The Girl Before You

When I finished reading The Girl Before You, it left me in a hypnotic state. Brilliantly written with only a handful of characters and an amazing story.

The story centered on Ruth who disappeared 15 years ago. Ruth’s disappearance tied Alice, Naomi, and Kat together. We hear (or read) the story from their perspective & it shuttles between past and present.

Most of the setting is in the college (past) and in the present Alice is the one feels disturbed and has a nagging feeling about her husband George.

Even though there are three unrelated women telling the story, each of the narrative’s merges with no gaps. All their retelling ends with a mystery after every chapter.

The writing was not just easy it was entrancing. The author candidly explored the feelings of teenagers and also how it changes as we grow up. In retrospect, as adults, we try to analyze why took certain decisions.

Naomi and Ruth were sisters and there’s a passage (read below, it’s not entire passage) where Naomi describes her relationship, is so relatable for anyone who has a sibling.

“How to put it? When I try to access my first memory without her, there isn’t one. There isn’t memory without Ruth. She was the one person to whom I could say: ‘You know that ballet teacher?’ And she would know whom I meant, or ‘Remember that boy on holiday in Crete, with the with the burnt skin?’……….”

The memories you create with your siblings, the secrets you share with your bestie or a roommate has been described aptly by the author.

The author eloquently wrapped up the mystery and the parallel characters in the end.

For a debut novel, the author did an admirable job.

I would recommend this book for all the mystery book fans.

A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating for the book is 5 stars.

Brilliant story of love and loss and friendships that span the years.

Secrets will always come out even if it takes what feels like forever.

I really enjoyed this read.

Absolutely fantastic had me gripped!!! Loved it! Can't wait for more from.this author. Storyline was great, characters were easy to.connect with

Thank you for the advanced copy

This was a fantastic thriller one that will make you look behind yourself and check under the bed, I won't give anything away for you but this was a great thriller If you liked the book You then you'll like this.
Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and I raced through it , some parts of the story are familiar ,for example the behavior of the privileged set at university , though this did not distract at all from my enjoyment . Alice married to a prominent ex politician thinks she see's one of his ex girlfriends from university whilst on the train . She starts to investigate what happened to Ruth who had disappeared whilst still at university . The story is told both from the past and present . We have Naomi who is Ruth's sister involved in the search too . A good twist I didn't see coming and some pretty vile characters make this a very entertaining read .

Loved this so much that I devoured it in one day! A real page turner. It’s cleverly written so you know each character and care what happens to them all. Compelling storyline and convincing characters keep you wanting to know what happens next. Looking forward to reading more Nicola Rayners

Right, first things first. I just need to say that this book is absolutely brilliant. It was a struggle to put it down and I only did so when I had to, like when I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

There's so much more to the story than what is on the back of the book. Alice plays a big part but she shares the telling of the story with Naomi and Kat. Alice is married to George Bell, a former MP and now a television presenter. He's one of those supremely confident men who think that they can get away with anything (and often do). On a train one day, Alice thinks she sees Ruth, a woman who went missing when they were all at university, one George had a dalliance with. Naomi is Ruth's sister. Quite understandably, it's been hard to move on with her life when her sister is missing. Is she alive? Is she dead? Will she just turn up one day? Or did she see her for the last time all those years ago? Kat's story is mostly from those university days and we see much of what happened then through her eyes.

Alice's sighting on the train moves her to look a bit closer at George and to ask herself if she really knows her husband. More digging ensues and that, combined with the story from the past, mean that secrets are starting to come to light. As it says on the front cover, there is something that is revealed at the end that is totally unexpected. I'm not sure I gasped but it was quite a revelatory moment and I had to take a moment to process it.

The Girl Before You is just such a fantastic read. It's very human, it's full of real life issues. There are characters who have such a sense of entitlement I know I would have hated them if I'd come across them in real life. There are also some that I know I would like.

I'm trying to think what I liked best about this book but I think it's the whole combination: there's the wonderfully twisty and complex plot, which all comes together so cleverly; there's those characters to love or to hate; and then there's the writing which totally drew me in and completely absorbed me.

This is the kind of book I love. It's about relationships and friendships, with a mystery to solve. Nicola Rayner is one to watch.

This book was right up my street! Following a slightly slow start, the pace picked up considerably and I was immersed in this fabulous dual timeline story. It followed the viewpoints of different players in a disappearance both at that time and in the current day.

"The Girl Before You" was a very well thought out and engaging story and was edgy enough to keep my interest. With absorbing characters and intriguing themes it was definitely worth the read and for me, the elements all cleverly tied in together to complete a nice little package.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Avon Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

wow what a book i had trouble putting this one down, i had to keep reading to find out who the person was with the red hair who Alice saw on the train.

I absolutely loved this! My next task is to find outfits she’s written anything else.
Told from 3 different women’s perspectives- all who were at uni together in the fictional St. Anthony’s.
It’s a who dunnit and I was not expecting the ending at all. Totally and 100% recommended.
5/5 on goodreads.

Alice is a successful lawyer, while travelling back from Scotland on a train she's sure that she sees a woman who had been at university with her - who's missing presumed dead from that time too. How can it be? So begins Alice's introduction to the web of lies and deceit from university days woven by, and around her husband. Can she unravel them before her child is born?

I enjoyed this book.

The Girl on the Train is one of my favourite thrillers of all time, and I can understand the comparison to The Girl Before You, which was so compelling, and made me so desperate to find out how it ended, that I read it in a sitting. Beautifully written, great foreshadowing, well-characterised, the dialogue was convincing and I felt there was a wonderful honesty behind it all - I was utterly convinced by the motivation behind each character's thoughts and actions - a sign of a great writer. I really did love this book - my only little niggle was that the ending. I can understand the author's intent, but, for me, I really would have liked to have found out more! But perhaps the way it ended is the reason it's stayed in my mind...
Just a side note: I am unsure how this novel fits in to a genre - a mystery, perhaps, as there's not the sort of climax you would expect from a typical thriller. Or maybe that's just me!
Overall, a fabulous book! Despite my personal feelings about it ending, it deserves 5 stars because it is genuinely brilliant and worth a read.

Nicola Rayner did an amazing job with this novel! Wow, I cannot say enough good things about this book. Definitely a page turner so I highly recommend going out and buying it right away! Go, go, go!

When Alice first saw George Bell at St. Anthony's University, she knew she had to have him. Alice seemingly ignores George's reputation as a ladies' man and successfully pursues him. Now, Alice seems to have it all -- George, his wealth, a beautiful house, and a new baby on the way. But a chance encounter on a train may unravel Alice's tidy, perfect life.

Alice sees a woman who looks like George's ex-girlfriend, Ruth, but that's impossible because Ruth went missing while they were students at St. Anthony's. Or is it?

Told from multiple perspectives, The Girl Before You tells the story of George and Ruth -- through the eyes of Alice, Ruth's sister, and Ruth's best friend. Nicola Rayner seamlessly moves from narrators and time periods, to show what happened to Ruth and how it has impacted Alice's life. A great read!

Shew this one was intense. It’s one of those thrillers that they way it starts out just makes you hold your breath in anticipation of the something bad you just know is coming. Creepy and full of twists this is a must read for any thriller fan. A game of who can you trust and what’s the truth. I held my breath with every new bit of info dug up by Alice. If your a thriller fan your going to want to read this one!

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a twisted road of a story about a woman convinced she has seen a girl who was meant to have died many years before. Is she going mad and what secrets are her husband hiding from her. It kept me hooked from start to finish.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

Alice has always been haunted by the women from her husband’s past. As an MP and now a TV personality, George Bell’s reputation as a ladies’ man precedes him. But when Alice falls pregnant, her unease becomes an obsession.



Thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book it was a great experience

I could. It out this book down! I read it in two sittings and loved it, would definitely recommended!

Loved this book and read it almost all in one sitting! I'm a sucker for any book where the characters reflect back on time spent at university and this book didn't disappoint.

The twists keep you guessing until the end!

What an amazing thriller! Absolutely loved it; every roller coaster moment of it. This book was full of surprises, and there was no boring moment. I highly recommend it.

I absolutely loved The Gurl Before You its the kind of thriller / mystery that appeals to me the most and once I started reading I couldn't put it down until I'd finished! Nicola dealt with difficult subjects in a respectful way and although I prefer a story with a clear ending the openness of this ending was so well done.
5/5

Though this book started out slow, it picked up quickly and I was wrapped into the dual timeline story of Ruth’s disappearance. It follows the viewpoints of different players in Ruth’s disappearance at the time and current day. It differed from a lot of other thrillers in that as far as I could tell, I had no idea what was occurring until almost the very end and it was very well thought out.

The story became more interesting as the book went on and I found myself seeking it out instead of school readings I should have been doing [oops.] The story evolved as it went on and became a very well thought out and engaging story, tying all the story elements together in a nice little package.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.