A good holiday read. I enjoyed this book however was constantly irritated with the sloppy time line. If you’re going to put the book in diary form and chose July and then into August then please don’t insult the reader by keep having Lucy’s child being taken or collected from school. No schools operate in England during this time frame. That aside, I felt the characters were a little too two dimensional and not really credible, however with a large pina colada and a good dollop of Ambre Solaire this book is a good escape.

I really enjoyed this book! Gemma has a traumatic past but is now happily married with a young son and owns her own estate agency. However, the arrival of new client David throws her life into turmoil.
I couldn't stop reading this book, when Gemma is sent incriminating mail and photographs she has no idea who is trying to wreck her life and there is an increasing sense of doom as the story progresses. Faults in her marriage are highlighted as she is unable to confide in her husband Joe. There are a couple of major surprises which I didn't expect that left me reassessing the characters involved. Gemma did make a few questionable decisions at time right enough! Very enjoyable psychological thriller.

The story centres around Gemma, the main protagonist who is struggling to balance her working life, with her life as a mother and wife. What Gemma thinks is a chance meeting at her workplace turns out to be something much more sinister and the follow up of pyschological mind games leads to her fearing for her marriage and her life. There's flashback's to Gemma's past as we get to connect the dots to those around her and an additional voice provides an emotional and disturbing alternative narrative (alongside Gemma's) later on in the book. The psychological mind games come to a head when secrets from the past are revealed, bringing everything to a crashing conclusion.

The Girl I use To Be is a high adrenaline psychological thriller that you won't want to to put down. It has the perfect mix of thrills and chills and leaves you guessing right up until the end. The characters are fully fleshed out and so believable, and the plot is well developed and moves at a pace fast enough to make your head spin, while compelling you to read on until the conclusion. I can't wait to read more from Mary Torjussen!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an Advance Review Copy of this book.

This is an excellent book that keeps you guessing until the end. I loved the short chapters and the writing style. I hadn't read anything from this author before but I will look out for her from now on.

Thank you NetGalley and Headline for my advance copy.

Thank you Netgalley, Headline and Mary Torjussen for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Overall this was a good book with plenty of twists. I won't go into any details suffice to say it was all too real an account of what could happen with the overload of social media and made you feel for Gemma in that she had very little control.

I struggled with the first half of the book as Gemma just seemed like rather a whinger, moaning about her life as a working mother std yet these were all choices she herself had .made. This faded into the background in the second half of the book when the pace picked up and I started to really enjoy it.
Definatley worth a read.

The Girl I Used To Be by Mary Torjussen is a deliciously addictive psychological thriller that had me staying up until the early hours of the morning until I reached its twisty and blood pumping conclusion.

With a dual first-person perspective, the narrative delivers past backstory with a prologue from Gemma’s perspective. The exposition then builds with just the right amount of intrigue to introduce the reader to Gemma’s life in the present day before reaching the inciting incident. We aren’t introduced to the second narrator until later in the story.

I guessed somebody who Gemma trusted was behind her ordeal besides David, but with a convincingly real cast of characters, just who this was could have been any one of them. The colloquial language and well-structured plot all made for a wonderfully compelling storyline, and the relatively short chapters made it very difficult to put the book down. Just one more chapter. And another. Oh go on then one more…

It has been a while since I’ve read a book this good. Mary Torjussen is definitely one to look out for and will be added to my list of favourite authors. I recommend this book for anybody who likes Louise Jensen, Lisa Jewell, or Clare Mackintosh.


Under Literature Love’s rating scheme, this book has been awarded 5 out of 5 stars. This means: I absolutely loved this book and couldn’t put it down. I recommend you stop what you’re doing and go and buy this book now!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an Advance Review Copy of this book.

This is a really good modern thriller. Gemma is married to Joe and they have a three year old son. Joe is a house husband and Gemma runs her own estate agency. At a work conference Gemma bumps into David, someone she had previously shown properties to. They have dinner and drinks. Gemma wakes up next morning in her bed, unable to remember much of the night before. Disgusting photos, video and text messages start to show up on Gemma's phone. Why is David targeting her? Who is he and what does he want? Read on!

Fantastic page turner, the twists and turns will keep you guessing until the very end, a fantastic psychological thriller!

The Girl I used to be opens up with Gemma and her friend going to an end of year school party. Gemma drinks far too much and falls asleep in one of the empty bedrooms. Fast forward 15 years and Gemma is now happily married to Joe and has a little boy, Rory. Gemma also runs her own estate agency but works every hour she possibly can to keep it going, while Joe looks after Rory full-time. A prospective client, the handsome and single David, comes into the estate agency. Gemma herself shows him around some potential properties he might like, however, unfortunately, he's non-committal. While down in London for a conference, Gemma bumps into David and they agree to have dinner strictly on a professional basis, and Gemma finds she has drunk too much alcohol and the night becomes a blur. A while later, photos and messages are sent to her which detail far more from that night than she remembers.

All is not as it seems. Who is David? Is it him that is doing this? Why is he doing this? Can he be tracked down? Will this have implications for her marriage? Gemma is beside herself with worry and anxiety as a game of cat and mouse ensues.

This is a very good read, full of suspense, drama and tension. You feel for Gemma in that she professes not to drink much anymore and yet she finds herself in a predicament reminiscent of her youth although not entirely of her own making. The threat and danger posed towards Gemma feels very real in today's online world and could in fact happen to anyone. There are a few twists and turns, some of which I guessed, but the pace was maintained throughout. I did however, find the second half of the book a little more far fetched than the first half but overall I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Ms Torjussen for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you think it can’t happen to you….think again. The kind of thing that could literally happen to anyone especially in these technological times. A good twisty thriller that will keep you reading long after you should have stopped if you have to get up early for work. What starts out as an innocent dinner with a prospective client, soon turns into a living nightmare for Gemma. How? I hear you ask. Read and find out I reply :). Highly recommended.

An excellent read. It keeps you guessing and it is well written and believable.
I don’t want to give any spoilers but if you like thrillers you’ll enjoy this. The lead character is someone you’ll root for.
I’ve now bought her first book and look forward to reading it.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really liked this book and liked Gemma. wonderful, psychological thriller that will make you wonder what you would do if this happened to you!!!

I absolutely loved this book I had no idea where it was going then when I did it went in a different direction lots of little twists within the story I would definitely recommend this book but be aware if you have to get up for work you will struggle to put it down!!

I ADORED the last book I read by Mary Torjussen so I was really looking forward to picking up her new one and, as expected, I became completely gripped as soon as I started it. Mary Torjussen has a wonderfully engrossing writing style and once again I found myself unable to put this book down, reading it in one tension filled afternoon. She’s fast becoming a favourite author of mine, her books tick a lot of my boxes so to speak, and I know I’m in for a rompingly good read when I pick up her novels.

It’s always fun recognising places you know within books and Mary’s books are usually set around an area of the North West that I know well which added a nice visual touch for me. And Gemma, the main protagonist was an estate agent which was my career after I had my children, so I felt an affinity with her straight away! Owning her own agency meant a frantic, high pressured working environment which was hard on Gemma as she was the main breadwinner. Her husband stayed home to look after their son and so there was some resentment of their family situation with Gemma feeling that she was missing out on the family life that she works hard to support. When she gets the chance of some time away with some training for work, she welcomes it. But after coincidentally meeting a client at the same hotel, Gemma let’s her guard down and they have dinner together. And after that Gemma has no idea what happened until she wakes up next morning! I could feel her bewilderment and frustration flowing off the pages as Gemma struggled to find out what occurred that night and then her terror as she started to get messages and pictures from that night. Who is doing this to her? Gemma quickly realised that this is personal and she has to find out why she is being targeted before her family falls apart.

What I love about this authors books is that she manages to keep me completely in the dark about how her books are going to turn out! The prologue introduced us to a teenage Gemma who was at a party to celebrate the end of her A levels before she went to university. This was obviously important to the plot line and I thought I had an idea why but I was WAY off base! The cleverly crafted storyline weaved its way towards the shocking ending in a thoroughly engaging style that kept me entertained from start to finish. Gemma is a strong minded and likeable character that you can’t help but cheer on, even though sometimes I wanted to shout at her “what the hell are you doing?!”. She got herself into some very awkward situations and made some questionable decisions but you couldn’t help but like her.

The Girl I Used To Be is an addictive page turner that’s easy to put up but very difficult to put down. So grab a coffee and a packet of biscuits and settle down to savour this highly enjoyable read!

The Girl I Used To Be
Mary Torjussen is a fairly new author-this is her second book. I almost devoured her first one- Gone Without a Trace- in one gulp. Torjussen has a way of grabbing you into her books and making you unable to put them down and it's sheer bliss for a reader!

Gemma Brogan has a pretty good life with her own successful business, a loving husband and cute little son. She has worked hard at putting a painful event in her past behind her, but it’s about to come back and haunt her all over again.

After meeting a charming client and agreeing to dine with him in the hotel their conference is being held in, Gemma finds herself having to cover up an innocent white lie. Another little lie has to cover up that one, then another, and another. Then she starts getting blackmailed about something she can’t remember doing. It’s a game of cat and mouse where Gemma is the mouse and she can’t even find the cat who is toying with her and sending her those devastating packages.

Gemma soon finds that she can’t confide in the people she trusts and then discovers that she was wrong to trust one of them in the first place. The whole story races along at a cracking pace with a shocking dénouement that had me totally unable to put this down.

The Girl I Used to Be, is if anything, even better than Gone Without a Trace, with at least three massive twists I didn’t see coming at all. Around halfway through our heroine, Gemma, is joined by another narrator, although I won’t give it away. This technique works really well, especially as one narrator has a lot more knowledge than the other, and as we know, knowledge is power.

What Torjusssen does especially well, in this book and her previous one, is to tell the story of people who could live next door to you but have a shocking mass of secrets seething under the surface. It’s real life with a menacing undercurrent that could happen to you or me or the woman next door.

I’m already queuing up for the next one.

Brava Mary!

Gemma, a mother and wife with a growing estate agency is dealing with traumatic events of the past while juggling her responsibilities when the past seems to overwhelm her.

I have to admit I struggled to get into this. I felt it lacked something, despite it building the tension. As I read on I began to become more absorbed in the story. The outcome of events and 'twists' were guessable but the author still made the story interesting. (I worked for a lettings agency so maybe that's what put me off a bit?! )

The story is told by two characters, (the second coming further within the story -not wanting to give any spoilers) to give another perspective on events.

Certain events may be difficult to read for some but I feel the author dealt with events sympathetically

I read this book in two sittings, it was a fast paced enjoyable read that had me guessing all the way through. I really felt for Gemma, and the storyline had my hooked. A perfect summer read that you wont want to put down. I will look out for more books by the author. Thank you to the author, Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read.

I enjoyed Torjussen's last novel so I was really looking forward to this and was excited to receive and advanced copy in return for an honest review. I agree I could not put this down and it didn't take me long to engage with the main character, Gemma. There were a few subtle twists which were easy to guess. It was a good, quick, easy read that kept me entertained but it didn't blow me away.

Wow loved this book from start to finish I couldn't put it down. Poor Gemma terrorised and seeing her whole world collapsing. I didn't see any of the plot coming so was good guessing right until the end who David was!

I really enjoyed this book as it was so different from my usual detective choice of book. This really gripped me from the start with so many different twists and turns keeping me turning the pages. I did not guess the connection with Rachel and I didn't see the alternative version of Alex's crime until it was almost on top of me, which for me, is a sign of good writing!. I liked the characters of Gemma and Rachel and loved how they came together at the end. A great read and I will certainly want to read more by this author.