Such a fantastic book! Showing the measures people will take to be ‘perfect’ and the extreme measures that people will go to reflect their opinions/idealisms on others.

Whilst this book is very creepy (the mental images I had of the basements were as mental as Dr Cavendish 😂) I loved the interactions within the group and was cracking into at some of the stuff they were coming out with.

The different POVs really made the story! Especially reading about the clinics previous set up.

Ok, this started off really well…it was creepy and atmospheric and I was loving it. Then the main character made me so crazy mad I wanted to shake her due to her lack of caring and action. Part two was a different character which then gave a bit of back story but essentially made me feel a life the story had lost it’s creep. The third and final part was back to the original character and just left me wanting. It did pick up and there were a couple of twists but it all just got really silly and a bit annoying sadly!

This is a creepy and. unsettling read. What do you know about the people who lived in the house that you've just bought? Jess and Pete move from London to the countryside. They have bought a large rambling house in urgent need of some repairs and with outhouses/barns that need doing up so they can rent them out. However, from the moment they arrive at the house and wait for the removal lorry to arrive Jess has reservations about the house. She has a bad feeling about the place and is convinced they are being watched.
The author gradually feeds into the story some of the reasons that Jess and Pete have left London. A break in at their house had disturbed them all and left their small daughter Rose quite traumatised. There is also a hint of something more that Jess is not letting on.
All of this makes for an increasingly disturbing first half of the book, as the atmosphere gets more intense and Jess begins to feel she is going off the rails. The reader is drawn into her perspective and as things get more bizarre and creepy there is the realisation that it is not going to end well.
However, just as things are spiralling out of control for Jess, the perspective changes and we see a different side of things. This for me rather broke the tension the author had built up. I would really have liked the novel to have continued from Jess's point of view and although it does return to it at the end, the thread had broken somewhat.
But the book is a good read with a gripped atmosphere and great sense of place in the house.
I have given it three stars, only because I didn't like Jess very much. If I'd felt more for the main character it would have been four stars. I would happily look for more novels by this author and would recommend the read as something twisty and atmospheric.
With thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

The People Before tells the story of Jess and Pete, a couple looking to escape their life in London by moving to the Suffolk countryside. They move into Maple House, a grand and beautiful property that needs LOTS of work doing to it and it quickly becomes apparent that all is not as it seems.

The story drew me in straight away with its eerie and creepy vibe; I felt really on edge reading the first few chapters. The middle section fell flat for me, and I'm not really even sure why, I just started to lose interest. The final third picked up again and did improve, with a bit more excitement. However, the ending just wasn't that great and I finished the book feeling a little disappointed.

I really liked that the first third of the book was told from Jess' point of view, the second part by someone else and then the final third back to Jess. I enjoyed hearing about the same events from two peoples' perspectives.

Overall, I did enjoy the book but it had potential to be so much better.

After a break in their London home, Jess no longer feels safe. When Pete suggests moving to the countryside, it seems like the best option for the family and their two young children. But, after viewing the Maple House, out in rural Suffolk, in the middle of summer and being captivated by its charm, it suddenly looks and feels menacing and disturbingly remote when the family arrive in the autumn on moving day.

Throughout the first part of the book, Jess feels isolated, threatened by shadows moving in the large and neglected garden, and misses her tight-knit group of friends back home – with whom she seems to have lost touch over a not-yet explained fallout of some kind.

Pete’s ideas for renovation are overwhelming, and now that Jess has given up her own job working in a gallery in London, she finds herself on her own in the house a lot, failing to connect with the school mums, and losing her connection with Pete at the same time. And then she meets Eve… and the history of the house starts to unravel.

The premise of the book was very intriguing – however it was such a slow burner for me that I just wanted it to pick up the pace! For the first two parts, it was just a little repetitive and I struggled to get gripped on the characters and the mystery. The third part really turned things around as the pace well and truly picked up and the twists and turns brought the story together quickly.

I just wish the pace had been the same throughout!

A spooky creepy read for Halloween weekend!
Jess and Pete move from their overcrowded bustling life in North London to a sprawling house in the middle of Norfolk. As soon as Jess arrives there, she feels spooked out, eyes watching her, the skin on the back of her neck is cold. Her daughter Rose can also feel there's something not right in the air but Pete is oblivious to anything supernatural or odd.
The story then moves on to feature Eve, a local art gallery owner- and Jess bonds with her, as she used to be an art gallery manager in London.
Their stories intertwine, and more secrets emerge and are unravelled as we move through the story.

I didnt love it, though I didn't know if that was partly because of my fear of spooky old houses and being in the middle of the countryside with no one around. I didn't warm to any of the characters or care about them unfortunately.
Thanks for the chance to read it but Im not the target audience I dont think.

Ooh I absolutely loved this book!!! Extremely dark thriller that was so difficult to put down. Fantastic plot and characters.

This was a great book! i love stories like this. It was unpredictable, spooky and gave me anxiety while reading it. This book must be read by more people! The only thing i can criticize is the cover. it didn't grab me grab me but the description did so i gave it a go. So glad i did but i want more from the artwork for a book i love so much!

I enjoyed the oppressive and menacing atmosphere that built up in the first part of this book. It is so eerie that I decided to only read it in the day. It was a slow burn as little hints were dropped and there was hope of an explosive ending.

For me the slow pace dragged and became a bit repetitive. I wasn't particularly keen on any of the characters but I kept reading as I was intrigued to find out the secrets of The Maple House.

Unfortunately though the ending was very underwhelming. I was desperately waiting for the big twist which didn't happen and I'm left feeling a bit disappointed. This could have been a great book but unfortunately fell flat for me.

I couldn’t get enough of this creepy-as-hell book. I devoured it, taking in every word while being fully immersed in this spine-tingling novel.

I slipped into Jess’s story with ease and greedily devoured it, eager to know what was happening. I felt her isolation and the writing was so effective, I could smell the house and feel it’s coldness. That barn, those trees, and the parents at the school gate - what a lonely and claustrophobic setting for a newbie to the area.

Jess made a fabulous protagonist with her inability to settle and her secrets. The occurrences in the house left me unsettled and I truly felt for Jess and the children.

I’d say this is a great book for the bleak winter months ahead. A perfect fireside read while the wind outside howls and rain slips down the windows, but keep a candle burning. Don’t want to scare yourselves silly - haha.

I’d sum ‘The People Before’ up as having bags of mystery with the chill factor!

When Jess her husband and two children move from London to the country things do not appear to be as they thought. From the first day they arrive Jess feels an unwelcome presence there. This is an excellent read and thoroughly gripping all through the book. I highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for this copy. This is a really good book, kept me entertained throughout and I would thoroughly recommend to all.

This felt like a book of two halves . I really enjoyed Jess's narration of moving away from familiar London to a house that grows creepier by the second. The ominous atmosphere was building up well. It felt like it was lost somewhat when the viewpoint switched to Eve. Maybe it was because I'd already guessed her part in the novel. It felt like there were quite a few aspects not considered more fully and strands left: The Yellow Wallpaper, Dom's character, the neighbour, and most definitely the decision made by the couple at the end.

Started off well with a spooky atmosphere. The well trodden path of couple moving to rambling old isolated house, each with their secrets.. Unfortunately the book didn't work that well. The characters were all dreadful and totally unlikeable. I certainly didn't take to Jess, Pete or Eve. I've noticed one or two of the reviews for this have given away a heck of a lot of plot details which I will refrain from doing. Jess and Pete leave London for a "new life in the country" like many before them. Cue spooky rambling house with "spooky goings on". There was far too much detail included which was unnecessary. The ending was a bit- well one minute we are in a kitchen with weapons and the next we are all cosy and moving into , yet another new house. The plot lacked credibility and the ending was poorly constructed. I can see why the last paragraph was put there but to be honest you felt- well it's their own fault they should have done x and put it all to bed.

Trying not to give anything away...
So many unexplained and answered questions- why was there a link constructed between the rooms? Who is Dom actually? The neighbour? Why introduce him and then that's it. Was there abuse? Why the custody battle? Why was the child so reluctant? Noe of this was explained at all and very much left up in the air
Didn't really come together and was too drawn out in places, squished in others

I found this story quite slow to develop and the characters not coming over as not every real. A couple from London both carrying secrets from each other relocate to an old Manor House in Suffolk with their children in order so start a new life. Things are not easy from the start and a friend they make may not be all she seems. I found the story somewhat contrived and the ending unsatisfactory. Not one for I’m afraid.

oh wow!

very creepy and thrilling! this book will creep up on you and unnerve you! A perfect read for a cold stormy and dark night

The cloying pensive atmosphere was a good start to this thriller. Although for the life of me I could not understand why Pete and Jess would want to buy such a dilapidated house stuck out in the middle of nowhere that needed so much doing in the first place. Their description of the house was daunting, to say the least. Jess was the one who first senses that something is wrong with the house and felt like she was being watched from a distance, the hairs on the back of her neck tell her something is wrong.

I found Jess and Pete annoying at first and either very stupid or just in denial. As the story unfolded and more characters came into the story it got more interesting. When Jess meets Eve in a gallery in the nearest town then things start to get intriguing because Eve is the cuckoo in the nest. The way she instigated herself into this family was at first convincing but then I felt it got a tad unrealistic and I could see where the plot was heading. If Pete had been my husband I would have cheerfully strangled him, slowly. I couldn't stand his character and the way he was around Eve really riled me and how Jess was so complacent about it, I mean really!

I understand that this is a slow-burn story but for me, it was just a little bit too slow and dragged in places. All in all, it was an okay read, a little predictable to be honest and in some places unrealistic. However, the premise of the story was a good one but in some ways, it doesn't work as well as it should.

What do you know about the people that lived in the house before you? This book was sinister and unsettling from the start. Moving from the city to the country seemed idyllic for Jess and her husband. It was only after Jess felt like there was unwelcome presence did she begin to think something was very wrong.
This is a great read which had me gripped from the first to last page.

The book is split into three parts from the point of view of two of the characters. I enjoyed the book, but I really didn’t take to the main character, Jess. My opinion of Eve changed in the end, which just shows how good the writing is that I was invested in the characters. I thought the plot was good and well paced. I recommend this book, thank you #netgalley

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This psychological thriller follows Jess as she moves with her family to Suffolk in the countryside. They have bought a lovely house which will need some renovating but are looking forward to their new start.

As soon as they arrive Jess starts to feel someone is watching her and starts to think they have made a mistake. With the feeling intensifying and the amount of work on the house required it starts to take its toll on the family. When the history of the house is revealed, Jess is even more terrified.

Settling in is difficult especially for Jess, but one chance visit to a near by art gallery ends in a new friendship.
Is someone watching them? Who is Jess’s new friend?

I found this quite a slow read to begin with as you are getting to know the characters, but then it builds up to a thrilling ending where all secrets are revealed.

The story is told by two different points of view before returning to Jess’s point of view for the ending. This did help unravel a few of the secrets and mysteries behind the storyline.

I live in a county not too far from Suffolk so I could imagine quite clearly what it would like around the house and in the town.

Overall, a secret filled psychological thriller where a family hoping for a new start might not get what they hoped.