Helpful Score: 4
I love psychological thrillers, but this one didn't do it for me. The premise is ridiculous; Emma rents the house with at least 200 clauses of what the renter cannot do. The "House" will be watching what is happening and will shut down water and lights and reboot computers if the rules are not followed. "Housekeeper" will be watching every move. HUH? Big Brother?
No personal items allowed , no throw pillows, no pets, no pictures, no books, no clutter of any kind. But Emma is desperate and the rent is low because of the rules.
The story continues with the untimely death of Emma as Jane moves in. The chapters alternate between Emma and Jane as it tells the tale about the handsome, unsociable, mysterious owner who tries to control each of the women as he becomes their lover.
I couldn't wait to finish this book, however, it kept my interest enough to keep reading.
Thus three stars.
No personal items allowed , no throw pillows, no pets, no pictures, no books, no clutter of any kind. But Emma is desperate and the rent is low because of the rules.
The story continues with the untimely death of Emma as Jane moves in. The chapters alternate between Emma and Jane as it tells the tale about the handsome, unsociable, mysterious owner who tries to control each of the women as he becomes their lover.
I couldn't wait to finish this book, however, it kept my interest enough to keep reading.
Thus three stars.
Sometimes, no matter how creeped outare, you just keep getting in deeper and deeper. I just wanted to smack the new tenant for remaining in the house in the face of every bit of evidence she found. Book takes Peeping Tom to a whole new level
Wow! One of the best psychological thrillers ever! Unique way of writing with each chapter alternating between two characters. A must read!
Two wounded women reeling from personal issues are looking for a new apartment. For Emma, she requires a safe place after being the victim of a break-in while her loyal boyfriend, Simon, was out. For Jane, it is a new place that holds no reminders of the baby she lost. For each woman, the house at One Folgate Street seems to offer exactly what they are looking for. It is designed by well-known architect, Edward Monkford, and comes with a set of rules created by the inscrutable man himself. In fact, to live at One Folgate Streets means signing off on over 200 rules, ranging from no books or personal mementos, to total tidiness, to agreeing to showing the house on architectural tours, to accepting to the intense technology that it comes with, including the house monitoring your well-being and moods. At first, the rules and clarity that come with One Folgate Street seem comforting to Emma and Jane. But as they spend more time in the house--and learn about its past, including its mysterious builder--they become terrifying and stifling.
THE GIRL BEFORE is a fascinating novel told solely from the point of view of Emma, One Folgate Street's previous tenant, and Jane, its current tenant. All activities are filtered through the lens of these two women. The novel effectively builds suspense with the parallel nature of the two women's stories, but it also can get a little repetitive at times (and sometimes a little confusing, as you have to remind yourself, mostly in the beginning, who is talking). The book starts off exciting, as you are drawn into both Emma and Jane's tales while they acclimate to the house and all the oddities it offers. The house itself almost becomes another character in the novel. It starts to drag a bit halfway through as you wonder what will happen in the next half (people living in a technologically advanced house can only be so exciting, right?). But then, suddenly, the novel takes some odd turns (there are some interesting sexual plot twists) and eventually grows quite interesting again with some psychological and thrilling revelations. Perhaps my favorite part about this book is that many of these developments truly surprised me, which isn't always easy to do in a thriller.
Overall, this is an interesting novel. It's certainly suspenseful and different. To enjoy it, you really have to set your disbelief aside at the actual conditions of living at One Folgate Street (no books, what?!) and accept that the two women are so broken (and perhaps broke, as the house apparently comes at a great discount) that they will go along with anything. It has a lot of varied plot threads and some of them aren't always fully explored or truly necessary, which can be a little frustrating. Still, the book truly surprised me with its twists and kept me entertained, with a deep desire to get to the end. Overall, 3.5+ stars. More at http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com
THE GIRL BEFORE is a fascinating novel told solely from the point of view of Emma, One Folgate Street's previous tenant, and Jane, its current tenant. All activities are filtered through the lens of these two women. The novel effectively builds suspense with the parallel nature of the two women's stories, but it also can get a little repetitive at times (and sometimes a little confusing, as you have to remind yourself, mostly in the beginning, who is talking). The book starts off exciting, as you are drawn into both Emma and Jane's tales while they acclimate to the house and all the oddities it offers. The house itself almost becomes another character in the novel. It starts to drag a bit halfway through as you wonder what will happen in the next half (people living in a technologically advanced house can only be so exciting, right?). But then, suddenly, the novel takes some odd turns (there are some interesting sexual plot twists) and eventually grows quite interesting again with some psychological and thrilling revelations. Perhaps my favorite part about this book is that many of these developments truly surprised me, which isn't always easy to do in a thriller.
Overall, this is an interesting novel. It's certainly suspenseful and different. To enjoy it, you really have to set your disbelief aside at the actual conditions of living at One Folgate Street (no books, what?!) and accept that the two women are so broken (and perhaps broke, as the house apparently comes at a great discount) that they will go along with anything. It has a lot of varied plot threads and some of them aren't always fully explored or truly necessary, which can be a little frustrating. Still, the book truly surprised me with its twists and kept me entertained, with a deep desire to get to the end. Overall, 3.5+ stars. More at http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com
I did not enjoy reading it that much.
Book Description:
Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.
The request seems odd, even intrusiveâand 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 occupantâand it does.
JANE
After a personal tragedy, Jane needs a fresh start. When she finds One Folgate Street she is instantly drawn to the spaceâand 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.
My Review:
I listened to this book on audio and found it to be very annoying. The characters weren't very likable and the plot was easy to figure out. Add a lot of horrible, bad language, over the top explicit sex and stupid women and you have a story that is a disaster. This book is a waste of time and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.
The request seems odd, even intrusiveâand 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 occupantâand it does.
JANE
After a personal tragedy, Jane needs a fresh start. When she finds One Folgate Street she is instantly drawn to the spaceâand 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.
My Review:
I listened to this book on audio and found it to be very annoying. The characters weren't very likable and the plot was easy to figure out. Add a lot of horrible, bad language, over the top explicit sex and stupid women and you have a story that is a disaster. This book is a waste of time and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
This book in my opinion is the best I've read so far from this author. The story is told from 2 perspectives-Emma, the previous tenant and Jane, the current tenant. It has a surprise ending, which I was not expecting. Her other books were slow moving, but this was a little faster paced, which helped. Overall, a fairly good book.
I read some reviews on Amazon and it compares this with Gone Girl (which I don't like her writing style so didn't read it), and 50 Shades of Grey (which I didn't read or see the movie), so I felt like this didn't have any interest for me, taking it back to library quickly! glad I didn't buy it or get it through here and lost a credit
