Review: The Girl Before

The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I don't recall in what city this novel took place, but I do know that you should not trust any of your personal details with the local therapist. Doctor / patient confidentiality? Never heard of it. I am unsure why this is my main takeaway after reading this book, but it is. I was excessively bothered by the fact that the private affairs of the "girl BEFORE" were so easily acquired by the … "girl AFTER"? I'd like to think that if I needed to confirm whether or not the previous tenant of my home was an S&M loving sexual deviant with daddy issues, I'd have to put in a little more effort than simply booking an appointment with her psychiatrist and asking. But let it be known that I currently reside in my childhood home, thus making my parents the previous tenants, so there is no chance in the fiery depths of Hell that I would ever want to know this information.

The alternating chapters between the girl BEFORE and the girl AFTER were short and choppy, which oddly enough I quite prefer, but unless you are incredibly meticulous with details (survey says: I am not), you will likely forget which damaged, yet kinky, resident of this smart house is leading the narrative. It doesn't help that 68% of each chapter is basically a retelling of the previous chapter, simply insert different vulnerable female character. It's either very lazy writing, or very genius writing, possibly both.

I would have preferred that some of the 50 Shades of Grey knock-off material had been scrapped and replaced with more of the extremely random, but much more intriguing, ancient civilization burial tradition nonsense. If not already obvious, this was nothing more than a pointless red herring. I would have also preferred a different ending, because I prefer endings that are actually good, but we'll have to try again next time. And, much to my delight, there will indeed be a next time because I also own J.P. Delaney's follow up novel, Believe Me, and I fully plan to give it a go. Like the girl BEFORE, and the girl AFTER, I must have an affinity for masochism, too.



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