The Girls Before - by Kate Alice Marshall (Hardcover)

About the Book

"From the bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods, No One Can Know, and A Killing Cold, a new novel about a search & rescue expert, a kidnapped woman, and the lost girls who haunt them both. There is a girl in a basement. The door has stopped opening. The light is gone. Stranger is trapped in the dark, with only her imagination and the scribbles on the wall left by long-dead girls to keep her company. Nearly out of food and water, she makes one last attempt to escape. But if the door opens at last, will it mean salvation, or only the beginning of her fight to survive? Audrey is a search and rescue expert who never stopped looking for her ex-best friend, Janie, who disappeared when they were teenagers. Janie used to love the local legend of a forest witch who saves girls from bad men, but Audrey knows now that for every one saved, there's always another one lost. When she stumbles upon evidence in the forest that a teenage runaway might have actually been kidnapped from land belonging to the town's most prominent family, she will have to dig through decades of secrets to reveal the biggest one of all: what happened to the girls before"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

From the bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods, No One Can Know, and A Killing Cold, a new novel about a search & rescue expert, a kidnapped woman, and the lost girls who haunt them both.

There is a girl in a basement.
The door has stopped opening.
The light is gone.

Stranger is trapped in the dark, with only her imagination and the scribbles on the wall left by long-dead girls to keep her company. Nearly out of food and water, she makes one last attempt to escape. But if the door opens at last, will it mean salvation, or only the beginning of her fight to survive?

Audrey is a search and rescue expert who never stopped looking for her ex-best friend, Janie, who disappeared when they were teenagers. Janie used to love the local legend of a forest witch who saves girls from bad men, but Audrey knows now that for every one saved, there's always another one lost. When she stumbles upon evidence in the forest that a teenage runaway might have actually been kidnapped from land belonging to the town's most prominent family, she will have to dig through decades of secrets to reveal the biggest one of all: what happened to the girls before.

Review Quotes

"A smart and layered mystery with complex characters, a unique structure, and the ultimate in a creepy locked room setting. With its shocking twists and stunning final reveal The Girls Before is the ultimate page-turner."
--Robyn Harding, bestselling author of The Drowning Woman

"Kate Alice Marshall is one of the best thriller writers working today, and The Girls Before might be her best book yet. Marshall writes haunting poetry about the darkest sins imaginable, gossamer webs made of stygian threads, each story unfolding like a seductive melody sung by a woman in the woods, irresistible as it lures you deeper. The Girls Before is magnetic, shocking, heartbreaking, and unputdownable. What a gift to read her work."
--Ashley Winstead, bestselling author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife

"Kate Alice Marshall's The Girls Before is a chilling descent into memory, myth, and the hidden scars we all carry. Fans of Simone St. James and Jennifer McMahon are going to devour this one!"
--Jess Lourey, Edgar-nominated author of The Quarry Girls

Praise for Kate Alice Marshall:

"Unexpected plot twists, deep psychological perspicacity, and an endlessly interesting dance between past and present that evokes the dread and intensity of Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects."
--New York Times Book Review

"So good."
--Emily Henry, bestselling author

"A gripping tale, full of dizzying twists and turns! It is packed with suspense and kept me frantically turning pages until the very end!"
-Freida McFadden, bestselling author

"A propulsive and intricate psychological thriller."
--Kirkus (starred review)

"Utterly riveting. . . A stunner--dark, unflinching, and as twisty and sharp as a tangle of thorns."
--Riley Sager, bestselling author

"A tightly wound thriller perfect for fans of Stacy Willingham and Gillian Flynn."
-J.T. Ellison, bestselling author

"Kate Alice Marshall knows how to deliver fast-paced twists and turns as she takes readers into the dark recesses of the imagination."
--West Sacramento News-Ledger

About the Author

Kate Alice Marshall is the author of What Lies in the Woods, No One Can Know, A Killing Cold, and multiple novels for younger readers. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family.