This book immediately grabbed my attention with its spookiness and unpredictability. The writing was gripping and definitely played to peoples fears which meant for an anxiety induced read that kept me wanting more. I liked the short, snappy chapters which heightened the intensity. Jess’ character was very well written so the her true emotions shining through. Fantastic read that I’d recommend for getting out of a reading slump - it worked for me!

This ones a hard one to review, the story was interesting & the premise sucked me in but it was very slow burn. Loved the different perspectives. It gave me proper handmaid vibes!
Overall a good listen! Thank you!

I really wanted to LOVE The People Before but sadly it didn’t quite tick my boxes.

I loved the premise, family move out of London to a large house in the country which they plan to renovate and live the idyllic country family life.

The house has history that no one in the village talks about and seems unhappy about having new occupiers.

The family dynamics don’t adapt to the expectation and tensions grow as they grow more and more unhappy and they simply cannot keep up with the Jones’.

I liked that it was the house that seems to be tearing the family apart. It was clever, relatable and intriguing - what was actually going on? And who is Jess’ new friend?

Unfortunately, the twists, turns and conclusion didn’t work for me. Some were guessable, some were outrageous and some just didn’t work for me. This isn’t a ghost story and I’m really glad about that. It felt like the premise was stronger than the conclusion and everything was being forced into an ending which was such a shame.

I am however very hard to please with thrillers so I would say it’s worth a read and I would love to know what your think!

This unfortunately is a rather dull and mundane psychological thriller.

Jess and Pete have just moved into a ramshackle old house in the countryside. Jess in particular is unhappy with the move, torn from family, friends and work. She feels a presence around the house and fears that all is not as it should be.

The suggestion of someone or something haunting the house makes way for a tale of flawed people harbouring grudges and secrets. No one (bar the children) is innocent in this story.

The plotting is bland and unexciting and the resolution is just plain daft. It is hard to care for characters as unsympathetic as these.

A disappointment.

Loved this book and read it in one day! The dramatic turn from dream home to absolute nightmare shakes up the plot. The plot and character development is perfect and I can’t wait to read more of charlottes work!

I really enjoyed this fast paced little number. I love a book based around an old house, whether it be haunted, or haunted by memories. This is one of those books where I struggle to give a review without giving away parts of the story as the story envelopes the whole book from start to finish. I did spend the whole book trying to guess who was gonna do what next, and I finished it all in two days, I did work out what was going on about 1/3 in but it didn’t ruin the enjoyment too much, it’s definitely worth a read!

This was a good thriller, but it did feel predictable and two of the twists didn't come as a surprise. I did enjoy the build up of tension and the complex relationship between Jess and husband Pete.

An easy unchallenging read overall.

A fairly standard domestic thriller set in the Norfolk countryside - just didn't bring much else to the table that I felt other books in this genre already have. I would have appreciated a bit more buildup to the twist/reveal and some more horror/spooky elements rather than dwelling on the predictable unfulfilled-housewife, failing-marriage tropes.

I loved this book.

Original and gripping from the get go. Anyone who loves a good psychological thriller will enjoy this.

I loved this creepy, atmospheric book. The tension builds from the first chapter. With wonderfully relatable characters, we have all been in a situation where we wonder if we have made a terrible mistake. I enjoyed the twists and turns. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a gripping, unputdownable read. What a great film it would be!

This is a well-constructed novel centring around a family's move from an urban setting to a remote, rural house and the trouble that seems to follow them. Having just moved into a new house when I read this book, the novel really got to me. The tension in some scenes was almost unbearable.

This was a well written book. The storyline was captivating and a great read. I would recommend this book to family and friends.
Thank you to Charlotte Northedge and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The People Before is a tense and atmospheric thriller. It tells of a family trying to make a fresh start only to discover that their dream is, step by step, turning into a nightmare. The family dynamics change when a new friend enters their lives and things just go from bad to worse. I enjoyed the book although, at times, I was a bit frustrated at their seeming helplessness in resolving their situation.

My thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read and review the book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel.

The People Before is one of those rare books that draws you in completely. I was fascinated by the scenario, curious about the back stories and keen to see how the plot would develop. In the end I read this in a single day, utterly absorbed.

A well plotted and written story, with great characters I could visualise, sympathise with and enthusiastically follow through the development of the story.

Clever, contemporary and atmospheric, this is a novel just waiting for further adaptation to stage or screen.

Jess and her husband have bought an old house in the countryside with plans to renovate it and make it their own. However it soon becomes clear that the local community know more about what happened in its past than they do and Jess begins to worry about what she has got herself into.

The premise of a creepy house with secrets and history had me hooked immediately.

The prologue is just a couple of pages long but it does a brilliant job at setting the scene for the book and how you should feel heading into the story. I found this incredibly clever as it put me on edge straight away.

The writing really sent a chill down my spine at times, especially when it built an eerie atmosphere. Charlotte Northedge has created believable characters that I was desperate to know more about.

I couldn't put this down thanks to the great writing and gripping plot.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I loved this: creepy, tense and claustrophobic.

Pete and Jess buy a big house in rural Suffolk that needs a lot of work. Overwhelmingly so. Jess is clearly uncomfortable with the house. Pete works in London and Jess is left alone a lot with two children who need a lot of attention. And something clearly happened in London prior to their move that no-one is talking about.

This is a slow burner with characters I loved to dislike. Everything that could go wrong, did. Like Jess, I always felt I was left unbalanced about what was going on. What was going to go wrong next?! One thing after another seems to go wrong in this house. What was Pete up to? What had happened in the house before they had got there?

Honestly, I didn’t read the synopsis to this book before I read it, purely because I’d read and enjoyed The House Guest, Charlotte’s previous book. And I wasn’t disappointed. I’m eager to read whatever she writes next!

Jess and her husband Pete are desperate to move their family away from London after their house is broken into, but the desolate and run-down Maple House in Suffolk is not what she had in mind.

From day one Jess feels a negative energy about the house and has a looming sense of being watched but having all their money tied up in renovating the house makes leaving impossible.

After struggling to fit in with the locals she befriends Eve, a small gallery owner from a nearby village and soon finds out about the house’s dark tragic past.

An enjoyable thriller told by two different narratives with lots of twists.

A tale of a traumatised London family uprooted from their busy, sociable city life and moving to a creepy, unwelcoming Suffolk country house. When the isolated wife and mother, her preoccupied husband and their vulnerable children are befriended by a local woman who seems just too good to be true, what could possibly go wrong?

The People Before is a good read, full of twisty secrets, surprises and shocks. It’s not quite as gothic as I thought it was going to be, but that just makes it more true to life and therefore more scary in its own right.

Many thanks to all concerned for allowing me to read and review this terrific thriller.

A fantastic thriller that I couldn't put down! A real page turner with some unreal characters and loads of twists throughout. Really enjoyed this and had it read within a few hours

An entertaining mystery which does a great job of creating the sense of powerlessness and claustrophobia of the lead character's situation - and a local setting to boot.