Before I Let You In is a book written by Jenny Blackhurst which spent far too long sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read. This was an absolutely incredible psychological thriller that was full of so many twists and turns that it was quite honestly breathtaking. From the moment I picked this book up all I wanted to do was sit there, glued to the pages, which I most certainly did as I ended up reading this book in less than a day, something that hasn’t happened in quite some time!
Despite now all leading very different lives, Karen, Bea and Eleanor are the very best of friends having known eachother since they were just five years old. Whilst Bea is single and Eleanor is married with young children, Karen is a psychiatrist who is never happier than when she is supporting her friends and helping other people with their problems. One day a new patient, Jessica, walks into Karen’s office who immediately senses that something is very wrong as Jessica seems to know far too much about Karen’s personal life, friends and family. As we soon see things spiral quite rapidly out of control, just what will the consequences be of Karen letting Jessica into her consultation room not only for her but her friends and family too?
This book explored the theme of friendship amongst three people who, having known eachother for most of their lives have been there for eachother through both the best and worst of times. But one thing that became apparent as you read this book, as we see some pretty big secrets revealed, is that there is certainly a lot that they don’t know about eachother. Although the story is mainly narrated by Karen, there are many chapters throughout the book that are told from the perspective of Eleanor and Bea and they all seemed like such believable characters. All of this combined works perfectly and makes for a very successful novel, as it helped me to connect with them all and it was great to hear their thoughts and see how they each reacted very differently to what was going on around them.
One thing I can definitely say about Before I Let You In is that this is a book that will keep you guessing right up until you turn that final page. Every time I thought I knew where the novel was going and what was happening, Jenny threw another twist into the mix which made me question everything I thought was true and this was something that I personally really liked. It made the book extremely compelling, I wanted to read on and find out exactly what would happen next, some of which was truly shocking. Throughout the book, the tension grows at an incredible pace and there is a real sense of urgency, something which is undoubtedly helped by the short chapters.
As a gritty, fast-paced book, Before I Let You is an absolutely exceptional book that I really wish I had picked up sooner than I did. Given how much this book had me well and truly hooked from beginning to end, I will now always look out for Jenny’s novels and look forward to reading more by her in the future. If you’re looking for a new psychological thriller to read, make sure it’s this one!
