'The new GIRL ON THE TRAIN' ObserverShe was his.She was perfect.And then, she was gone. An addictive and twisting psychological suspense, perfect for summer. If you liked My Lovely Wife, you'll love this.Alice has always been haunted by the women from her husband's past. As an MP and now a TV personality, George Bell's reputation as a ladies' man precedes him. But when Alice falls pregnant, her unease becomes an obsession.And there's one ex in particular she can't get out of her head: a beautiful student George dated in his first year, who went missing before they finished university. Ruth.When Alice sees a woman who looks just like Ruth, she can't shake the feeling that there's more to her disappearance than George has been telling her. But does she really want to know what her husband has been getting up to behind her back all these years?
An intriguing psychological mystery-thriller
The Girl Before You is an intriguing mystery-thriller utilising a combined multi-narrator and dual-timeline structure. For an author to use either of these mechanisms is a challenging enterprise, but both together is a tricky venture indeed. For the most part, I felt that Nicola Rayner achieved the objective, maintaining the narrative flow and the pace of the story despite the different perspectives and frequent flashback scenes.
The story opens with a prologue in which two sisters are preparing together for a ball celebrating the end of the academic year. Heavy with foreshadowing, Naomi relates the last time she saw her elder sister, Ruth, headed off to the ball wearing an emerald dress and red "Dorothy" shoes. Ruth’s dress and shoes were later found in circumstances indicating that she drowned off St. Anthony’s beach. What happened to Ruth? It’s a question that still perplexes each of the three female protagonists – Naomi, Alice and Kat – fifteen years later, drawing them towards a dramatic and shattering denouement.
I felt that Nicola Rayner accurately captured the sense of tangible potential, personal angst and social consciousness that characterises the university (college) years for many of us. She explores themes including female friendship and solidarity, sexuality and power dynamics, romantic obsession and the agony of unrequited love, misogyny and date-rape culture, impending parenthood, and trust within marital relationships. While I felt that the plot was intriguing and well-constructed, I occasionally felt that the pace slackened during the middle of the book, and that the somewhat jarring conclusion left me with many unanswered questions.
The Girl Before You is an impressive debut for Nicola Rayner, and a good read. I'd recommend it to readers who enjoy academic settings and split-timeframe narratives.
Sarah, 02/04/2022
