“An astounding and original thriller with a complex relationship between three women at its heart and an explosive conclusion.” –B. A. Paris, New York Times bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors The next gripping psychological thriller by the author of How I Lost You, Jenny Blackhurst’s #1 international bestseller, about a psychiatrist and patient relationship that turns not only … relationship that turns not only toxic…but deadly.
Karen, Eleanor, and Bea have been best friends since childhood. They know everything about each other’s lives, or at least they think they do. Now in their thirties, though their lives are beginning to diverge: Eleanor is a young wife and mother who is struggling to cope with her many responsibilities; Bea is happy being single–or so she lets people think; and Karen is a psychiatrist who, despite the secrets in her past, considers herself the anchor of the group.
But when she takes on a new patient with issues she just can’t quite put her finger on, she begins to realize she may have put her dearest friends in danger. Because her patient knows more about these three women than anyone outside their circle possible could. Or should…
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A very clever, twisty novel Before I Let You In captivated me from the first page. Lots of unreliable narrators, thrills, plot twists and lies, this is an excellent book if you want something really engrossing with an almost palpable sense of danger to it. The end was a huge twist, the characters intriguing and unreliable, and the pacing was absolutely perfect. I really enjoyed this one.
Before I Let You In by Jenny Blackhurst may be a slow burn, but man I thought it was good! Nothing is as it seems in this one, and the ending came as quite a shock for me. Karen, Eleanor, and Bea’s friendship was very interesting if not a bit toxic at times, and I thought this book took an interesting look at female friendships. I thought it was very suspenseful all the way through, even though a lot of it is just about these women’s daily lives and how they interact with each other. There do end up being quite a few revelations though and I can’t say I saw any of them coming. Things get more interesting as the book goes on, and it is told from various viewpoints with one basically being an unknown. I thought I had it figured out but nope, I sure didn’t.
I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed Jennifer Ness as the narrator. She was easy to understand and I was excited to see she voices a lot of books that I want to read which I will clearly now do on audio knowing she narrates them. I listened to the book in just a couple of days, and it felt very short which to me makes this a ‘page-turner.’ I really loved how complex Before I Let You In ended up being, and it even touches on some sensitive subjects which I don’t think I was really expecting. I would call this a psychological suspense novel more than anything, and there was a little bit of a mystery in there as well surrounding the characters and Karen’s patient.
Overall, Before I Let You In was a very satisfying read/listen for me and I am excited to read more from Blackhurst now. I have her debut sitting on my shelf and will be trying to make room for that one soon. The pacing was great, and I love the depth I got from this book. If you want a fresh, suspense novel with great writing, I recommend checking this one out ASAP.
Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
We have three female characters who’ve been best friends since school days: Bea the carefree single girl, trying to forget a frightening chapter in her past; Eleanor the frazzled new mother; and psychiatrist Karen, the sensible one who keeps the other two on an even keel. Someone is out to get Eleanor. Who is it? And is Eleanor the only target? Populated by assorted partners, colleagues, clients, one-night stands and siblings, this novel is not short on possible suspects.
For most of the book, I didn’t know what was going on, but the author kept my confusion at an enjoyable level and I wanted to keep reading. I started to develop my own theories. One of them was right but it was muddled up with countless others and never became a front runner. The ending was, therefore, very satisfying.
Before I Let You In by Jenny Blackhurst is a book I borrowed from the mobile library. This psychological thriller tells the story from the points of view of close friends Karen, Bea, Eleanor and one other unnamed character.
Karen is a psychiatrist and sees her role as a friend who fixes problems. A new client, Jessica, turns up one day who knows things about Karen, her life and her friends, which unsettles Karen who wonders if she should have let her in.
Okay, I don’t want to give anything away so I will tread carefully, which probably means I can’t say too much so will say how it made me feel instead. I liked the writing and the combination of friends with their different lives and problems. I thought it was well plotted and I enjoyed the way the story unravelled but I just wasn’t as gripped by it as I’d hoped I’d be, or as clearly a lot of other readers are. I’d still recommend it though. Those who like psychological thrillers should certainly give it a go.