The Girl Before

1. Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.

Then: Emma

It s a lovely little flat, the agent says with what could almost pass for genuine enthusiasm. Close to the amenities. And there s that private bit of roof. That could become a sun terrace, subject of course to the landlord s consent.

Nice, Simon agrees, trying not to catch my eye. I d known the flat was no good as soon as I walked in and saw that six-­foot stretch of roof below one of the windows. Si knows it too but he doesn t want to tell the agent, or at least not so soon it ll seem rude. He might even hope that if I listen to the man s stupid patter long enough I ll waver. The agent s Simon s kind of guy: sharp, brash, eager. He probably reads the magazine Simon works for. They were exchanging sports chat before we even got up the stairs.

And here you have a decent-­sized bedroom, the agent s saying. With ample ­

It s no good, I interrupt, cutting short the charade. It s not right for us.

The agent raises his eyebrows. You can t be too choosy in this market, he says. This ll be gone by tonight. Five viewings today, and it s not even on our website yet.

It s not secure enough, I say flatly. Shall we go?

There are locks on all the windows, he points out, plus a Chubb on the door. Of course, you could install a burglar alarm, if security s a particular concern. I don t think the landlord would have any objection.

He s talking across me now, to Simon. Particular concern. He might as well have said, Oh, is the girlfriend a bit of a drama queen?

I ll wait outside, I say, turning to leave.

Realizing he s blundered, the agent adds, If it s the area that s the problem, perhaps you should have a look farther west.

We already have, Simon says. It s all out of our budget. Apart from the ones the size of a tea bag.

He s trying to keep the frustration out of his voice, but the fact that he needs to riles me even more.

There s a one-­bedroom in

The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Before and Believe Me, JP Delaney has previously written fiction under other names.

Dazzling, startling, and above all cunning a pitch-perfect novel of psychological suspense. Lee Child

The Girl Before generates a fast pace. . . . [J. P.] Delaney intersperses ethics questions on stand-alone pages throughout the book. . . . The single most ingenious touch is that we re not provided either woman s answers. The New York Times

J. P. Delaney builds the suspense. Vanity Fair

Immediate guarantee: You will not be able to put this book down. . . . Fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will realize that there s not only more where that came from, but it s also more thrilling. American Booksellers Association

This is going to be the buzziest book of 2017. We may only be a few weeks into 2017, but we re calling it early: This year, The Girl Before will be that book. The upcoming novel by author J. P. Delaney has all of the makings of a sexy murder mystery that is sure to hit the bestseller chart, and it already has the movie deal to prove it. InStyle

Delaney has created a genuinely eerie, fascinating setting in One Folgate Street. . . . The novel s structure, volleying back and forth as first Emma and then Jane begin to question their improbable luck, is beautifully handled. The pages fly. USA Today

The house has a dark past and a landlord that s anything but welcoming. New York Post, one of the must-read books of the week

The Girl Before is deservedly anointed the top girl of this season s suspense novels. The Washington Post 

The Girl Before is a cat-and-mouse game that toys with our expectations and twists our sympathies. At times almost unbearably suspenseful, it keeps us guessing from the first page to the very last. Don t miss it. Joseph Finder

Get hooked on this hair-raiser about a woman who scores what seems like her dream home . . . until she finds out the mysterious fate of the