While the storyline had great promise and entertaining potential, this book feel flat for me. The characters were lackluster and terribly annoying. It felt like not much happened and it took awhile to get there. Did not see the twists coming and I enjoyed that.

Wow! This book was everything a psychological thriller should be! I lovedddd the characters, each and every one of them. I loved the setting, I loved the unique storyline. I loved the way the author writes and how the book didn't alternate narrators or timelines. It was suspenseful, it was exciting and even when you think the plot twists are over you get hit with another one. Easy 5 stars and I'm running to read more by Laura Wolfe because The Girl Before Me was amazing and I'm genuinely sad it's over!

3.5 rounded up

Australian Annie Turner has made a number of bad decisions which leads to her American dream turning into a nightmare……Three weeks later Rachel Gleason and her six year old daughter Lily moved into the same apartment 4B, in a building in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Rachel is hopeful of a fresh start after a bad end to her marriage. She soon finds herself wondering about Annie and is magnetically pulled into the mystery of the disappearing tenant.

There’s a good tense initial start to the book with creepy, ominous overtones from both the building and the occupants of the other apartments. It builds slowly, it’s maybe overburdened with detail at times but it’s not uninteresting. The girl before me mystery deepens and it becomes very unsettling with some suspicious behaviour and you aren’t sure who is trustworthy. This is broadened to outside the building too with threats from several quarters, Rachel‘s entry to life in Chicago can’t be described as an easy ride so there is an intriguing vibe from several quarters.

The dynamics are done extremely well, ranging from the delightful between Rachel and Lily to the puzzlingly odd to the downright nasty.

I would say I think there’s a lot going on as it’s not just the mystery of Annie, it’s may be a bit much but it does mean there’s rarely a dull moment! There is some plot filling in for example, we get a tour around Chicago which though enjoyable, I’m not sure it’s entirely needed??

The plot starts to come together, the strangeness of the building and the tension between the occupants ramps up well with plenty of atmosphere and questionable behaviour. The ending is one I’m going to keep pondering on, it feels a bit contrived and I’m not sure I entirely buy into it and it certainly ends very abruptly.

Overall, despite my reservations it’s an enjoyable read, it keeps my attention and it’s full of atmosphere.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Bookouture for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Great quick read thriller. Listened and read and enjoyed the characters and plot. Kept me guessing til the end! Definitely recommend for any twisty story lover! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

The girl before me was a compelling read… This was one of those books that sucked me in from the beginning and didn’t let go until I finished! I thought it was well written, with absolutely flawlessly done characters, and absolutely unputdownable. Dark, grisly and utterly compelling. Thriller writing at its finest.
The storyline was brilliant and fascinating you won't want to miss this novel!

Are you looking for something that isn't there? Rachel has moved to a new neighbourhood with her young daughter Lily. They had to make the move so that they could get away from her violent ex husband & Lily gets to start at a new school where she has been given a full scholarship. Things are looking up for a change but she can't keep on thinking about the previous tenant Annie as she just seemed to disappear. So when a letter comes for the old tenant Rachel is worried but everyone agrees that she just left one night. But Rachel has feels like someone has been in the apartment but nothing is missing. Is she just imaging it all?
Her relationship with her next door neighbour Alex is heading in the right direction but she has just been told some stuff about his past and she knows that it will affect their relationship but she has to think about Lily. She can't be with another violent man. Can Alex explain his side of the story?
Rachel knew that she was right about Annie there is proof that something awful happened to her but who would want her dead? The person that they suspect is innocent so who did it then?
Will Rachel be able to keep Lily safe as she can't lose her? Who can she trust as everyone seems to have secrets in the building? Has she made the wrong choice by moving away from her past?
A good read. Full of twists & turns.
I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley & the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Rachel and her 6 year old daughter Lily are moving to the city from the suburbs into an apartment building. Rachel is finally divorce from her ex who was abusive. She finds a note in the mailbox to the previous tenant Annie who left in the middle of the night that is warning her to get out the apartment as it was not safe. Rachel is new to city living and the note causes her to question the move but she thinks she maybe being silly. But Rachel being new to city living is now jumping at every noise and sound after reading the note. Rachel meets and makes friends with various people in the building and at Lily's school. She questions everyone about Annie but no one knows what happen to her or why she moved. Great characters and I really appreciated the authors detail in Rachel's background and Lily's school.

This was a fast paced read and my first time reading the author. The book kept me guessing till the end and I really enjoyed it. Highly recommend.

Received this book for my honest review from Netgalley.

This was a quick and compelling read, I was immediately drawn into the book and kept needing to see what was happening next! The main character and her six year old daughter are moving to Chicago for a fresh start after divorcing an abusive husband/father. The author does a good job of incorporating the back story into what is going on instead of laying it all out at once. As a former Chicagoan, I loved the descriptions of the city and its landmarks. I also appreciated the discussion of a private school and the intense jockeying (and more) that can go on there. The cast of characters was also fun and very mysterious, as they move into an apartment building and there are different neighbors who slowly reveal their involvement with or theories about the mysterious disappearance of the woman who lived in the apartment before the main character. There were multiple suspicious characters and potential villains so I was kept guessing until the end!

This book was gripping, I read it really wuickly in one sitting, I zoomed through it. It was well written with a compelling sotryline and well developed characters. the plot was suspense, twisty and unpredictable, I was kept guessing until the end. I will definitely be looking for more reads from this author.

The first book I have read by Laura Wolfe but it certainly won’t be my last. I read this book within 2 days- I couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters and the way I had to keep asking myself if I was right in how I thought the plot was turning out. A really enjoyable thriller, that kept me guessing until the end!

The Girl before me by Laura Wolfe psychological thriller

Rachel has moved into a new apartment to start her new life with her daughter away from the abusive husband she has filed for divorce against. Her daughter has won a scholarship to a nearby school and the new apartment is only a few blocks away. Rachel soon learns that the previous tenant Annie disappeared without telling anyone which is rather odd. She opens a letter which is from Annie's sister asking Annie to contact her as she is worried not having heard from her. Rachel develops a friendship with several of the residents, some of which are more friendly than others, one in particular is rather odd. Are Rachel and Lily safe in the apartment and what really happened to Annie?

I quickly got into this and took to Rachel and her anxiety being in a strange place not knowing whom to trust. A range of characters both good and bad which made me unsure of whom, if any, had anything to do with Annie going missing. A nicely built tension that kept the pages turning and kept me guessing right to the very end. An enjoyable read.

#blogtour

The Girl Before Me by Laura Wolfe was everything I had hoped for and more from this exciting author who never fails to deliver. I devoured this one in a single afternoon, and am already impatiently awaiting Ms Wolfe's next offering.

Rachel is looking for a fresh start with her daughter Lily after escaping from an abusive marriage. The apartment that will become their new home near Lincoln Park promises a new beginning, and an attractive neighbour is just another perk to further sweeten the deal. But when Rachel discovers an unsettling note intended for the previous tenant and is unable to get any satisfactory answers as to why the young woman has left the building in a hurry, she begins to question the safety of her new home and, more specifically, those with whom she shares her new address.

This is a chilling read that steadily builds an uneasy tension as the narrative progresses. Just when you think you have it all figured out, Ms Wolfe delivers a twist that will leave you reeling. Recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC.

#NetGalley #TheGirlBeforeMe

Tense, psychological thriller with engaging characters and twists you won’t see coming. I was obsessed with finishing this book, but also did not want it to end. Smooth writing and great storyline. Read this from a comfortable (safe) place where you feel your coziest, because it will have you jumping at noises and looking over your shoulder! Thank you to Laura Wolfe, Bookouture, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#TheGirlBeforeMe #NetGalley
FANTASTIC 5 STAR READ.
After deciding to leave her husband who was physically and emotionally abusive to her Rachel decides to leave him and move out from that house with her daughter Lily. Soon she finds a house in the city where on the day of the move in she finds a note that was written to the previous tenant, Annie. Curious to return it to it's owner, she opens it and the note take her breath away. The note was a warning to Annie that she was not safe there and she needed to move out from there asap. But now there's no trace of Annie. What happened to her? Is she alive? Or something bad happened to her already? She decides to know more. Meanwhile she meets Alex and her daughter starts a job at the school. People in that building are hiding something? Or is it a coincidence that her daughter is working where Annie worked?
To summarise I'd say that this is a family drama between mom and daughter with a mystery of Annie lurking behind.
Two things I didn't like much. First was it's sudden ending and the second was Alex's character. I think he'd give more. But if you ignore these things then this is the book for you.
It's almost like J P Delaney's The Girl Before. Read this book and that one too. Compare yourself.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me an advance copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC of The Girl Before Me by Laura Wolfe.

Needing a fresh start after divorcing her abusive husband, Rachel moves her and her daughter Lily into an apartment building in the city. On the day of move-in, Rachel discovers a letter in her mailbox posted to the previous tenant, Annie, telling her the apartment is not safe and to leave immediately. She soon finds out that Annie had abruptly left leaving no clues behind her as to her whereabouts. As Rachel meets each neighbor, she slowly becomes suspicious of each one and what their motives are.

What a page turner. I couldn't get through this one quick enough to see what happened to Annie and who was involved. If you are looking for a real Agatha-like mystery, this book is for you. It methodically tells a story while showing the true bond between a mother and her daughter. The only thing preventing me from leaving a perfect five-star is that while the entire book took it's time in a good way telling the story, the ending could have done the same. All in all, this book was a great read and I would recommend.

I love a good mystery and this one has great elements that make it into a super fast and compelling read.

Rachel and her daughter Lily have moved into a new apartment after a recent divorce from Rachel's ex-husband, a physically and emotionally abusive man. They got the apartment on a deal because the previous tenant disappeared in the middle of the night and broke her lease. But the more Rachel learns about the former tenant, Annie, the more she starts to wonder what caused her disappearance? Was it any of the people she had come to trust in the building, or was it someone who was part of Lily's new school, where Annie also worked?

I flew through this book, trying to figure out what happened to Annie as the book went on. There's something very sweet in the relationship between Rachel and her daughter, which is clearly the most important dynamic in the novel. The characters that surround them are well drawn and each have motives and reasonings why Rachel should and should not trust them.

The reveal is well done, but there are a few questions I had about the ultimate ending. It feels a little abrupt and some of the motivation is a little murky, but that didn't entirely distract from my overall enjoyment of the book.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. Thrilling, gripping, jaw dropping, edge of your seat physiological thriller. One of the best that I have ever read. Was amazing.

I really loved this thriller. It was a slow build but I was absolutely excited to see what would happen. I highly enjoyed the entire experience of reading it.