Moving. It's a new beginning. A chance to start over. An opportunity to meet new people.

Rachel Gleason and her daughter, Lily, have just moved into an apartment in Chicago. It's a chance to get away from her ex-husband and a building with a doorman, feels even more secure. But then Rachel gets her mail and there is a letter for Annie, the previous tenant who left abruptly one night and no one has seen or heard from her since. Rachel decides to open it and reads the warning within telling Annie that she is not safe.

Then little things begin to happen, Rachel feels as if she is being watched. Whey did Annie leave in the night without telling anyone? Intrigued, Rachel wants to know what happened to the woman who once lived in her apartment, but as she delves deeper into what happened to Annie, she begins to to question the new people in her life.

Who can she trust? Where is Annie? Why would she not be safe in the building?

This was an enjoyable book which had me questioning the motives of several characters. With these types of books, I enjoy doing on my own super sleuthing to try to figure out what the final reveal may be. With this one, I whittled down my list, but still did not figure things out.

Enjoyable read that kept my interest and moved at a nice pace, then it just ended. Yes, that is what books do, but it felt a little sudden.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

A book with twists and turns that I couldn’t put down.
I suspected everybody but the culprit and was so surprised at the conclusion.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. The story itself was interesting, engaging and I enjoyed the story. But, I feel like this was not as tense as a thriller should be.
I felt like the main character was really naive and didn't think twice about some stuff that she did. She had a daughter and she just opened her apartement and life to a bunch a weird, creepy people. She was too trustworthy, especially for someone that lived alone with a young child.
There were some plot holes and some things that didn't add anything to the story, and the fact that everything thrilling happened at the end of the book didn't work for me.

Sadly, this book was not for me, but the fact that I enjoyed the writing style will make me buy more books by the author.

Thanks to the publisher Bookouture and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

I really enjoyed this unsettling mystery. I felt there was good character development. The twist was great and I didn’t see it coming. I felt the MC made some questionable choices at times such as leaving her child alone with people she barely knew while trying to escape an abusive ex husband. Overall it was a good quick read and I enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital copy of this galley.

This is my first read by Laura Wolfe and I am blown away, I loved it. The scenes and details that the author writes about is so good and descriptive - amazing.

I was literally into the book from page 1. The characters and in depth and I love Rachel and her young daughter as characters.

Rachel is going through a heart-breaking separation and moves into their new apartment, which was once lived in by Annie. A letter turns up and out of curiosity Rachel opens it only to find out some details that appear weird and scary - I do not want to give too much away as its such a super read.

Rachel is super curious about the previous person who lived in their apartment and along with neighbours who do not give much away.

This is a great thriller and I will certainly be reading more of Laura Wolfe's novels as I am now a super fan.

Thanks to Laura Wolfe, NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Based in my humble abode of Chicago, Rachel Gleason wants to start a new life with her daughter Lily after an abusive and toxic marriage. But as she moves into her new place, she finds out the previous tenant went missing and vanished. Rachel tries not to think too much into this but when she receives a piece of mail stating Annie wasn’t safe and she needed to get out things start to become creepy. Rachel starts to believe she and her daughter are in greater danger and nearly not as safe as she thought.

Made me want to keep reading! Just what a thriller needs to be!

Rachel and her daughter, Lily, age 6, have been lucky enough to find a reasonably priced apartment in Chicago. In addition, Lily has a scholarship to an exclusive school starting soon.

Rachel had to flee her husband, Keith, due to him physically harming both of them. He is allowed a supervised visit once a month even though Rachel is nervous the whole time Lily is with Keith.

Although there is a doorman and other security features of the apartment, the walls are thin and Rachel can’t help but wonder if someone is in the apartment at night from the odd noises she hears. Rachel meets more people in the building who are nice to her but there is a creepy guy who frightens her.

When she receives a letter addressed to Annie Turner, the girl who lived in the apartment for her, she decides to open it. Annie simply left in the middle of the night and people think she was just skipping out on her lease.

As the story builds, so does the tension and Rachel is not sure who she can trust.

This is an interesting story that has its creepy parts. One thing I did not like was Rachel leaving Lily in the apartment for short periods of time. With her being so nervous about the place, she should have taken Lily with her. I’m sure readers will enjoy this story.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Rachel Gleason just escaped an abusive marriage with her young daughter. Wanting a better life for Lily, she applies for a scholarship at an exclusive school in Chicago. Even better, she gets a great deal on an apartment within walking distance of the school because the former tenant skipped her lease with no warning. But shortly after moving in, there's a handwritten letter addressed to the former tenant, Annie Turner. Trying to find out if it's important enough to forward, she opens the letter and sees a warning from Annie's sister that the apartment isn't safe, she needs to get out. Now on edge, she starts questioning the other tenants to find out where Annie went. Everyone seems to give a different story and they all have their own secrets to hide. When Rachel starts hearing things at night seemingly from inside her own apartment, she starts to wonder if Annie's disappearance is more sinister than she first thought.
This story is very tense and it seems like everyone in the building could be guilty. Add to that her ex stalking her and the guy next door that she's dating hiding secrets from her and I was on edge. The large number of suspects kept me guessing until the shocking twist at the end!
I received an advance reader copy of this book. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

Rachel Gleason is hopeful of a fresh start, so has moved from the suburbs to the city in search of a better life for that of her and her six-year-old daughter after escaping an abusive marriage. With a huge sense of relief, Rachel manages to get a scholarship for underprivileged children for her daughter at the exclusive and very expensive Shorewood Academy and has even managed to get an otherwise unaffordable apartment after receiving a tip that a member of the admin department at the school has recently left, and broken their lease having moved out early without giving notice. After securing the two-bedroom apartment of 4B in a building in Lincoln Park, Chicago for the price of a one-bedroom – complete with a doorman, that’s also within walking distance of Lily’s prestigious new school – it looks as though life is finally looking up and Rachel she feels safe for the first time in a long time.

That is until Rachel checks her mailbox and finds a letter addressed to Annie, the previous tenant…

“Annie, I'm so worried. You aren't safe in that apartment! You have to get out. Before it’s too late.”

Unable to get the words written in the note, out of her head that is now running on a constant loop, Rachel adds some more words to it; “Moving to the city is the biggest mistake you’ll ever make, Rachel.” The words of her mother! What if she was right? And are the strange noises in their new apartment just the new noises of apartment block city life, or are they altogether something more sinister? Rachel was sure she’d engaged both of the locks on their front door – but now, only the bottom one is locked… Maybe she’d gotten distracted? Now she wasn’t so sure.

I really enjoyed the mystery and suspense of The Girl Before Me, it gave me Riley Sager’s Lock Every Door and J.P. Delaney’s The Girl Before vibes. The two storylines of having to deal with her abusive ex-husband and dealing with everything going on at her new apartment were done very well and kept the story fresh. The only slightly negative comment I have is that everything at the end was just wrapped up a bit too neatly for me. Other than that, I liked the book, especially the whodunit aspect of the book that kept you guessing right up until the end.

My thanks to the author and Bookouture for my advance copy to review via Netgalley. Due to be published 29th April 2022!

Four whodunit stars

This was a delightful quick read for me. Rachel and her daughter, Lilly, move into an apartment to start a new chapter of their lives. Then Rachel starts to hear strange noises and thinks it is related the the prior tenant who mysteriously disappeared.

Rachel’s life is hectic right now and the strange things about her apartment are not helping. What I loved about the book was that it captured my attention so much that I didn’t realize what was going on around me. I was in the book, walking with Rachel. I love when I can get lost in a book!

This was a mixed bag for me. I'm not a huge fan of mixing mystery with romance. To me, it just takes away from the mystery when everyone wants to bang each other. There's a murder! I think I love you.

No.

This is a whodunit that started out very slow and didn't pick up until the last 1/4 of the book. It had some twists at the end, but they were a little too convenient for me.

I never really liked the main character and the ending left something to be desired.

However, with all this being said, it was still a page turner for me at the end, even if I didn't love everything on the pages.

Creepy! This book will have you checking your locks and looking over your shoulder. Especially if you live in a large apartment building with long creepy halls and a creepy basement storage area. At first I thought it would end up being all in the main character's head. Then I definitely thought it was the creepy neighbor. I was not prepared for the true culprit. What a shocker!

The Girl Before Me had me hooked from the description alone and the book did not disappoint. It was a complete page turner for me with the tension building on each page. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

After leaving an abusive marriage, Rachel finds the perfect apartment in Lincoln Park, Chicago for her and her daughter. When she moves into the new apartment she finds a letter in her mailbox from Julia, who lives in Australia, addressing to her sister Annie who used to live in the same apartment as Rachel right now. When Rachel tries to find out more from her neighbours, no one in the building knows what happened to Annie of why she left...

'A movie I’d seen years earlier surfaced from my memory. The main character feared someone had been entering her house while she was at work, so she placed a piece of paper in the crack. Hours later, she returned home through a different door and found the paper on the floor, confirming her fears.'

I found this pretty slow, to be honest - not a great deal actually happens for a long time, like almost the first half of the book.
But you get a good sense of Rachel and her daughter ooeehh and the neighbours... It will have you guessing, whodunnit, especially in the second half of the book where the story is a bit more fast paced.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for allowing me the opportunity to get an early copy of this novel!

✨Book Review✨
The Girl Before Me
By Laura Wolfe

This book had me! A first for me from Laura Wolfe, but I can say that I will definitely be searching for more from her!

The storyline was really good, characters were well developed, and the book consisted of short chapters chalked full of suspense! Just what I love!

I devoured this one in only a couple of sittings, as I was forced to keep turning the pages.

Creepy. Thrilling. And of course, a great ending.

This one is out on April 28th. Put this on your TBR list now! 📚😊

Rating :⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Huge thank you to @bookouture @netgalley @lwolfe.writes for giving me the opportunity to review this book🥰📚

This book follows a mother and daughter in need of a fresh start. Rachel and her daughter Lily move into a new apartment in a new city. The previous tenant, Annie, mysteriously disappeared, and Rachel has a feeling something terrible had happened. As she's adjusting to her new life and meeting new people, she questions if she is too trusting. Did someone she knows have something to do with Annie's disappearance? This book will keep you hooked! I did get a little frustrated by how trusting Rachel was at times. But I still enjoyed it overall!

Rachel and her daughter Lily move into their new apartment to start a new life together away from Rachel’s manipulative mum and abusive husband. Everyone seems really friendly in this new block of flats however for Rachel something doesn’t sit quite right. The woman living in her flat before her vanished into thin air and Rachel cannot help but think that something awful happened to Annie.

I did enjoy this book it was very easy to read however I thought it was quite predictable and I couldn’t really warm to any of the characters and thought the book was slightly slow in some places.

The ending to this book was good I had a hunch about what happened and I had worked it out and guessed it correctly however there was one slight difference to what I’d worked out which I really liked.

Thank you to NetGalley the publisher and the author for an advance copy of this book.

This book was actually pretty good. I enjoyed the ride and the ending. Thanks for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed this plot it was a slow burn for me. I hard a hard time wanting to pick up this book to finish it. I think the writing was great and enjoyable. I think for myself personally it wasn't the "right" pick for me.

The Girl Before Me has it all: missing person, secrets and lies, twists and turns that you wont see coming.

Rachel and her daughter Lily move into a secure building to start a new life.

They happen to move into apartment 4B from which Annie Turner has gone missing.

The neighbors seem friendly enough and for the most part welcoming.

Rachel can't shake the disappearance of Annie so delves into the mystery.

Rachel is way too trusting.

The tensions builds as Rachel gets closer to an answer into Annie's disappearance.

I suspected everyone .

I was wrong.

The Girl Before Me is a fast paced thriller that keeps you guessing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a nail biting read.