The Girl Before Me is a an exciting, suspenseful read. Rachel and her daughter, Lily have moved into a new apartment. There is mystery however, regarding the previous tenant, Annie. Annie left in the middle of the night, without any notice. Rachel opens up a letter that was meant for Annie, with concerns expressed over Annie’s safety. Suddenly, Rachel notices weird events occurring, and it seems as if someone has been in the apartment. This story embodies the characteristics of a difficult to put down psychological thriller. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the feel of this book, the suspense and creepiness made it hard for me to read it while I was home alone. The suspicion on each character was just enough to keep me guessing through the book.

I have to admit I jumped for this book, the cover and blurb absolutely pulling me in. And what a beginning! I was fully grabbed by the creepiness of the beginning which was very much a nowhere to run scenario as we met the inhabitant of appartment 4b in a very classy building. Fast forward on and our lead character is moving into the same apartment with her daughter. She finds a note that hints that the girl before her (hence the title!), may not have suddenly left the way everyone was led to believe.

In a book full of unlikable characters the scene was set well but I will admit this one is more for the people who need a starter thriller, I just had different ideas on how it should be done which is more me being pernickity, but still very enjoyable. Thanks so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the book in return for an honest review.

Rating:4/5

I loved the premise of the story, I'm not sure it was well executed. It seemed a bit long winded and repetitive at times. However, I did enjoy reading about the different characters, and didn't see the double twists coming. I would definitely read another by this author

Wow!!! What a thrilling and suspenseful surprise!! My first Laura Wolfe book and it did not disappoint! Wow! Just Wow!

This book had it all: likeable characters, drama, suspense, twists and turns, and an ending you do NOT see coming!! This book gave me the feeling of being at the top of a rollercoaster...the mere seconds of terrifying and thrilling anticipation of the DROP.

If you love psychological thrillers, you MUST read this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this digital ARC!

I enjoyed reading this book, the setting and descriptions of Lincoln park and Chicago were amazing and I felt like I was there, the story was unique and I loved the way the author wrote. With twists and turns till the very end this is one I would recommend if you a suspense thriller.

Okay this twist I didn’t expect, actually couldn’t have guessed it if you asked me at any point in this book.

Rachel has been through a hell of a time with her shitty abusive ex-husband, who even hurt their sweet six year old daughter, Lily. F men like him.

They move into Chicago to try to get away from him and the drama that comes along with her ex and her mother, who doesn’t believe divorce is okay and schemes again Rachel to make her see her ex husband.

Lily gets awarded a scholarship to an amazing school for kids in the city and they move into an apartment building that they got for a steal because the girl before, Annie, bailed on her lease.

After meeting everyone in the apartment building, honestly everyone seems like they have something to hide.

Alex — seems to hit on all ladies in the building
Drake — super weird, does drugs, has something to hide for sure it seems
Bridget — seems too nice and to good to be true with all of her help towards the unfortunate

Blood gets discovered in the apartment and you realize Annie was murdered, but who the hell did it? She told her sister she never felt safe there and the suspect list could literally be anyone.

This story had me constantly needing to know what was going to happen next and figure out who did it.

You really never know who you can trust.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

Book: The Girl Before Me
Author: Laura Wolfe
Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Review~
The Girl Before me is a psychological thriller and a single mother. Check triggers warnings before reading this book.

Rachel just moved from her home with her ex-husband and wanted to start over so her daughter can have a better life. Lily is Rachel’s daughter who 6 and got a scholarship to a private school. Annie is the girl who lived before her in her new apartment but no one knew why Annie left.

Rachel received a letter from Annie sister who is warning her. All of the neighbors though it was nothing and told her to ignore it.

I was very shocked with the plot at the end it was such a surprise and not what I expected

Overall this book was amazing!! I highly recommend this book if you love reading psychological thrillers. The plot really got me it was not what I expected.

What a wild ride~!

Giving this one 4 pleasantly unexpected stars!

Always expect the unexpected - that's the lesson this one taught me. After moving in to a new place with a young daughter and experiencing some strange things, I'm not sure I would be able to outlast all the red flags. I suppose having a charming handsome neighbor MIGHT help, but alas... I held on to my seat as the plot unraveled and I was SHOCKED at the ending!

Before my very eyes, a fresh start turned into a fresh nightmare..!

Finally, a shout out to NetGalley and Bookouture for this digital ARC! :)

This is a great suspenseful read. I couldn't put it down and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Can't wait to read more from this author.

Another new author to me and another author that I will definitely look out for in the future!

Rachel has escaped an abusive marriage with her 6-year-old daughter Lily and decides to make her fresh start in the city a long way away from her hometown and her abusive ex-husband. She can’t believe her luck when not only Lily gets a scholarship to a very prestigious school, but she also finds a lovely apartment close by, that has had its rent dropped dramatically and means she can afford it. Once moved in, everyone in the apartment building is so welcoming and friendly and Rachel feels that her and her daughter really will be able to have their fresh start in the city. However, when she finds out that the previous tenant, Annie, not only broke her lease and moved out in the middle of the night with no-one seeing her but also hasn’t been seen since and is now a missing person, she starts to wonder about Annie especially when Rachel discovers a note saying she isn’t safe in the flat. She starts to feel like she is being watched and wonders whether she should trust her apparently friendly and helpful neighbours. When Annie’s sister, Julia, arrives from Australia looking for Annie, the neighbour’s secrets start to come out and suddenly Rachel’s life is in real danger.

I really enjoyed this book, it was easy to read, and I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it, which, as I have said in previous reviews, I always feel is a sign of a good book. I really enjoyed Rachel’s character progression, from a shy vulnerable single mum to a strong and capable young woman. I was totally led down the wrong path by the author and I really had no idea who the baddie was despite trying to figure it out while I was reading the book. To be honest I defy anyone to work out this twist. And as for the ending…. I definitely did not see that coming, it made me gasp!

All in all, a really good book, I am so glad I have discovered Laura Wolfe and I would highly recommend this for any fans of the psychological thriller genre (and if you do read it and manage to work out the twist, please make sure to tell me).

Thank you to Netgalley, Laura Wolfe and Bookouture for my advanced reading copy. Out now.

I have never read a book by this author before, so it was the intriguing blurb and great cover that drew my attention. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to the fast-paced, exciting thriller that I had expected.

The Girl Before Me started off brilliantly and draws you in immediately. Rachel has recently divorced and left her abusive ex-husband. She has moved with their six-year-old daughter, Lily, to the big city; an apartment in Lincoln Park, Chicago from the suburbs where they lived previously. This new dream world was going to be amazing; Rachel works from home, and they have a desirable apartment they couldn’t usually dream of affording but thanks to Annie Turner disappearing one night three weeks prior they got a great rental rate. To top it all off Lily has won a very prestigious scholarship, all fees paid for education to a local elite school. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, everything could go wrong as it seems! Despite having around the clock doorman and secure entry, an apartment with double locks, Rachel still doesn’t feel safe. A letter arrived for Annie urging her to leave urgently as she is in danger, Rachel has opened it and now can’t get the idea out of her mind. She makes some new friends and Lily settles in well, but all may not be as it seems.

Unfortunately, the plot fell a little flat for me, it wasn’t as fast-[aced as I had hoped and at times it felt a little too drawn out. The writing style was lovely and I felt unsure of many of the characters throughout the book. Some parts did appear to be lacking in reality, for example Alex’s past and despite Rachel’s past experiences, she is incredibly trusting of these new people a little too quickly, especially leaving her daughter in their care when she barely knows them.

There are some twists and turns, the plot throws you from one idea to the other. The characters didn’t do much for me, I neither liked nor loathed them. Even Lily, whom I would usually imagine as adorable and cute, felt a bit flat to me. She didn’t have the energy of a small child or the cuteness in the description I would expect.

The ending was too abrupt for me. There are plenty of things going on throughout, but they aren’t all tied up brilliantly and I felt like I had been left hanging.

This was a creepy suspenseful read that had me checking the locks on my doors and windows and checking under the bed and in the closet for unknown lurkers. A real page turner that had me jumping at the slightest sounds

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc copy of The Girl Before Me by Laura Wolfe! I enjoyed this book quite a bit! I give this 4 stars. I liked the story a lot and the plot twists. I found about half through, it was a little slow and took a while to get to the good stuff. Towards the end, it was awesome! I did not expect the ending at all. I was totally surprised! I did wish we saw more of Rachel’s husband Keith, I thought he was going to be a bigger part of the story. Other than that, I enjoyed it a lot! I will definitely check out some of her other books as well.

This one definitely gets a "what just happened?" I thought I had it figured out all the way through - but I was way off!

Good plot - I just wish the characters had been a little more likeable. Alex was okay - we all have our demons. The rest were just too one dimensional. Better characters would have pushed this over the 5 star mark!

So many twists & suspects! I had no idea what to expect at the end!
Wolfe is a new author to me and on my radar now!

Thank you, Laura Wolfe, Bookouture & NetGalley for my copy! All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, Laura Wolfe and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I initially loved this book from the start, but I can’t understand why she kept leaving her young daughter alone whilst questioning if someone kept breaking into her apartment. I liked how everyone was framed as suspicious, but I feel like the ending was confusing and rushed.

Thanks net galley for this great book written by Laura Wolfe which I really enjoyed, cannot wait for the next book from her.
Annie and Lilly ran away from Annie’s uncaring mother and her abusive husband.
They settled in a fourth floor apartment in Chicago, and Lilly was going to the best school,due to a scholarship,the neighbours were great and she had also found a boyfriend.
But Annie found a letter addressed to the woman who had rented the flat before from her sister saying she was worried about her and please contact her.
Annie then started wondering what had happened to the previous tenant, and things net got frightening. And she was sure someone was coming into the apartment during the night.
Yes great read really enjoyed it

Rachel Gleason moves into Flat 4B at 420 Rosyln Place, a ten-storey apartment building in Lincoln Park, Chicago, with her young six-year-old daughter, Lily. Rachel receives post addressed to the woman who used to live in the apartment before her - Annie; it's from the woman's sister, begging Annie to leave. Unable to stop dwelling on the letter and when odd things begin happening, Rachel starts questioning the woman's disappearance, looking at all her neighbours as suspects and becomes unable to trust anyone around her.

With a list of suspects having plausible motives, this is a compelling read. There is an underlying air of menace and a steady pace. The author tells the story in such a way that I couldn't settle on a definite outcome to the mystery. With some great characterisation of people and some excellent dynamics, The Girl Before Me, the fourth book I have read by Laura Wolfe, is well worth a look.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Bookouture via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.