The Girl Before by JP Delaney
Psychological suspense? Only if that category includes an extreme
amount of suspense. This begins as a story of two women and one bizarre
location, One Folgate Street.
Emma, whose chapters are labeled “Then,” needs a new place to
live after a traumatic burglary during which she was threatened with a knife.
The rental agent has just the thing, One Folgate Street, a fantastic property,
even though the landlord is a bit particular. Jane, whose chapters are “Now,”
is looking for a new place with an agent named Camilla, who wants to show her
the property first, then explain the drawbacks.
Emma doesn’t have too much trouble getting used to the ultra
modern place, where the lights and heat are automatic, and nothing is to be
changed. No wastebaskets, no coasters, no cushions, are just a few of the
prohibitions. The staircase is a series of stone slabs with no handrail. Emma’s
friend Simon likens the sparse, stark place to an upmarket prison cell. Soon
Emma realizes that she hasn’t had any panic attacks or flashbacks since moving
in. Jane thinks the application process is a bit odd, submitting answers to intrusive
questions in order to be approved, although most applicants are rejected. The
landlord, she’s told, is looking for honest people.
The questionnaire is given in the book, bit by bit. I had fun
trying to answer them as I went. The first one: Please make a list of every
possession you consider essential to your life.
The house affects everyone who lives there, molding them and shaping
them—changing them. Besides filling out the long list of questions, I found
myself wondering who “The Girl Before” really was. Both women delve into the
history of the building and the builder. What they find leads to deadly
discoveries of birth, death, and terror. I hope you will enjoy this as much as
I did. A real edge-of-the-seat read!
Reviewed by Kaye George, author of Requiem in Red, for Suspense Magazine
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