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katykelly's review
5.0
Preferred this to 'The Bed I Made': a stronger and more likeable heroine, a much less guessable and twisty plot, lots of questions that seem answered but only lead to more questions. And I really didn't want to put it down until I worked out what on earth was going on!
Hannah is newly married. Husband Mark works in New York regularly but one weekend doesn't some home... Trying not to suspect the man she loves as her mother once did her father, Hannah begins investigating to discover what is happening but begins to find disturbing evidence that her perfect marriage really isn't all it seems. But is it simply another woman?
You think you can guess what's going on, but I certainly found my allegiance to characters and ideas about their loyalties kept changing.
Lots of tension fill this story. There's a real sense of danger, and as the plot (appears to) unravel, some very dark deeds come to light, and you think you know where you stand.
Quite a quick book to read, with a plot that moves fast. Highly recommended if you like psychological stories and twisty family thrillers.
Hannah is newly married. Husband Mark works in New York regularly but one weekend doesn't some home... Trying not to suspect the man she loves as her mother once did her father, Hannah begins investigating to discover what is happening but begins to find disturbing evidence that her perfect marriage really isn't all it seems. But is it simply another woman?
You think you can guess what's going on, but I certainly found my allegiance to characters and ideas about their loyalties kept changing.
Lots of tension fill this story. There's a real sense of danger, and as the plot (appears to) unravel, some very dark deeds come to light, and you think you know where you stand.
Quite a quick book to read, with a plot that moves fast. Highly recommended if you like psychological stories and twisty family thrillers.
thephdivabooks's review
4.0
This was a tough book to rate! I ended up very gripped by the story, so I went with a 4 over a 3 (maybe it should be a 3.5?). The beginning was slow, and there were a few points in which I had literally no idea where the story was going--the momentum stopped for a bit but there were a million questions remaining. It ends up being twisty and with tons of shocks and twists. The entire ending is heart-pounding as it heads to the ultimate reveal. I recommend this book to psychological thriller lovers!
This novel tells the story of Hannah. Hannah is a Brit living in New York and working in advertising when she meets Mark through mutual friends. Despite being a textbook relationship-saboteur, Hannah falls for Mark (a fellow Brit) and they marry and move to London. The book opens with Hannah meeting Mark at the airport after a business trip, but Mark never shows!
Hannah begins to unravel a number of questions about her marriage as she tries to find out where Mark is. As Hannah looks more deeply into her husband, it becomes clear that she may not really know him at all! Has Hannah been too trusting? Or is she going crazy? Is Mark as perfect as he seems? Is Hannah doomed to follow in the footsteps of her mother?
I don't want to spoil so I won't go more into the plot, other than to say the more Hannah learns, the more enthralled I became. Stick with it through the first 10-20% and you'll be glad you did!
This novel tells the story of Hannah. Hannah is a Brit living in New York and working in advertising when she meets Mark through mutual friends. Despite being a textbook relationship-saboteur, Hannah falls for Mark (a fellow Brit) and they marry and move to London. The book opens with Hannah meeting Mark at the airport after a business trip, but Mark never shows!
Hannah begins to unravel a number of questions about her marriage as she tries to find out where Mark is. As Hannah looks more deeply into her husband, it becomes clear that she may not really know him at all! Has Hannah been too trusting? Or is she going crazy? Is Mark as perfect as he seems? Is Hannah doomed to follow in the footsteps of her mother?
I don't want to spoil so I won't go more into the plot, other than to say the more Hannah learns, the more enthralled I became. Stick with it through the first 10-20% and you'll be glad you did!
paulabrandon's review
2.0
Crikey. Yet another dumb-as-a-pile-of-bricks female protagonist agonizing over whether or not her husband is a psychopath! And it inevitably tries to compare itself to "Gone Girl"! Anyone who's read "Gone Girl" will know that book is the complete antithesis to the all-too-common current trend of weak, sniveling women occupying psychological thrillers these days. Don't get taken in!
It's kind of obvious how it's all going to turn out.
I'd like a psychological thriller with a female narrator who isn't a complete, utter moron that makes you want to reach into the pages and give her a good shake!
It's kind of obvious how it's all going to turn out.
Spoiler
And the husband is a pretty lousy villain. Did he want to get caught? He was virtually inviting Hannah to chase him up! Also, the phone calls he was receiving make zero sense in light of the fact he was the bad guy!I'd like a psychological thriller with a female narrator who isn't a complete, utter moron that makes you want to reach into the pages and give her a good shake!
marieintheraw's review
3.0
It took me a little bit of time to become fully invested in this, but it overall was a fun thriller.
eevelin's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
amiesmells's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
samstillreading's review against another edition
5.0
Sometimes you meet a book that is just right for you at the time. Not long after I received this book, I opened it up to idly glance through the first few pages and was hooked. This book had exactly what I wanted – a plot that was in no way predictable, characters that hid something of themselves away from the reader and an intense reading experience. If you enjoy Sophie Hannah’s books or Gone Girl, Before We Met will be right up your street.
The novel opens innocently enough- Hannah, a thirty-something who thought she’d never get married, but ended up with a wonderful man (Mark) is waiting for him at Heathrow airport. It’s something of a throwback to their courting days where they’d fly across the Atlantic to see each other, but this time Mark doesn’t show up. Hannah waits and waits, starting to get a little panicky. Mark’s not answering his phone, his personal assistant seems to think he’d taken Hannah away for the weekend and there’s a nasty surprise online – could her husband really have stopped loving her so soon?
I really don’t want to give away the plot details, because part of the reason why this book packs such a punch is because the reader can’t see what’s coming. Whitehouse springs another clue out of the box and everything you thought was true is suddenly in doubt. It’s an amazing skill and makes me want to read more of her books. Plus, she is the queen of ‘just one more chapter’ – so many chapters ended just as Hannah found out something new!
The story is told by Hannah and I found her to be a much more reliable and trustworthy narrator – why? Is it because she openly admits that she thought she was left on the shelf before Mark? Is it because she pours her heart out to the reader in her fears about never finding another job or secretly not being good enough for Mark? There’s something slightly pathetic in the way Hannah initially puts Mark on a pedestal – does this make us feel sorry for her? Or it is the journey that starts when Mark doesn’t return home one night?
It’s interesting that Mark doesn’t physically come into the narrative until a good chunk of the book has passed. But by then, we’ve already formed our opinion of him based on Hannah’s thoughts and retellings of the way they met. Does this bias our view of Mark? Another character is introduced not long after this and we don’t meet them until much later – so much of the reader’s opinions of characters are formed before ever reading about them in the flesh. They can’t defend themselves when they haven’t even spoken! It’s a fascinating device to use and makes me wonder how much we do this in real life? Forming opinions of people we’ve never met, like celebrities – how much of this is coloured by the reports of others? Even people we think we do know – how much do we really know? What hides in their depths? What happened before we knew them?
Enough musing. This is a fast paced psychological thriller that will have you reading non-stop, savouring every word. Highly recommended for times when you have large chunks to read – not one to start when you can only snatch a few minutes!
Thank you to Bloomsbury Sydney and The Reading Room for my copy of this book.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
The novel opens innocently enough- Hannah, a thirty-something who thought she’d never get married, but ended up with a wonderful man (Mark) is waiting for him at Heathrow airport. It’s something of a throwback to their courting days where they’d fly across the Atlantic to see each other, but this time Mark doesn’t show up. Hannah waits and waits, starting to get a little panicky. Mark’s not answering his phone, his personal assistant seems to think he’d taken Hannah away for the weekend and there’s a nasty surprise online – could her husband really have stopped loving her so soon?
I really don’t want to give away the plot details, because part of the reason why this book packs such a punch is because the reader can’t see what’s coming. Whitehouse springs another clue out of the box and everything you thought was true is suddenly in doubt. It’s an amazing skill and makes me want to read more of her books. Plus, she is the queen of ‘just one more chapter’ – so many chapters ended just as Hannah found out something new!
The story is told by Hannah and I found her to be a much more reliable and trustworthy narrator – why? Is it because she openly admits that she thought she was left on the shelf before Mark? Is it because she pours her heart out to the reader in her fears about never finding another job or secretly not being good enough for Mark? There’s something slightly pathetic in the way Hannah initially puts Mark on a pedestal – does this make us feel sorry for her? Or it is the journey that starts when Mark doesn’t return home one night?
It’s interesting that Mark doesn’t physically come into the narrative until a good chunk of the book has passed. But by then, we’ve already formed our opinion of him based on Hannah’s thoughts and retellings of the way they met. Does this bias our view of Mark? Another character is introduced not long after this and we don’t meet them until much later – so much of the reader’s opinions of characters are formed before ever reading about them in the flesh. They can’t defend themselves when they haven’t even spoken! It’s a fascinating device to use and makes me wonder how much we do this in real life? Forming opinions of people we’ve never met, like celebrities – how much of this is coloured by the reports of others? Even people we think we do know – how much do we really know? What hides in their depths? What happened before we knew them?
Enough musing. This is a fast paced psychological thriller that will have you reading non-stop, savouring every word. Highly recommended for times when you have large chunks to read – not one to start when you can only snatch a few minutes!
Thank you to Bloomsbury Sydney and The Reading Room for my copy of this book.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
ao1f3ge's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
lindseyslittlelibrary's review
4.0
A great thriller! I saw a few twists coming but overall this book had me hooked from the start!
mickey09's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Not a bad book. Guessed the twist at the end but enjoyable read.