Book Reviews
Lucie Whitehouse's third novel is slow to get going, but a growing sense of dread makes this "marriage thriller" a nail-biter.... Characters, particularly the more minor ones, are not fleshed out.... But despite its flaws, once Before We Met hits its stride, it turns into a creepily effective thriller, Whitehouse ramping up the chills with her dark wintry weather and her glimpses into the creation of a disturbed mind.
Guardian (UK)
The tension builds revelation by revelation and barely loosens its grip throughout—the kind of thriller to keep you turning pages into the small hours and then miss your stop on your morning commute.... the quiet tension of the first half dissipates into a more action-packed and rather predictable run of events. Whitehouse has a feel for a compelling plot but she has a tendency to over-write around the edges.
Alice Jones - Independent (UK)
This type of domestic thriller...is clearly having a moment, and there are some terrific and terrifying versions out there. Some aspects of what Whitehouse is doing here have been done before, and better. That said, there’s no doubt that Whitehouse’s writing keeps you glued to the page—I read this in one sitting, and it was an enjoyable one at that..
Daneet Steffens - Boston Globe
Newly married Hannah thinks she knows her husband, Mark, until the night he doesn’t arrive home and she realizes nothing it what it seemed. Even when you think you’ve figured it out, this one is hard to put down.
Good Housekeeping
Whitehouse takes a familiar premise—a woman with doubts about her new husband—and spins it into an intriguing thriller that avoids romantic-suspense clichés.... As [Hannah] struggles with her trust issues, she must consider whether Mark is trying to protect her.... [The novel] soon picks up speed and builds to a tense, unexpected climax.
Publishers Weekly
Will hook readers from the first page...a gripping cat-and-mouse read.
Booklist
[T]he relationship between two newlyweds following the husband's disappearance.... Whitehouse cleverly builds the suspense bit by bit, taking the reader deftly from the couple's initial newlywed bliss to Hannah's growing realization that things may not be what they seem.... [A] well-drawn, taught thriller all the way to the end.
Kirkus Reviews