Watched

the-girl-before-1

The Girl Before by JP Belaney introduces us to a young couple Emma and Simon who are struggling to find a decent place to rent within their budget. What they can afford is scruffy looking. The cosy and clean are beyond their reach. What makes the hunt even harder is the security features that Emma scrutinises, she has been burgled and the experience is still fresh in her mind.

Then we meet Jane, who is also having a hard time finding a place to leave. Both are presented with an unusual option. The same option, just not at the same time.

There is a place, not available for viewing to anyone, but the estate agent feels that it might be exactly what they need. It has been designed by a famous architect, a minimalist. Clean, sharp lines, no clutter, no throws or cushions, no pictures. Very modern and self sufficient, generating its own electricity, even returning some to the supplier thus cutting the bills down significantly.

The rent is surprisingly cheap but there is a catch though, as one may say. The architect’s requirements are peculiar if not outright weird. He asks any prospective tenant to fill in an extensive application form with questions resembling a psychology questionnaire more than a tenancy agreement. The owner refuses to lease unless the prospectus clients meet his strict requirements. There is a set of rules to follow, the house has to be inhabited as is, no clutter can be added, no picture frames hung on the wall, no fluffy carpets or even clothes dropped on the floor. Everything is controlled through a smart phone, sensors all over the place allows the system to know when to turn the light on and off, you can adjust them accordingly to your needs.

Jane took the tenancy after Emma and Simon. They never met one another, but we as readers get to see both of their lives. The lack of clutter suits Jane, she finds it liberating. She packed only the essential things, and left everything else behind. She took a bag she packed full with baby clothes, one she won’t need but couldn’t part with and hid it in the closet with cleaning products. She is grieving her stillborn child.

After briefly meeting the architect Jane feels attracted to him, they start seeing each other, though he states that his relationships only last for as long as they bring him happiness, he seems as equally eager to declutter his emotional life as his surroundings.

She becomes more and more intrigued by the previous occupants. She finds flowers which Simon leaves at her door and after finally speaking to him, she learn that Emma has died in the house in a strange accident, and that at one point the architect has been questioned by the police about his whereabouts on the day of the incident. She also finds that that the architect’s wife and child have also died in here before Emma. Jane becomes suspicious and feels watched. Is she really safe in the isolated and wi-fi controlled building?

Good thriller, involving modern times’ technology and its challenges. Overall 3 pearls , wine glasses or lilies.