Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - The Girl Before: Sie war wie du. Und jetzt ist sie tot.

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The Girl Before: Sie war wie du. Und jetzt ist sie tot. by JP Delaney

10 reviews

khanyisile13's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This was so nearly a five star book! So close! The writing is insanely clever, for one person to think up this story? Insanity. I don’t know what I expected going into it, but certainly not this. The story is really good at manipulating even the reader’s feelings. I was gobsmacked to find out the main twist. The dual timeline worked really well in the story’s favour, and I think the characters were believable.

I even think Emma’s dedication to victimhood is believable, even though it was the biggest plot twist that scrambled my brain for a good hour or so. It made me realize that it’s entirely possible for people to think this way, because they do. And often white women, like Emma, get away with it. Because it’s all just a game to them. Manipulation is a game they’re so good at winning.

The reason it doesn’t get a five stars is because of its depictions of Black people. There are only two obviously Black people in this story, and they’re both stereotypes of what white people have typically expected from Black people. And I think that’s a shame. Then the second reason is that I understand that thrillers have a history of

pinning things on mental health disorders, and driving a fear of people experiencing mental illness, and I think that’s problematic.

I think it would be fine and dandy to just explain that these are terrible people. Because they are. Delaney didn’t have to add that aspect into it, or he could have found a way to add it in while still being cautious of what the reader will take away. He’s a talented writer and if he could think up THOSE twists,

he could easily find a way to make sure that the reader doesn’t find people with mental health disorders inherently dangerous.

Overall, a really excellently told twisty story. I read it in a weekend, which is insane because I’m a slow reader.

Content Warnings

peachie_pie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Keeps you guessing until the very end!! I really enjoyed this book, although I didn’t love the first few chapters finding them a little clunky the book really came into itself and I found the structure very clever as well as the plot development. Some great twists and turns!

Content Warnings