"The People Before" is a creepy psychological thriller in which a London family looking for a new start moves to a big but isolated and run-down house in Suffolk. Jess, the somewhat annoying and self-centred wife, soon comes to believe that the house doesn't want them there and that she feels a creepy presence. Meanwhile husband Pete commutes back to London daily and spends more time away while becoming emotionally distant.

The other main character is Eve, who runs a failing art gallery a few miles away, and befriends Jess. Does she have an ulterior motive? Oh yes! All three people clearly have histories, secrets and unfinished business. You could say another main character is the house itself, with its creaks, secrets and atmosphere. The story is told - in 3 large chunks - from the point of view of Jess, Eve, then Jess again, which I felt worked very well.

The book is beautifully written as it exudes atmosphere and hints at secrets to be revealed. However, none of the characters come out particularly well and are not that likeable (except the kids). There is little bit of light relief with some minor characters - particularly the couple with the barn conversion who were middle-class caricatures of themselves.

I wasn't particularly taken with the book's resolution - it wrapped things up nicely for some, but I don't think many people would have been so accommodating. Recommended if you enjoy atmospheric slow-burn thrillers.

Thank you HarperCollins and Netgalley and apologies for the delay in reading (work gets in the way - bring on retirement!)
This is the second book I had read by Charlotte and again is absolutely unputdownable.
The storyline was unsettling from the start but I was hooked.
This was a great read which had me gripped from the beginning to end.

I really enjoyed this dark, moody psychological thriller.

When Jess and her husband move to a big doer-upper in Suffolk to start a new life, they think it’s the start of a new beginning. But the introduction of Eve into their lives threatens everything they know.

Told in parts from Jess and Eve’s point of view, I really enjoyed this particularly as it started to rise to its conclusions.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, it did take me a while to get into, but once in it was great. A twisty read with lots of twists and turns, its great to read a book and not guess the ending.

Charlotte Northedge does it again - and I think I enjoyed this even more than her debut. Brava, and I can't wait to read what she writes next.

A satisfyingly creepy and plausible tale of gaslighting. When a family move out of London in an attempt to live a more relaxing life in the countryside, weird things go wrong. Almost as if the house has a life of its own.
But the horror is human made in this case. A great read.

I can completely understand Jess’ paranoia surrounding the house. The way she feels like there is someone there, especially after the break-in in London. I think I’d feel as lost as she does too, uprooting my whole life the way they did. A sense of lost identity. I love Archie and Rose, they are sweet kids.

I felt like there was something going on between Pete and Eve, an affair maybe although that also felt too obvious. But there was something about Eve that felt slightly off, like she knew more about the history of the house than she let on or was tied to the house in some way. Turned out she was a bunny-boiler.

This is a good thriller. It is atmospheric and chilling. The story is told from a dual perspective. The pacing was good. The characters were excellent. I loved the setting.

Really enjoyed this - will definitely be recommending and looking forward to the next one by this author!

This took me a while to get into but once I did it was okay, it was familiar but it worked and I enjoyed it.

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

While this type of thriller has been done before, Charlotte Northedge still managed to make this story her own and managed to still surprise me. Very creepy and tense at times!

I really enjoyed this book. Jess and Pete have moved out of London with their 2 young children. They have bought a rambling house in Suffolk with the intention of renovating it. However, the house clearly has a bad history which none of the locals want to talk about. Jess soon realises they have made a big mistake. She feels as though she is being watched and the house is freaking out her young daughter too. Then she meets Eve and feels she has made a friend. Eve quickly inserts herself in to the family, but is she hiding something? This is a real page turner that will keep you guessing to the end. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

Found this book a little slow to start with but I persevered and in the end I did quite enjoy it.
Pete and Jess leave London for the countryside. They buy a run down country house with a view to renovate. However straight away Jess feels uneasy, she feels someone is watching her. Maybe the move wasn't the best idea after all.
I didn't love it but didn't hate it either so I would recommend.

Prepare for an electrifying experience as you navigate through this gripping thriller, where the atmosphere is so tense that I found myself holding my breath.

The eerie, creepy feeling while reading this really pulled me into the story
I had many different suspicions running through my head from chapter to chapter, and couldn't put it down .
Well written, gripping and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up a few times.

Jess and Pete buy the Maple House for a new start away from London. But they soon discover that something happened in the house, and not everybody wants them to stay there.

The People Before is a tense story, which keeps you guessing right to the end. All the characters are hiding secrets, Jess in particular, but I struggled to understand how either Pete or Jess allow Eve to become so involved in their lives so quickly and completely. It just didn’t feel right or believable. Overall though it is an entertaining read, with much to keep the reader interested.

Jess and her husband Pete after a bad experience in London up-sticks and along with their young son and daughter move to a dilapidated large house in a village near Ipswich. It’s meant to be a fresh start for the whole family a chance to live the dream but almost instantly Jess gets a bad feeling about their new home. Neither one anticipated the work and money involved in this large project and as Jess’s paranoia escalates cracks emerge and husband and wife only grow further apart.

Everyone is unhappy even the children and Jess finds herself unable to find her feet everything and everybody is just so different to what she’s used to and she desperately wants her old life back. Meanwhile, Pete who is still commuting is spending longer days working and when he is home he is dismissive and uninterested and constantly glued to his phone.

So I did find this very slow going and quite tedious. It also didn’t help that the characters were not very likeable Jess came across as self-absorbed and fixated on how everything affected her whilst her husband Pete was largely bland uninterested and absent both physically and emotionally. I didn’t feel much of a connection with anyone and because of my growing apathy, I wasn’t even that bothered about anyone’s well-being or even the eventual conclusion which if I’m honest was a tad ridiculous.

The writing wasn’t bad but was very much focused on Jess’s inner monologue which was not a good head-space to be in. This was told from dual POVs both Jess and then Eve a friend she meets whilst she’s ripe for manipulation, each woman but mostly Jess has a story to tell but rather than alternate narratives it’s told in blocks Jess them Eve before we switch back to Jess for the final piece.

The best bit of this is the atmospheric ambience it does have a very creepy ominous vibe that promises much but it then fails to deliver. In conclusion this for me didn’t deliver the goods a slow pace combined with mostly unlikable individuals is my final take home. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of The People Before

This was so mid. I really expected this book to be good but it was just very triggering to see the fmc stay in this shitty relationship. It was not spooky nor thrilling. It was just so boring.
Sometimes you cannot pinpoint what was wrong in a book. I was just not enjoying it and I cannot explain why.

The descriptions make this book seem so amazing! However, it's been a few months since I finished it and honestly, I can't remember much about the ending or how it wrapped up. I remember a few good moments of tension and then a lot of confusion about who the culprits were and why - and I remain confused.

Sounded good in the premise but didn't live up to my expectations.
A bit boring and predictable with unlikeable characters I had thought a few times it might be a DNF but plowed on.
Didn't really feel the effort was worth it in the conclusion.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for my eARC in return for my honest review.