Never read a book by this author until now but this won’t be my last. I enjoyed The Girl Before Me. It touched on many topics, sexual harassment, dysfunctional families & of course, murder. It seemed to skim a few areas I wish the author would’ve gone deeper with but it’s a quick read that will hold your attention.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The book starts off with an excellent premise. A fresh start in a big city. A missing tenant. A mysterious letter. It has all the makings of a good thriller (perhaps even a bit reminiscent of Riley Sager's Lock Every Door in the setup). That's about where my praise for the book ends.

It was really hard for me to overlook the naïvety of the main character. The amount of red flags she simply brushed aside was infuriating (and not in a good way). The red herrings were numerous, but not wholly convincing, which ultimately made the payoff of the final twist lackluster. There were a lot of sub-plots that could have been explored more deeply to throw us off the scent a bit more.

The premise of this had me hooked, but overall the novel fell a bit flat to me. Just okay as far as thrillers go.

Crossposted to goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4645640129

I have just finished reading The Girl Before Me by Laura Wolfe.

This story starts off with the main character Rachel moving into a city apartment for the first time with her daughter Lily. They are leaving a bad relationship with Rachel’s husband and Lily’s dad.

This is a big step for the two of them leaving their life behind and starting off fresh in a big city, and includes a new school for young Lily.

Rachel soon starts dating the next-door neighbour – Alex who appears to be the perfect new companion.

We soon find out that the previous tenant Annie has suddenly disappeared, as her sister from Australia is seeking out what has happened to her.

There are lots of unsure characters, to be suspicious of.

An overall entertain read

Thank you to Goodreads, Author Laura Wolfe , and Bookouture for my advanced copy to read and review.
#TheGirlBeforeMe #NetGalley

Rachel and Lily are starting over. After Rachel’s tumultuous Divorce, she decides to move with her Daughter Lily to the city. Everything seems to fall into place - Rachel finds the perfect Apartment in a beautiful building after the previous tenant skips town, Lily is awarded a scholarship at a prestigious school just a couple blocks away, and they make fast friends with a few new neighbors quickly after moving in. But Rachel quickly realizes everything isn’t what it seems and there might be more to the previous Tenant, Annie’s, quick exit.

The Girl Before Me was so well written that I often felt sucked in to the story. It was a twisty mystery that I couldn’t put down! Just when you think you figure it out, there’s another turn - which I loved. It keeps you guessing until the very last page! This was my first read by Laura Wolfe and it certainly won’t be my last!!

Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to review an ARC. I’m looking forward to reading more from Laura!

The Girl Before Me is a suspenseful thriller with a twist I didn't see coming. I really enjoyed reading and would recommend to domestic thriller fans.

3.5/5

Rachel escapes her abusive husband and small town, and makes a new start in the city with her 6 yo daughter Lily. She manages to get a great deal on an apartment because the previous tenant skipped on the lease suddenly and disappeared. But as Rachel settles in to her new life and gets to know her neighbours, she can't help wondering what happened to the girl before her. Was she in danger? Is one of the building tenants not what they seem??

I did enjoy this one for the most part. I felt quite engaged in Rachel's story, even though it was fairly slow moving in the first half. I enjoyed the single mum aspect and the fact that she has the practicalities of a child to consider - needing a babysitter to go out, etc. As a mum myself, that felt relatable to me and doesn't often feature in stories.

The apartment building setting makes for a bit of a "locked room" feel, there are a number of questionable characters to keep you guessing, and city-newbie Rachel is quite naive in her trust in people.

From about the 60% mark I could hardly put it down, as the atmosphere and tension grew nicely. But.... the ending was a bit of a let down. I didn't see the villain coming, but somehow it felt unsurprising at the same time. The "bad guy explains everything in a monologue" thing was a little too overt. And 5 hours of foreplay for 2 seconds of action is always a little bit frustrating, right?? I did appreciate the little extra twist at the end, but then it's over quite abruptly after a long build up.

However there was enough I enjoyed about this one that I would definitely check out the author's other work, so that's something.

**SPOILERS SECTION**

The whole "the butler did it" thing just felt a little ho hum to me. I was hoping for a bit more. I felt the tension created by Rachel finding the undies in Alex's bathroom could have been prolonged a bit. It's barely there and then it's all resolved in a rush.

We establish multiple times in the story that Lily is a very well behaved girl who stays in the apartment when her mum tells her to and doesn't even open the door when someone knocks. So why the heck would she suddenly be "running up and down the hall" as Drake says to alert him and cause the magical last minute rescue? It wasn't a plausible explanation for Drake's presence.

Alex was a pile of red flags covered in skin, even if he wasn't a murderer. He absolutely was not a good man and Rachel should have left him and definitely not continued to expose her daughter to him.

The prologue engaged me right away. The sense of dread that was on every page kept me interested. I didn’t guess the ending at all. I’ll read more from this author.

#netgalley #bookouture #thegirlbeforeme publication date 29 April 2022

Rachel and her daughter Lily move into a new apartment hoping for a fresh start but something is not right with the other occupants of this apartment building. Reading this will have you locking all your windows and doors. I enjoyed this thriller and read it in two sittings. 4\5 stars

Absolutely loved this! It was so eerie and realistic and really does play to very real fears that women have. It ramps up yhe anxiety until you are literally jumping at shadows and it keeps the pressure on until the end. I lived the range of characters and how realistic and we'll written they all were. It was just a complete delight to read. Talk about getting under your skin. Just make sure the windows and doors are all locked before you start

I will be posting my review to the following websites on 4/24/22
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/2435840467
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60305975-the-girl-before-me
https://www.instagram.com/kuhlreads/
https://www.librarything.com/topic/338257#n7799610

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me a digital ARC of this book. The opinions are my own and freely given.

A residential multi-unit condo in downtown Chicago, with a mysterious disappearance - YES PLEASE!!
Cast of Characters:
Rachel - single mother; new resident of 420 Roslyn Place
Lily - Rachel's 6-year-old daughter
Bridget - Neighbor in 5B
Alex - neighbor in 4A
Doorman - Henry
Keith - Rachel's ex-husband, Lily's father

The story begins with Annie hiding in her bathroom. She just found something in her building, and someone has entered her apartment... Her suitcase is packed on the other side of the wall and an Uber is waiting for her downstairs.

Fast forward to a few weeks later. Rachel and her daughter have just moved into 420 Roslyn Place #4B. She finalized her divorce and is making a fresh start. Her daughter is enrolled in a private school. Rachel was fortunate enough to get this apartment, as the previous tenant broke her lease and fled in the middle of the night. Rachel and Lily have met a few people in the building and Rachel starts a romance with Alex, her neighbor in 4A. Her new friend Bridget lives directly upstairs in 5B. Then there is the creepy "goth" guy down the hall, who claims to have been friends with Annie, the previous tenant. Rachel hears noises in the middle of the night, sees shadows in her window from outside and is trying to get the locks changed. Rachel begins to hear stories that make her doubt the people that she has surrounded herself with.

Rachel has had a difficult time with her mother in the past. Her mother doesn't seem to trust anyone, which has rubbed off on Rachel and Rachel is trying to break that habit - perhaps this isn't the right time for her to do that.

I loved this book. I was really surprised to find out what happened to Annie and who was behind it. My suspicions flipped between everyone in the story. My jaw dropped when the reveal happened. I read more than the last half in one sitting. Thank you Bookouture, NetGalley and Laura Wolfe

A woman and her young daughter are making a new life for themselves after leaving an abusive husband/father and the toxicity of the woman's mother. With a good deal on an apartment because of the previous tenant breaking the lease, her daughter Lily getting into a good school on a scholarship, and her able to do her insurance job from her home, Rachel is ready to go on with her life.

When little things like finding mail of the only tenant's, Annie, in the mailbox, and a strange wire above the door - she isn't sure if it's her hypersensitivity for safety driving her to imagine things along with all the paranoia and anxiety of her past or if something is genuinely going on that can't be explained away with "Annie left the apartment in the middle of the night".

This book will drive up your anxiety levels if only a little with how well the tension and thoughts of Rachel are written. Which makes her incredibly realistic with her jumping to conclusions on things now and again, the fear she has about her ex, and so many other intrusive thoughts that come along with past trauma.

The Girl Before Me - Laura Wolfe.
Psychological Thriller.

The Girl Before Me begins after the main character (Rachel) and her young daughter (Lily) leave an abusive situation and start a new life in Chicago. They get a great deal in a nice building near Lily’s new school and everything seems great! Until things start to become strange and Rachel feels uneasy about the woman who lived in her apartment before her.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. I love reading thrillers in between my other reads because great ones are normally page turners! The Girl Before Me was no different and I read it very quickly. It was very tense and the story moved along and changed very quickly, providing lots of twists! I felt invested in the characters as they mostly felt well developed.

I would say that due to the story moving so quickly and something new happening constantly, I didn’t find myself as surprised as I could be by the twists. I generally prefer twists that really shock me. Another problem I found with this book, is that I felt there was a theme of prejudice towards characters with previous history of crime and also a “goth” character.

I do not believe there is any racial diversity in this novel. Characters aren’t specifically described as white but they aren’t described as anything different either, so I cannot be sure! As far as I know, there was no LGBTQIA+ characters or disabled characters.

Rating: 4/5
Spice level: 0/5

Trigger warnings - domestic abuse, murder, sexual harassment.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley but was under no obligation to provide a review.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of The Girl Before Me by Laura Wolfe. This title will be released on April 29th, 2022.

Rachel moves into a new apartment with her daughter, Lily. She is so excited that she was able to find affordable housing close to her daughter's school. But then a letter arrives for the former tenant Annie. The letter is from the former tenants sister warning of danger. The letter states that the apartment is not safe, and Annie should leave immediately.

Strange things begin to unfold. Why did Annie move so suddenly? And now is Rachel in danger?

There are suspects a plenty and twists and turns throughout!

Do yourself a favor and order!

Rachel, fleeing an abusive marriage with her young daughter, is relieved to get a good deal on an apartment in Chicago. But some of the other residents are a bit weird, and what did actually happen to the previous tenant, Annie, who apparently disappeared without trace?

I found this pretty slow, to be honest - not a great deal actually happens for a long time and I never really felt a sense that Rachel and her daughter were in any danger. The writing is ok, although I could do without lines like "I gripped his hand, unable to deny the electricity his touch sent through me". (This is a guy she met literally two seconds earlier, by the way.) Rachel is mentally planning her future life with her hot new neighbour and calling him her boyfriend within days of meeting him. I mean, I suppose people do do that, I'm just old and cynical.

There's one of those big exposition dumps at the end when the guilty party considerately takes time to explain in detail everything they did and why. That said, I certainly didn't guess who it would turn out to be.

One of the characters had the same name as my mum, which was a little bit unsettling.

Overall, it was an OK read, but could have done a lot more in terms of building the suspense, I thought.

Rachel and her daughter, Lily age 6, are moving to the city from the suburbs after she divorces her abusive husband. After moving into an amazing apartment that she can’t believe she is able to afford, she finds a letter addresses to the previous tenant. She knows it is a federal crime but she opens the letter since the old tenant moved out in the middle of the night with no forwarding address. “I’m so worried, You aren’t safe in that apartment! You have to get out before it is too late…” This begins a series of twists and turns as Rachel tries to figure out what really happened to Annie before it’s too late for her and her daughter.

A hard to put down thriller with an ending I didn’t see coming.

This was a great read!! At first I definitely expected it to be an easy read where I was just waiting for my speculations to be verified at the end. The author tries to make you speculate multiple individuals being responsible for the mysterious missing Annie, but I always felt one “had to be it.” To be honest, I was going to be really disappointed if that was the case, but nope! The author got me with a twist and someone I didn’t think became the new person of interest. I wouldn’t say it was a mind blowing twist, but definitely one I didn’t expect and that’s what I love when I read these thrillers. I never want to guess it right or have it go the way I picture. I want to be shocked! I would recommend this one. Easy quick read with a nice twist at the end. Or should I say two……IYKYK!

Rachel and Lily embark in big city living in Chi town. Fresh off a divorce and eager to shake off all the bad, Rachel can’t believe her luck when she scores an affordable apartment near Lily’s new school. And all the other tenets seem so nice, especially,y next door neighbor Alex. Except what happened to the former resident Annie? Why does Rachel keep hearing things in the night? Maybe moving to the Windy City wasn’t such a good idea.
I loved the plot and I was completely surprised by the culprit. Wolfe leads readers astray intentionally. I love the location Of Chicago, a city I know well.
You will, want to read this thriller.

I really enjoyed reading this thriller! It wasn’t too dark, and it had the right amount of suspense, thrill and mystery. Even though the story was still interesting and kept me intrigued, I did find the beginning a little slow to start. Once the writer got into the actual mystery of the book, things picked up and I was able to enjoy the read more.

What I liked the most about this book, was that I wasn’t able to predict the ending at all. I kept making guesses of who I thought was the murderer, but I certainly couldn’t have guessed the actual outcome. The last chapter of the book also threw me for a loop! I wasn’t expecting it, and it left me sad that the book was over. I need to know more!!

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers and mysteries that aren’t necessarily overly dark and twisted.

*Link to instagram review will be added closer to pub date*

“Something happened to Annie. And Rachel is not nearly as safe as she thinks she is…”

This one was more entertaining than I expected it to be. While parts were predictable, I have to admit that I didn't see the ending coming.

It was suspenseful and thrilling, with a side of romance. It was everything you look for in a rainy day read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This review will contain spoilers.
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First of all thank you to NetGalley and all for the chance to review this title. I stayed up far to late with this one as well.
I don’t feel it was a “totally gripping thriller” like some I have read, but just a good psychological thriller .
I did think Alex was the murderer but I also felt he wasn’t because it was to easy to make him one. I felt something was up with Bridget the hole time! I adored Lilly!! All in all this was a good read! Thanks again!