I really enjoyed The Girl Beyond the Gate and when I discovered it was a debut novel I was even more impressed. It had enough twists and turns to keep me hooked and I did not want to put it down. I highly recommend it and look forward to reading future books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for my ARC.

This book had me hooked! It was full of twists and turns and was very suspenseful, and I couldn't put it down! However, I felt that some parts were predictable. But the twist right at the end of the novel?? I did not see that coming! Despite this, I felt that it ended rather abruptly. It left me with so many questions.

Overall, a great debut novel from Becca Day! I would definitely recommend this for someone looking for a suspenseful read that will have them wondering what's going to happen!

THE GIRL BEYOND THE GATE - BECCA DAY

⭐⭐⭐.5 /5

Thank you to @netgalley, @emblabooks & Becca Day for this ARC. HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY! This book is available from TODAY!

This was a great debut novel by Becca Day. I had seen plenty of recommendations from a reading group I am in and knew I needed to read this!

"Welcome to Kensington Grove, the safest place to call home....
Jodie Madison can't think of a better place for a fresh start than the exclusive, gated community of The Grove. But from the moment she passes through the wrought iron gates, she starts to suspect she's made a mistake..."

I found the start of the novel a bit slow but from the second half it had my hooked and I couldn't stop til I finished it. It is told in multiple POV which is entertaining throughout and adds to the element of mystery. Everyone in "The Grove" seems to have secrets and it's not until the very end that all is revealed!

The ending was a crazy one and had me thinking about it afterwards and questioning what I had just read.

This is 100% worth the read! It is an easy read filled with mystery, secrets and two unreliable narrators 🙌

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Jodie Madison is looking for a fresh start, somewhere safe, & thinks the exclusive, gated community of The Grove. is just the ticket. But she gets a funny vibe from the moment she arrives, although most people are perfectly pleasant, there are undercurrents of something else. Jodie's immediate next door neighbours are Norah Williams & her daughter, Lacey, who has cystic fibrosis. Due to a past incident, Jodie is drawn to the friendless, unhappy Lacey, but her mother Norah is not happy about their friendship. Then someone is in the community is murdered - is the killer one of their own?

The narrative is told via alternating chapters from Jodie & Norma's points of view. The community is very much like the people, calm on the surface but there are hints of trouble underneath, & that is definitely the case with Norah & Lacey. The book started off quite well & I was rather impressed with the whole set-up until about quarter of the way in, when the main character Jodie became an annoyance rather than someone I could root for. I really did not like her, so this rather affected my enjoyment of the rest of the book. It is well-written & the plot flows nicely, so I would be interested in reading further books from the author.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Embla Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

What a brilliantly addictive book this was. A first for me reading anything by this author, I know it will not be the last!

This is a mystery thriller that had me hooked. The synopsis gives a great idea about Jodie Madison moving into a gated community, it is safe and this is something she wants. Quite what she is hiding from or who is unknown until later in the book. There are however tantalising little hints laid like breadcrumbs.

As for wanting to remain apart from everyone and not mixing, well that doesn't go well. For one there is the formidable Heidi. She organises fundraisers, resident's meetings and basically the social side of the community and she doesn't really take no for an answer. She is polite, but she doesn't ask for you to attend these things, more she expects you to.

Heidi manages to rope Jodie into interviewing her neighbours, Norah and daughter Lacey. What Jodie doesn't expect is to form a friendship with Lacey. She also didn't expect to think things about Norah, but she does!

This is one of those stories that definitely grips the reader. While the idea of a gated community sounds great, it also means that people seem to know what you are doing and as such, there is no real privacy. This kind of goes against what Jodie is looking for and also makes for a very intriguing story.

The full reasons for Jodies' move do come out over the course of the story, glimpses into her past provide doubts for what she believes is going on with her neighbours. By the end of the story, I was a bit stunned, to say the least, I didn't expect it to turn out the way it did. It is by the way a real twisted ending and I did not see it coming at all.

Fabulous story and one that is great for those that like a twisted mystery thriller, there is a psychological edge to it and I adored it. I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to #netgalley and #emblabooks for the eARC of this one. Access was given in exchange for my honest review. The publication date for this one will be March 22.

I don't know what it is about them but I've always been somewhat creeped out by, what my roommate calls, "Stepford Wife Homes". There's just no way that everything going on behind those impeccable homes is actually real, right?

In this book, Jodie Madison has just moved into The Grove after some difficult circumstances brought her there, which we don't find the details out about until later on. Her next door neighbours are Norah, a single mom, and Lacey, her terminally ill, wheelchair bound daughter. Jodie's mind soon begins to traverse the same as mine. Is everything perfect, or just the image?

By about 30% through, I had guessed most of what was going to happen. Yes, there were some surprises that made it somewhat more redeemable but still was way too predictable. I'm giving this a 2.75/5 stars.

Try as I might, i unfortunately wasn’t able to get into this book. I’m not sure, it may have just been me personally, because the premise of the book sounded so intriguing. I’m giving 3 stars because I truly believe it was me.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

The Girl Beyond the Gate was a wonderful book. It centers on Kensington Grove, a gated community and one of the safest places in the UK. The story focuses on Jodie, a young woman that moves into Kensington Grove. From the beginning, you find out that Jodie is hiding a secret, a secret that she's running away from. Jodie's new neighbor, is a young woman, Lacey, who's terminally ill.

Jodie and Lacey create a bond, Norah, Lacey's mother, doesn't like this blooming friendship. Norah is extremely protective and tries to keep them apart. Jodie becomes suspicious of Norah, but she can't figure out what's wrong. As Norah continues to try and keep them apart, Jodie becomes even more suspicious and concerned for Lacey's well-being.

The POV in each chapter changes between Jodie and Norah. I really liked Jodie. You could relate with her and understood where she was coming from. I struggled to connect with Norah, but the ending made you understand why.

I think the ending could've been different. The ending was abrupt after so much action. I do recommend this book to others if you like a good mystery.

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

This was a solid thriller.
I felt like it was a slower start, but a nice build up to the story.

I found it intriguing and interesting, but something was missing for me.. I found myself losing interest.

Overall this was good!

Loved this one!! I just searched for more books by this author and found out that it was the very first one so now I’m even more impressed. I felt like the plot was interesting with just enough details to draw you in, but not so many that it feels like it’s dragging. Highly recommend!

Kensington Grove is a locked gate neighborhood and one of the safest places to call home. However, it also seems like everyone has a secret that they are hiding. New neighbor, Jodie, strikes up an unlikely friendship with a lonely 14 year old with cystic fibrosis. After a murder occurs in the neighborhood, Jodie becomes convinced that her teenage friend is in danger!

I was shocked to learn that this was a debut novel! This was a good, quick read with many surprising twists and the ending is heartbreaking. I recommend checking this this book out if you like locked door mysteries, unreliable narrators, and fast-paced family thrillers.

Thank you NetGalley and Embla Books for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in return for my honest review.

This was such a thrilling book which had me gripped all the way through. I couldn’t wait to find out all the secrets at the end and it didn’t disappoint. This book really delves into the different characters and you are able to build up a picture of them in your mind. Throughly enjoyed this one. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

An interesting turn which reignited my interest but also made me hate the main character. Nevertheless an easy weekend read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy of this book in an exchange for an honest review.
The Girl Beyond the Gate by Becca Day is a psychological thriller that will leave you feeling in suspense on each page. I thought this was a quick read that did keep me interested to find out what was going to happen next, especially towards the end of this book.

One thing I really enjoyed about this story was the alternating point of views. It was really interesting to read different sides to this story and learn about all of the characters and backstories from different perspectives. I loved the idea of the mysteries happening inside this gated community - where Jodie believes she is going to begin a new fresh start to her life and past. However, inside The Grove nothing was quite what it seems. Jodie wants to protect her neighbor terminally ill neighbor Lacey. She fears that she needs to protect Lacey from her mother. With a murder in the community, things change even more.

The concept of the story was compelling and I wanted to keep reading. There were a lot of mysteries and drama unraveling in the book - lots going on! However, I wish I had more closure at the end of the story because I feel that I have many unanswered questions and some information felt missing to me.

What an amazing book. This immediately draws you in from the first page and keeps you wanting more until you look at the clock and realize you should probably go to sleep but still decide against it. It had everything I love about mysteries in it from murder to cliques to pretentious neighbors and the secrets they have. I will definitely be reading whatever comes next from Becca Day. This book will stay with me for a long time to come.

A resident ends up dead and Jodie decides she must take action and find out about Norah's past and save Lacey. Most of the residents are hiding secrets which makes this a fun read as you are never quite sure what is going on behind closed doors. This book transported me to another world… fascinating…

I was completely invested in how dark and mysterious this book was, but by the end, I was left confused. I don't want to give away any spoilers as to why, but it had me questioning everything. Overall though it was enjoyable, and I liked the different POVs.

Solid 3.5 STARS

An entertaining page-turner that zipped along and kept me engaged.

Kensington Grove is a gated neighborhood and a safe place to call home, until it isn't.

Jodie is running from her past and trying to make a fresh start. She meets and has concern for her nextdoor neighbor's terminally ill daughter, Lacey. She feels something is not right with her mom, Norah. She can't put her finger on it and starts spying on them, googling, facebook digging.

The gossipy neighbors, some twisty twists and chapters that counted down to murder, kept me hooked until the end.

There was some predictability and I knew where things were most likely heading, which took it down a notch, but I was enjoying the ride anyway. I don't mind a little crazy train now and then! The ending seemed abrupt though(down another notch) and I have questions.....

Recommend if you don't mind stretching plausibility for a little break from reality. A good debut, I will absolutely read her next to see what she comes up with!

3.5 stars rounded up!!

The Girl Beyond the Gate was a fast-paced mystery that kept me entertained right up to the end. With the dual POV's between newcomer, Jodie, and Norah, this story was strongly reminiscent of a typical cat/mouse scenario.... or better yet, a fencing match! Lots of twists and turns, lots of scandalous secrets! Everyone who lives in the Kensington Grove community believes that they are safe and sheltered behind those locked gates. Everyone couldn't be more wrong!!

This was a great debut novel! I really enjoyed it, but I did not like the ending. It left me with too many unanswered questions. I prefer to have things wrapped up or to at least be able to surmise what happens next. I couldn't do that here. Too many possibilities.

Thank you to Embla Books, NetGalley and the author for allowing me free access to this ARC!

I am not usually a fan of psycho thrillers but it looked so intriguing I thought I would give it a try. It held my interest for a good bit of the book but somewhere along the way it lost me. I started out really intent on finding out how it ended but the story just fizzled for me. I gave it 2.5 stars.