reporting he’s gone missing. Andy sets out to find him, based on events that happened twenty years prior. As teenagers, Andy, Peter, Marcus, Em, and David play around at a manor where, fifty years prior, a diamond necklace went missing and was never found. They spend years trying to find the real ones, even buying fake diamonds from a charity shop to hide and make believe. When one game goes a little too far, friendships are betrayed and an end comes to the game.

Before The Ruins is a character-driven novel, not plot-driven, which I would’ve liked to know ahead of time. I thought this would be a thriller, a bit of a mystery. The mystery was there, but it took 70% of the book to get to the inciting incident from years ago.

This was a super slow burn for me and I couldn’t read for long periods of time. It didn’t hold my attention, I didn't connect with Andy as the POV character, and the writing sometimes turned very poetic which seemed out of place to me.

I would have liked the mystery to come out sooner and for Andy to open herself up to readers. Based on her thoughts, I didn't think many of her actions made sense and in general, she was super distant to readers. The writing was reminiscent of Sally Rooney and overall was well done, but the end suddenly became deep and philosophical and I didn’t think it fit the overall voice. I also felt like apart from Peter and the death, there was really no suspense or thrill. The ending was anticlimactic and you kind of figured what happened. No shock factor.

You’ll have to give this a shot and see how you like it yourself. Before The Ruins will be published by Henry Holt and Co. in November!

Before the Ruins was okay, but nothing special. I trudged my way through it because it took me so long to get into it. The characters were also okay, but I couldn't really relate to them which made finishing the novel tough. Overall, a very average read.

I went into Before the Ruins based on the description and the comparison to Tana French and Paula Hawkins, and it just didn't live up to those comparisons. This is not a thriller, nor is it particularly suspenseful. Because that was what I was expecting, I was disappointed. I kept thinking it was like someone telling you an anecdote where you want to scream "get to the point!!!" That said, it is beautifully written and works well as general fiction.

The start is promising. Protagonist Andy gets a call from the mother of one of her oldest friends, Peter. They were once inseparable as teens, along with Em and Andy's boyfriend, Marcus. One summer they broke into an old manor and met the charismatic David, who was living there illegally. The old manor house had a history as a place where a diamond necklace was stolen from a guest, was never recovered, and is believed to still be on the grounds. The five friends develop a game based around the necklace where one of them hides it and the others search the grounds to try and find it. However, that was all years ago, and Andy sees Peter very rarely now that they are adults and leading busy lives. Still, she is intrigued by the call from Peter's mother and sets out to find Peter, thus revisiting her past.

The writing is atmospheric, particularly the passages that take place when they were all teens hanging out at the manor. However, none of the characters ever came to life for me, and I thought the ending (about Peter's whereabouts) was out of left field. As a debut novel, it has promise, but I would only rate it as 2.5, rounded up to 3 for the writing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Before the Ruins is scheduled for publication in November 2020.

3 for neutral, I tried a few times to read this, but was just too confused. Will update if able to enjoy later. Very artistic type book, if you enjoy those!

This is a different sort of mystery from the thrillers currently flooding the market, which is part of what makes it such a refreshing read. Rather than being fast paced, plainly written, and full of twists, the writing is slow and beautiful and full of atmosphere. This book reminds me somewhat of The Secret History - though the plot is not the same, the writing is equally beautiful and it focuses primarily on a tragic event that happened between a group of friends when they were young.

The book has a lot of really intriguing elements: a missing treasure, a murder, a love...rectangle? But mostly I just found myself lost in the lovely writing. The book is totally original and has a great final twist and conclusion. If you’re looking for a fast and easy suspense read, this isn’t the book for that mood. But if you’re looking for a break with something lovely you can really savor, this book is for you.

Thanks so much to Victoria Gosling, NetGalley, and Henry Holt for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Andrea sets out to find her missing friend and is drawn back to her childhood village, where she and her teenage friends explored a rundown mansion and created a game, searching for a stolen diamond necklace. What I liked: I was drawn in by the mysterious setting, Andrea’s determined search for her friend and her strong childhood friendships. Great ending. What I didn’t like: At times, Andrea’s introspection slowed the pace, but this is, after all, a novel about a young woman’s inner exploration as well as her external search for a friend. Favorite line: “Life was full of mysteries that would not be solved.”

Interesting characters and unexpected twists kept me reading. I probably would not have picked up the book because its cover is not interesting to me (I know, I know... don't judge), but I am glad I did. Thank you, NetGalley and Blueberry Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

They say don't judge a book by its cover but in this case they are wrong. I was hooked by the cover, by the blurbs and more intrigued as the story developed. Wonderful book!

It's easy to see that this book will be a commercial success: compelling premise, excellent writing, fast pace, suspense (will Andy be an unreliable narrator?), and many twists and turns. There are in fact a few too many twists and turns, and like many novels of this type, this can irritate, but only in a small way. You expect the characters to encounter more than the average number of shocking circumstances, crimes, betrayals, etc, and they most certainly do.

I found one key big reveal, involving Joe, to be blatantly obvious, but not to the novel's detriment.

All in all, a solid debut with well-deserved early accolades. Would recommend.

PS. Beautiful cover.

I love a gothic mystery, but I found this to be somewhat overwritten and tough to get into. Maybe it's quarantine brain, maybe it's the writing; I just kept finding myself lost in the narrative and literary flourishes and unable to connect with the characters.

Nice read of a novel with some deadly twists and turned. Unlike some other reviewers, it took me a good 50 pages to get into it, maybe getting into the author’s style, but then I was hooked. Stay with it and you’ll be rewarded. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Drew me right in to the story four friends ab empty castle .Characters so well drawn A story I could not put down.So well written highly recommend.#netgalley#before the ruins

With the corona virus going on I have been spending all of my time reading. This book was not a disappointment. I finished it in a day. I could not put it down! Great story and unexpected twists and turns!

Four friends make a game of hanging around inside a once grand estate, now fallen into disrepair one summer. It’s all fun and games until they discover that a stolen diamond necklace may be hidden somewhere on the property. Suddenly the game becomes serious….deadly serious

Excellent! Interesting story with unexpected twists. Well drawn characters. Highly recommended. Victoria Gosling got this just right