Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in return for my honest opinion.

This book was ok.

The book starts with someone being in danger and than quick flips to a short time later when a new family moves into that same apartment.

I truthfully couldnt really tell what the point of the plot was half of the time. I wasn't sure if we were ever going to find out what happened to Annie or if we were just waiting for something bad to happen to the main character Rachel. I had a hard time with Rachel's character. She was doing her best for her daughter as a single mom (hell yes to that) but she acted so aloof. She can sense things were not right but when someone explained something away she just trusted them. (uhhh come on Rachel). . I felt like we learned lots of random things about all the characters but then we didn't dive deeper. Things that if I was Rachel would have warranted being a little more cautious.

Things did pick up to a better pace towards the end. But the end seemed rushed. The twist of the killer was pretty anticlimatic and unbelievable.

I would still reccommend this book to friends that are newer to reading or looking for a lighter "thriller"/ mystery. But for readers that read a lot of thriller / suspense / mystery I would say to skip it.

#QOTD : Do you really think you know your neighbours well?

It’s like riding rollercoaster when I was reading the book. The story developed in a steady pace, but kept you hooked! Definitely it’s a page-turning book. Every character had its own distinct personality - friendly, creepy, attractive, which was easily to relate in our real lives. Especially their emotion development…!

The story was set in a solid security apartment building. A new tenant Rachel and her 6 year-old daughter Lily just moved into 4B. Alongside meeting with lots of great and friendly neighbours in the building, Rachel felt reborn and happier here with Lily.

One day, Rachel received a letter telling her she’s not safe in that apartment but…it was addressing to the previous tenant in 4B….

I truly recommend this book to all my bookwormer friends who are addicted to thriller! The Girl Before Me by Laura Wolfe is also suitable for non-native English speakers in Hong Kong.

This was a perfectly fine thriller; entertaining enough to keep reading, but not at any point actually suspenseful or necessarily captivating. There were too many red herrings in my opinion, with every single character serving as a suspect. The actual person responsible was pretty obvious, in my opinion, and the explanations for everyone else's behavior seemed a tad flimsy.

Also, Rachel's mom just sucked unnecessarily hard. As did Keith.

I switched on the bedroom light, casting a glow across the apartment. No one was there. But then the locks on my front door caught my eye. I thought I’d locked them both, but now one was open…

‘The Girl Before Me’ by Laura Wolfe is an addictively gripping thriller which will not only give you the chills, but will ensure you get no sleep until you’ve read it in it’s entirety. So buckle up, make plenty of coffee and be prepared to lose yourself. And maybe your mind.

Many psychological thrillers are formulaic so this was a refreshing change. A quick read - not because of its page length, but because it’s one of those books that you start and before you know where you are, you don’t have many pages left and the kids haven’t had any dinner. I’m only kidding - nothing comes between my kids and their food, but you know what I’m getting at.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers and also those who just want an absorbing mind bender of a read.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

3.5 stars rounded up

When Rachel moves into a new apartment with her young daughter, Lily, it's with a huge sense of relief. After escaping an abusive marriage, this perfect downtown fourth floor rental, within minutes from the lake, feels like the new beginning the two of them deserve. It's a place to call home. Rachel soon begins to develop feelings for her new neighbour, Alex, who lives just down the hall. But soon hand written letters begin to arrive for someone called Annie. Alex tells her Annie was the previous tenant. Tentatively Rachel opens the first letter, intending to return it to sender, But the note says "Annie, I'm so worried. You aren't safe in that apartment. You have to get out. Before it's too late."

The pace is steady and the second half of the book is the better part. I didn't like any of the characters. It's also a bit predictable in places. There's a few twists and a really good one near the end. I was invested in finding out what had happened to the previous tenant Annie. The reveal was well done but the ending was a little abrupt. I did enjoy this book.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #LauraWolfe for my ARC of #TheGirlBeforeMe in exchange for an honest review.

While the premise of this book is intriguing, overall it did fall short for me

I found the story to be long winded and not as captivating as I had hoped for.

The Girl Before Me is a gripping, can't-put-down thriller. Rachel and her six-year-old daughter Lily move from the suburbs to downtown Chicago for a fresh start. They find the perfect apartment with mostly friendly neighbors, and Lily is accepted at a prestigious school located nearby. All is going smoothly until Rachel finds a letter addressed to the apartment's previous tenant warning that she was in danger. Are Rachel and Lily in danger? Who really are her neighbors? Who can they trust? And who was this previous tenant?

I really enjoyed the setting of the downtown apartment building and getting to know all of the neighbors. There were quite a few twists (some were predictable) and the ending was satisfying. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Girl Before Me and will definitely be recommending it.

A spooky and nail biting read that will have you setting on the edge of your set and looking over your shoulder when even you think a shadow moved, or getting up and checking your doors to make sure their locked . Plus it'll make you ask yourself do you really know your neighbors as well as you think you do, and can they be trusted . And just like her other books the plot and story is well written, and will keep you guessing on what's going to happen next.

A perfectly set and told tale of a single Mum and her young daughter who move to a City apartment block from the suburbs in search of a better life, she manages to get a ‘great deal’ on a flat but almost immediately realises things are not as good as they seem and the building and it’s tenants are hiding secrets….
You cant beat a good story set in a apartment block, a set of characters, personalities, foibles and a way of living that you fall into when living ‘wIth other people’
The descriptions of Lincoln Park and Chicago are great and no surprise to read the author lived there for 10 years herself
A good, involving story, a kinda modern whodunit, interesting and enjoyable

8/10
4 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Wow-what a brilliant well-written book. A tense read with interesting characters, A great plot-line. A recommended read.

Wow! This was an edge of your seat thriller! Just when you might think you r figured it all out—be prepared for some huge twists!

Psychological thriller about a woman who escapes from her violent husband to start a new life in the city with her young daughter. All is not as it is cracked up to be and there are many secrets to be uncovered. This is a compelling read but a little unbelievable.

Creepy things happen in a creepy apartment with creepy neighbours. Did I use the word creepy enough times to make a point? Moving to a new city, getting away from a toxic ex, staring over. Sounds good, but immediately after the move into the new apartment strange things start happening. The previous tenant left in the middle of the night, and no one has heard from her since. What happened to her?

An intense story with great characters. Well-written and with an interesting plot. Recommended!

The prologue grabs you, but also leaves you hanging. Betwixt and Between. First time author for me. I appreciated Rachel as a single mom. Her divorce comes through and she leaves her abusive spouse, takes her daughter Lily and moves to the city. She finds the letter in her mail box and the ground work begins. This begins slowly and some of Rachel's thoughts as she looks around her apartment make me question her common sense and I had to go back an read again to see if I was interpreting something wrong. There are twists, turns, surprises. The issues with Alex also made me question what is considered norm, or ok. Then my take away was how easily it is to misjudge and to tarnish a person. I will say there was some good scary creepy happenings which had me looking around and making sure doors and windows were locked. The absolute ending did have me go, huh? The blurb sounded intriguing and to be honest I was thinking this was Leslie Wolfe who is an automatic for me. I would read this author again. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the arc. I freely volunteer my thoughts and opinions.

This book has a fun premise but fell a little flat for me. I couldn't get behind the MC and doubted her abilities and judgment as a mother. The ending felt like a bit of a cop out and there were just too many instances of being annoyed at what the MC chose to do. Others may enjoy the "locked room" aspect of the mystery.

I read a digital ARC of this book for review.

This book had a great premise but fell a little flat for me. The story centers on Rachel who moves to downtown Chicago with her young daughter, Lily, only to find that there is some mystery around what happened to the previous tenant of her apartment.

Some of the stuff that happened at the apartment was legitimately creepy but overall the story wasn’t really all that action packed or mysterious. My primary issue was with Rachel herself, who seemed ridiculously naive and trusting. It drove me crazy that she meets a new guy and almost immediately refers to him as her boyfriend. She was also quick to leave her kid with strangers and not to question special treatment at the school.

The ending was ok and I was legitimately surprised by who the villain was but I also didn’t think the author gave enough clues for me to have figured it out on my own. It was overall a quick read that mostly held my interest but just didn’t fully come together for me. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I love books that just draw you in from the first couple pages. This book was unputdownable for me and I loved how it just kept you guessing from chapter to chapter up until the very end.
This psychological thriller had so many characters but in a good way and had you guessing whodunnit and just when you think you know…you absolutely don’t!
I loved the main character Rachel. She is a newly single mom, recently divorced and starting fresh in Chicago. She gets lucky in the city, gets a school scholarship for her daughter Lily and a good deal on an apartment, but starts to question the last tenants reason for leaving so abruptly. The battle with her gut instinct vs trying to look on the bright side makes her even that much more relatable as she struggles with the uncovering the facts of Annie’s disappearance and being protective of her and her daughters safety. Who can you really trust and should you really ever judge a book by the cover?

Don’t want to give much away but this was a great read, fast paced, and had you guessing til the end.
Thank you Laura Wolfe, NetGalley, and Bookouture for this advanced copy! The Girl Before Me is out on 4/29/22!

This psychological thriller is a must read! I wasn’t sure what I was going into when reading this as it is a new book that I have seen absolutely nothing about but man did it shock me! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time reading this story about a woman who moved to a new city to start over only to find out she moved in to an unsolved crime scene. Annie disappeared 3 weeks prior to Rachel and Lily moved in but where did she go? No one really seems to know or care for that matter, until Rachel moved in and knew in her gut something was wrong with her apartment that Annie previously lived in. The story line was smooth and easy to follow with interesting and engaged characters. The story had many twisted and turns and I was ready to get to the end and sad it was over all at the same time. The ending truly was not what I expected (in a good way). I 10/10 recommend reading this as soon as its published next month!

I didn't enjoy this book at all, right from the start it was just to far fetched and not feasible, so from then on I couldn't stop myself from picking it apart, just not for me and it was boring at times.

i hate to say but i really did not enjoy this book i found it boring at places and the writing style was amateurish more times then it was not.. This is suppose to be a mystery but the mystery barely ever got there. I read on my kindle and it took almost to the 72 percent for them to even realize something untoward had become of Annie, and after that another nothing until 20 pages from the end. I did enjoy the characters to a point and the building atmosphere but i thought it could have been done better.

It felt like it was trying to be the Movie sliver with Sharon Stone from the 90's but Rachel is no Sharon Stone and the writing was not visual enough to compare with film.

The ending was also very rushed and made my head spin i felt the author was grasping at straws to see where it should end that would shock the audience not caring if that shock was from excitement or confusion,