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The Girl Before  By  cover art

The Girl Before

By: J. P. Delaney
Narrated by: Emilia Fox,Finty Williams,Lise Aagaard Knudsen
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Editorial reviews

Editors Select, January 2017 - In recent years, listeners have been blessed with tour de force psychological thrillers (think Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train). Well, there's a new girl in town - The Girl Before by JP Delaney - and she's poised to become just as popular as her predecessors. The dual narration, which features mesmerizing performances by Emilia Fox and Finty Williams, simultaneously hooks and unsettles the listener. Emma and Jane share physical features. They both are recovering from traumas. They've dated the same man. They both lived at One Folgate Street. But Jane is alive, and Emma is dead. As Jane unravels Emma's fate and their stories begin to collide, the time between chapters shortens - a masterful technique by Delaney that only serves to heighten the drama. Rich, suspenseful, believable: make room for The Girl Before on your (digital) shelf. Katie, Audible Editor

Publisher's summary

THE GLOBAL BESTSELLER • Soon to be a BBC One and HBO Max limited four-part series, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw (The Morning Show; Misbehaviour) and multiple Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Emmy-nominated actor David Oyelowo (Selma; Les Misérables)

“A pitch-perfect novel of psychological suspense” (Lee Child) that spins one woman’s seemingly good fortune, and another woman’s mysterious fate, through a kaleidoscope of duplicity, death, and deception

Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.

The request seems odd, even intrusive—and for the two women who answer, the consequences are devastating.

EMMA
Reeling from a traumatic break-in, Emma wants a new place to live. But none of the apartments she sees are affordable or feel safe. Until One Folgate Street. The house is an architectural masterpiece: a minimalist design of pale stone, plate glass, and soaring ceilings. But there are rules. The enigmatic architect who designed the house retains full control: no books, no throw pillows, no photos or clutter or personal effects of any kind. The space is intended to transform its occupant—and it does.

JANE
After a personal tragedy, Jane needs a fresh start. When she finds One Folgate Street she is instantly drawn to the space—and to its aloof but seductive creator. Moving in, Jane soon learns about the untimely death of the home’s previous tenant, a woman similar to Jane in age and appearance. As Jane tries to untangle truth from lies, she unwittingly follows the same patterns, makes the same choices, crosses paths with the same people, and experiences the same terror, as the girl before.

Praise for The Girl Before

“Dazzling, startling, and above all cunning—a pitch-perfect novel of psychological suspense.”—Lee Child

The Girl Before generates a fast pace. . . . [J. P.] Delaney intersperses ethics questions on stand-alone pages throughout the book. . . . The single most ingenious touch is that we’re not provided either woman’s answers.”—The New York Times

“J. P. Delaney builds the suspense.”Vanity Fair

“Immediate guarantee: You will not be able to put this book down. . . . Fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will realize that there’s not only more where that came from, but it’s also more thrilling.”American Booksellers Association

©2017 J. P. Delaney (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"JP Delaney's intricate psychological thriller immediately entangles us, and the gifted narrators keep us spellbound.... Finty Williams is vital and convincing delineating Emma's unreliable persona, and Emilia Fox offers a sympathetic, intelligent Jane as she uncovers what really happened to The Girl Before. Absolutely riveting." (AudioFile)

"Riveting.... Writing with precision and grace, Delaney strips away the characters' secrets until the raw truth of each is revealed." (Publishers Weekly)

"A masterfully crafted spellbinder...guaranteed to astonish." (Booklist)

What listeners say about The Girl Before

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No, No, No

I thought Gone Girl was well written and had a nice believable little sadistic twist that made it awkwardly fun. Girl on the train, I liked because of the charters and although the ending was predictable the angst created by the writer was well done. Maybe I'm starting to just get over all the "girl in the title" books, or maybe this one just isn't very good. To be honest, I had trouble finishing it. The narration is good, but the story had a forced creepiness that just didn't work. the characters are unlikeable, and not in a way that makes you want to read or listen. An example (semi spoiler warning), one of the girls is violently raped and is extremely traumatized (as one would expect), then just a few pages later makes comments and commits acts that just don't fit (not even in a deranged way). I have to admit I'm not into the Fifty Shades of anything books, or any book with gratuitous language or violent sex, so maybe that's why I really don't understand this one. And the ending didn't make up for any of the books flaws. I say save your money or credit because this one, for me, isn't worth your time or money. That's just my two cents worth.

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173 people found this helpful

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Gave up after they ate live fish

No likeable characters. I was just thinking " oh, just kill them already":). I couldn't even finish.

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A unique kind of awful

A unique kind of awful. This might very well be the worst book I have ever read. The strange thing is, usually when I dislike a book, I stop reading/listening and choose something else. This book, however, was so unbelievably awful that I couldn't make myself stop. I had to see how much worse is got and I was really really rooting for every single character to die a horrible death.
The two women characters are both dumber than a bag of rocks and the main male character is so terrible that there is no way either of these women would want him, let alone both. I was hoping he would end up murdering them both, then some random character like Jason Voorhees showing up at the 11th hour and killing him. That's how bad the book is, I daydreamed about the characters being murdered.
Add in some sex talk with words like c*** and Daddy, and you've got a nice, flaming crap cocktail. I even wanted the stupid house to explode!
I'm curious to find out who the author really is, because it has to be someone with their foot already in the door. There is no way this book impressed someone so much as to offer this person a contract. Someone's daughter or lover who was blackmailing people... Something! I refuse to believe this crap got published based on its merits alone.
And what the hell is Ron Howard doing with this? His movies have been some real stinkers lately, but this is bottom of the barrel. This will make the Grinch look Oscar worthy.
AVOID AT ALL COST!!!

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Great Story

After the first couple of chapters I thought this was really going to have a stupid ending. But that was just building the story. As the story progresses you get pulled in. Every time you think you know who did it, another piece of evidence pops up so you think it is someone else. I was completely surprised at the end. If you like suspense, this is a great book.

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A pleasant surprise

I've been struggling lately with books read by terrible narrators and or with a slow pace, dull premise, etc, etc. I was drawn to this one largely due to the fact t Emilia Fox was involved. And she, along with the other narrators made a very good job of reading this story. The comparisons to Gone Girl and Girl on a Train made me hesitant, as so many books are being compared to those two and are really very disappointing. I found that this book is comparable to them in certain ways of course and those drawn to those kinds of stories are more likely to like this one. Best, I think, to take this book on simply as a decent well performed psychological thriller. I enjoyed this book and it's ideas on control. Definitely left me thinking. I was pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed this book as much as I did and to have got through it so quickly.

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How is this a published book?

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I put the time into the plot of this book- it was promising,promising a psychological thriller plus it dealt with technology which I find inherently interesting. It built and built.... and then it felt like all of the sudden I was listening to something written by a student at the last minute who had a due date. I cannot even wrap my head around the clumsiness of the ending. I simply can't imagine that this was originally the concept- it was so silly and sloppy.

Would you ever listen to anything by JP Delaney again?

Honestly? Probably. I would love to know what happened with this book. It was bizarre. I think that the author has talent...this book ended so sloppily and so poorly that I actually think this could be a derivation and not the norm.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I did like the narrators and thought they did a good job of differentiating between characters.

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There's a New Girl in Town

In recent years, listeners have been blessed with tour de force psychological thrillers (think Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train). Well there’s a new girl in town – The Girl Before by JP Delaney – and she’s poised to become just as popular as her predecessors. The dual narration, which features mesmerizing performances by Emilia Fox and Finty Williams, simultaneously hooks and unsettles the listener. Emma and Jane share physical features. They both are recovering from traumas. They’ve dated the same man. They both lived at One Folgate Street. But Jane is alive, and Emma is dead. As Jane unravels Emma’s fate and their stories begin to collide, the time between chapters shortens – a masterful technique by Delaney that only serves to heighten the drama. Rich, suspenseful, believable: make room for The Girl Before on your (digital) shelf.

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Quit Comparing Everything to Girl On the Train/ Gone Girl

I don't understand all the hype associated with this novel. I hear a motion picture has already been optioned. Why?
2 women separated by a small amount of time both were residents of 1 Folgate street. It is a house like no other but one of innovation and possibly the future of homes across the world. But first they have to sign their lives over in order to get this amazing house at an affordable price. Regardless of concerns both "then" Emma and "now" Jane sign and allow their lives to be on full display.
You find out rather early what happened to "then" Emma. But as the story unraveled I can say honestly none of it was surprising. Even after the climax it ends with a dud.
A warning to any animal lovers like myself you will find certain sections of this book disturbing.

I am glad for the good listen guarantee as I will be taking advantage of this shortly after I have submitted this review.

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Just no. Attempt at GoneGirl and 50 Shades- failed

Any additional comments?

Attempt merge Gone Girl and Fifty Shades of Grey that failed colossally - did not materialize into anything special or unique. Very predictable and left much to be desired. I was anxiously awaiting this book to come out but it was certainly a let down. I almost didn't finish it, I did so on principle as I spent a credit on it.

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Yes, worth the hype

Here is a book whose blurbs you can believe. I really liked it. Creepy, intense, interesting, and involving, I found myself engrossed in this book from start to finish. Worth the wait and worthy of its critical praise. Great psychological suspense and compiles mystery with plenty to keep the reader engaged and guessing! I highly recommend The Girl Before.

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