I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This psychological thriller follows Jess as she moves with her family to Suffolk in the countryside. They have bought a lovely house which will need some renovating but are looking forward to their new start.

As soon as they arrive Jess starts to feel someone is watching her and starts to think they have made a mistake. With the feeling intensifying and the amount of work on the house required it starts to take its toll on the family. When the history of the house is revealed, Jess is even more terrified.

Settling in is difficult especially for Jess, but one chance visit to a near by art gallery ends in a new friendship.
Is someone watching them? Who is Jess’s new friend?

I found this quite a slow read to begin with as you are getting to know the characters, but then it builds up to a thrilling ending where all secrets are revealed.

The story is told by two different points of view before returning to Jess’s point of view for the ending. This did help unravel a few of the secrets and mysteries behind the storyline.

I live in a county not too far from Suffolk so I could imagine quite clearly what it would like around the house and in the town.

Overall, a secret filled psychological thriller where a family hoping for a new start might not get what they hoped.

I really wish NetGalley had the option of reading a brief extract from a title before requesting it.

I would not have chosen this book, for the sole reason that it is written in the present tense which is something that I find impossible to read, it just doesn't work for me. A disappointment as I loved the idea behind the book and was looking forward to reading it.

As this is my issue and not a problem with the book, it would be wrong of me to affect the rating, so have given four stars, which is the current average.

The People Before

Jess and Pete Masters and their young children, Archie and Rose, have relocated to deepest Suffolk from darkest Walthamstow. They’ve bought Maple House and plan to renovate it completely. We meet them on Moving Day as Jess, in the first person, remembers the attempted burglary that had been the final straw for them living in London.
But Maple House looks and feels different from when she first saw it in the summer. Now it seems dilapidated and it looks as though they will need to do more work than they originally thought. In fact, it will soon become a money pit. But there is also an uncomfortable feeling of being watched, that they are not alone and that ‘this place isn’t right.’ Even worse the front door is open and as they drive away to find the removers she notices that a garage door has somehow unlocked itself…..
As the renovations get underway, Pete commutes to London and is distracted by his job. Jess, now jobless, begins to bear the brunt of chores, childcare and supervising the builders. She begins to resent it and to miss their old life and friends. She left more than a house behind when they moved, and she also brought a secret with her. One that only she knows. And she begins to find traces, objects left by the previous owners, a baby’s bootee, a small mirror, a muslin. Jess struggles to make friends and then she’s contacted via social media by a local gallery owner, and they meet up. A friendship develops between her and the sophisticated Eve. She helps Jess with suggestions for what could be done with the house and it’s almost as if she already knows the house inside and out.
Rose is unsettled by the house and sees the small cupboard in her room as a safe place and Jess finds her staring out of her window at night sobbing. She saw the retreating burglar and is frightened that he may return. Sara, one of the school gate mums, tells her the local scary story about a young boy who drowned at Maple House and thinks she recognizes Eve but is unsure why.
As Eve and Peter draw closer together and shut Jess out, she begins to discover the truth about Maple House and who Eve really is….
The first part of the novel which is narrated by Jess, had a lovely sense of creeping unease and eeriness that I really liked. The family, out of their comfort zone, and with a large house that was falling apart around them, was an effective plot device. I thought I was settling down for a supernatural tale. But then it all changed with it being told from another character’s point of view and the mood changed. And we see Jess through her eyes,’ dressing like a children’s TV presenter’ and sneering at her attempts to be creative. It isn’t long before she is playing mind games with Jess.
One of the themes of the novel, I thought, was characters living in the past: Eve with her family history and Jess with her secret Nokia and yearning to be back in London. However, I found Eve to be an unlikable, selfish character and I couldn’t really accept her motivations. As she explained away the goings on that had so unnerved Jess to the reader, I felt that these destroyed the mood of the first part.
Also Pete’s motivations, towards the end, didn’t convince me at all and he never really came alive as a character.

There were a few subplots that didn’t seem to go anywhere such as the scary neighbour, Trevor Martin and the references to ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’. I wasn’t sure about the secret Nokia either although Jess seems to almost see it as an escape route which said a lot about her marriage.
I would have liked the atmosphere of the first part to have continued throughout the book as it really drew me in and I felt that the ending was very much tying up all the loose ends.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I enjoyed this book on the whole. I enjoyed the first third more than the second third as it set out the mystery side of the story. The second third repeated to a degree from the other perspective and the last third concluded the story. It was a reasonably good read - quite a similar storyline to other books but enjoyable nonetheless .

I adored Charlotte's first novel The House Guest and her second carried that same sense of mystery and intrigue throughout as the layers were expertly revealed and the point of view suddenly slipped from jess to Eve and the whole picture of the novel comes to light. I read this novel in two sittings and flew through it!

A dark psychological thriller about a middle class couple who with their small children move to the country to renovate a house. I liked the impressive atmosphere but not the characters and struggled with much of the narrative.

A creepy psychological thriller.

Jess and Pete move to Suffolk to a house that needs lots of work but then things start to happen.

The book is eerie and atmospheric with twists and turns.

I enjoyed it

An impressive psychological thriller which makes for intriguing and compelling reading with twists I never saw coming.
Jess, Pete and their two children have moved from Walthamstow to renovate Maple House in rural Suffolk, which is spooky and creepy. Does it hold unfinished business? Nothing is what it first seems and I liked how the families's secrets and their real reasons for moving out of London slowly unravel.
An excellent read.

This sets a great feeling of atmosphere, stuck out in the middle of nowhere, in a crumbling house , having left everything you know behind.
It creates a great feeling of unease.
The rest, I didn't enjoy quite so much, a lot felt predictable to me, and Jess wasn't a very likeable character.
It gave me a few hours entertainment, and I'll happily take that as a win.

In desperate need of a new start, Jess and her husband Pete buy a decrepit old house in the countryside, to renovate and turn into a family home. But not everyone in the area is pleased to see them move in, and Jess gets the feeling that something bad happened in the house – that someone is watching them.

It’s a very generic plot – so much so that my partner had to check whether he’d already read this book when I was describing it to him (he hadn’t; just one very similar) – but it is well done with some surprising twists at the end.

The best thing about this book is the oppressive, menacing atmosphere. There’s a lot of intrigue, as little tid-bits are laid out and not expanded on until much later in the book (why did Jess and Pete need to get away from London? Why does Jess have a secret phone? What really happened in Eve’s past?). This worked really well to peak my interest and gave the book a very suspenseful feel.

Unfortunately, it was spoiled a bit by the repetitive writing and the unlikeable characters. Jess was the absolute worst – whiny, self-centered and naïve – and her marriage to Pete made little sense as he also came across as an utter d-bag. I also didn’t get why Jess ever became friends with Eve. She was lonely and desperate – I understand that much – but surely if your husband and your new friend who you’ve only known for a couple of weeks started behaving so inappropriately right in front of you on the very first meeting, you’d cut that off? The children were also very irritating. In fact, the only character I did like was Graham the renovator, largely because he seemed to be the only one who spoke any sense and got himself outta there asap.

It’s unoriginal and not perfectly executed, but I did enjoy the tension and the explosive plot. Even if I was let down by the disappointing conclusion.

I really enjoyed "The People Before" by Charlotte Northedge. She seems to be able to capture the atmosphere just right: the sense of uncomfortableness, being watched and not fitting in. Slightly similar to "Magpie" in that you see the same story from different perspectives and you are pulled one way and then the other. Full of calculating and selfish characters, this book is just great!

A spooky tale about Childhood, and love, and loss, and lies, and deceit, and letting go, and holding on, and moving on...
An interesting read...not quite a gripping tale...a book full of unlikeable characters .A story that ended, however, seemed to be unfinished. Why did the Grandfather build a special corridor between his room and his daughter's? Was Dom his Grandfather's son?Why wasn't the neighbour's character explored further?Why didn't Jack want to live with his Mum, Eve? .... good quick read for an Autumns evening

Jess and Pete purchase the ramshackle Maple House in the Suffolk countryside hoping for a new start with their two children far away from the trouble they’ve experienced in London. At first, they plan to renovate Maple House, add an addition and make it a show house. They quickly learn that it won’t be easy. Pipes leak, the heating system needs an overhaul and every room must be cleaned and painted. Oh, and there was a murder and a local legend tells the tale of a baby killer who may or may not be haunting Maple House. With Pete commuting to the city and putting in extra hours to pay for the renovations, Jess is lonely and finding it hard to make friends. Enter Eve, a local gallery owner and artist, who charms Jess and her family. Is she the caring, supportive woman she seems to be or does she have other plans?

The People Before is both creepy and compelling. Charlotte Northedge builds layers of suspense so well that you can almost feel the chilly presence in the corner of the room. The story is told alternately by Jess and Eve. You see how differently each perceives certain events. The conclusion is surprising and inevitable. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK and Charlotte Northedge for this ARC.

The synopsis: Jess and Pete buy a big old house in a remote spot in the country. It’s creepy, but what’s going on? (The book blurb is better but this is my version 😂)

🤯😱What a spine tingling, hair raising beaut of a book. The first few chapters set this book up beautifully, playing into the readers mind and fears, using nature to exacerbate what is already there. You can imagine looking out into the night and feeling the fear. We have all been there. As adults, we rationalise that the likelihood of something or someone being out there is minimal, but what if there is?

🤔The first half of this book left me jumping between different theories - is it the husband? the friend? her own madness? someone else? supernatural? the neighbour?

✍🏽This book is written brilliantly, hooking the reader in to experience the emotions along with the characters.

📕 The one thing I’m not sure about is the cover… I like the picture in the circle but not sure about the white cover. Maybe it’s better in real life?!

This book is creepy and atmospheric at the beginning. It starts off as a good thriller, with a promising great plot but then it plateaus to a standard.

This book is a good read. The first half is very atmospheric and the pacing is good. It looses it somewhat on part two but does pick it up a little bit again in part three. I would have loved the pace and atmosphere to be throughout the whole book. But on the whole it was a good read.

Part one of the story is instantly creepy and atmospheric as you start to try and guess what's going on.
The pace and atmosphere then changes in part two as we switch to a different characters pov.
Then part three switches things up again.
Overall the book is well written and I'd definitely read others by this author. I do wish that the vibe and atmosphere of part one had remained throughout the book, and that the ending had been a little neater. So for this I'd rate it 3.5 stars.
Thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins for the arc ebook.

Jess and Pete and their two children move from London to a rambling, run-down rural house for a "fresh start". Almost immediately Jess is beset with misgivings and regret about the move. The house is creepy and the locals are unfriendly. Pete is worse than useless. The first half of the book sets things up nicely, a slow burn of creepiness and unease. Jess befriends a local gallery owner, Eve, and the book switches to Eve's point of view, which I didn't enjoy as much. A well-written, somewhat twisty read that I enjoyed.

This is my first read by author Charlotte Northedge, and I loved the first part.

We meet characters Jess and Pete who have moved to a very isolated home that really needs doing up. They have moved with their two children and hope for a peaceful life.

The book gets right into the story from page 1 and its moving day and Jess can not put her finger on it but something about the house is not right and she immediately starts to regret the decision of moving. Lots of mysterious things start turning up in the house and their daughter Rose starts to be scared of the house.

The children start at their new school but for Jess life is not the same as their previous life/work/school. She does not make friends and she is super lonely. She loves art and goes to the next village and meets Eve.

This for me is where the story turns from what I thought to be a "ghost" story into something that is not. Eve basically moves in to their new barn conversion and Jess soon becomes suspicious of Eve and Pete's seemingly attraction to each other.

The book is told from Jess' point of view and then unexpectedly to Eve's point of view. I do not want to give too much away of this novel. I really enjoyed the first half and then not so much the second (from Eve's point of view). I enjoyed the authors writing style and will look at her pervious novels.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and Charlotte Northedge for allowing me a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Brimming With Secrets..,
The thrill of a new beginning turns sour in this menacing domestic suspense. A rambling old house deep in the Suffolk countryside attracts Jess and her husband, they think it’s perfect, just what they they need for a new start. Isn’t it? Maple House, however, is not all that it seems. With the locals unwelcoming and the house holding secrets the couple soon realise that they may have made a mistake of gargantuan proportions. With a chilling undercurrent from the offset, maintained throughout, and a credible cast this is a slow burn, dark and atmospheric tale brimming with secrets.