Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Titled to jump on the "The Girl..." train, this book had the requisite twists and turns (many rather improbable), story told from multiple POVs and multiple times, shifting back and forth in time - and way too much uni life, as far as I was concerned. It did hold my attention on a long train ride, but the ending felt forced and a bit of a cheat.

Overall, an average read.

Goodreads review here (direct link not possible): https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2747616166

Twisty tale of a young woman named Ruth who disappeared while in college. When Alice, the wife of one of Ruth’s ex boyfriends thinks she sees Ruth on a train years later, she realizes there may be more to story of Ruth. As Alice tries to find out more about the disappearance of Ruth, she finds out more about her husband, and if he played any part in the mystery. Excellent, well paced novel that moves seamlessly between past and present.

If you read a lot of thrillers, this will feel familiar to you. It’s style and themes feel similar to a lot of other books that you may have read in the last year. Having said that, this story still weaves enough of a tale and has enough of an edge to keep you reading. Interesting characters, intriguing themes - definitely worth a thread.

This was an OK read for me. I did find it hard to get into at first but carried on reading. Sadly by the end it still felt it was overall OK.

I was provided an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Told from 3 different point of views, this isn't a new plot or one that you won't recognize.
With that being said, I still enjoyed the way the author weaved the book into a page turner that had me anxious to get to the end. When I finished this book I did feel a bit let down with the way it turned out, and how it felt like forced ending to the storyline.

Very intriguing mystery about a disappearance when the protagonists were in university together. The story is told from multiple points of view AND multiple times, which can get confusing. Overall, I enjoyed the book and thought it was paced well. The mystery was interesting and kept my attention and the characters were all real, multi-faceted personalities.

Unfortunately I couldn't connect with this one. Something about it just fell flat for me. The writing was succinct and easy to follow, but something about the story didn't sit right with me.

It could just be me and my reading slump so if you're interested in this story, definitely give it a go!

This was my first book by Nicola Rayner, and I found the story and mystery to be very entertaining.

The book tells the story of the last few months before Ruth was missing, and present, when Alice, wife of one of Ruth's former boyfriends, think she sees Ruth on a train.

I though Ms. Rayner did an excellent job weaving the story back and forth between the past and today, and a pretty good job of weaving in several perspectives: the missing girl's best friend, her sister and Alice, although I would sometimes have to check who was speaking. The woman all had distinct voices, but I did get a little jumbled at times.

The book has the distinct feeling of a college party where people have drifted in and out all night, picking up part of the plot, putting it down, and becoming distracted by their own action, which later joins seamlessly back to the main plot. I thought this pacing showed the deft talent of Ms. Rayner.

I found the book to be a fast, entertaining read, and I look forward to more books by this author.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley.com for my advance copy.

This book does not live up to the hype it’s blurb created. It’s a slow read and way more verbose than needed. It tried to be enticing but just ends up being a tad boring. It has twists and turns and the premise is interesting but the writing style made this one hard for me to finish. There are too many plot holes that don’t add up and while it’s an emotional story it takes a lot of time to feel any connection to the characters.

This novel will be of a theme you may have read before ,it may have similar time flips between past and present ,it may have different points of view and I was I admit doubtful of following a silmilar novel to oh so many Before it .
I did though
I am glad I did too
I was caught up in the characters lives takes concentration for the beginning to j derstand the various characters and their links to one another ,about 20% in u will be clear ,I ,felt the impending threat ,was saddened by the devestation that these threats created and mourned the young lives that were abused
Though it is dark subject it never felt overtly graphic ,was well written and I was moved at times
You recall your own early crushes ,the flutter of first love ,the unrequited attachments
I thought she wrote of this well and how can effect friendships and our own souls as we are swept along by charm and swagger .
It also speaks movingly of love that has power imbalances and the uncertainty of it all
I loved the ending as all along we hope
For me this isn’t about who as you sort of know really
It’s about the effect others have on our lives,the fierceness of protecting those we love and the diffirent layers of love we can feel
It’s a novel really of the trauma of adolescence ,the huge highs the devastating lows and I did enjoy it
It’s a three from me as though liked it and was moved not quite a four for me asisnt an original theme but it still for me is one of the better ones of these types of stories
The only thing I question is comparisons to girl on a train ,it’s no where near like that ,
Itsba story of the college years and the effect they have on you throughout your life
Thanks netgalley and publishers for this advanced copy

Average - in a sea of exceptional books I have read this year! The girl ...... series are getting slightly over done - missing girl, lots of twists, a meadeocre finish and far too much uni life for me! I love stories that are told by several different people, but unless I am really gripped - like I was with cross her heart, which I read before this and loved, I tend to get a bit lost. My issue more than the writers! Worth a read if you want an ok thriller.

I liked this book from the start-Ruth had gone missing quite a while back and you get a few people from her past reminisce about their relationships from when they were at Uni with her. One point of view is from Ruth's sister-Naomi. (yes, like the Bible story) We see how they are dealing or not dealing with her disappearance so many years later. All of their stories seem unrelated but the author manages to intertwine them just enough so you know beyond a doubt that eventually it will be confirmed that they are very related. There were some unbelievable moments but not enough to me to downgrade the writing. Of course, this is all my opinion and others could be more critical but I still feel the story was unique enough to warrant the 4 stars. (Yes, they did drink alot, had sex in public bathrooms -ugh, and there was the #metoo movement featured but I still think the author kept you engaged in finding out what really happened to Ruth.)
I definitely recommend this book as a unique thriller.The author, Nicola Raynor, definitely builds up the suspense bit by bit. I eagerly await her next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.
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This book was a slow burn for me, and unfortunately, it did not live up to the hype I had created for myself after reading the blurb.

The story is told from the viewpoint of 3 characters,

Alice, who is married to George
Naomi, who's sister Ruth used to date George at Uni. Ruth went missing at Uni after a ball, Her clothes and shoes were found neatly folded on the beach
And Kat, who was Ruth's best friend while at University.

The characters are all somehow involved into Ruth's life. When Alice sees a girl on the train who looks a lot like Ruth, she becomes suspicious as to what might have happened to her. She starts trying to solve Ruth's disappearance which rubs George the wrong way.
Naomi has never gotten over the loss of her sister, so when Alice contacts her, the two reluctantly join forces. Most of Kat's chapters are flashbacks to their time at University, and how her relationship with Ruth started and slowly also unfolded.

I was kind of hoping the story would lean more towards a thriller, but unfortunately it did not. It is not a bad story in any way, I was just expecting more from it.

I could. It out this book down! I read it in two sittings and loved it, would definitely recommended!

While The Girl Before You is a good thriller, it's also centered around a fairly typical premise. A naive woman turns out to have a playboy husband. He has a previous fling who may or may not be dead. She is now pregnant and knows she can't trust him. It's reminiscent of the Girl On The Train genre that has become so popular. It's a good read but not remarkable. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

It seems like I've read this story before. I even guessed the ending correctly. I feel the story was slow to developed. The characters lives, present and past, was not that interesting. There was too much description of each event and yet it lack a hook for me. Half way into the book and I didn't care too much about any of the characters. It was a nice read, but the story was very much forgettable.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was slow to start but eventually I got into it enough to keep reading. The ending was a bit over the top - forced and unrealistic. This one was just okay in my opinion.

Loved this book and read it almost all in one sitting! I'm a sucker for any book where the characters reflect back on time spent at university and this book didn't disappoint.

The twists keep you guessing until the end!

What an amazing thriller! Absolutely loved it; every roller coaster moment of it. This book was full of surprises, and there was no boring moment. I highly recommend it.

I found this book to be very slow and difficult to follow. Ruth's death still haunts Alice whose husband dated Ruth for a while. She tries to figure out what happened. I am usually intrigued by stories such as this but this one just didn't hold my attention.