The Girl Before by Rena Olsen
Holy dark&twisted, Batman! I consider myself a psychological thriller aficionado (because really, in this day and age, who isn’t?!), but “The Girl Before” took that genre to an entirely different level — and in the best way.
Without giving too much away, I can tell you the story revolves around Clara Lawson, a 23 year-old girl who finds herself taken from her home and led to a room for questioning. As she’s dragged from her home, she hears her husband urge her to stay quiet and say nothing…The chapters alternate between “now” and “then” to paint a perfect picture of Clara’s dark, disturbing reality.
Olsen does a brilliant job bringing Clara’s emotions and inner turmoil to life. Often times, I find myself wanting more in psychological thriller protagonists — more development, more raw emotions, more believable scenarios. “The Girl Before” left me with NONE of those feelings. Clara’s development through the novel progressed (and regressed) appropriately, and to me, it was exactly as it should be for a protagonist in her shoes. I don’t know that I would have changed a thing about the novel, and that’s a rare statement coming from me.
I hate that I read this so soon after it was published…now I’ll have to wait a hot minute for her next book. Good thing every author is on the dark & twisty bandwagon and there are (quite literally) thousands of options to keep me occupied through at least 2025.
**Sidebar: while this novel is amazing in every way, it does touch on some serious themes including rape, murder, kidnapping, human trafficking, prostitution and abuse. If any of these are triggers for you, I’d recommend skipping this read.
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