Before We Met

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, show more 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 show less

Hannah Reilly has moved back from New York to London with her new husband, Mark. He's a high flyer with a multi-million pound computer software business, whilst she is struggling to find a job. One day, she goes to meet him at Heathrow on his return from a business trip and he simply hasn't come back. She starts to wonder what has happened and why he hasn't been in touch and she looks into various aspects of his life that start to puzzle her.

This book wasn't quite what I expected as I thought it was going to be about a missing husband, but it turned into more of a story of if we can ever really know somebody, particularly the life they had 'Before We Met'. I found Hannah a bit annoying at times, and felt she was sometimes focusing on show more the wrong things, but this is a good book, an interesting psychological thriller and one which I would give 3.5 stars to if Amazon would allow it.

It's not relevant to my review but I have to say the cover of the book is extremely striking and whoever designed it did a brilliant job. show less

I love a twisty, tension filled psychological thriller and this certainly didn’t disappoint. From the moment that newly married Hannah is left waiting at Heathrow for her husband Mark to return from a business trip from New York, the reader is left in no doubt that all is not well. Mark’s initial attempts to explain why he wasn’t on the flight and how he lost his phone don’t entirely convince Hannah, especially when she finds out that his colleagues were expecting him to be somewhere else and she reluctantly starts digging a little deeper into their finances and his business. What she discovers devastates her and although she thought they were both very much in love, she is starting to doubt the man she married. When she show more questions his friends she discovers discrepancies which make her wonder about his past and the secrets he may be hiding.

Hannah is no pushover, neither is she meek and silly, she is an engaging character with emotions and worries that you could identify with. They were introduced through mutual friends whilst they were both working in New York and she thought she had found her perfect man. She is determined not to be like her mother, who drove her father away with her constant checking and accusations of affairs and has taken a lot on trust. However her discoveries leave her feeling vulnerable and afraid – having given up her NY job when they married to live with Mark in London, she has no resources of her own and her fears that Mark is having an affair and planning to leave her feel very real.

There were so many twists and turns in the story that it was difficult to decide between the lies and the truth.. As the story progresses the tension builds and it takes a sinister turn. There were times when I was so concerned as to the danger that Hannah could be walking into that I was almost too scared to read on.
I’ve read and enjoyed both of Lucie Whitehouse’s previous books The House at Midnight and The Bed I Made but this superbly crafted novel takes her writing to another level of suspense and I loved it.

My thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the digital copy for review. show less

I picked this one up because I was in the mood for some suspense, and it definitely delivered. This is a twisty-turny fast-paced story. Although some things were a bit predictable, overall it was not. The only reason that I am marking it four stars instead of five is because I expected a little bit more at the ending. However, when a story delivers so much throughout the entire book then I am sure it's hard to end with a big bang. I would definitely read this author again.

I have always thought that the publishing of different genres always comes in waves and am so hoping that the vampire/shape-shifter novels are on there way out. Though I know there are plenty of readers who still like them and after all we who don't (like me) do not have trouble finding something else. Right now it seems as if Historical fiction and since the success of Gone Girl, psychological fiction as well are being published in mass. Since these are my two favorite genres this makes me very happy.

This is the first novel I have read by Whitehouse and was amazed at how well the book flowed, perfectly paced with constant revelations that kept the book moving quickly. A marriage that may not be what it seems, secrets of course and a show more family that is certainly dysfunctional. Although I guessed some if it, there were still a few surprises that I did not.

Pleasantly surprised at this good escapist fiction and it was a perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday. show less

A tale of a woman who met and married her husband after several months. Within a year of her marriage she begins to learn things about him which are hard to explain, or believe. She begins to find out that most of what he has told her of his past and family is untrue or he has lied by omission. A tense tale that ends in a climax that fits the tale but was unexpected too.

A great story about trust, marriage, career, and family. The reader follows along as the life -- and marriage -- of the main character begins to unravel, fix itself, and unravel again. Enjoyable read, but waited for a big twist that never truly came; there were numerous surprises, but a clever reader could figure most of those ahead of time. Enjoyable and makes me want to consider reading some of her other books.