4 Stars from me
What a superb debut! Badged as a thriller but had such a ghosty/paranormal vibe that it was quite creepy at times.
It was told most by Fern who is grieving the loss of her twin Linny and this was the overriding theme of the story and separating Fern’s grief and mental health from real events was challenging – giving her huge potential to be an unreliable narrator.
Not only does Fern have to battle with thinking she is constantly seeing her dead twin, but there is a missing lady, Marte, her neighbours act oddly and her husband is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard!
The author sets this up to be a psychological thriller and creates so many loose ends that its hard to imagine they can all be tied off by the end of the book.
My thanks to thank #JenniferMoore, #NetGalley and #HQDigital for an ARC of #TheWomanBefore in exchange for an honest review.
Blurb: A perfect home
When Fern and Paul move into the large, old house on Crenellation Lane, with beautiful high ceilings and a luscious garden, they think they’ve found their dream home. After the devastating loss of Fern’s twin sister, it will be a fresh start and somewhere to raise their first baby.
A destructive obsession
But as soon as they arrive, Fern starts having terrifying nightmares about the woman who lived there before. When the woman showed Fern around, they bonded over their pregnancies. Now, Fern can’t let her go. Does she have something to do with the strange things happening in the house? Paul fears his wife has relapsed, obsessing in the same way she did with her twin.
A fatal secret
Fern questions the neighbours about the previous owner, but nobody wants to talk. It’s like the woman never even existed. Refusing to give up, Fern uncovers a shocking secret and now suddenly her whole family is in danger…
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