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Before We Met: A Novel Hardcover – January 21, 2014

by Lucie Whitehouse (Author)

3.8 8,995 ratings

Editors' pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

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Hannah, independent, headstrong, and determined not to follow in the footsteps of her bitterly divorced mother, has always avoided commitment. But one hot New York summer she meets Mark Reilly, a fellow Brit, and is swept up in a love affair that changes all her ideas about what marriage might mean.

Now, living in their elegant, expensive London townhouse and adored by her fantastically successful husband, she knows she was right to let down her guard.

But when Mark does not return from a business trip to the U.S. and when the hours of waiting for him stretch into days, the foundations of Hannah's certainty begin to crack. Why do Mark's colleagues believe he has gone to Paris not America? Why is there no record of him at his hotel? And who is the mysterious woman who has been telephoning him over the last few weeks?

Hannah begins to dig into her husband's life, uncovering revelations that throw into doubt everything she has ever believed about him. As her investigation leads her away from their fairytale romance into a place of violence and fear she must decide whether the secrets Mark has been keeping are designed to protect him or protect her . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Hannah Reilly waits at Heathrow to welcome her husband, Mark, home from a business trip. Only Mark never shows. Credit Whitehouse (The House at Midnight, 2009) for opening her latest novel with a crackerjack premise that will hook readers from the first page. Mark’s reappearance—a lost cell phone and a last-minute client meeting explain away his absence—does little to relieve the tension, as seeds of doubt have been planted in Hannah’s mind. Having watched her mother drive her father away with suspicions of cheating, Hannah has been almost willfully trusting of Mark, but the more she digs into her husband’s business dealings and past, the more questions arise. Because Whitehouse has cleverly structured her work as a romantic thriller, with Mark presented as a classic leading man, she’s able to pull off a red herring of a revelation that amps up the plot’s suspense. She doesn’t fully maintain her momentum as the novel gets caught up in exposition, but when Whitehouse sticks to the chase, this is a gripping cat-and-mouse read. --Patty Wetli

Review

“[An] edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Will hook readers from the first page... A gripping cat-and-mouse read.” ―Booklist

“This one is hard to put down.” ―Family Circle

“An intriguing thriller that avoids romantic-suspense clichés... Builds to a tense, unexpected climax.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Doubts, secrets and lies drive the engrossing suspense, as Whitehouse effectively employs flashbacks to examine the before and after of Hannah and Mark . . . This well-written and well-plotted psychological thriller peels back layers of information, with deepening implications that will keep readers guessing through chilling twists and turns.” ―Shelf Awareness

“As tense a read as Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl ... Read in one sitting.” ―ASOS

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury USA (January 21, 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1620402750
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1620402757
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.42 x 1.06 x 9.49 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,789,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #119,953 in Suspense Thrillers

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3.8 8,995 ratings

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Julia Flyte

Totally gripping

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2014

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This is the second book by Lucie Whitehouse that I have read and she really is excellent at building up the tension, taking you from a place where all is right in the world to a sense that perhaps things aren't quite what they seem to oh my goodness, I cannot put this book down! Before We Met is a real page turner. It hooked me in almost immediately and I read it in one evening.

I don't want to say too much about the story because it's best to let it unfold without knowing too much. Suffice to say that Hannah and Mark met about 18 months ago and have been married for around 6 months. When the book opens, she is at Heathrow Airport to meet him as he arrives back from a business trip to New York. However he doesn't get off the plane. Hannah doesn't know where he is, and when she tries to track his whereabouts, nothing seems to make any sense.

Now that I've finished the book, I can see some flaws in it. There are a couple of plot holes and the ending gets pretty ridiculous. It's also the kind of book where explanations tend to be accompanied by lengthy back stories which I occasionally found slightly annoying. But despite these problems, it's just a very enjoyable, page turning, suspenseful read that would be perfect for a plane flight or beach holiday when you want something gripping but not too taxing.

43 people found this helpful

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Ron K

Who Did Hannah Marry?

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2019

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Before We Met by Lucie Whitehouse is a novel I purchased on Amazon in December 2018 for USD 0.99. As of the date of this review, the price is US 9.49 and it has just over 300 reviews, 33% of which are five-star reviews. I think the author is good but is writing for a tough audience. Psychological thriller readers want something “never-been-done-before.” Philosophers will argue that is not possible so the author must come up with a different twist on familiar themes. I liked the story and gave it five Amazon stars. Because it had parts where the action was slow, I can see some readers knocking it down to four Amazon stars, but I was willing to give the story a chance. When it picks up the pace is good and is worth waiting (reading) for.

Hannah and Mark were still comparative newlyweds; they had only been married eight months. Currently living in England, the couple had met in New York where Hannah was pursuing her chosen lifestyle of complete independence, a lifestyle she had chosen and become completely defensive about. After the disaster of a long-term (almost five years) relationship in the past, Hannah had rationalized that her life was perfect; it did not demand that she trust anyone. This extended even to her own family. Hannah avoided speaking with her mother whenever possible. When unavoidable contact was made, Hannah made the encounter as difficult as possible. She had a good and honest relationship with her brother Tom, but he was becoming increasingly unaccepting of her aloof attitude towards everyone. Nearing the age when there would be no possibility of bearing children, she had suddenly met Mark. Completely swept off her feet by a man she could finally trust, they were married after a short engagement that surprised all who knew Hannah.

Mark was based in London and had opened a branch office in the US for his data security company. During his whirlwind courtship of Hannah, he had done everything right. Hugely financially successful, he believed that there was no reason to not live ostentatiously. His homes, his cars, and his lifestyle of always having the best impressed Hannah even though Hannah was careful to let Mark know that she was successful in her own right and that she did not need to marry Mark for his money. There were only two points of disagreement between them. Hannah felt a bit rushed when Mark announced that there would be no more US office. Hannah would have to give up her career, apartment, and independence to move to London. Mark was very persuasive, and Hannah had come to relish the move back to her native country. The second point would not be resolved. Mark had not hidden that he had a brother; he just said that they did not get along, never spoke, and that there would be no more talk of it. He even stormed out of their house for a night when asked for an explanation. It looked like Hannah would have to accept this.

As the novel opens, Hannah is going to Heathrow to pick up Mark. The meeting-at-the-airport experience had always been pleasant for the two of them whether it was JFK or Heathrow. But this time Mark did not appear. There were no phone calls, text messages, or emails to explain this. By the second day, Hannah was starting to act. A call to the airlines was met with a data protection act based refusal to answer any questions. A call to the hotel where he always stayed in New York was answered when receptionists stated he had not registered there. Finally, there was one call in which Mark explained that long meetings had resulted in missed planes, a lost phone explained non-calls, the lack of internet explained the unsent emails, and when there was an internet connection, he could not remember the address or phone number because all passwords were on the lost phone. Amazingly, Hannah initially accepted this. It was only when there was no subsequent communication with Mark that Hannah began her own further investigation. Sure, there were text messages but from an unknown number which Hannah could not answer. Each of these assured Hannah he would return to London in a few days. By the time he did, this very character driven story was finished with the slow-moving setup. The rest of the story became a page-turner.

Hannah was persistent in her use of the internet to explore the background of many people connected with Mark. They were well concealed and further raised the question to Hannah, who had she really married? An office assistant provided a small clue. This led to a famous medical researcher. Eventually, some truths were discovered about Mark’s brother. From that point the novel races along to a surprising conclusion.

Hannah’s character is complex as she tries to explore her insecurities about trust. While Mark’s complexity is all about trust also, it is for a far different reason than Hannah’s. The truth about Mark’s brother will be revealed and Whitehouse assigns the brother a very complex character which complements neither of the two main characters. I found Hannah’s character too high maintenance; I would never want to meet her. Even brother Tom finally called her on it. The two brothers were weird. Being their friend might be a criminal offense. But it makes for entertaining reading enough so that I want to read more by this author.

I am gradually (over the years) building a stereotype of novels that center on England. It seems to me that the majority start out slowly building scenes, characters, and skeletons of a plot. Then, the good ones take off and, like this novel, are good to very good. The rest just keep building. I’ll give Britain-based novels another couple of reading decades before I make up my mind.

3 people found this helpful

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Rosalie B

Someone help me with the MAJOR plot hole

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2014

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SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

I read this on an Entertainment Weekly recommendation because I was looking for something in the "Gone Girl" genre. I read a sample on the kindle but ordered the book itself because it seemed like a curl up by the fire type of read.

And it was a good, snowy Saturday read for me, and it held my attention, and I did like the prose, and if I don't think about it too much, I like it, kind of like the way I like Lifetime movies. However, once I finished it and got to thinking about it, there are some major problems with it not the least of which is that the main character is an idiot. [stop reading this now as spoilers ahead]

She knows the guy over a year and NEVER Googles his company which certainly would have turned up the lurid brother story based on the all the article text we as readers are privy to? For that matter, the buyer of the husband's company wouldn't do the same or any due diligence attorney worth his lunch? She doesn't ever google obituaries for the parents? Maybe I'm just a busy body but this type of information is so readily available not to ever even be curious is weird.

Finally, I actually get the Mark character and wish he had been better developed, and get his motivation (because I do watch Dateline), but the lies he comes up with to cover all his sins are out of left field. So here's what I think to be the major plot hole, and I hope someone who read the book can comment on this: If Mark was setting up Nick all along, went to the prison to offer him the 250k, then set it up for him to kill the doctor, then convince the wife Nick was nuts, and if Mark was never really afraid of Nick, why did he have to disappear in America at the beginning of the book which started Hannah's worrying to begin with? I came away from the book thinking that Mark never had any intention of giving Nick the 2M, so why the trip in the beginning? Did I miss something?

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laura

Lettura non troppo impegnativa

Reviewed in Italy on June 12, 2022

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Hannah vissuto il breve matrimonio in una continua bugia finché in pochi giorni scopre la verità su suo marito e suo fratello.

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Spellbound

Quite unexpected.

Reviewed in Canada on April 22, 2017

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My first time for reading Lucie Whitehouse. After a slowish build up and some great foreshadowing, this novel climaxes in a way that is, as I say, unexpected. I'll be looking for more by this author.

R. G. Fulk

Rather similar to other book by author.

Reviewed in Spain on September 4, 2018

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I found this book a bit predictable and not overly original. A pleasant read.

Ammu

Good

Reviewed in India on March 5, 2015

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The second half is more interesting.Its OK kind of book.

Nina J.

Was geschah, bevor wir uns trafen?

Reviewed in Germany on September 11, 2014

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Ja, die Briten können es einfach: gute Spannungsromane schreiben, die man in einem Rutsch verschlingt.

Schon der Beginn des Romans packt den Leser: Wie oft hat man am Flughafen sehnsüchtig auf jemand Liebes gewartet und sich schon mal voller Schrecken und Sorge vorgestellt, ob der Person etwas passiert sein könnte, wenn sie nicht gleich auftaucht.
Zum Glück passiert das in der Realität eher selten, doch Hannah Reilly, die jung verheiratete Protagonistin dieses Romans, erlebt genau jenen Alptraum am Flughafen Heathrow. Ihr Mann ist offenbar nicht mit der Maschine aus New York von seiner Geschäftsreise zurückgekommen. Wir fühlen mit ihr mit, als sie immer verzweifelter versucht, herauszubekommen, was eigentlich passiert ist und wo ihr Ehemann steckt. Schon bald stößt sie auf Ungereimtheiten und Widersprüche - sogar, als Ehemann Mark sich endlich meldet, ist der Alptraum nicht vorbei, sondern geht erst richtig los...
Wir erleben in Rückblenden, wie Hannah und der erfolgreiche Geschäftsmann Mark sich kennenlernen und näherkommen, wie sie in New York zusammenleben und nach London übersiedeln. Doch was geschah davor, "before we met"? Und warum reagiert Mark so überempfindlich und ausweichend, wenn Hannah ihn auf seine Familie anspricht? Hannah, selbst durch die unglückliche Ehe ihrer Eltern geprägt, hat sich geschworen, es in ihrer Ehe besser zu machen und nicht überall Verrat und Lügen zu wittern. Sieht sie lediglich Gespenster und wiederholt damit die Fehler ihrer misstrauischen, fast hysterisch eifersüchtigen Mutter?

Damit verbunden wirft Lucie Whitehouse weitere elementare Fragen auf: Wie gut kennen wir selbst die Menschen, die uns nahe stehen? Was wissen wir eigentlich über das Vorleben von jemandem, den wir erst im Erwachsenenalter kennenlernen, und inwieweit können wir lernen, jemand "Fremdem" zu vertrauen? Und: Können wir uns selbst immer trauen?
Genau diese tiefere Ebene hebt meines Erachtens "Before we met" über einen trotz aller Spannung deutlich stärker Effekt haschenden Suspensethriller mit der momentan so beliebten überraschenden "Oh-mein-Gott-es-ist-alles-ganz-anders-als-gedacht-"Wendung wie "Gone Girl" hinaus, mit dem vorliegendes Buch oft verglichen (und beworben) wurde. Die Geschichte in "Before we met" ist jedoch anders konstruiert und erinnert (und hier gebe ich anderen Vergleichen Recht), eher an Daphne Du Mauriers Romane im Stil von klassischen Gothic Novels, wie "Rebecca".
"Before we met" ist psychologischer im besten Sinne. Auch, wenn es natürlich ein, zwei überraschende "twists" im Plot gibt, so nicht um des Effekts willen - ein erfahrener Leser von Thrillern ahnt diese in vorliegender Story sowieso schon lange voraus.
Einen Stern Abzug gibt es dann leider für das Ende, das abgegriffen und im Vergleich zu den lesenswerten 270 Seiten davor merkwürdig platt und abrupt wirkt. Schade.

Dennoch habe ich das Buch an einem Tag verschlungen und wünsche mir weiteren Lesestoff von Lucie Whitehouse. "The Bed I made", das ich mir sofort nach Beenden dieses Werkes bestellte und durchlas, ist genauso empfehlenswert.

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Before We Met: A Novel Hardcover – January 21, 2014

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